AUTHOR
Jack Kent: The wit, whimsy, and Wisdom of a comic storyteller
2023
University Press of Mississippi
Order it: UPM, Indiebound, Amazon, Barnes & Noble
In December of 2019, I came across a copy of a children's book called Just Only John in a small town thrift store. I loved the illustrations, and heard a distant bell of remembrance at the name of the author/illustrator, Jack Kent. When I got home I began looking into Jack's career, and discovered that in addition to creating kids' books, he had also been a newspaper and magazine cartoonist. And I realized that I had not only used a book he illustrated - I Was Walking Down the Road - as a Reading Recovery teacher, I had also encountered his work ("A MAD Look at Sex Education in the Schools") at age 12 in a MAD Magazine special. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020 I found myself at loose ends, and began researching Jack's life and work. What I discovered is the story of a natural-born cartoonist who harnessed his powers to tell stories that were funny, absurd, heartfelt, and wise.
RELATED MATERIAL
MEDIA
- Presentation at the 2023 Popular Culture Association conference in San Antonio, Texas
- And the written version from the International Journal of Comic Art, Vol. 25, No. 1
- And the written version from the International Journal of Comic Art, Vol. 25, No. 1
- Presentation to the King William Association in San Antonio, Texas
- Brief sale announcement on The Daily Cartoonist
- Signing event at Bozbay Books, September 2023
- Top 5 Children's Books by Cartoonists list I created for Shepard (including Jack Kent, of course)
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