Craig Yoe

Craig Yoe was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He attended Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio and the University of Akron before dropping out to concentrate on counter-cultural activities and the anti-war movement.[1]

In the early 70's Yoe was a leader in the Akron Jesus People movement, creating a newspaper/Christian comic first called The Acorn and, later, Jesus Loves You.[2] In 1970, Yoe commissioned legendary surf artist and friend Rick Griffin to do the painting Rock of Ages which became the cover for Jesus Loves You (published by Zondervan).[3][4]

Early in his career, Yoe was senior designer at Marvin Glass and Associates, where he worked on Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Pony toys. Recruited by Jim Henson, Yoe became the creative director and general manager of the Muppets, working on everything from theme parks to television shows. After Henson's death, Yoe opened his own company, Yoe! Studio, working in the entertainment and licensing fields and creating publications, style guides, packaging, press kits, logos, and toys. Yoe! Studio client list includes Kellogg’s, Disney, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Marvel, DC Comics, and even IMAX. Clizia Gussoni is Yoe's wife, business partner and the co-creative director of Yoe! Studio.

Yoe also handled Big Boy Restaurants' promotional comic book Big Boy Magazine – the successor to the Adventures of the Big Boy comic book – as he discussed with Steven Heller:

We produce everything from start to finish. We interview celebrities from Britney Spears (when she was more wholesome, remember?) to SpongeBob SquarePants. We produce the comic stories that are still the heart of the publication. Luke McDonnell, another Marvel graduate, is our staff artist at Yoe! Studio. Luke is an incredible visual storyteller who gives Big Boy and friends a delightful modern flair. We get freelance writers Craig Boldman and Bob Supina to do the scripts. When she has time, my business partner, Clizia Gussoni, pens some of the stories with her own magic. It goes from our printer right to the warehouse that houses all the food and napkins, then is trucked to the individual restaurants across the country. The kids love ’em. We get many enthusiastic letters and incredible drawings of Big Boy that we include in each issue.[5]

As of 2010 Yoe is an Adjunct Professor of Art at Syracuse University.[6]

Yoe followed The Art of Mickey Mouse (co-author Janet Yoe-Morra, Rizzoli, 1991) with books for several different publishers: The Mighty Big Book of Optical Illusions (Price Stern Sloan, 2002), Clean Cartoonists’ Dirty Drawings (Last Gasp, 2007), Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster (Abrams, 2009), The Great Anti-War Cartoons (Fantagraphics, 2009), Boody (Fantagraphics, 2009) and Krazy Kat & the Art of George Herriman: A Celebration (Abrams, 2011).[7]

In 2012, Yoe co-edited IDW's Popeye comic book miniseries, illustrated by Bruce Ozella.

• Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators[6]
• Addy Award (for his MTV station ID)[6]
• Eisner Award[6]
• 4th Annual Jerry Bails Award For Excellence in Fandom, at 2013 Detroit Fanfare
• Inkpot Award[8]

Yoe is married to Clizia Gussoni, who is also his creative partner.[6]

Media related to Craig Yoe at Wikimedia Commons

• Yoe Books
• Craig Yoe at Library of Congress, with 34 library catalog records