Background about Rick Kirkman "I was born a poor cartoonist in a log cabin drawn in poor perspective." So says Rick Kirkman, co-creator of Baby Blues. Kirkman began cartooning while in kindergarten. His professional career began when he was in junior high school and drew a parody of Mad magazine. Since he had only one copy, he charged his friends to read it. That is, until their parents found out. His career has included studio drawing for the Yellow Pages directories and an advertising agency, as well as freelance design and illustration. Along the way, he says, he got "sucked into the world of freelance gag cartooning for magazines," selling often enough to major magazines to keep him hooked. He met Jerry Scott during his gag cartoon phase nearly 30 years ago, and they became friends and, eventually, working partners. After a brief and somewhat unsuccessful foray into syndication with Scott, Kirkman returned to gag cartooning and advertising. He became a freelance humor illustrator in 1982. In 1987, Kirkman and Scott were on the road to syndication again after Kirkman's wife had their second child. Kirkman says the conceptual work on the new comic strip was a cathartic experience for him. And so, Baby Blues was born. Baby Blues was first released by Creators Syndicate on Jan. 7, 1990. King Features Syndicate now distributes the daily strip to nearly 1,100 newspapers in 28 countries and 13 languages. Baby Blues was awarded the National Cartoonists Society's Best Newspaper Comic Strip award in 1995. There are more than 30 Baby Blues books in print. In its 10th year, Baby Blues expanded into broadcast media, with a successful animated prime time comedy on The WB television network. Kirkman lives in Arizona with his wife and two children.