'Cereal Baby Keller'.
Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1928, as the son of Polish immigrants. Among his main graphic influences were Jean De Brunhoff, Edward Gorey, Heinrich Hoffmann, Winsor McCay and Tomi Ungerer.
He started his career as an illustrator while still in high school, assisting on the 'Mutt and Jeff' strip by Bud Fisher. He studied at the Art Students' League and was co-creator of the book 'Atomics for the Millions' in 1947.
Maurice Sendak went on to become a writer and illustrator of children's books. His 'Where the Wild Things Are' won him the prestigious Caldecott medal in 1964. This book, the first of a trilogy, was followed by 'In the Night Kitchen' (1970) and 'Outside Over There' (1981). He has also made other successful titles, such as 'Max and the Maximonsters' (1968), 'Seven Little Monsters' (1977), 'In Grandpa's House' (1985) and many others. In 1975, 'Where the Wild Things Are' was adapted in an animated TV special, produced by Gene Deitch. Spike Jonze also adapted the story into a 2009 live-action film.
Apart from being a writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak also worked as a designer for ballet and opera, and theater and film producer. In 2001, Art Spiegelman asked him to try his hand at comics, which resulted in 'Cereal Baby Keller', published in 'Little Lit' #2.
Maurice Sendak died on the morning of May 8, 2012, in Danbury, Connecticut, from complications of a stroke. He was an influence on Jules Feiffer and Julia Gfrörer. In 'The Simpsons' episode 'The Girl Who Slept Too Little' by Matt Groening, Lisa travels to a monster country in her dreams, directly modelled after 'Where the Wild Things Are' (2005). In the trilogy 'Imaginationland' of the TV series 'South Park' by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, one of the monsters from 'Where the Wild Things Are' has a cameo beyond hundreds of other famous fictional characters.
'Where The Wild Things Are'.