Paul Coker Jr. is one of those cartoonists that always seems to be overlooked, yet he is one of the most talented and stylistically ubiquitous artists of modern times. His drawings have appeared in advertisements, on greeting cards and in the pages of Mad Magazine for over half a century. He designed characters for many of the Rankin/Bass holiday puppet TV specials, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”. His sketches are deceptively simple on first glance, but they are solidly drawn and incorporate many fundamental principles in a sophisticated manner. (For instance, check out the masterful control of perspective in the cartoon above.) John Kricfalusi has written an appreciation of Coker’s work, as has David Apatoff. Check out this devastating satire on network television and you’ll be a fan too.
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Stephen Worth
Director
Animation Resources
This posting is part of the online Encyclopedia of Cartooning under the subject heading, Magazine Cartoons.