St. Louis Park, MN — the childhood home of the Coen Brothers, Al Franken, and the illustrious Kevin Cannon. Science has yet to conclude, but I suspect, that something in the water accounts for this rash of entertainment success stories.
Currently, Cannon co-runs a cartooning and illustration studio called Big Time Attic with his best pal and non-relative Zander Cannon. BTA started in 2004 and was originally a 3-man show also featuring Shad Petosky. BTA has since branched into two studios, BTA and PUNY Entertainment which is the go-to animation studio for shows like Nickelodeon’s “Yo Gabba Gabba!”
Recently, BTA churned out the highly acclaimed educational graphic novel The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA. The book was featured on NPR’s “Science Friday,” a program with which I’m sure you nerds are familiar.
Cannon’s first solo book, the Arctic adventure Far Arden, will be released by Top Shelf this May. The book is something of a triple-threat, having previously been serialed online as a webcomic (which you can still read), a self-published 100-copy offset print job (which sold out instantly), and a properly-distributed professionally-promoted graphic novel (which you should totally buy). It topped my list of favorite mini-comics released in 2008, and I suspect it will top more best of lists for 2009 as a Top Shelf graphic novel. It’s a real ripping yarn.
Cannon’s clear thirst for adventure comes out again in this guest strip, which you can read just below the Cutty Sark — I mean — cut.
– Sarah Morean