John Rose knew
he would be a cartoonist from the very beginning of his life. He made a habit of
drawing on the living-room walls of his parents' house and, during his school
years, consistently drew pictures in the margins of his test papers.
Born in Virginia, Rose graduated from Madison University with a bachelor of fine arts degree in art and art history. After graduating,
he spent his time working freelance for newspapers in Manassas, Virginia, drawing mostly sports cartoons. He has previously worked for The
Warren (Virginia) Sentinel and Daily News-Record
as graphic artist and creative director, respectively.
Rose's cartoons have won awards from the National Newspaper Association, as well as from the Virginia Press Association. His cartoons have been featured in the Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year collections, published by Pelican, every year
since 1988.
Currently, Rose inks the daily comic “Barney Google and Snuffy Smith,” a position he took on
in 1998, after assisting original “Barney Google” cartoonist Fred Lasswell.
After Lasswell's death in 2001, Rose took over the strip.
Rose creates Kids'
Home Newspaper, which served as inspiration for three Pelican books that he
has authored, namely, Fun
with Pup!, More
Fun with Pup!, and Christmas
Fun with Pup!, a series of activity books that both entertain and
educate through word puzzles and drawing games. A member of the National
Cartoonists Society and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, Rose resides in Harrisonburg,
Virginia, with his wife, Karen, and his daughters, Meredith and Sarah. |