Paige Braddock is an American cartoonist best known for her Eisner-nominated comic strip, Jane's World, the first gay-themed comic work to receive online distribution by a national media syndicate in the U.S. Braddock concluded the comic strip after completing its 20-year run in 2018.
Early life
Braddock was born in Bakersfield, California. She spent most of her childhood years in Mississippi. Due to her father's job as a forester, Braddock and her family moved frequently across the country. By the time she reached high school in Brevard, North Carolina, they had moved 17 times.
Career
Braddock decided at the age of 7 that she wanted to be a cartoonist. She published her first cartoon, "Bart Winkle," in her junior year of high school in the local newspaper, The Transylvania Times. Cartoonist Dave Graue of the comic strip "Alley Oop" lived in the area and served as her mentor. Braddock earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1985. Early in her career she worked as an illustrator for several newspapers, including The Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, and The Atlanta Constitution. Braddock began crafting her long-standing comic, Jane's World, in 1991. In 2006, she received an Eisner Award nomination for best humor book for her work on the comic. Braddock published the first novel inspired by the comic series, Jane’s World: The Case of the Mail Order Bride, in June 2016 with LGBTQ publisher Bold Strokes Books. An anthology spanning 20 years of the comic, Love Letters to Jane's World, was released by Lion Forge Comics in August 2018. In 2019 it was selected as a Lambda Literary finalist for best LGBTQ graphic novel. Installments of the comic strip can continue to be found at GoComics. In 1999, Braddock became the Creative Director at Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, Schulz's studio in Northern California. In 2018, Braddock assumed the position of Chief Creative Officer and in this role is charged with overseeing the visual and editorial direction for all Peanuts licensed products worldwide. The Schulz studio works in tandem with the licensing office in New York, Peanuts Worldwide. As a professional cartoonist, she has illustrated several Peanuts children's books. The Snoopy U.S. postage stamp issued in April 2001 was designed by Braddock. Throughout Braddock's career as a cartoonist, she has published a diverse collection of comic works. In 2008, Braddock co-created the science fiction graphic novel series The Martian Confederacy with writer Jason McNamara. In 2015, she began publishing a line of graphic novels for children with Andrews McMeel Publishing. There are currently three books in the Stinky Cecil series. Braddock is publishing a new line of graphic novels for children with Viking Books for Young Readers titled, '. The first book in the series, ', is due out in September 2020.
PB9 Comics/Girl Twirl Comics
PB9 Comics serves as the hub for all of Paige Braddock's independent comics. In 2001, Braddock launched her own publishing company, Girl Twirl Comics, to make Jane's World available in comic shops and bookstores. In 2008, Girl Twirl Comics published Volume 1 of The Martian Confederacy graphic novel series. Volume 2 in the series was published in 2011.
As Missouri Vaun
In 2015, Paige Braddock began writing lesbian romance novels with publisher Bold Strokes Books under the pen name, Missouri Vaun. Vaun won two Golden Crown Literary Society awards in 2019. Love at Cooper's Creek won a contemporary romance award and Proxima Five won an award in the science-fiction category.
Personal life
Braddock and her wife, Evelyn, live in Northern California.
Selected works
Jane's World
Love Letters to Jane's World, Lion Forge, 2018
Jane's World: The Case of the Mail Order Bride, Bold Strokes Books, 2016
