Robb Armstrong

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American cartoonist (born 1962)

title: "Robb Armstrong" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "1962-births", "20th-century-african-american-artists", "21st-century-african-american-artists", "african-american-comics-artists", "african-american-comics-writers", "american-comic-strip-cartoonists", "american-comics-writers", "artists-from-philadelphia", "syracuse-university-college-of-visual-and-performing-arts-alumni", "canadian-screen-award-winning-writers"] description: "American cartoonist (born 1962)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robb_Armstrong" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American cartoonist (born 1962) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
image
alt
birth_nameRobbin Armstrong
birth_date
birth_placePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
death_date
nationalityAmerican
occupationCartoonist
notable_worksJump Start
spouseCrystal D. Armstrong
educationSyracuse University
website
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| image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Robbin Armstrong | birth_date = | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = American | other_names = | occupation = Cartoonist | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = Jump Start | spouse = Crystal D. Armstrong | education = Syracuse University | website = Robb Armstrong (born March 4, 1962) is an African American cartoonist, best known for creating the comic strip Jump Start. Jump Start is the most widely syndicated daily strip written by an African American.

Early life and education

Armstrong was born on March 4, 1962, in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Armstrong's mother, Dorothy was a seamstress. He was the youngest of the five children.

Armstrong attended the Shipley School in Bryn Mawr. During the senior year of high-school he completed a three-week internship with cartoonist Signe Wilkinson. He studied advertising design at the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Career

Early career

During college, he began submitting his comic Hector to The Daily Orange his freshman year and later became art director at the newspaper. Hector is a cynical, lazy black college kid who is accompanied by Meatball and Julias; a dog with human ears. When this character didn't work well outside the college boundaries, he worked over the next four years to reshape Hector into Jump Start. During his early years as a cartoonist, he held a day-job at Weightman advertising in Philadelphia.

''Jump Start''

Jump Start, Armstrong's comic strip revolves around the trials and tribulations of a middle-class Black family in Philadelphia that is made up of Joseph "Joe" Cobb Sr., a city police officer, and Marcy Cobb, a nurse and their four children. The family is named after the Cobbs Creek neighborhood located in West Philadelphia.

After being picked for syndication by United Feature Syndicate in October 1989, the cartoon appeared in 69 papers within six months of launch. Since its launch in 1989 around 10,000 comics have been created. As of 2018, it is syndicated in over 300 newspapers throughout North America, including The Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, and* The Boston Globe*.

In 2020, Armstrong stated that he is working on a possible live-action comedy television show based on Jump Start.

Other work

In October 2010, Armstrong's work was featured in The Original Art of the Funny Papers exhibition at Syracuse university's XL Projects gallery in Armory Square. On May 19, 2012, Armstrong received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris causa degree from Holy Family University in Pennsylvania.

In 2016, Armstrong published a part self-help book, part memoir titled Fearless: A Cartoonist's Guide to Life.

Influences

Armstrong lists Charles M. Schulz as one of his influences and heroes, saying that he started drawing sketches of Charlie Brown at age five. As part of the 1994 animated television special You're in the Super Bowl, Charlie Brown, Schulz gave his Franklin, the Peanuts strip's Black character, the surname Armstrong, after Robb Armstrong. Armstrong was later chosen to co-write the 2024 Peanuts special, Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin, the first special to star the character.

Personal life

Armstrong has two children and is married to Crystal D. Armstrong, an events planner. They reside in Los Angeles, California.

A great uncle, Eugene Benson, played baseball in the Negro league and the majors.

Publications

References

References

  1. (April 26, 2016). "'Jump Start' Comic Strip Creator's New Book Part Memoir, Part Self-Help". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
  2. "Armstrong: JumpStart's positive depiction of African American life is refreshing". Philly.com.
  3. (27 January 1991). "Jump-Start Creator is Beating the Odds". [[The Los Angeles Times]].
  4. (May 21, 2019). "Shipley School honors alumni, continues 125th Anniversary Celebration with special programming this spring". Main Line Media News.
  5. (1 April 1990). "Comic: New strip focuses on marital togetherness". The News Journal.
  6. (1 April 1990). "Comic: New strip focuses on marital togetherness". The News Journal.
  7. (1995). "Just for laughs".
  8. (February 5, 2018). "5 Questions: Cartoonist injects humor into serious messages". The Sentinel.
  9. (14 October 2020). "Cartoonist Robb Armstrong reminisces time at SU, discusses new book". The Daily Orange.
  10. (23 July 2016). "Black Cartoonist Draws Lessons from Losses". EBONY.
  11. (23 November 2014). "Fox adapting Jump Start comic". Digital Spy.
  12. (10 October 2010). "Syracuse University Exhibit Showcases Comic Strips". The Post-Standard.
  13. "Famous syndicated cartoons to be exhibited at XL Projects Oct. 6-31". Syracuse University VPA.
  14. (2016-04-27). "Distinguished Alumni Award Presented to Robbin Armstrong '81 and Paolo Malabuyo '91 April 29, 2016". The Shipley School.
  15. (July 27, 2020). "'Jump Start,' one of the first comics about Black Americans, comes to the Sunday Star Tribune". Star Tribune.
  16. "'Peanuts' Character Franklin Turns 50". NPR.org.
  17. (August 2, 2018). "The surprising story behind Franklin, the first black "Peanuts" character". CBS News.
  18. (1 March 2022). "The beloved 'Peanuts' animated franchise establishes endowments at two HBCUs". [[TheGrio]].
  19. (February 1, 2024). "'Welcome Home, Franklin': A Peanuts Trailblazer Gets His Own Special".
  20. Amatangelo, Amy. (2024-02-15). "'Welcome Home, Franklin' tells the backstory of the first Black 'Peanuts' character". Los Angeles Times.
  21. (2013-10-25). "Robb Armstrong (JumpStart)". GoComics.
  22. Armstrong, Robb. (2024-02-26). "JumpStart by Robb Armstrong for February 26, 2024 {{!}} GoComics.com".

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living-people1962-births20th-century-african-american-artists21st-century-african-american-artistsafrican-american-comics-artistsafrican-american-comics-writersamerican-comic-strip-cartoonistsamerican-comics-writersartists-from-philadelphiasyracuse-university-college-of-visual-and-performing-arts-alumnicanadian-screen-award-winning-writers