'Hi & Lois' (10 March 2024).
Eric Reaves is an American cartoonist, and the longtime ghost artist of popular newspaper comics like 'Garlfield' by Jim Davis (1994-2011) and 'Hi & Lois' by Chance Browne (2009- ).
Early life and career
Eric Reaves was born in 1965 in Sweetser, Indiana. As a child, he enjoyed reading Charles Schulz's 'Peanuts' strip and Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert's 'Sgt. Rock' comic books from DC Comics. He inherited his artistic talents from his father, who at one point applied for a job with the Walt Disney Studios in California, but eventually moved back to Indiana. He has always kept his father's copy of the guidebook 'How to Draw' by Andrew Loomis, which has been a major influence. Among his favorite artists he has listed Rod Crossman, Frank Frazetta, Dave Stevens, Andrew Wyeth, Dik Browne and Bud Blake.
Educated at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Reaves graduated in 1988 with a Major in Art Education and a Minor in Art History. After starting his career as a high school art teacher, he became Creative Director with Signal Artwear in Wabash, Indiana, an apparel manufacturer working with licensed characters. Employed there from 1989 until 1994, Reaves produced sample artwork with properties from Disney, Warner Bros, Nintendo, Barbie and other brands. In his spare time, he began working freelance illustration and painting jobs under the banner "Eric's Easel", doing watercolor painting, wildlife and charcoal portraits. Later in life, he has occasionally taught as an adjunct professor at his former university.
Unpublished 'Tiger' strip by Eric Reaves.
Cartoonist
In July 1994, Reaves was hired by Jim Davis at Paws Inc., where for 17 years he was a ghost artist for the comic strip about the grumpy cat 'Garfield'. Appearing in about 2,500 newspapers world wide in 26 different languages, the feature is said to be the most widely syndicated comic strip in history. After starting as a letterer, he eventually shared the core of the comic's art duties with Davis' other co-worker, Brett Koth. Among the other Paws Inc. artists during Reaves' 1994-2011 tenure were Gary Barker (finished pencils) and Lori Barker (inker).
In addition, Reaves drew editorial cartoons for the Chronicle-Tribune, which earned him the 2007 Hoosier State Press Association's "Editorial Cartoonist of the Year" award. During the early 2000s, Reaves was hired to continue Bud Blake's 'Tiger' comic for King Features Syndicate. However, the strips he drew were never used, and the comic has been appearing in reruns since Bud Blake's 2004 death.
In 2009, Eric Reaves also began helping Chance Browne with the artwork of 'Hi & Lois', the family gag strip created by Dik Browne and Mort Walker in 1954. In 2012, he became a full-time employee of Browne Creative Enterprises, the company of the Browne family that continues to produce the classic comic strips created by Dik Browne. Working with Chance Browne and writers Brian and Greg Walker for several years, Reaves eventually received a co-credit on the 'Hi & Lois' strip, until becoming the sole artist when Browne turned ill. Since then, he has been signing the daily episodes, and has been the official artist of the feature since the death of Chance Browne in 2024.
Garfield and self-portrait, by Eric Reaves (2003).