Background about Bob Staake Bob Staake's Humorous illustrations have appeared in diverse media outlets, a partial list of which includes the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, MAD Magazine, and the Cartoon Network. Bob's client rooster includes, among others, McDonald's, American Express, and AT&T, and Bob has published over 30 books. Bob has been at the forefront of the digital revolution, using computers in the design and creation of all his work, including this site! Furthermore, Bob and his son Ryan developed CopyNo which is used by the Cartoonist Group to help protect the copyrights of the cartoon images included here.

The following is excepted from a 1998 interview in Bob's local newsaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Bob and his wife Paulette live in St. Louis with their two sons, Ryan and Kevin. Bob grew up in Torrance, California where her began his career by drawing editorial cartoons for his high school newspaper. "After Staake won a statewide high school journalism contest with an editorial cartoon about smoking on campus, 'things started to happen,' he says. There was a People magazine article, for instance, and offers of syndication from both King and United Features. Most important, however, was the relationship Staake struck up with Paul Conrad, the respected, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. And when Staake's parents divorced in 1976 and college seemed an unaffordable dream, Conrad agreed to speak at the University of Southern California in exchange for a full scholarship for Staake. At USC, Staake concentrated on interdisciplinary studies - history, political science, journalism. Though he never took an art class ("cartooning is self-taught") he did turn out five political cartoons a week for The Daily Trojan there. In 1978, Staake also served as a Robert F. Kennedy Memorial intern at the Student Press Law Center in Washington. Soon afterward, Staake left USC and moved to Hermosa Beach. There he became assistant art director and editorial cartoonist for an alternative weekly called Easy Reader. He also began a fledgling free-lance business, contributing to everything from Parents Magazine and The Atlantic, which published his cartoon lithographs on beach culture, to major Hollywood film studios, which used his work in movies like 'Protocol' and 'War Games.' In 1982, Staake met native St. Louisan Paulette Fehlig, who was working as an ad salesperson at Easy Reader. The pair produced a son, Ryan, in 1984. Shortly after they all left California for St. Louis. 'When I came to St. Louis, I made a conscious decision to work as an artist instead of a political cartoonist,' says Staake. 'I had become disillusioned with editors who wanted cartoonists to straddle fences instead of upholding steadfast political beliefs.' And work he has. Staake has produced his signature humorous illustrations - crowded with high-energy, angular characters drawn spontaneously and placed deliberately in jigsaw-puzzle fashion - for a wide variety of clients. In addition, his work has appeared on everything from Hallmark greeting cards to television's 'The Ren and Stimpy Show.' Another animated series, 'Cop and Donut Show,' based entirely on Staake's drawings and character designs, is set to debut soon on Nickelodeon." Bob's web site is bobstaake.com.