Steve McGarry (born 24 January 1953,[2] in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England)[1] is a British cartoonist whose work includes the comic strips Badlands, Pop Culture / Biographic, Trivquiz, KidTown, and Mullets.
| Steve McGarry | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 January 1953 Wythenshawe, Manchester, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Artist |
Notable works | Badlands Mullets Biographic KidTown |
| Awards | National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Illustration Award, 2003 Australian Cartoonists' Association Illustrator of the Year, 2003 NCS Silver T-Square Award, 2012 |
| Spouse(s) |
Debs (m. 1984) |
| www | |
His sports features are syndicated worldwide, and his client list has included most major soccer magazines, including Shoot, Match, Match of the Day, and kicker.
Record sleeves and story artist
editA former record sleeve designer, McGarry's credits include sleeve designs for Joy Division, Slaughter & The Dogs, Jilted John and John Cooper Clarke.
As a story artist, he worked on the movies Despicable Me 2, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, and on the Electronic Arts mobile game Minions Paradise.
Comic strips
editMcGarry's Western strip Badlands debuted in the short-lived British tabloid The Post in 1988, and then ran for 13 years in the British tabloid The Sun.[2][3]
McGarry took over the weekly illustrated biography feature Biography (distributed by United Feature Syndicate) in 1989;[1] it ran until 1991.[4] He produced a similar strip, called Pop Culture, in the British newspaper Today from 1993 to 1996. In 2005 he launched the weekly feature Biographic, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate/Universal Uclick/Andrews McMeel Syndication ever since.[2]
With illustrator Rick Stromoski, McGarry created the comic strip Mullets, syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate,[5] which ran a little over a year, from 2003 to 2005.
McGarry started KidCity in 2001 for United Feature Syndicate. Now with Andrews McMeel Syndication and known as KidTown, the weekly feature teaches kids how to read a newspaper using trivia and puzzle features.[2][6]
Exhibitions and NCSFest
editIn 2004, The Gallery at Art Institute of California, Orange County, stage a three-month retrospective exhibition of his work, “Steve McGarry: A Survey of Cartoons and Illustrations”.[7]
In 2014, the record sleeve that McGarry designed for the 1978 Joy Division EP An Ideal for Living went on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.[8][9]
In 2018, he designed and curated an exhibition tracing the history of soccer comics, cartoons, and illustration around the world.[10] "Playing For A Draw" debuted at the National Football Museum in Manchester,[11] where it ran for three months before transferring to The Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal[12] as part of the 2018 Lakes International Comic Arts Festival.[13] In May 2019, the exhibition was staged at the Huntington Beach Art Center in Huntington, Beach, California, as part of the inaugural NCSFest.[14][15]
McGarry is the founder and Director of NCSFest.[16] The inaugural event was staged in Huntington Beach, 17–19 May 2019 and featured more than 100 internationally acclaimed cartoonists and comics creators, family zones, a marketplace, seminars, workshops and four international art exhibitions.[17][18][19]
Memberships and awards
editMcGarry has been based in California since 1989. A two-term President of the National Cartoonists Society, he has been nominated six times for National Cartoonist Society Illustration awards, and received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Illustration Award in 2003, the same year he was named Illustrator of the Year by the Australian Cartoonists' Association.[20] In 2012, he was awarded the Silver T-Square Award by the NCS for "outstanding service to the profession" and in 2013 became President of the NCS Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Cartoonist Society, a position he held for two four-year terms.
Personal life
editHis twin sons, Joe and Luke McGarry, form the indie music duo Pop Noir. Under the name Fantastic Heat Brothers, they are also award-winning artists, designers and animators in their own right.[21][22] Much of their output is centered around Luke McGarry's cartoon artwork.[23][24]
References
edit- ^ a b c "TEN THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT STEVE MCGARRY," Steve McGarry website. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d McGarry entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
- ^ "About Badlands," GoComics. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- ^ Kleefeld, Sean. "On Strips: Pre-Panther Biographics," Kleefeld on Comics (9 February 2018).
- ^ Astor, Dave. "Cartoonist’s Pro-Kerry Signs Stolen," Editor & Publisher (22 September 2004).
- ^ GoComics (14 August 2015). "Steve McGarry (Badlands, Biographic, KidTown, Trivquiz) | GoComics.com". GoComics. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
- ^ Artdaily. "Steve McGarry at the Gallery of Art, California". artdaily.cc. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ Freeman, John (12 April 2016). "Steve McGarry: From Hollyhedge Road to Hollywood". downthetubes.net. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Steve McGarry, D.B. Glen. Joy Division, An Ideal for Living. 1978 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Review: Playing For A Draw, National Football Museum, Manchester". Northern Soul. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Playing for a Draw". National Football Museum. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Playing for a Draw Exhibition". Brewery Arts Centre – Kendal. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "National Football Museum's "Playing for a Draw" exhibition set to celebrate football comics". downthetubes.net. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "The Wonderful World of Comics". Huntington Beach Art Center. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "NCS Fest in Huntington Beach | 17–19 May 2019". www.surfcityusa.com. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ "Huntington Beach: NCSFest". Fantagraphics. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Vega, Priscella (10 May 2019). "Comic festival to bring more than 100 artists to Huntington Beach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ Murillo, Aimee (15 May 2019). "NCSFest, America's Biggest Comics Festival, Takes Over Huntington Beach This Week!". OC Weekly. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "This mostly free festival will bring comic book and cartoon stars to Huntington Beach". Orange County Register. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ McGarry bio, Universal Uclick. Archived at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Fantastic Heat Brothers Archives". Talent in Borders. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Fantastic Heat Brothers". 6 Point Media. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Global comic superstar Luke McGarry goes retro in Cumbria". In Cumbria. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
- ^ "Speaking with Luke McGarry, the LA cartoonist who is making concert posters interesting one caricature at a time". AXS. Retrieved 18 June 2019.