Stephen Paul Breen (born April 26, 1970) is a nationally syndicated cartoonist. He won the

Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning The Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary is one of the fourteen Pulitzer Prizes that is annually awarded for journalism in the United States. It is the successor to the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning awarded from 1922 ...

twice, in 1998 and 2009.

Biography

He graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1988 and attended the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. Th ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

. It was at UCR that he started drawing editorial cartoons for his school paper, ''The Highlander''. In 1991, Breen won the Scripps Howard Charles M. Schulz Award as the top college cartoonist and the John Locher Memorial Award for Outstanding College Editorial Cartoonist. He was influenced by cartoonists such as

Jeff MacNelly Jeffrey Kenneth "Jeff" MacNelly (September 17, 1947 – June 8, 2000) was an American editorial cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Shoe''. After ''Shoe'' had been established in papers, MacNelly created the single-panel strip ''Plug ...

, Paul Conrad, Pat Oliphant and

Don Wright Donald Wright (1907–1985) was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California, 1970–1977. Donald or Don Wright may also refer to: * Donald O. Wright (1892–1985), Minnesota Lieutenant Governor, 1953–1955 * Donald Wright (schoolmaster) (19 ...

. Breen was about to become a high school history teacher when the ''

Asbury Park Press The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997. Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hono ...

'' offered him a job in the art department in July 1994. He became the full-time editorial cartoonist there in 1996. Breen's comic strip '' Grand Avenue'', which is syndicated by

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along ...

and appears in more than 150 newspapers across the country, was launched in 1999. In 2005, Breen's colleague Mike Thompson came on board to help write the strip, and in 2009 became official co-creator. In 2014 Thompson took over most writing & art duties; as of 2016 the strip is entirely by Thompson. In July 2001, Breen returned to his home state to join the staff of ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' an ...

''. His editorial cartoons are nationally syndicated by Creators Syndicate (which acquired former syndicate Copley News Service in 2008). They regularly appear in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' and '' U.S. News & World Report''. Breen is the author and illustrator of several children's books: ''Stick'', ''Violet the Pilot'', ''The Secret of Santa's Island'', and ''Woodpecker Wants a Waffle'', for which he won the 2017 New Hampshire State Library Ladybug Picture Book Award. Breen also created the cartoon Powerbirds for

NBC Universal The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

-owned children's network, Universal Kids, based on his series of children's books.

References

External links

Creators.comSan Diego Union-TribuneBilly Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breen, Steve 1970 births Living people University of California, Riverside alumni American editorial cartoonists Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning winners Asbury Park Press people The San Diego Union-Tribune people American illustrators