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Craig Yoe

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Craig Yoe
Yoe in April 2016
Born (1951-02-23) February 23, 1951 (age 73)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Area(s)Cartoonist, Writer, Publisher
Notable works
Yoe Books
AwardsFull list
Spouse(s)Clizia Gussoni
yoebooks.com

Craig Yoe (/joʊ/;[1] born February 23, 1951) is an American author, editor, art director, graphic designer, cartoonist and comics historian, best known for his Yoe! Studio creations and his line of Yoe Books.

Early life

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Craig Yoe was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio and the University of Akron before dropping out to concentrate on counter-cultural activities and the anti-war movement.[2]

Career

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In the early 1970s Yoe was a leader in the Akron Jesus People movement, creating a newspaper/Christian comic first called The Acorn and, later, Jesus Loves You.[3] In 1970, Yoe commissioned legendary surf artist and friend Rick Griffin to do the painting Rock of Ages which became the cover for Jesus Loves You (published by Zondervan).[4][5]

Early in his career, Yoe was senior designer at Marvin Glass and Associates, where he worked on Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Pony toys. Recruited by Jim Henson, Yoe became the creative director and general manager of the Muppets, working on everything from theme parks to television shows. After Henson's death, Yoe opened his own company, Yoe! Studio, working in the entertainment and licensing fields and creating publications, style guides, packaging, press kits, logos, and toys. Yoe! Studio client list includes Kellogg’s, Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Marvel, DC Comics, and even IMAX. Clizia Gussoni is Yoe's wife, business partner and the co-creative director of Yoe! Studio.[citation needed]

Yoe also handled Big Boy Restaurants' promotional comic book Big Boy Magazine – the successor to the Adventures of the Big Boy comic book – as he discussed with Steven Heller:

We produce everything from start to finish. We interview celebrities from Britney Spears (when she was more wholesome, remember?) to SpongeBob SquarePants. We produce the comic stories that are still the heart of the publication. Luke McDonnell, another Marvel graduate, is our staff artist at Yoe! Studio. Luke is an incredible visual storyteller who gives Big Boy and friends a delightful modern flair. We get freelance writers Craig Boldman and Bob Supina to do the scripts. When she has time, my business partner, Clizia Gussoni, pens some of the stories with her own magic. It goes from our printer right to the warehouse that houses all the food and napkins, then is trucked to the individual restaurants across the country. The kids love ’em. We get many enthusiastic letters and incredible drawings of Big Boy that we include in each issue.[6]

As of 2010 Yoe is an adjunct professor of art at Syracuse University.[7]

Personal life

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Yoe is married to Clizia Gussoni, who is also his creative partner.[7]

Awards

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  • Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators[7]
  • Addy Award (for his MTV station ID)[7]
  • Eisner Award[7]
  • 4th Annual Jerry Bails Award For Excellence in Fandom, at 2013 Detroit Fanfare
  • Inkpot Award[8]

Books

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Yoe followed The Art of Mickey Mouse (co-author Janet Yoe-Morra, Rizzoli, 1991) with books for several different publishers: The Mighty Big Book of Optical Illusions (Price Stern Sloan, 2002), Clean Cartoonists’ Dirty Drawings (Last Gasp, 2007), Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster (Abrams, 2009), The Great Anti-War Cartoons (Fantagraphics, 2009), Boody (Fantagraphics, 2009) and Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration (Abrams, 2011).[9]

In 2012, Yoe co-edited IDW's Popeye comic book miniseries, illustrated by Bruce Ozella.

Yoe Books / IDW

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In 2010, Yoe launched his own imprint, Yoe Books, with IDW.

Children's Books for Mango Publishing

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In 2020, Craig Yoe and Mango Publishing launched a series of four children's books titled "Squeaky Clean, Super Funny."

  • Squeaky Clean Super Funny: Jokes! For Kidz (June 2020)
  • Squeaky Clean Super Funny: Knock Knock Jokes! For Kidz (June 2020)
  • Squeaky Clean Super Funny: Riddles! For Kidz (July 2020)
  • Squeaky Clean Super Funny: School Jokes! For Kidz (August 2020)

References

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  1. ^ Dan Shahin: "Craig Yoe!"
  2. ^ Cooke, Jon B. A Guy Named Yoe," Comic Book Creator #20 (TwoMorrows Publishing, Aug 14, 2019).
  3. ^ Richards, Dan. "Canton Jesus People". one-way.org. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  4. ^ "Griffin, Rick". Christian Comics International. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  5. ^ Griffin, Rick; McClelland, Gordon (2002). "Rick Griffin". Last Gasp. p. 46.
  6. ^ "Big Deal on Big Boy Street: An Interview with Craig Yoe". May 1, 2000. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011.
  7. ^ a b c d e Blitz, Stefan (December 13, 2010). "FOG! Interview: Comics Archaeologist CRAIG YOE!". Forces of Geek. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
  8. ^ Inkpot Award
  9. ^ Cornog, Martha (15 September 2011). "Graphic Novels Reviews, September 15, 2011". Library Journal.
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