Mark Parisi

Mark Parisi (born 1961) is the creator of Off the Mark, a comic panel which began in 1987 and now appears in 100 newspapers, as well as on greeting cards, T-shirts, and more. Off the Mark is distributed daily by Universal Press Syndicate. Parisi's work is influenced by Charles Schulz, Gary Larson and MAD magazine. Parisi has also said he admires the work of cartoonists Jim Meddick, Sergio Aragonés, and Garry Trudeau.

In addition, Mark is the author and illustrator of the Marty Pants middle-grade novel series for HarperCollins.

Background
Parisi began drawing when he was very young, and frequently copied comic strips out of newspapers. Parisi said that after reading Charles Schulz' comic strip Peanuts, he "immediately wanted to draw it." At Salem State University, he changed his major several times before settling on Art, with a concentration in Graphic Art.

Awards
In 2008, 2011, and 2017 Parisi won the "Best Newspaper Panel" award for Off the Mark from the National Cartoonists Society. He also was nominated for the award in 2004, 2006, 2013, and 2016. In 2013, he also won the "Best Greeting Cards" award from the National Cartoonists Society.