Jim Benton

Education

He studied fine arts at Western Michigan University.

Career

Licensed properties he has created include, Dog of Glee,, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Doodles, Kissy Doodles, and the jOkObo project, but he is probably most known for his creation Jim Benton was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, graduating from Seaholm High School in 1978. Benton began his career in a T-shirt shop where he started designing his own characters on T-shirts. At the same time, he did illustrations and artwork for magazines and newspapers.

People magazine named him "one of the most visible cartoonists in America." Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry.

In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as, which he created in the mid-1990s but licensed in 2002.

Benton currently lives in Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio. #1: Let"s Pretend This Never Happened (2001) #2: My Pants Are Haunted! (2004) #3: Am I The Princess Or The Frog? (2005) #4: Never Do Anything, Ever (2005) #5: Can Adults Become Human? (2006) #6: The Problem With Here is That lieutenant"s Where I"m From (2007) #7: Never Underestimate Your Dumbness (2008) #8: lieutenant"s Not My Fault I Know Everything (2009) #9: That"s What Friends Aren"t Foreign (2010) #10: The Worst Things In Life Are Also Free (2010) #11: Okay, So Maybe I Do Have Superpowers (2011) #12: Maine! (Just Like You, Only Better) (2011): Year Two #1: School.

Hasn"t This Gone on Long Enough? (2012) #2: The Super-Nice are Super-Annoying (2012) #3: Nobody"s Perfect.

I"m as Close as lieutenant Gets. (January 2013) #4 What I Don"t Know Might Hurt Maine (February 2014) #5 You can Bet on That (March 2014) Love Bites (2004) Life. Get One (2005) What"s Your Sign? I"m am the boss Love,peace,and Hollywood Does being the boss (2006) Poster Book Lunch Walks Among Us (2003) Attack of the 50-Fort

Cupid The Invisible Fran (2006) The Fran That Time Forgot Frantastic Voyage The Fran With Four Brains The Frandidate.

Achievements

• 2004: Gryphon Award honor book, Center for Children’s Books, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Lunch Walks Among Us) 2005: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Art Brand License () 2006: Eleanor Cameron Award, Golden Duck Award Committee (The Fran That Time Forgot) 2006: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Character Brand License – Soft Goods () 2007: LIMA International Licensing Award, Best Character Brand License – Hard Goods () 2007: Austin ADDY (with Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Texas Alliance) Silver award, Public Service Campaign Bronze award, Public Service postcard 2009: Nomination National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award, Book Illustration: Cherise The Niece 2011: National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award, Greeting Cards: 2014: National Parenting Publications GOLD MEDAL: The End (Almost) 2015: Eisner Award Nominee: Dog Butts and Love. And Stuff Like That. And Cats.