User:Vchimpanzee/Kevin Siers

Kevin Siers (pronounced Sires ) is the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is distributed nationally by King Features.

Early life
Siers grew up 60 miles north of Duluth, Minnesota. As a child he drew cartoons even before he could write properly. Later, he was influenced by Pogo and Dick Tracy.

One of Siers' first jobs as an artist was making caricatures in Orlando, Florida. Siers' father was a mechanic in the mining industry, and Siers also went into mining, advancing from a laborer position and taking biology classes at the University of Minnesota. He sent cartoons to The Biwabik Times, a weekly newspaper, and won a Minnesota Press Association award. Eventually Siers drew cartoons for the campus newspaper The Minnesota Daily.

Career
Siers began working with Steve Sack of Minneapolis Star Tribune, who became his mentor.

At age 33 in 1987, Siers began working for The Observer, succeeding Doug Marlette.

In 2014, Siers became the third cartoonist from The Observer to win the Pulitzer, for "thought-provoking cartoons drawn with a sharp wit and bold artistic style."

Though Siers describes himself as "very liberal", about half his cartoons attack Barack Obama and half lampoon conservatives. He is the only local cartoonist in the Carolinas producing daily cartoons.