Patrick McDonnell Inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame

We're happy and honored to share that Patrick McDonnell was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame at this year's New York Comic Con, joining a special group of artists and writers who’ve made a lasting mark on the world of comics.

Named after MAD magazine co-founder Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards have celebrated outstanding achievement in comics since 1988. Each year, a few creators are welcomed into the Hall of Fame for their lifelong contributions to the art form.

This year’s honorees also include Wendy and Richard Pini, John Byrne, Peter David, and Barbara Shermund.

“I first became aware of Patrick's work on the pages of The New York Times when he was doing spot illustrations for Russel Baker’s Observer column," said Charles Kochman, Editor-in-Chief of Abrams ComicArts. "I have also been a regular reader of MUTTS since the beginning. But I never dreamed that Patrick and I would work together, and in the process become close friends. I have had the honor of publishing several books with him on our Abrams ComicArts list — The Art of Nothing, The Super Hero’s Journey, and Breaking the Chain — and each one has been an incredible experience. Some people say never meet your heroes, but I disagree. Patrick McDonnell is everything you want in a hero — and in a friend and a cartoonist."

Patrick with Charles Kochman, Editor-in-Chief of Abrams ComicArts

As Andrea Spooner, Editorial Director of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers said, “It’s quite fitting that in the year of his induction into the Harvey Award Hall of Fame, we’re also celebrating the twentieth anniversary of The Gift of Nothing — and a brand-new companion story, The Gift of Everything. Indeed, everything Patrick McDonnell creates is truly a gift — for all ages.”

Credit for all photos: Jacquelene Cohen

Comments (8)

Congratulations to you Patrick on this well deserved award! I’m so over the moon that I may get a chance to meet you in person this fall. I’m a long time Mutts fan and have the clothes collection (tshirts, pajamas), calendars, books and passport holder to prove it. Living in California, I pounce upon the website at 9pm daily to get my new strip. I cannot imagine a world without Mutts and I hope I never have to spend a single day without a Mutts strip. I lost my beloved litter mate brother felines a few years back after having lived long lives, but they live on in the character of Mooch who is my delight!
Jeanette Sarmiento

Congratulations to you Patrick. You are well loved by many that follow you. You certainly deserve all the praise for all you do. You have a wonderful warm and caring heart for animals. Thank you also so much for all the joy you have brought to so many people all these years. God bless you.

Carmela Casale
Carmela Casale

i’m a very late Mutts bloomer and i love everything Mutts soooo much. The strip and the characters make the world feel a little saner and a little more filled with love. Thank you beyond words.
car wen

I’m a Baby Boomer and a late bloomer to MUTTS. I started reading the comic strip in my local newspaper and became engulfed every day by the characters and what would unfold. Before even reading the front page, I would turn to the back page comics. Then one day, MUTTS was gone off the printed pages. Not sure why; however, it’s how I found my online fix!! It is the first email I read every day to start it out right! Parick, I thank you for bringing a guiding light to all of us through your passion for and with animals
maryanne

I never knew about the Russell Baker illustrations or I would have saved them all. But I do remember cutting out and saving a full page illustration of the new Arts Season in the NYT. (not sure exactly) I loved it and had it framed. I’ve been a Mutts fan since the strip’s beginning and love it. It’s one of the two first emails I read in the morning, the other being the daily word from AWAD. Thank you Patrick for everything you have done and are still doing, for the animals, most of all.

(((hugs)))
Susan/Soozi Urang

Years ago, my co-worker and I shared many MUTTS strips and shared our laughs over all the characters’ antics — especially Mooch and Earl, Millie and Frank, Ozzy, Butchie, Doozy. She used to often exclaim: “I wish I lived in that neighborhood!” I wished it, too, and only realized it after she said it. I loved Peanuts during my formative years, but never wished to live with them. So, congrats on your latest award, Patrick. Well deserved for imagining and making your cartoons so evocative, so cozy and inviting with warmth, that many readers wish to live in MUTTS-ville. It’s good for our souls.
Judy TGC

Well deserved for sure! Congratulations Patrick, this world needs more people like you in it!
Lucy D
Lucy Diopa

So well deserved! Congratulations to Patrick and all his wonderful cats and dogs, squirrels, neighbors and friends. Thank you for all the years of love and support.
Melanie T.