Bob Staake

Bob Staake (born September 26, 1957 in Los Angeles ) is an American illustrator, cartoonist, children's book author and designer. He lives and works in Chatham, Massachusetts on the elbow of Cape Cod.

After drawing editorial cartoons while at West High School in Torrance, California, Staake attended the University of Southern California (1977) on a journalism/international relations scholarship. He interned at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial's Students Press Law Center.

Cartoons and illustration Artwork by Staake has been published in the Chicago Tribune, Easy Reader, the Los Angeles Times, the Miami Herald, The New York Times, Sports Illustrated Kids, Time, USA Today, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. His illustrations have appeared in advertising for numerous companies, including American Express, the Cartoon Network, Dr Pepper, Hallmark Cards, Kenner Toys, McDonald's, Nickelodeon, Ralston Purina, Sony and United Airlines.

Starting in 1993, Staake contributed concepts and cartoons to "The Style Invitational", a humor competition at The Washington Post. In 1995, he became a regular contributor to Mad. He created many covers for The New Yorker, beginning with the September 4, 2006 issue.

Staake is noted for using vintage software to create his illustrations. He currently uses Adobe Photoshop 3.0 The National Coalition Against Censorship, whose Board of Directors currently includes Abrams president and CEO Michael Jacobs, issued a statement in support of the book: “We support Abrams’ decision to publish this, or any other book, even if it offends some readers. We urge the company not to accede to pressure to withdraw the book, but to stand for the proposition that it is the right of authors to write as they choose and of individuals to decide for themselves what to read.” Abrams clarified in a statement that they were only ceasing future printings of the book in order to honor the author's request and would not otherwise have intervened.

Influences Diane Arbus, Aurelius Battaglia, Mary Blair, Jean Carlu, A. M. Cassandre, Paul Colin, Dr. Seuss, Charles and Ray Eames, Walker Evans, Tibor Gergely, Edward Gorey, Paul Klee, Alvin Lustig, John Parr Miller, Paul Rand, Richard Scarry, Raymond Scott, Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck and Grant Wood. National Cartoonists Society, Reuben Award, Best Cartoonist in the Division of Newspaper Illustration (1997)