Cartoonist Profile

Jerry Craft is a black author and illustrator of graphic novels most notably New Kid and Class Act while being the creator of the comic strip Mama Boyz. Craft was born on January 22, 1963, in Harlem New York, and grew up in Washington Heights New York (Craft). He graduated from the School of Visual Arts and received his BFA in advertising. Craft has won plenty of awards after college including the Newbery Medal for New Kid in 2020, the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Most Outstanding Work by an African American Writer in 2020, the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature in 2019, Glyph Awards for his comic strip Mama’s Boyz in 2013, African American Literary Awards in 2009 and 2004, Conversation Starter Award in 2007, and nominated into the National Cartoonists Society (Storytime). Looking at his comic strip Craft is important for diversity and inclusion within his comics. 

Jerry Craft’s comic strip was called Mama’s Boyz which is his own company that he called Mama’s Boyz Inc. He self-syndicated his work to newspapers in New York and other weekly papers nationwide through King Feature Syndicate. So what is Mama’s Boyz? It is a comic strip featuring Tyrell, Yusuf, and their mother Pauline Porter.  The strip was distributed from 1995 to 2013 by Mama’s Boyz Inc. and King Features Syndicate (King Feature). The strip ran for 18 years in many weekly newspapers. The strip was very short and silly that had color that popped. The strip also addressed important social issues at times through his storytelling.

Early Life

At a young age, Jerry didn’t like reading, but he did start to draw comics at a young age. He viewed reading as a chore because there was nothing that grabbed his attention. He also didn’t like reading because he didn’t see anyone that looked like him in the books at school, he would only read comics because of this. As he continued through his school life he only had one teacher to appreciate comics while others said they would rot his brain. He then attended The Fieldstone School of Visual Arts where he wasn’t able to major in cartooning because the classes were so popular so he majored in advertising copywriting where he wrote headlines for newspaper ads, radio commercials, and TV commercials. These headlines were short and simple similar to comics so this is something that he enjoyed.

Early Career

Jerry Craft’s journey to becoming a full-time wasn’t a quick process, as he wasn’t even a cartoon major at The Fieldston School of Visual Arts where he was an advertising copywriter major. He then started writing headlines for newspaper ads, radio commercials, and TV commercials that were short and funny which was similar to his comics. Ten years later he left the advertising scene where he found a job with King Feature Syndicate where he wrote sale brochures for some of the most popular comics. King Feature Syndicate is actually the same company that syndicated his comic strip “Mama’s Boyz.” After King Feature syndicate he worked at Sports Illustrator for Kids where he was finished as the editorial director while starting as a web producer. While at Sports Illustrator for Kids he created SI KIDS segments on TV which were animated TV commercials. He then hosted a daily radio show about sports for kids where he interviewed athletes such as Derek Jeter and Dontrelle Willis. After this, in 2006 he decided to pursue becoming a full-time artist under his own company Mama’s Boyz. His journey to becoming a full-time cartoonist wasn’t a quick process at all as he went through the process until he felt he was finally able to become a full-time successful cartoonist.

Comic Strip Profile

Jerry Craft. Date N/A www.mamasboyz.com

To start it is hard to find the exact publishing date of his comics because his website www.mamaboyz.com has switched to www.jerrycraft.com with no trace of his comics. In his comics, he addresses issues humorously and it is encapsulated in this strip. The strip fundamentally talks about why are black people’s inventions only talked about during black history month instead of why they can’t be discussed throughout the year the same as other inventors. This comic adventure follows Yusuf at school which was common in his strip. It seems that this comic strip is older because of the cartoon style. The style is equivalent to his older cartoon style before it was fully developed. It’s interesting to note within his comic his chat bubbles are always at the top of his strip keeping the characters at the bottom. Although this is an old comic it is consistent with the different angles within the strip that keep the comic alive and fresh.

Comic Strip Analysis

Taking a look at this strip we see Pauline and Yusuf as they watch TV with one another. We are able to see the author’s signature, website, and comic strip name. It’s interesting to note about this particular strip is there are no panels separating each scene. The strip has black characters as the focal point of the strip. The colors of the piece are bright and the chat bubbles change in size and form, also note there isn’t a chat bubble for one sentence. The facial expression in each scene changes as well adding another visual to the piece, we can see how they are responding to what they are looking at through their expression. Each scene also zooms in or out giving a different perspective than the last scene. It is a short funny strip that explains a rapper who was shot and robbed after telling kids to do that exact thing to people.

New Kid Page Analysis

I want to analyze a page from Craft’s book “New Kid.” because this is what he is most known for. I want to acknowledge that his color pallet is different from his strip Mama’s Boyz. The colors are more neutral and lighter in tone rather than bright and loud. Craft has panels in his book which he consistently switched up in his comic strip. The font is called Jordan font, which Craft stated in an interview. Jordan Banks is the main character of the book and who the font was named after. Different angles from each still picture is a common theme in Craft work but is shown here. The page has close-ups, far away, and almost a bird eye view with Jordan at the center of the panels. His drawing style is pretty consistent with his comic strip as we see the same eyebrows and eyes drawn as we saw on Yusuf. Paying attention to chat bubbles, he has traditional chat bubbles throughout the page, and he also has a thought bubble which is distinguished by the circles under the bubbles rather than connecting directly with the bubble. Since this is a page from his comic book we don’t see the addition of his signature nor do we see the addition of his website. His work with Mam’s Boyz consists of only black characters which is different from this page, we see the representation of another race as the two boys seem to be friends. Overall, this page has some similarities and differences from his original comic strip.

Inspiration for Mama’s Boyz

Jerry Craft created his own company Mama’s Boyz the same name as his comic strip Mama’s Boyz which was syndicated by King Feature Syndicate from 1995 to 2013. The inspiration came from the place he grew up where he was one of the few kids on the block with both of his parents, as his friends only had their mothers in their households. He wanted to pay respect to black hard hard-working mothers so he created his comic strip. Jerry also likes writing about moms as he gets older because he has that parental aspect under his belt with having kids and the responsibility, playfulness, and everything else that comes with it. He based most of his work on a mother in his neighborhood growing up named Ms. Smalls where all his friends went to hang out. He used a lack of appropriation in books where he didn’t see himself as motivation to continue to create comics. He also talks about his dad being very supportive during this process of creating comics. He then published his first book “Mama’s Boyz as American as Sweet Potato Pie!” with a collection of his comics from Mama’s Boyz, where he states that everyone who bought that book identified as black. He continued to create comics using Ms. Smalls as inspiration when he released his second book “Mama’s Boyz Home Schoolin’ Because learning shouldn’t stop at 3 O’clock!” Reading groups and libraries bought these books and distributed them to kids from a range of different races. Jerry used his experiences growing up using people from his neighborhood as inspiration which hello him thrive in the cartoonist industry. 

Any additional work outside of Mama’s Boyz?

Other than Jerry’s comic strip he created a graphic novel titled “New Kid” that he is well known for. Craft claims his sons played a big part in making this novel as he let them review it. He created the graphic novel and related the main character Jordan to himself. Jordan is a black male who attends a wealthy white private school where he struggles to fit in but manages to get through his love of drawing. Looking at his art style in his novel he used panels and chat bubbles making the graphic novel similar to a comic strip. Craft was excellent at switching the angle in each panel from making it close up, far, the left side of the character, and right. The book will be created into a film with Universal Pictures with Lebron James’ The Spring Company to develop and produce a film with Craft being the Executive Producer. The novel has won many awards including the Newberry Medal, Coretta Scott King Book Award Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. The book is known because of the relatable storytelling by Jerry and appalled for its ability to address important social issues that young kids can understand.

https://youtu.be/BpmqqHl_zOA

Wikidata Profile

While looking at my cartoonist Wikidata’s profile, I think my cartoonist had more information than other cartoonists due to the fact that he is a more recent cartoonist and data is still being collected on him. The Wikidata collection starts with standard background information such as gender, place of birth, date of birth, occupation, education, etc. However, I was interested in his awards tab, as it was not fully updated. It only had his Newbery Medal which is his most notable but not his only award. On the other hand, I was a bit confused with some of the information that is provided such as his ID number for different things as I don’t see those as helpful for people trying to learn about Jerry Craft. The profile also has his social media so people can go and connect with him. To make this website richer I think I or someone else should add information about his comic strip and his company Mama’s Boyz Inc. I think this is important because this is how he started before becoming a graphic novel writer, especially for people trying to learn more about Jerry Craft and what got him into writing graphic novels.

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16195018

Timeline JS

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J-orCEqXzl7JcfMLAWsOFZ7HcXxzT5ftgLg-UFQCskI/edit#gid=0

When looking at a virtual exhibit versus a virtual timeline there are differences. Visual exhibits are more aesthetically appealing versus traditional timelines which can look bland. Both still provide the same amount of information but just in different formats. Virtual timelines can be more interactive though with transitions and animations that give the timeline different dimensions that can keep users engaged. With a virtual timeline events and topics are in order versus a virtual exhibit that can be sporadic and all over the place. Virtual exhibits allow for more elaboration versus a timeline because the more words on a timeline the messier it looks.

Timeline JS: Jerry Craft

I created an interactive timeline that gives a brief overview of Jerry Craft’s life. There was plenty of information about Jerry Craft on the internet but there wasn’t much about his comic strip which was only a glimpse of his career and not what he is mainly known for by supporters. 

While creating this timeline I tried to find as much background information as possible that will give users information as to why Jerry Craft wanted to be a cartoonist. I was able to find some but really wanted to focus on his college life and what could have shaped him into the cartoonist that he became but it wasn’t much information from that aspect other than what school he graduated from. Following his education I tried to find the most information of his life before becoming a cartoonist which I think is an important part when looking at Jerry Craft. His life before becoming a full-time cartoonist helped him as he was always around comics or just the business behind comics, and within the field of editorial. 

Some gaps in my research include the little information about Jerry Craft’s actual comic strip Mama’s Boyz. Information was hard to find as his website had changed from mamasboyz.com to jerrycraft.com gaining a new interface and erasing all the comics that appeared on the sight. This caused the problem of not knowing the publication date of the strips and distinguishing his old work from his new work. It was also hard to find information about what newspapers his strip was presented in other than his home city. In general, regarding his comic strip, there wasn’t a lot of information which is understandable because he is well known for Graphic Novels. A strength I consider in my timeline is the information about his novels and I also included an analysis of his strip and his novel so users are able to compare and contrast the two.

Users should pay attention to the talent of Jerry Craft and understand his complexity by not just being a cartoonist who only creates strips. This separates Craft from other cartoonists and is something that he should be appreciated for.

From this project I’ve learned a lot about Jerry Craft but also about timeline js and Google spreadsheets. It was a complex assignment as I navigated through but it became easier. It was frustrating being unable to not find much information about his comic strips because I personally enjoyed those more as I read a lot of them when I was deciding which ones to add to this project. Although, it was hard it is important to realize that my cartoonist is different from traditional cartoonists and has shown his skills in other works that have won very prestigious prizes. I think that the biggest takeaway from users while viewing this timeline is that Craft is a special cartoonist whose works don’t only show in newspapers but in graphic novels as well he has won many prizes that a lot of cartoonists can’t say they have.

Google Spreadsheets Link:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J-orCEqXzl7JcfMLAWsOFZ7HcXxzT5ftgLg-UFQCskI/edit#gid=0

Conclusion

In conclusion, Jerry Craft is a highly successful American writer and illustrator who has left a lasting legacy in the field of children’s literature, especially with his influential graphic novel work. The 2019 release of the graphic novel “New Kid,” which has gained Craft global notoriety and praise, is at the forefront of his accomplishments. This literary masterwork chronicles the struggles faced by seventh-grader Jordan Banks, who is one of the few pupils of color attending a prominent private school. Craft skillfully tackles difficult issues of privilege, racism, and identity while crafting a gripping novel that appeals to young readers. This demonstrates his storytelling skills. The book’s 2020 Newbery Medal was the crowning achievement of Craft’s career and a testimonial to his ability to write stories that capture readers while also being thought-provoking, educational, and provocative. But Craft’s achievements go far beyond the Newbery Medal. His reputation as a leading figure in children’s literature has been cemented with his winnings of the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature and the Coretta Scott King Author Award. These honors serve as a testament to the lasting influence of Craft’s writing, which skillfully blends comedy, realistic characters, and serious topics to provide his young readers with a rich and meaningful reading experience. His comic strip career can’t and will not go unnoticed as this is where he started his career through Mama’s Boyz which won the African American Literary Award five times. However, Jerry Craft’s importance goes beyond the recognition he has received. As a pioneer and supporter of inclusiveness and diversity in children’s literature, he has come to the spotlight. Craft has made significant progress in addressing the value of representation in his comic strip and graphic novels. “New Kid” is a landmark that highlights the need for stories that capture the variety of experiences that young readers have, especially minorities. By doing this, Craft has turned into a force for change in the cartooning and publishing scene, encouraging a larger push to include more voices and viewpoints that speak to readers’ diverse experiences. As of the present day, he now frequently seeks to inspire and empower the upcoming generation of readers and writers by actively engaging with young audiences through presentations, school visits, and workshops. His book New Kid is also being converted into a live-action movie by Universal Studios. I didn’t see any news for a new book, but after the movie, I’m sure he will continue his book series as he is still healthy and only 60 years old.

Work Cited

Craft, J. (2021, December 6). Biography. Jerry Craft. https://jerrycraft.com/about/ 

Kingfeaturesadmin. (2011, July 13). Mama’s Boyz: The big picture – what you need to succeed! King Features Syndicate. https://kingfeatures.com/2010/02/mamas-boyz-the-big-picture-%E2%80%93-what-you-need-to-succeed/ 

Jerry Craft. storytime. (n.d.). https://www.storytimecrafts.net/jerry-craft

Quattlebaum, Mary. “Jerry Craft Shares School Experience and Love of Drawing with Main Character in ‘New Kid.’” The Washington Post, WP Company, 16 Dec. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/jerry-craft-shares-school-experience-and-love-of-drawing-with-main-character-in-new-kid/2019/03/29/237416e4-41c8-11e9-922c-64d6b7840b82_story.html.

Tate, Don. “Jerry Craft: From Reluctant Reader to Celebrated Cartoonist, Author, Illustrator, and More!” The Brown Bookshelf, 15 Sept. 2014, thebrownbookshelf.com/2014/09/14/jerry-craft-from-reluctant-reader-to-celebrated-cartoonist-author-illustrator-and-more/.

Tate, Don. “Jerry Craft: From Reluctant Reader to Celebrated Cartoonist, Author, Illustrator, and More!” The Brown Bookshelf, 15 Sept. 2014, thebrownbookshelf.com/2014/09/14/jerry-craft-from-reluctant-reader-to-celebrated-cartoonist-author-illustrator-and-more/.

“Jerry Craft.” The Largest, Oldest, and Most Popular Online Bookstore Dedicated to Selling Books by or about People of African Descent ★, aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Jerry%2BCraft.