John Deering is chief editorial cartoonist for the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette, the state’s largest newspaper. Five times a week, his
cartoon comments entertain (or sometimes enrage) readers throughout Arkansas,
Washington, D.C., and across the country. Winner of the National Press
Foundation’s 1997 Berryman Award, Deering also gained top honors in the 1994
national John Fischetti Cartoon Competition and was the seven-time winner of
the Arkansas Press Association’s Best Editorial Cartoonist award. Deering’s
work is collected in two books: Deering’s State of Mind (1990) and We
Knew Bill Clinton ... Bill Clinton Was a Friend of Ours (1993, with Vic
Harville). He is a 14-year member of the American Association of Editorial
Cartoonists. Born in 1956 in Little Rock, Deering has been drawing since his
childhood fascination with science fiction and dinosaurs—subjects he made into
comic books. After studying art with Truman Alston, Deering focused on
commercial and fine art at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Along the
way, he found his strength in interlocking art with comment. At the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette, Deering advanced from layout artist to editorial
cartoonist in 1981-82. His promotion to chief editorial cartoonist in 1988 made
his cartoons the state’s best-known. Deering also creates the comic panel Too
Much Coffee. He and his wife, Kathy, have a daughter and two sons and live
in Little Rock. He still draws dinosaurs. Check out his comic strips, Zack Hill and Strange Brew.
