Jeff Smith, a renowned American cartoonist, was at the Wexner Center Friday night for a book signing following a short film about his comic book and artistic career.
Smith, an Ohio State alumnus, was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Columbus. He started his own comic company, Cartoon Books, in 1991. This is when he started his black-and-white series, "Bone." He published 55 issues of "Bone "within a 13-year span.
As a Child, Smith discovered Walt Kelly's comic strip "Pogo."
"It was my biggest influence in writing comics," Smith said. While attending OSU, Smith worked for The Lantern, where he had his own comic strip called "Thorn." A few of the characters in his comic strip later made appearances in his "Bone" series.
Smith's work "Bone and Beyond," was on display at the Wexner Center in 2008 and the university's Cartoon Research Library showcased his "Before Bone." Both exhibits appeared on PBS in a feature hosted by Jim Lehrer, called "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer."
"The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone, and the Changing Face of Comics," was featured at the Wexner Center May 22 in the Film/Video Theatre. The documentary was directed by Ken Mills, who was present for the event and introduced the feature. The film examines Smith at his craft, full of testimonials from other artists.
"Jeff Smith is like the greatest living cartoonist in America," said Jim Kammerud, a writer and director of animated films, in the film.
Millions of copies of Smith's work have been sold in 25 countries. He has received more than 20 awards for his work and an additional 11 nominations from the National Cartoonist Society and comic book awards from the Harvey and Eisner awards. He is currently working on "Little Mouse Gets Ready," a novel for children. The book is to be released in the fall of this year by Toon Books
Gabrial Schuman can be reached at schuman.17@osu.edu.
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