MAY 2008

ECBACC

On Friday, May 16, 2008 I'll be heading to Philly for the 7th Annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention. The opening night reception will be from 7 pm- 9 pm at the African American Museum at 7th and Arch Streets. Then on Saturday, there will be a full day comic book convention from 10 am - 7 -pm at Temple University's Anderson Hall which is at 1114 W. Berks Street. Click here for more on ECBACC.

PHILLY MUSEUM

Then on, Sunday, May 18, 2008, I'll be at the Free Library of Philadelphia-Parkway Central to give a Family Cartoon Workshop / Booksigning at 2PM. It's located at 1901 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103. For more info call 215-567-4341.

URBAN VOICE OF COMICS MAGAZINE

Check out my interview in the 6TH ISSUE (April/May) of UVC Mag featuring
-Kevin Grevioux's The Vindicators
-Heroes Actress Dana Davis
-Stacey Robinson's Abraham: Young Lion
-Gold Digger creator Fred Perry
-Animation Legend Larry Houston

 

For an up-to-date listing of my appearances, click here to go to my schedule page.

MARCH 2008

LIVE FROM THE MICHIGAN THEATER

On March 10, 2008 I was a panelist at The Serious Study of Humor: What is it? and Why is it? which was sponsored by the University of Michigan. It featured academic experts and comedy writers examining the comic and serious side of humor. Also on the panel of practitioners were Bob Mankoff, Patrick Oliphant, Matt Diffee, Kevin Bleyer, Tim Carvell and Signe WIlkinson. I have to admit that it was pretty cool to be flown out there to speak before an audience of close to 500 people. It was also great to hang out with other cartoonists and writers from the Daily Show. Not to mention the academics: Richard Lewis, John Morreall, Rod Martin, Paul Lewis and Michael Apter.

KIDS COMIC CON

Then later on in the month, I also made an appearance at the Kids Comic Con, which was held at Bronx Community College on March 29. Once again, my buddy Alexx Simmons did a great job at pulling this together. Check out the story from the Publishers Weekly website.

 

FEBRUARY 2008

Cartoonists of Color Protest

On February 10, 2008, about a dozen cartoonist of color (and a few not) and I will used our comics to protest the lack of equality on the comics pages. Click here for the full story.

NOVEMBER 2007

Healthy Schools Partnership Reaches Youth through Popular Artist Jerry Craft

Posted November 5, 2007

Syndicated cartoonist Jerry Craft has joined the fight against childhood obesity by collaborating on the development of educational materials used in the Healthy Schools Partnership pilot.

"The American Council for Fitness and Nutrition is pleased that Jerry Craft has contributed his creativity and talents to the educational materials developed for the Healthy Schools Partnership pilot," said Dr. Susan Finn, ACFN CEO. "His illustrations depict the diversity of the students who attend schools in the Kansas City area, and help to attract the attention of youth and draw them in to the program's lessons on balancing caloric intake with energy expenditure."

Characters from Craft's Mama's Boyz series and a variety of images of healthy foods and beverages were created by the artist to enhance the educational resources developed for the pilot. The resources include an interactive computer game called "The Filling Station," posters on a variety of nutrition topics and information cards that are being displayed in school cafeterias.

Craft's illustrations project a youthful style and a popular appeal that supports the pilot's unique approach to teaching nutrition education together with PE4life's proven, innovative model.

Jerry Craft is an award-winning illustrator whose Mama's Boyz cartoon strips are sent to 1,500 newspapers worldwide through King Features Syndicate. His illustrations are published in his books "Mama's Boyz: Home Schoolin'" and "Mama's Boyz: As American as Sweet Potato Pie."

Among his other professional accomplishments, Craft's work has been published in the best selling books, "Chicken Soup for the African American Women's Soul" and "Chicken Soup for the African American Soul."

 

SEPT 2007

3rd Annual 2007 African American Awards Show

I was nominated for Best Comic Strip for the 3rd Annual 2007 African American Awards Show. along with fellow catoonists Keith Knight and the winner Aaron McGruder. Thanks to everyone who voted for me. It was an honor.

 

I SURVIVED THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW!

For those of you who tuned into the Wendy Williams Experience on Friday, August 17 at 4:30 pm, you got to hear none other than little ol' me. I got to talk about my new book, Mama's Boyz: Home Schoolin'. And she even said good things about it. Even co-host Charlamagne behaved himself. So I just want to say "Thanks, Wendy" and "PHEW!"

 

DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

Speaking of awards, I was recently given a "Conversation Starters" award from the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. I used Mama's Boyz to help spread their message, so this was just their way of saying thanks. They also bought 100 copies of my new book to hand out in their goody bags. What new book, you ask? Well, that's my other big news, so keep reading...

 

Mama's Boyz: Home Schoolin' is here!!!!!

I have published a new Mama's Boyz book called Mama's boyz: Home Schoolin'. And it's even bigger and better than the first one (Mama's Boyz: As American As Sweet Potato Pie!).

It's 112 pages of comic strips and stories, plus a section that shows how I draw my characters and create my strips. There's also a story with author Eric Jerome Dickey as a cartoon character, AND a 9-page story drawn in comic BOOK form, not as comic STRIPS. Speaking of Eric Dickey, I just went to his signing at Hue Man Books in NYC where not only did he sign copies of HIS new book, but he also signed his section in MY new book. How cool is that?

And here's how you can get it:

Order online now through PayPal, or by mail order

Meet me in person at one of my tour locations in NY, NJ and Chicago

The book will be available through Baker and Taylor soon, so you should be able to order through sites such as such as Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.

 

Humble Plea

With my first book, most people told me that they didn't think I needed any help, so they didn't. Believe me! They REALLY didn't. But they were wrong!!! So please pass this info around to anyone who you think would be interested in the book or one of my free cartooning workshops! Now with all the spam you guys have sent me over the years, don't pick now to screen what you pass on., so help a brotha out.

:)

And I'd love any info on other opportunities for signings, interviews, press...
Thank you

Jerry Craft

 

MAY 2007

Man, there is a LOT going on!! So here's the quick version 'cause I gotta get back to work! First, if you're into comics then you gotta check out the 6th Annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention at Temple University in Philly. It will be held on Saturday, May 19 with an opening night ceremony on Friday, May 18. For more info, check out their website

.

• I am currently putting the finishing touches on my new Mama's Boyz book. It should be out in the next few months, so check back for details.

• Next, I'm amazed at the response from the first cartoon that I ever posted on YouTube. It's called "Confronting the Black Superheroes of My Childhood." If you haven't seen it, you can choose between seeing it on this site or on YouTube. If you go to YouTube, please remember to rate it.

• I'm currently in an exhibit called Other Heroes which premiered at Jackson State University. Other Heroes is a group exhibition surveying a wide swath of artists, from historical innovators to seasoned veterans to young up and coming webcomics creators. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle.

• And last but definitely not least, I was a guest at the first ever Kids' Comic Con in the Bronx, NY. It is the brainchild of Alex Simmons, who did a great job at making sure that a new generation of comic readers are born.

 

JANUARY 2007

Well, I have to say that this is a pretty exciting time for me. To begin with, after more than 20 years in corporate America, I've finally given it all up to follow my dream of working for myself-- Making a living doing my own web cartoons, comics and illustrations. So you'll be the first to hear about some of my upcoming projects.

 

For those of you who haven't been here before, welcome to the redesigned Mama's Boyz website. It's got all the content that my readers have come to appreciate over the past few years, but with some new feaures like a portfolio of some of my artwork as well as some of the many web cartoons that are floating around the Web. Plus I have a link to my photo gallery on my MySpace page.

In other exciting news, it seems as if last year I spent a lot of time contributing artwork to, or being interviewed by, various authors for different book proposals. Now I am finally seeing the fruits of my labor. To begin with, you'll be able to see over a dozen of my Mama's Boyz cartoons appearing in Chicken Soup For The African American Women's Soul, which is at you local bookstore now. I also have strips in Chicken Soup For The African American Soul.

Next, you'll get to see Mama's Boyz in The Idiot's Guide to Comedy Writing by Jim Mendrinos. You'll get to see a reprint of one of my favorite strips as well as a quote from a comic strip expert, which is none other than yours truly.

 

Prisoners of Technology by Lisa J. Whaley also features a bunch of my cartoons. The book takes a humorous look at those of us that are addicted to e-mail, iPods, IM and all the other little electronic things that take up WAY too much of our lives.

I also have a small interview in Will Eisner: A Spirited Life by Bob Andelman (pages 359-360 to be exact). Mr Eisner was definitely one of the most influential cartoonits of our time and I'm honored to honor him in the book.

Check back in a few days for some more updates including an illustration in Essence Magazine, a cable TV appearance in Brooklyn and a new book that will feature my art on the cover. I'll also be in Harlem in two shows in February.

Talk to you soon,

JC