Darrin Bell

Darrin Bell (born January 27, 1975)[1] is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator known for the syndicated comic strips Candorville and Rudy Park. He is a syndicated editorial cartoonist with King Features.[2] (His editorial cartoons were formally syndicated by The Washington Post Writers Group.)[3][4]

Darrin Bell
Born (1975-01-27) January 27, 1975
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Editorial Cartoonist, Comic strip writer/artist
Notable works
Candorville
Rudy Park
Spouse(s)Laura Bustamante

Bell is the first African-American to have two comic strips syndicated nationally. He is also a storyboard artist. Bell engages in issues such as civil rights, pop culture, family, science fiction, scriptural wisdom, and nihilist philosophy, while often casting his characters in roles that are traditionally denied them.

Biography

Bell, who is black and Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California.[5] He started drawing when he was three. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a BA in Political Science in 1999. While at Cal, Bell became the editorial cartoonist for The Daily Californian. Bell's freelance editorial cartooning career began in 1995 at age 20. His first sale was to the Los Angeles Times, which subsequently assigned him a cartoon every other week. Bell also sold his cartoons to the San Francisco Chronicle and the former BANG (Bay Area News Group) papers, which included the Oakland Tribune.

Bell's strip Candorville, launched in September 2003 by The Washington Post Writers Group, features young black and Latino characters living in the inner city. Using the vehicle of humor, Candorville presents social and political commentary as well as the stories of its protagonists. Candorville grew out of a comic strip called Lemont Brown, which appeared in the student newspaper of UC Berkeley, The Daily Californian, from 1993 to 2003. It was that newspaper's longest-running comic strip. Candorville appears over 100 of America's newspapers.[5]

Bell also drew Rudy Park, a syndicated comic strip created by Theron Heir and Bell that was distributed by United Features Syndicate and then The Washington Post Writers Group. Heir, a.k.a. Matt Richtel, wrote the strip from 2001–2012, when he announced he was taking a year-long sabbatical to focus on other projects.[6] Bell at that point took over the writing duties as well as illustrating the strip, which ended in June 2018.[7]

Personal life

Bell currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Awards

Bell was given the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.[8] In addition to the awards listed below, Bell's 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.

Publications
  • Bell, Darrin (2011). The Starbucks at the End of the World (Candorville). ISBN 978-1-4583-2833-5.
  • Bell, Darrin (2010). Katrina's Ghost (Candorville). ISBN 978-0-557-17833-9.
  • Bell, Darrin (2006). Another Stereotype Bites The Dust (Candorville). ISBN 978-0-7407-6041-9.
  • Bell, Darrin (2005). Thank God For Culture Clash (Candorville). ISBN 978-0-7407-5442-5.
  • Bell, Darrin; Heir, Theron (2004). Peace, Love, and Lattes (Rudy Park). ISBN 978-0-7407-4662-8.
  • Bell, Darrin; Heir, Theron (2003). The People Must Be Wired (Rudy Park). ISBN 978-0-7407-3807-4.

Interviews

References
  1. California Births, 1905 – 1995, Darrin L. Bell
  2. "KING FEATURES ANNOUNCES DARRIN BELL TO JOIN EDITORIAL CARTOON ROSTER," The Daily Cartoonist (August 21, 2018).
  3. "Darrin Bell". Comics Kingdom. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  4. "Darrin Bell Syndication The Washington Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. "Darrin Bell's 'Candorville' a Comics-Page Commentary on Trump Policies". KQED Arts. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  6. Gardner, Alan. "MATT RICHTEL TAKES YEAR SABBATICAL FROM RUDY PARK," The Daily Cartoonist (April 13, 2012).
  7. Degg, D. D. "CANDORVILLE/RUDY PARK AMALGAMATION EXPLAINED," The Daily Cartoonist (October 21, 2018).
  8. "Editorial Cartooning". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  9. "Darrin Bell wins the 2015 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Editorial Cartooning". Darrin Bell. May 8, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  10. Cavna, Michael; Cavna, Michael (November 4, 2016). "Darrin Bell wins Berryman Award for cartoons that tackle xenophobia and gun violence". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
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