Shannon Wheeler is an American cartoonist, best known as a cartoonist for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' and for creating the

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

Too Much Coffee Man Too Much Coffee Man (TMCM) is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler. Too Much Coffee Man wears what appears to be a spandex version of old-fashioned red " long johns" with a large mug attached atop his head. He ...

Early life

Shannon Wheeler grew up in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

, brought up by his mother. His father left the family to start a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

north of San Francisco. Wheeler also has two half-sisters. Wheeler attended the Walden Center and School. He later attended Berkeley High School, eventually graduating from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

with a degree in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

in 1989.

Career

He started

cartooning A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

while at UC Berkeley, publishing his daily gag cartoons ''Calaboose'' and then ''Tooth and Justice'' in ''

The Daily Californian ''The Daily Californian'' (''Daily Cal'') is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley, campus and its surrounding community. It formerly published a print edition four days a week on Monday, Tuesd ...

''. Around 1990, he moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, a state he had visited multiple times as a child to see family. In Austin, Wheeler continued ''Tooth and Justice'' for the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

student paper ''

The Daily Texan ''The Daily Texan'' is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin. It is one of the largest college newspapers in the United States, with a daily circulation of roughly 12,000 during the fall and spring semesters, and it is among ...

''. Ending that strip, he published other daily cartoons with the paper, with titles like ''Life and Times'' and ''Interlude''. In 1991, Wheeler created the

to star in a

minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

promoting ''Children with Glue'', a collection of his daily strips. The popularity of Too Much Coffee Man led to the character starring in a weekly

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

in 1991. The character appeared in a series of self-published

zines A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...

comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

, and

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be co ...

for a number of years. After Wheeler moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, in 1998,

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

(based nearby) began publishing ''TMCM'' collections. In 2006 Wheeler and Daniel Steven Crafts co-produced the ''Too Much Coffee Man Opera'' (in one act), followed by ''Too Much Coffee Man Opera, The Refill'' (in two acts) in 2008. Dark Horse released the ultimate TMCM collection in 2011, the ''Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus''; while

BOOM! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...

released ''Too Much Coffee Man: Cutie Island and Other Stories'' in 2012. From 2004 until 2008, Wheeler contributed to many of the Idiot's Guide books. His weekly strip ''Postage Stamp Funnies'' appeared in the satirical newspaper ''

The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satire, satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on ...

'' until 2009, when he began contributing to ''

'' magazine. In 2010,

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in ...

published a collection of Wheeler's cartoons that had been rejected by ''The New Yorker'' called ''I Thought You Would Be Funnier''. While initially left off the ballot for the

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for 2011, the book went on to win Best Humor publication that year.

Personal life

Wheeler lives in Portland, Oregon, with his twin sons.

Awards

* Hatch Broadcasting Award (for a

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

shoe commercial featuring Too Much Coffee Man) *1995

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are List of Eisner Award winners, prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Acad ...

for Best New Series: ''Too Much Coffee Man'', by Shannon Wheeler (Adhesive Comics) *2011 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication: ''I Thought You Would Be Funnier'', by Shannon Wheeler (

) *2011 nomination,

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that we ...

, Special Award for Humor in Comics: ''I Thought You Would Be Funnier'', by Shannon Wheeler (Boom! Studios) nomination.

Bibliography

Solo work

* ''Children with Glue'' (self-published, 1989; reissued by Blackbird Comics, 1991) * ''Too Much Coffee Man'' **''Too Much Coffee Man Mini Comics'' (self-published, Austin, TX, 1991) **''Too Much Coffee Man Comic Book'' ( Adhesive Comics, Austin, TX, 1993–2001) **''Too Much Coffee Man Webcomic'' by Shannon Wheeler (beginning in Austin, TX, 1995, ongoing) **''Too Much Coffee Man's Guide for the Perplexed'' (

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

, 1998) **''Too Much Coffee Man's Parade of Tirade'' (Dark Horse, 2000) — introduction by

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

**''Too Much Coffee Man's Amusing Musings'' (Dark Horse, 2001) **''Too Much Coffee Man Magazine'' (Adhesive Comics, Portland, OR, 2002–2006) **''How to be Happy (Too Much Coffee Man)'' (Dark Horse, 2005) **''Too Much Coffee Man Omnibus'' (Dark Horse, August 2011) **''Too Much Coffee Man: Cutie Island and Other Stories'' (BOOM! Studios, March 2012) *''Wake Up and Smell the Cartoons of Shannon Wheeler'' (

Mojo Press Mojo Press is a now-defunct small press which primarily published science fiction, horror, and western books and graphic novels between 1994 and 1999. History Mojo Press was founded in 1994 by publisher Ben Ostrander and managing editor Richa ...

, 1997) — introduction by Jeff Smith *''Screw Heaven, When I Die I'm Going to Mars'' (Dark Horse, 2007) *''Postage Stamp Funnies'' (Dark Horse, 2008) *''I Thought You Would Be Funnier'' (

, 2010) *''I Told You So'' (BOOM! Studios, May 2012) *''Astounding Villain House'' (Dark Horse, October 2013)

Collaborative works

*''Waiting for Justice'', columns by Carolyn Jones, cartoons by Wheeler (''

'', Berkeley, California, 1987) * ''Jab'' (Adhesive Comics, 1992–1995) — Austin, TX-based anthology featuring Wheeler, Wiley Akins, Ashley Underwood, Tom King, Walt Holcombe, Rob Bostick, Mitchelle Crisp, Matthew Dutchman, Jason Storey, John Bruch, Lance Myers,

Rick Klaw Richard Ira "Rick" Klaw (born December 22, 1967 in Brooklyn, New York), is an American editor, essayist, and bookseller. Biography Rick Klaw is the paternal grandson of Irving Klaw, the photographer and film maker most noted for his bondage photo ...

, and Joe Don Baker * ''Do I Come Here Often? (Black Coffee Blues, Pt. 2)'', written by

, illustrated by Wheeler (2.13.61, 1998) * ''Jobs That Don't Suck: What Nobody Else Will Tell You About Getting and Succeeding in the Job of Your Dreams'', written by Charlie Drozdyk, illustrated by Wheeler (Ballantine Books, 1998) *''Grandpa Won't Wake Up'', written by Simon Max Hill, illustrated by Wheeler (

, October 2011) *''Oil & Water'', written by Steve Duin, illustrated by Wheeler ( Fantagraphics, November 2011) *''God is Disappointed in You'', written by Mark Russell, cartoons by Wheeler ( Top Shelf, 2012)

Stage

* ''Too Much Coffee Man Opera'' (creator, co-librettist, producer) with Daniel Steven Crafts * ''Too Much Coffee Man Opera, The Refill'' (creator, co-librettist, producer) with Daniel Steven Crafts

References

External links

* (official site)
Archived
from the original on February 2, 2015. * * *

Interviews

"An interview with Shannon Wheeler"
The Daily Cross Hatch. March 26, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Shannon UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design alumni Living people American cartoonists The New Yorker cartoonists Artists from Berkeley, California 1966 births