Obituary: Jules Feiffer, cartoonist, writer

Cartoonist, author, playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Jules Feiffer working on proof sheets from his first book, 'Sick, Sick, Sick', New York, 1958. Photo: Getty Images

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and writer Jules Feiffer penned a long-running comic strip, plays, screenplays and children’s books. A life-long New Yorker, his work often examined the city’s idiosyncrasies, especially that published by The Village Voice. Mentored by legendary cartoonist Will Eisner in the 1940s, Feiffer struck out on his own in the mid-50s, his mini satires finding favour in publications worldwide. The Village Voice was the ideal vehicle for Feiffer and he was a fixture in the newspaper from 1956 until he quit during a 1997 salary dispute. A novelist and playwright, Feiffer also pioneered the graphic novel. The writer of screenplays for films as diverse as Popeye and Carnal Knowledge, Feiffer’s softer side was evident in his work for children. He illustrated Norton Juster’s classic 1961 book The Phantom Tollbooth, as well as several other works for young readers. Jules Feiffer died on January 17 aged 95. — APL/Agencies