Tom Bunk (born 17 December 1945[citation needed]) is a cartoonist known for adding multiple extraneous details to his posters, cartoons and illustrations created for both American and German publishers.[1][2][3]

Tom Bunk
BornTomas Maria Bunk
(1945-12-17) 17 December 1945 (age 80)
NationalityGerman
Area(s)Cartoonist, painter, graphic artist
Notable works
Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages, Mad magazine, Quantoons

Career

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In 1973, he moved to Berlin, where he began rendering humorous subjects in oil paintings. After selling these paintings in three successful shows, he turned to cartooning and contributed to underground comics in 1976.[4]

His cartoon creations appeared in the 1970s in the satirical German magazine pardon, and in other European magazines and anthologies. After collecting his comics in three books, he moved to New York in 1983 and began working for Raw, the graphic story magazine edited and published by Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman. He created Topps trading cards, including Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids. In 1990, he became a regular Mad cartoonist, and his contributions have led some to regard his work as a continuation of Will Elder's cartoons.[4]

He illustrates humorous and surreal oil paintings and graphics of absurd situations and subjects, explaining, "In my paintings, I am interested in telling a story. I like the story to be open ended and enigmatic. It should have an internal truth, which the viewer will recognize in his/her own way. As elements in my storytelling, I use symbols and their arrangement. I like everyday objects to have a meaning beyond the obvious, a metaphysical meaning. When I paint I try to keep a balance between my intellect, my intuition and my ever present humoristic approach. In this way I keep the painting always interesting and alive for me. This is also what I would like the painting to be for the viewer, a stimulating and entertaining puzzle."[4]

In 2015 he was presented with a Lifetime Work Achievement Award at the Munich Comic Festival, and the Reuben Divisional Award for best cartoonist in 2018 in the United States.

He lives and works in New Rochelle, New York.

References

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  1. Degg, D. D. (2026-01-24). "You Got Comic Books in My Comic Strip Dogma". The Daily Cartoonist. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  2. Comments, Jude Terror | (2023-10-10). "Garbage Pail Kids: Trashin' Through Time #1 Preview: 80s Nostalgia". bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  3. Cranswick, Amie (2023-10-10). "Comic Book Preview – Garbage Pail Kids: Trashin' Through Time #1". www.flickeringmyth.com. Retrieved 2026-05-18.
  4. 1 2 3 Bunk, Tom. "Artist Profile". spalato.net. Archived 2008-09-20 at the Wayback Machine
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