Looking For Another 2015 Tax Deduction?



The Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning has partnered with a new fiscal receiver: The Kenosha Community Foundation.

If you would like to support KFOC 2016 (click here to see our next amazing line up for 2016) and you want your donation to be tax deductible we can now do that! Just email us at kenoshacartoonfest@gmail.com and we will get you the needed information.

Thanks again to all our previous donors - we couldn't put on this amazing event without you!

Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning 2016 Guest Speakers Announced!



We are pleased to welcome another stellar line up of internationally recognized cartoonists to Kenosha next September!

Festival 2016 will run from Thursday, September 15th through Saturday, September 17th and will feature:


(click on each artist to see their bio and profile)

PLEASE NOTE - Due to a scheduling conflict with the AAEC convention our dates have changed from those previously published in the 2015 festival program. PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THE NEW DATES! We'd hate for you to show up a week after we've finished :-)









Awesome KFOC Opening Video:John Hambrock Draws Everyone's Characters!

Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning 2015 Opening Video from kenosha festival of cartooning on Vimeo.



A few months ago I asked John Hambrock to do something to officially "open" Kenosha Festival of Cartooning 2015.

I gave him no direction and had no idea what he would come up with. 

His contribution wound up being this amazing video.

It was shot in one take.

No pencil - straight to ink and brush.

No tracing, no light box, no gimmicks.

Just a freehand rendition of the characters of all our 2015 Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning guest artists. (Mark Anderson - Andertoons, Darrin Bell - Candorville, Jan Eliot - Stone Soup, Bill Morrison - Futurama, Ed Steckley - Young Rube Goldberg, Mark Tatulli - Lio)

I, like everyone else at the festival, saw it for the first time on stage Thursday night September 17th and was blown away.

I've now watched it about 10 times and am STILL amazed.

Thank you John!!!

Anne Morse Hambrock
Kenosha Festival of Cartooning Director

PS - be patient, it is a large file and may take a minute or two to load...

No Tickets Needed!



Click here for a full schedule with detailed times, locations and speakers - ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

For Thursday's  events (5:30-8:30 pm) the "Rita" main stage at UW Parkside has ample seating - no tickets will be required

Friday night events (6:30-9:00 pm) at Kenosha Public Museum's DaimlerChrysler Hall - seating is limited to the first 200 - no tickets required

Saturday afternoon's events (12:30-5:00 pm) at the Kenosha Civil War Museum - seating is limited to the first 200 but the side walls of the room will be open for overflow - no tickets required.

Gallery Show And Opening Reception


We are pleased to announce that this year's festival gallery show: From MAD To The Simpsons And Beyond is now on display at the University of Wisconsin Mathis Gallery and will run until October 10th!

Gallery hours are M-F from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The gallery is closed on Saturday and Sunday.

If you cannot get to the show during those times do not despair! Our official opening reception at the Mathis starts at 5:30 pm on Thursday, September 17th. The reception will be followed at 7:00 pm by a short presentation by John Hambrock (Brilliant Mind Of Edison Lee) and a panel discussion: From MAD To The Simpsons To The Daily Show: How Satire Shapes American Culture And Politics.

The show features the work of our 6 guest speakers: Mark Anderson (Andertoons), Darrin Bell (Candorville, Rudy Park, Editorial Cartoons), Jan Eliot (Stone Soup), Bill Morrison (Disney, Bongo Comics/Simpsons, Futurama, Roswell Little Green Man), Ed Steckley (MAD, CRACKED) and Mark Tatulli (LIO, Heart Of The City, Desmond Pucket).

But that's not all! We also have Simpsons artwork for Bongo Comics and original work by MAD greats Jack Davis, Al Jaffee, Bob Clarke, Dave Berg, Don Martin, Tom Richmond and more! Special thanks to MAD collector Tim Johnson for loaning us so much great MAD art!!

DON'T MISS IT! 



Selfie Contest! You Could Win $50!




2015 challenge coin front and back
How would you like the chance to win $50 and a collectible Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning challenge coin?
All you have to do is visit Kenosha Lakeshore businesses, find the art from our 2015 guest speakers, take a picture of yourself and then post it to our Facebook page or email it to us atkenoshacartoonfest@gmail.com!
Full map and rules below - scroll down for a printable pdf.
Selfie contest SS

Kids Cartooning Class


Boy w glasses
(Illustration by Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning Guest Speaker and Racine native Ed Steckley)

As part of the 2015 Kenosha Festival of Cartooning the Kenosha Public Museum is pleased to announce registration is open for “Cartooning With The Cartoonists”!
Fee: $20  ($15 for museum members)
Location: Kenosha Public Museum
Time: Saturday, September 19th from 10:30-12:00 noon
Description: This is a chance of a lifetime to learn about cartooning from some of the artists who draw the cartoons in the newspaper, books, and TV! Work with cartoonists Bill Morrison, Ed Steckley, Mark Anderson, and Jan Eliot to create your own cartoon characters. Includes a sketchpad and pen to keep. For ages 8-18.
Space is limited and registration ends September 12th!
Or register in person at the Kenosha Public Museum – 500 1st Ave. Kenosha WI

Poster For Sharing!


Hot off the press! 

Our 2015 General Poster designed by John Hambrock! 

Please feel free to scrape this image and share with anyone you think would be interested in the festival! 

Contact us at kenoshacartoonfest@gmail.com or message us on Facebook or Twitter if you would like a pdf version or a high resolution jpeg.

Click Here for the schedule of public events.

2015 Kenosha Festival Of Cartooning Speakers And Events


We are pleased to welcome the following cartoonists and illustrators to Kenosha this September for the 5th annual Kenosha Festival of Cartooning!
(Click here to jump to the schedule of public presentations)
Bill Morrison
Award winning cartoonist and illustrator Bill Morrison is best known for his work with the characters ofThe Simpsons and Futurama, for his illustrations for Disney, and his four time Eisner Award nominated comic book series Roswell Little Green Man. Morrison is a co-founder, with Simpsons creator Matt Groening, of Bongo Comics. He is also the current president of the National Cartoonists Society. To read Bill's full bio click here.

Mark Tatulli

Mark Tatulli is an internationally syndicated cartoonist, best known for his popular comic strips Heart Of The City and Lio, which appear in over 400 newspapers all over the world. Lio has been nominated three times for the National Cartoonists Society's Best Newspaper Comic Strip, winning in 2009. Mark is also the author of the children's illustrated novel series Desmond Pucket and was nominated by the NCS in 2014 for their prestigious "Cartoonist of The Year" Reuben Award. To read Mark's full bio click here.
Jan Eliot
Cartoonist Jan Eliot is best known for her internationally syndicated newspaper comic strip Stone Soup which appears in over 300 newspapers worldwide as well as in 10 book collections, her latest of which is It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time. Jan has won numerous awards for her cartooning work including "Best Book" at the B.D. Amadora International Cartoon Exposition. She is also heavily involved in charity work - the Stone Soup characters are licensed by Habitat For Humanity International. To read Jan's full bio click here.
Darrin Bell
RFK Prize winner Darrin Bell is best known for his award winning editorial cartoons and his internationally syndicated comic strip Candorville which appears in newspapers worldwide. He also writes and draws the syndicated comic strip Rudy Park, storyboards off broadway musicals and serves on the board of directors for the National Cartoonists Society. To read Darrin's full bio click here.
Mark Anderson
Cartoonist Mark Anderson's gag cartoons have appeared in such notable publications as The Wall Street JournalReader's DigestForbesGood HousekeepingThe Harvard Business Review and theSaturday Evening Post. As a self syndicated cartoonist with a unique online business model Mark is in demand as a presenter and has appeared as a speaker at the National Cartoonists Society's Reuben Weekend and the Success in Comics Seminar. To read Mark's full bio click here.
Ed Steckley
Award winning illustrator Ed Steckley has conceived and created the visuals and final art for some of the most recognizable TV and print ads in the world. Print clients have included MAD and CRACKEDMagazines. In 2012 and 2015 he won the Best In Advertising Ilustration Reuben Award presented by the National Cartoonists Society. Ed also currently serves on the board of directors of the NCS. To read Ed's full bio click here.

Program Book Ads and Coins

(Program Book from 2014)


If you missed our Indiegogo you can still  support the 2015 festival with an ad in the program book!

Ads are available in the following sizes and price ranges:

$50 - 1/4 page ad 4 x 5 inches Black and White
$100 - 1/2 page ad 8.25 x 5 inches Black and White
$250 - full page (front and back inside covers excluded) 8.25 x 10.375 inches Black and White
$800 - inside back cover full page 8.25 x 10.375 inches Black and White
$1200 - center spread two full pages Black and White

If you are interested in any of the above ads please contact the festival directly at kenoshacartoonfest@gmail.com and we will work with you regarding ad files and payment.



Also - we have a limited number of challenge coins still available. If you would like one please use the donate button in the sidebar and donate $50 ($55 if you live outside the US). We will then contact you for your shipping address. Coins will be shipped in October after the conclusion of the festival.

KFOC 2015 Guest Speaker Darrin Bell Wins RFK Prize!



The Kenosha Festival of Cartooning is pleased to announce that one of our 2015 speakers, editorial cartoonist Darrin Bell, has been awarded  the 2015 RFK prize for editorial cartooning! 

The prize is given by the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights.

Mr. Bell, whose editorial cartoons are syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group, won the award for a portfolio that largely focused on deaths at the hands of police in New York and Ferguson, Missouri.

You can find the full story on the prize and further samples of Darrin's award winning work here.

Congratulations Darrin!

Festival Speaker 2015 Darrin Bell - Candorville, Rudy Park and Editorial Cartoons




Darrin Bell lives in Los Angeles where he produces three different features for syndication: editorial cartoons, the comic strip “Candorville,” and the comic strip “Rudy Park.” Darrin does all of this while helping raise his one-year-old son, a goldfish, two rabbits and a dog.

Bell began his freelance editorial cartooning career in 1995 at age 20. His first sale was to the LA Times, which subsequently assigned him a cartoon every other week. He also sold his cartoons to the San Francisco Chronicle and the former ANG papers, which included the Oakland Tribune.  
        
While he was a political science major at UC Berkeley, Bell became the editorial cartoonist for the Daily Californian. His work won several California Intercollegiate Press Association awards and an SPJ Mark of Excellence Award, and he was a two-time runner-up for the Charles M. Schulz Award as well as a runner-up for the Locher Award.  

In addition to his other accolades Darrin has been awarded the 2015 RFK Prize For Editorial Cartooning - largely for his cartoons addressing the unrest in Ferguson MO, New York, Baltimore and other cities across the US.

Darrin's work is syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group.

He is a member of the National Cartoonist Society and currently serving on its board of directors.


Festival Speaker 2015 Mark Anderson - Andertoons




Mark Anderson is a gag cartoonist and the creator of Andertoons.com. His cartoons have appeared in:
  • Reader’s Digest
  • Harvard Business Review
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Forbes
  • Good Housekeeping
  • The Saturday Evening Post
and other major publications.
In addition to traditional print media, Anderson sells his cartoons from his website for presentations, newsletters, e-books and more. Andertoons also appears daily at GoComics.com.
He has spoken previously at the Gold Coast Arts Center, two Success in Comics events, and will be a featured presenter at the 2015 NCS Reuben awards. Mark lives in the Chicago are with his wife, son, daughter, two cats, a guinea pig, and numerous dust bunnies.

We welcome Mr. Anderson as a featured speaker at the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning in September of 2015!




Festival Speaker 2015 Ed Steckley - Advertising Illustrator





Racine, WI native Ed Steckley is an advertising illustrator based in New York City.
A lifelong Mad Magazine fan, Ed grew up enthralled with cartooning and caricature.  This, and the inability to be good at much else, led to his career as an artist.  .  
In addition to concepting and creating the visuals and final art for some of the most recognizable TV and print ads in the world, he’s had illustration work in Mad magazine and a host of other smaller publications.  Drawing and illustrating both pre-production advertising as well as post-production, with art created both traditionally and digitally, he’s become a much sought after illustrator in the advertising world.  In 2012, he won the Best in Advertising Illustration Reuben award, presented by the National Cartoonist Society.  Currently he’s also working with the Rube Goldberg estate on the first ever children’s book based on the inventions and daily life of a young Rube Goldberg.
In 2009, he joined a small group of cartoonists who travel with the USO to military bases and hospitals all over the world, drawing and entertaining for the troops.  These trips have taken him to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Germany and a host of other countries who agree to let him in.
 Ed is currently on the Board of Directors of the National Cartoonists Society (founded in 1946), and is the President of the Manhattan chapter of that organization.  

We welcome Mr.Steckley as a featured speaker at the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning in September of 2015!




Festival Speaker 2015 Mark Tatulli - Lio, Heart Of The City, Desmond Puckett


Mark Tatulli is an internationally syndicated cartoonist, best known for his popular comic strips Heart of the City and Lio, which appear in 400 newspapers all over the world.

Launched in 2006, Lio is Mark’s exploration of the darker side of his own childhood, and fans have really responded.  Influenced by such cartooning greats as Gahan Wilson, Charles Addams, and 19th century satirist A.J. Volck, Lio is a wordless strip about a weird little boy who nonchalantly lives in a twisted world of monsters, giant robots, jetpacks and aliens…along with his long-suffering single Dad, who tends to look the other way.
Lio has been nominated three times for the National Cartoonists Society’s Best Comic Strip, winning in 2009. Lio was also nominated for Germany’s 2010 MAX AND MORITZ award.  Last year, Mark was nominated by the NCS for cartoonist of the year.
In addition to his cartooning experience, Tatulli is also an accomplished filmmaker and animator, and is the recipient of three Emmy awards for his television work.  He is also currently working on a children’s illustrated novel series titled Desmond Pucket.  The first book was released in October 2013, and the second, Desmond Pucket And The Mountain Full Of Monsters, hit store shelves in August 2014.  He also has two planned children’s picture books, coming from Roaring Book Press, a division of Macmillian.
Mark lives in a Spielbergian development in New Jersey with his wife Donna, three children and four nefarious cats, all of whom supply endless ideas for his books and comics.

We welcome Mr.Tatulli as a featured speaker at the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning in September of 2015!



Festival Speaker 2015 Bill Morrison - Bongo Comics, Futurama


Award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Bill Morrison began his career in The Motor City as a technical illustrator, but he really wanted to be a cartoonist. When Bill decided that he had rendered his last diesel fuel pump, he moved to Southern California with his wife and two cats. 

He began working immediately in motion picture advertising where he painted dozens of movie posters, including many for Walt Disney Pictures, such as The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. 
For the past several years Bill has spent most of his waking hours on various projects related to The Simpsons. For that iconic property he has created thousands of drawings for T-shirts, video games, posters, toy packaging, books, calendars, limited edition prints, etc.
When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening founded Bongo Comics, Bill was hired on as art director and realized his cartoonist dreams when he drew the very first Simpsons comic. He quickly took on the role of Creative Director, editing Bongo’s entire output, and writing and drawing stories and covers as time permitted. 
Bill also worked with Groening on early character designs for the TV show Futurama and served as the series art director.
After eighteen years, Bill stepped down from the Creative Director position to develop a digital comics department at Bongo.
In addition to his work on The Simpsons and Futurama, Bill has written and drawn his own comic book series; the four-time Eisner Award-nominated Roswell, Little Green Man and co-created two other comic book series, Heroes Anonymous and Lady Robotika (the latter with Jane Wiedlin of the legendary all-girl rock band, The Go-Go’s).
Presently, Bill is delighted to have rekindled his relationship with the classic Disney characters with an ongoing series of limited edition animation art prints published by ACME Animation Archives. He is also writing and drawing his new series “Dead Vengeance” for Dark Horse Comics and is working on a revival of “Roswell Little Green Man.”

We welcome Mr. Morrison as a featured speaker at the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning in September of 2015!



Festival Speaker 2015 Jan Eliot - Stone Soup




Jan Eliot started cartooning when she was a divorced single mom trying to raise two daughters, work full-time, make ends meet and still have a little fun.
Eliot is a self-taught cartoonist, and her first attempts at cartooning were modest but therapeutic. Drawing from her own experiences, Jan tried to reflect real life and real situations, with empathy for anyone with too little time, money or patience.
Stone Soup is her second comic endeavor. Originally self syndicated, and titled Sister City, it was launched in 1990 in the Eugene Register Guard and ran weekly for 5 years, until it was picked up by Universal Press Syndicate and retitled Stone SoupStone Soup launched nationally as a daily comic strip November 20, 1995 and currently runs in 300 newspapers worldwide as well has having a large following online.
There are currently 10 Stone Soup Book Collections in print, the most recent being "It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time". 
Eliot’s cartoons have been exhibited in the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa; The San Francisco Museum of Cartoon Art: in the Library of Congress where 16 of her cartoons are part of the permanent collection, and in Portugal at B.D. Amadora, an International Cartoon Exhibition held annually in Lisbon.
In Fall 2009 Eliot appeared at the 2nd annual international cartoon exhibition, FBIDA Algiers, in Algeria. She has won numerous awards for her cartooning work including "Best Book,  B.D Amadora International Cartoon Exhibition in Lisbon, Portugal" and the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Fellow Award from the University of Oregon.
Jan is also heavily involved in charity work - The Stone Soup characters are licensed by Habitat for Humanity International, and have been used to promote the Women’s Build program, Girls’ Build, Operation Home Delivery, and Habitat’s Katrina rebuild effort. In 2005 Eliot served on the Talbot’s Foundation Scholarship Board. The “Stone Soup Day of Fame”, an auction item that puts the winner’s name in the strip, has raised over $60,000 for Oregon charities. 
We welcome Ms. Eliot as a featured speaker at the Kenosha Festival of Cartooning in September of 2015!