Gary Varvel
Gary Varvel is the editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star.
Born
in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1957, Varvel was drawn to cartoons as a
child when he saw a copy of MAD magazine. His freshman year at Danville
High School in Danville, Indiana, Varvel won his first cartoon contest
held by the school newspaper. Winning the award landed him a job as the
staff cartoonist and he also became the sports editor. In 1974, he met
Jerry Barnett, the editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis News who
mentored and encouraged him to pursue a career in cartooning.In
1975, Varvel studied visual communication at John Herron School of Art
at Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI). In
college he drew cartoons for the Sagamore, the college newspaper.In
1977, Varvel took a job at the County Courier, a small weekly newspaper
in Brownsburg, Indiana. He drew one cartoon a week and worked as the
production manager, laying out newspaper ads overseeing the composing
room operation. A year later the newspaper closed and he began looking
for another newspaper job in Indiana.Varvel
was hired as an newsroom artist for The Indianapolis News when Jerry
Barnett recommended him for the position. He spent the next 16 years
working as the chief artist managing a 3-person art department. During
that time, Varvel applied to many newspapers around the country for an
editorial cartooning position. But in 1994, pulitzer prize winning
cartoonist Charles Werner retired from The Indianapolis Star and
Varvel's dream came true when he landed the position.Awards:2015 Inducted into Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame2012 National Headliners Award for editorial cartooning,2011 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Cartooning2010 National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Best Editorial Cartoonist Division2010 Grambs Aronson Award for Cartooning with a Conscience for his Path to Hope series on Child poverty.Fifteen-time first place winner of the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists' Award for Best Editorial CartoonThirteen-time winner of the first place award for Best Editorial Cartoonist in the Hoosier State Press Association Contest2006 H. Dean Evans Legacy Award for community serviceVarvel
is also a board member of House of Grace Films and co-writer and
producer of the films, THE BOARD (2009) and THE WAR WITHIN (2014).
www.thewarwithinmovie.com Varvel lives west of Indianapolis with his wife, Carol and they have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.Varvel also co-created the comic Off Center.