Gary Varvel

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1957, Varvel was drawn to cartoons as a child when he saw a copy of MAD magazine. His freshman year at Danville High School in Danville, Indiana, Varvel won his first cartoon contest held by the school newspaper. Winning the award landed him a job as the staff cartoonist and he also became the sports editor. In 1974, he met Jerry Barnett, the editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis News who mentored and encouraged him to pursue a career in cartooning. He is now the editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star.