Jim Benton

Jim K. Benton (born October 31, 1960) is an American illustrator and writer. He is best known for It's Happy Bunny, and has created several other properties, which include Dear Dumb Diary, Dog of Glee, Franny K. Stein, Just Jimmy, Just Plain Mean, Sweetypuss, The Misters, Meany Doodles, Vampy Doodles, Kissy Doodles, and the jOkObo project.

Early life and education Jim Benton was raised in Birmingham, Michigan, graduating from Seaholm High School in 1978. He studied fine arts at Western Michigan University. 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 It's Happy Bunny, which he created in the mid-1990s but licensed in 2002.

Benton lives in Birmingham, Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio. He is married with two children.