Tony Millionaire
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Tony Millionaire | |
---|---|
Born | Scott Richardson Gloucester, Massachusetts |
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Cartoonist |
Notable works | Maakies, Sock Monkey |
Tony Millionaire (born Scott Richardson[1][2] in 1956) is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip Maakies and the Sock Monkey series of comics and picture books.
Early life
Millionaire grew up in and around the seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He came from a family of artists – his father was a commercial illustrator, his mother and grandparents were painters – and was encouraged to draw from an early age. His grandfather, who was a friend of the cartoonist Roy Crane, had a large collection of old Sunday comics, which were an early source of inspiration to Millionaire. He drew his first comic strip, "about an egg-shaped superhero who flew around talking about how great he was and then crashing into a cliff,"[3] when he was nine years old. During high school, Millionaire continued to draw comic strips for his own amusement.
Career
After high school, Millionaire attended the
One night at a local bar, the Six Twelve, Millionaire drew "a cartoon about a little bird who drank booze and blew his brains out"
Besides Maakies, Millionaire has produced a series of comics and picture books, collectively titled
Style and influences
Millionaire draws in a lush style that mingles naturalistic detail with strong doses of the fanciful and grotesque. His linework resembles that of Johnny Gruelle, whom he cites as one of his main sources of inspiration, along with Ernest Shepard and "all those freaks from the twenties and thirties who did the newspaper strips";[7] many of Millionaire's admirers adduce a similarity to the work of E. C. Segar in particular. He draws with a fountain pen.
The nautical settings of much of Millionaire's work draw inspiration from his childhood memories of his grandparents' artwork and seaside home, as well as the novels of Patrick O'Brian, of which he is an avid reader.
Pseudonym
When asked in interviews why he uses a pen name, Millionaire maintains that he does not, and that "Tony Millionaire" is his real name: "It is my legal name, and it's been around a lot longer than I've been a cartoonist."[8] He has said his unusual surname is an Old French word meaning "a person who owns a thousand serfs,"[4] but the origin of the name "Tony Millionaire" is a character in an episode of the 1960s TV series I Dream of Jeannie.[1]
Millionaire has speculated that in the future he may publish some family-friendly works of his under a different moniker, in order to dissociate them from his other, more ribald output.[9][10]
Millionaire's actual name is Scott Richardson.
Filmography
- Adult Swim Presents The Drinky Crow Show (2007–2009) (Creator, Actor, Executive Producer)
- Fun with God (2009) (Actor in the titular role)
- Goil Trouble (2010) (Actor)
See also
References
- ^ a b McGrath, Charles (May 13, 2007). "Guy Drinks. Bird Drinks. Guy Thrives. Bird Drinks". The New York Times.
- ^ Appleford, Steve (April 4, 2012). "Cartoonist Tony Millionaire looking to 'strike gold'". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ News > Interviews > Tony Millionaire
- ^ a b The Comic's Journal Interview Archived December 13, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ New York's Premier Alternative Newspaper. Arts, Music, Food, Movies and Opinion
- ^ "Nib-Lit". nib-lit.com. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- ^ Flak Magazine Interview Archived November 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Adventures Underground: Interview with Tony Millionaire on Billy Hazelnuts and The Drinky Crow on Adult Swim
- ^ LA Weekly – News – Give Me a Tall Ship and a Monkey to Steer Her By – Bill Smith – The Essential Online Resource for Los Angeles Archived May 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ G4 – Feature – Ten Minutes with Tony Millionaire
External links
- Maakies.com
- Tony Millionaire at IMDb
- Audio interview with Millionaire on public radio program The Sound of Young America
- February 2005 Interview by Coury Turczyn from g4TV.com
- April 2002 Interview from freewilliamsburg.com
- Interview by Logan Kaufman from Adventures Underground
- Interview from darkhorse.com
- "Who wants to be Tony Millionaire?" by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, April 12, 2006
- Interview with Chief Magazine
- Interview on WTF w/ Marc Maron Podcast, July 5, 2012