began cartooning in the mid 1960s while still in grade school and further
developed my talents when working as illustrator and cartoonist for my high
school newspaper. Influenced by such diverse talents as Charles Shultz,
Johnny Hart, Neal Adams and Oliphant, I continued to develop my own style of
work. I found myself drawn towards colleagues with similar talents and tried
over many years to produce small quantity comic books, without much success.
My career as a freelance cartoonist began with the publication of my first
cartoon in August of 1974 in Model Railroader Magazine and I continued
selling cartoons and illustrations to such publications as Railroad Model
Craftsman and Mainline Modeler Magazine throughout the mid 1980s. I
volunteered my creativity and talent as cartoonist, illustrator and editor
of Current Lines, the quarterly newsletter for the Illinois Terminal
Railroad Historical Society from 1978 through 1986.
My heyday was really during my college years as the cartoonist "Mr. N" of
the Harbinger (Student Newspaper for Illinois Central Junior College which I
attended part-time from 1975 through 1980). Such cartoon panels as "Captain
Boredom", "Barlap 4" and "Reasons Why Students Commit Suicide" were regular
features, along with half-page panels and editorial cartoons. I designed
Banners for issue headers and produced full-page cartoons for special
issues.
My full-time employment during that time was as a duplicator press operator
for Caterpillar Tractor Company. During operation of an
Addressograph-Multilith press, I filled my bouts of boredom creating Safety
Poster cartoon illustrations, United Way Fund Drive posters, cartoons and
illustrations for the company newsletter (The Folks) as well as cartoons for
own enjoyment - "Sad Sam", "1001 of the Worst Shop Accidents" and "101
Things NOT to Say to a Striker"
After marriage in 1984 to my wonderful wife, Valerie, I dropped out of
cartooning entirely and helped raise our three incredible children. Now, as
they are finally entering upper grammar and middle school, I am interested
in starting back into cartooning and illustrating as a part-time hobby
again.
Most of my work has been in the pen and ink format with marker and
watercolor added after inking. In recent years, I have begun to work on
computer scans of my original ink renderings and coloring in Photoshop or
Illustrator. I have become quite proficient in QuarkXpress for publication
layout and design.
I can be reached by snail mail at:
Larry Miller III
2819 N. Prospect Road
Peoria, IL 61603-2142
By telephone at:
(309)685-7124 (after 5:00 pm Central)
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