Immediate Release: August 16, 2017
Contact: Andrew Farago, 415-227-8666 ext. 309
Images available upon request
Jeff Smith wins Cartoon
Art Museum’s Sparky Award
San
Francisco, CA: The Cartoon Art Museum is proud to announce that Jeff
Smith, best known as the creator of the beloved award-winning graphic novel Bone,
is the recipient of the 2017 Sparky Award, which was presented to
him by Cartoon Art Museum board member Michael B. Johnson and CAM curator
Andrew Farago during a spotlight panel at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and
Research Library’s 15th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday,
August 12.
The Sparky Award is named in honor of Charles “Sparky” Schulz, the
creator of Peanuts. Schulz was nicknamed “Sparky” after the horse
Sparkplug featured in the comic strip Barney Google. The Cartoon Art Museum
would not exist without benefactors like Sparky Schulz and his wife, Jeannie.
The Sparky Award is presented on behalf of the Cartoon Art Museum and the
Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Library.
“I’ve followed Jeff’s
ground breaking self-published work since the first issue of Bone and I’ve been
delighted to see his growth as an artist and an advocate for the arts over
years,” notes past Sparky Award winner Dr. Michael B. Johnson, R&D
Pre-Production Architect, Pixar Animation Studios. “In addition to looking
forward to his newest work Tuki, I’m delighted to follow his new
adventure helping steer the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus arts festival in his
hometown. For all these reasons and more I was honored to help present the
Sparky to Jeff.“
The award celebrates the significant contributions of cartoon artists who
embody the talent, innovation and humanity of Charles M. Schulz.
Past recipients include Schulz himself, Sergio Aragones, Gus
Arriola, Carl Barks, Gene Colan, Will Eisner, Creig Flessel, Phil Frank, Lou
Grant, Michael B. Johnson, Chuck Jones, Ward Kimball, Gary Larson, John
Lasseter, Stan Lee, Bill Melendez, Dale Messick, Jerry Robinson, John Severin,
Morrie Turner, Ron Turner, and Mort Walker.
About Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith is The
New York Times bestselling author/cartoonist of the BONE and RASL graphic
novels. BONE won numerous awards around the world, including
multiple American Eisners and Harveys, and the French Alph Art. In 2005,
Smith’s work was chosen to launch Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Books.
Smith was guest editor of Best American Comics in 2013. Smith’s
web-comic about the first human to leave Africa 2,000,000 years ago called Tuki
Save the Humans at Boneville.com, won the 2014 Reuben Award for Best
Online Comic and is currently being prepared for release as a graphic novel.
