CLS: Jenny Campbell

“Aging with an Attitude: A Cartoonist on Becoming Her Own Demographic Group” 

Jenny Campbell discusses her 33-year career as a cartoonist and how she got into the business, with a heavy emphasis on her syndicated strip, “Flo & Friends,” in her 10:30 a.m. lecture at the Train Station. Most specifically, she will talk about how doing a daily and Sunday cartoon strip about senior citizens has gotten very personal now that she’s in her 60s. A PowerPoint will coincide with samples of her work along the way. She will also be presenting a workshop on “Strip Cartooning & Gag Writing” at 3:30 p.m. in the Train Station.

Campbell has been a freelance cartoonist and a children’s illustrator for 33 years. Most notably, She writes and draws “Flo & Friends,” a daily and Sunday strip featuring an ensemble cast of senior citizens that is distributed by Creators Syndicate. Currently, “Flo & Friends” is published in newspapers from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, to Newark, New Jersey, and has a loyal internet following. Check out her work at creators.com/read/flo-and-friends.

In addition, Campbell is the principal cartoonist for Outside the Lines Creative Group (otlcreativegroup.com), which supplies innovative cartoon communications to corporations and organizations across the country, ranging from manufacturing to healthcare to national parks.

Campbell, an avid animal lover, also is a prolific contributor to multiple animal welfare organizations. Her clients started with Rescue Village, Geauga County Humane Society, when it was built in 2001. She created the artwork that was part of the shelter’s branding and has continued to contribute cartoons for fundraising and editorial materials. Currently, Campbell’s artwork graces transport vans for PetFix Northeast Ohio, the ASPCA’s Humane Alliance and the Cleveland City Kennel. Her other work in animal welfare includes the cartoon dog and cat on the state of Ohio’s specialty “Pet Plate” license plate.

Before becoming a fulltime illustrator, Campbell was an award-winning newspaper writer for 13 years, first for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, then the Pasadena Star-News and The Orange County Register in Southern California. Following in her father’s footsteps, she was a sixth-generation journalist when she graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1979.