Stan Mack

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Stanley Mack (born 1936) is an American cartoonist.

Mack was born in Brooklyn but grew up in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended the Rhode Island School of Design.^[1] He is best known for his series, "Stan Mack's Real Life Funnies", which ran in The Village Voice for over 20 years. His Adweek comic strip, "Stan Mack’s Outtakes," covered the New York media scene. He is also a reporter, with articles appearing in The New York Times, where he was an art director in the 1970s.

"Real Life Funnies" was notable for its semi-documentary feel: all dialog was culled from Mack's observations, and reported as "100% Guaranteed Overheard". He said of it: "This job gave me an excuse to accost people, to be pushy and aggressive. ... I learned to take notes on my shirt cuffs and walk backward in crowds. But most of all I learned to listen to what ordinary people have to say."^[2]

With his late partner Janet Bode, he cowrote several young adult nonfiction books, including Heartbreak and Roses, Hard Time, and For Better, For Worse; he has also created children’s picture books, the best known being 10 Bears in My Bed. In 1998, Mack wrote and illustrated The Story of the Jews: A 4,000 Year Adventure, a humorous cartoon look at the history of the Jews. In his 2004 book Janet & Me: An Illustrated Story of Love and Loss, he wrote about his eighteen-year relationship with Bode and her eventual death from cancer.

[edit] References

1. ^ Something about the Author (Gale Research Company, 1979: ISBN 0810300982), p. 129.
2. ^ Andrew Jacobs, "The Voice to Stan Mack: 'It's Been Real, but . . .'", New York Times, August 13, 1995.

[edit] Sources

• National Association of Art Directors, Art Direction (Advertising Trade Publications, 1967).

[edit] Outside links

• Stan Mack's official website
• Stan Mack at the Internet Movie Database
• Stan Mack at the Internet Movie Database, a TV special of the same name.