Harry Bliss

Last updated
Harry Bliss
2018-us-nationalbookfestival-harry-bliss.jpg
Bliss at the 2018 U.S. National Book Festival
Born (1964-03-09) March 9, 1964 (age 60)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)cartoonist
Notable works
Bliss
AwardsMaurice Sendak Fellowship, 2014
harrybliss.com

Harry Bliss (born March 9, 1964) is an American cartoonist and illustrator. He has illustrated many books and produced hundreds of cartoons including 25 covers for The New Yorker . He has a syndicated single-panel comic titled Bliss. Bliss is syndicated through Tribune Content Agency [1] [2] and appears in over 80 newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Japan. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Bliss grew up in New York State in an artistic family. [1] There are eleven working visual artists in his immediate and extended family. [3] He studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and illustration at the University of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts and later an M.A. from Syracuse University. [3]

Career

Bliss has been a staff cartoonist at The New Yorker magazine since 1997. His cartoon work has been published in The New York Times, Time magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer magazine, and other periodicals in the United States. He was a regular cartoonist for Playboy magazine from 1999 to 2016. He worked with cartoon editor Michelle Urry at Playboy. Urry, a strong advocate for cartoonists like Gahan Wilson, Jules Feiffer, and Arnold Roth was responsible for getting Bliss's cartoons into the hands of Playboy editor Hugh Hefner. Bliss dedicated Louise, the Adventures of a Chicken to Urry after her untimely death in 2006. [4] His self-titled daily single-panel cartoon appears in major newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Bliss has published over 3,500 cartoons since 2005.

Bliss' first book for children, A Fine, Fine School, written by Sharon Creech, was a Children's Picture Book New York Times bestseller, [5] as were Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider , and Diary of a Fly (all written by Doreen Cronin). Beginning in 2019, Amazon Studios began airing a children's series 'Bug Diaries' based on these best-selling titles. His self-titled cartoon collection Death by Laughter, with an introduction by Christopher Guest, was published in 2008. In 2008 Bliss published Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken (HarperCollins), written by Kate DiCamillo.

In 2008, Bliss, advised by editorial team Art Spiegelman and Françoise Mouly, contributed a popular and critically acclaimed Toon Book, Luke On The Loose, which was the first book written and illustrated in comic book form by the artist. [6]

Bailey, a picture book for children written and illustrated by Bliss, was published by Scholastic in the fall of 2011 and followed by Bailey At the Museum in 2012. Then he illustrated Anna and Solomon published by FSG (written by his mother-in-law, Elaine Snyder).[ citation needed ] In April 2015 Grandma in Blue With Red Hat, illustrated by Bliss, was published by Abrams. Most recent illustrated children's books include My Favorite Pets: By Gus W. For Miss Smolinski's Class by Jeanne Birdsall (Knopf 2016), Grace for Gus (HarperCollins 2018), Good, Rosie by DiCamillo (Candlewick 2018) and Comics Confidential by Leonard Marcus.

In 2019 Bliss teamed up with entertainer Steve Martin, collaborating on cartoons and comic strips. Celadon Books published their best-selling cartoon collection 'A Wealth of Pigeons' in the fall of 2020. Bliss and Martin published their second book together, ‘Number One is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions’ in November of 2022. Both were New York Times bestsellers. Bliss is currently working on a cartoon memoir, ‘You Can Never Die,’ to be published by Celadon due out in 2024.

Bliss has been on the board of directors for The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) which is based in White River Junction, Vermont. In 2016, in conjunction with CCS, Bliss created a new one-month fellowship for cartoonists, the "Cornish CCS Residency Fellowship," housed in a home in Cornish, New Hampshire which he bought (it was owned by author J. D. Salinger). [7] As an animal rights activist, [8] Bliss has regularly contributed covers for PETA's Animal Times magazine and designed sculptures for PETA which have appeared in major American cities in an ongoing effort to stop animal suffering.[ citation needed ] McDonald's, Ringling Brothers Circus, and Kentucky Fried Chicken are among the prime targets of Bliss's and PETAs efforts. [9]

Since 2004 Bliss has visited many schools and interacted with thousands of children all over the world teaching comics/drawing/satire. He has traveled to Peru, Bucharest, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Singapore, and Dubai as well as within the United States. The goal with the school visits is to demonstrate the need for creating critical thinking through drawing. With accessible language for kids and educators and aided by a fun interactive "scribble" game, he seeks to illuminate perception based on the act of drawing.[ citation needed ]

Controversy

The May 12, 2008 edition of The New Yorker magazine published in its weekly caption-writing contest a cartoon by Bliss[ clarification needed ] which closely resembled Jack Kirby's cover of Tales to Astonish #34 (Aug. 1962). Intended by Bliss as an homage and tribute to Kirby, critics complained that the magazine did not mention Kirby's name. After being notified by readers and the media, the magazine said it would update its web site to read, "Drawing by Harry Bliss, after Jack Kirby". [10]

In 2010 a New Yorker cover by Bliss, Paint by Pixels, was compared to Norman Rockwell's Saturday Evening Post cover, The Connoisseur. Author Virginia Mecklenburg writes in Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg , "But for those who know The Connoisseur, Bliss's cover goes a step further. The painting they (a young couple) observe is not a Pollock at all, but a re-creation of Rockwell's Pollock." [11]

Personal life

As of 2016, Bliss lives in Cornish.[ citation needed ]

Awards

Bliss, along with fellow artist Nora Krug, was a recipient of the 2014 Maurice Sendak Fellowship. [12]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cartoon</span> Type of two-dimensional visual art

A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

<i>The New Yorker</i> American weekly magazine since 1925

The New Yorker is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. The New Yorker was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for The New York Times. Together with entrepreneur Raoul H. Fleischmann, they established the F-R Publishing Company and set up the magazine's first office in Manhattan. Ross remained the editor until his death in 1951, shaping the magazine's editorial tone and standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shel Silverstein</span> American poet, cartoonist, and writer (1930–1999)

Sheldon Allan Silverstein was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into the United States Army. During his rise to prominence in the 1950s, his illustrations were published in various newspapers and magazines, including the adult-oriented Playboy. He also wrote a satirical, adult-oriented alphabet book, Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book.

Syd Hoff was an American cartoonist and children's book author, best known for his classic early reader Danny and the Dinosaur. His cartoons appeared in a multitude of genres, including advertising commissions for such companies as Eveready Batteries, Jell-O, OK Used Cars, S.O.S Pads, Rambler, Ralston Cereal, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gahan Wilson</span> American author, cartoonist and illustrator (1930–2019)

Gahan Allen Wilson was an American author, cartoonist and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgil Partch</span> American gag cartoonist

Virgil Franklin Partch, who generally signed his work Vip, was an American gag cartoonist. His work appeared in magazines of the 1940s and 1950s, and he created the newspaper comic strips Big George and The Captain's Gig. He published 19 books of illustrations and drew art for children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roz Chast</span> American cartoonist

Roz Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. Since 1978, she has published more than 800 cartoons in The New Yorker. She also publishes cartoons in Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review.

<i>Judge</i> (magazine) Defunct American weekly satirical magazine

Judge was a weekly satirical magazine published in the United States from 1881 to 1947. It was launched by artists who had left the rival Puck Magazine. The founders included cartoonist James Albert Wales, dime novels publisher Frank Tousey and author George H. Jessop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Roth</span> American cartoonist (born 1929)

Arnold Roth is an American cartoonist and illustrator for advertisements, album covers, books, magazines, and newspapers. Novelist John Updike wrote, "All cartoonists are geniuses, but Arnold Roth is especially so."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mort Gerberg</span> American cartoonist (born 1931)

Mort Gerberg is a multi-genre American cartoonist and author whose work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, books, online, home video, film and television. He is best known for his magazine cartoons, which have appeared in numerous and diverse titles such as The New Yorker, Playboy, Harvard Business Review, The Huffington Post and Paul Krassner's The Realist, and for his 1983 book, "Cartooning: The Art and The Business". He created a weekly news cartoon, Out of Line, for Publishers Weekly from 1988 to 1994 and has drawn an editorial-page cartoon for The Columbia Paper, the weekly newspaper in Columbia County, New York, since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael ffolkes</span>

Michael ffolkes, born Brian Davis, was a British illustrator and cartoonist most famous for his work on the Peter Simple column in The Daily Telegraph. He also worked for Punch and Playboy.

M. K. Brown is an American cartoonist and painter whose work has appeared in many publications, including National Lampoon (1972–1981), Mother Jones, Wimmen's Comix, The New Yorker, Playboy, among others. She has written several books, created animations for The Tracey Ullman Show, and was a contributing artist to the "comic jam" graphic novel The Narrative Corpse. She is also an accomplished painter with work in galleries and many private collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Kraus</span> American cartoonist

Robert Kraus was an American children's author illustrator, cartoonist and publisher. His successful career began early at the New Yorker Magazine, producing over hundreds of cartoons and nearly two dozen covers for the magazine over 15 years. Afterwards, he pivoted his career to children's literature, writing and illustrating over 100 children’s books and publishing even more as the founder of publishing house Windmill Books. His body of work is best remembered for depicting animal heroes who always try their best and never give up, which were ideals important to him at an early age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Lewin</span> American childrens illustrator and writer (born 1937)

Betsy Reilly Lewin is an American illustrator from Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She studied illustration at Pratt Institute. After graduation, she began designing greeting cards. She began writing and illustrating stories for children's magazines and eventually children's books. She is married to children's book illustrator Ted Lewin and with him has co-written and illustrated several books about their travels to remote places, including Uganda in Gorilla Walk and Mongolia in Horse Song, as well as How to Babysit a Leopard: and Other True Stories from Our Travels Across Six Continents. She is arguably best known for the Caldecott Honor Book Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liza Donnelly</span> American cartoonist and writer

Liza Donnelly is an American cartoonist and writer, best known for her work in The New Yorker and is resident cartoonist of CBS News. Donnelly is the creator of digital live drawing, a new form of journalism wherein she draws using a tablet, and shares impressions and visual reports of events and news instantly on social media. She has drawn this way for numerous media outlets, including CBS News, The New Yorker, Fusion, NBC and covered live the Oscars, Democratic National Convention, the 2017 Presidential Inauguration, among others. She writes a regular column for Medium on politics and global women's rights; Donnelly is the author of eighteen books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doreen Cronin</span> American writer of childrens books

Doreen Cronin is an American writer of children's books, including Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, a very well-received picture book illustrated by Betsy Lewin.

David Alan Parkins is a British cartoonist and illustrator who has worked for D.C. Thomson, publisher of The Beano and The Dandy. Now based in Canada, he illustrates children's picture books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Maslin</span> American cartoonist

Michael Maslin is an American cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine. He is the author of Peter Arno: The Mad Mad World of The New Yorker’s Greatest Cartoonist published in April 2016 by Regan Arts. Four collections of his work were published by Simon & Schuster. With his wife and fellow New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly, he co-edited one collection of drawings and co-authored three collections, including Cartoon Marriage: Adventures in Love and Matrimony by The New Yorker's Cartooning Couple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liana Finck</span> American cartoonist and author

Liana Finck is an American cartoonist and author. She is the author of Passing for Human and is a regular contributor to The New Yorker.

References

  1. 1 2 "5 Questions About: Harry Bliss," Dark Party Review (Feb. 19, 2007).
  2. "Bliss comics by Harry Bliss". Tribune Content Agency. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Lindner, Will. "Funny Money: A passion for providing comic relief," Business People—Vermont (November 2014).
  4. Martin, Douglas (18 October 2006). "Michelle Urry, 66, the Editor of Cartoons for Playboy, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  5. "BEST SELLERS: September 23, 2001". The New York Times. 23 September 2001. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  6. "Anna & Solomon". MacMillan Publishers. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  7. Larson, Sarah. "Salinger's House, Artist's Retreat". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  8. "Veg Celeb: Cartoonist/Illustrator Harry Bliss". Vegetarian Times. Outside Interactive, Inc. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  9. "Dogs Deserve a Real Home for the Holidays (and Every Day!)". PETA. 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  10. Dareh Gregorian, 'Drawing Criticism", New York Post , May 22, 2008
  11. Mecklenburg, Virginia (2010). Telling stories: Norman Rockwell from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Smithsonian American Art Museum. p. 179. ISBN   9780810996519.
  12. Larson, Sarah. "PAGE-TURNER: SALINGER’S HOUSE, ARTIST’S RETREAT," The New Yorker (SEPTEMBER 8, 2016).