Carol Tyler

{{Infobox comics creator | image = Carol Tyler 9140005.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|11|20}} | birth_place = Chicago, Illinois | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = American | area = | cartoonist = y | write = | pencil = | ink = | letter = | color = | edit = | alias = C. Tyler<ref name="Chrislip">Chrislip, Bruce. [http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/interviews/4383/ "Talking with Tyler," The Comics Reporter (March 12, 2006).]</ref> | notable works = ''The Ephemerata'', ''Soldier's Heart'', ''Fab4 Mania'', ''Late Bloomer'' | awards = Master Cartoonist Award, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Gold Medal Excellence Award, Society of Illustrators

Inkpot Award, Comicon international

Cartoonist Studio Prize, Slate.com

Nemo Award, Toonseum Pittsburgh PA

Dori Seda Memorial Award for Best New Female Cartoonist, 1988<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-152-carol-tyler|title = Episode 152 – Carol Tyler|date = 26 January 2016}}</ref> }} '''Carol Tyler''' (born November 20, 1951) is an autobiographical comics pioneer and 2026 Will Eisner Hall of Fame inductee. Her beautifully written and drawn stories have been recognized for decades with multiple nominations and awards, including the Gold Medal of Excellence from the Society of Illustrators, the Cartoonist Studio Prize, an Inkpot award from Comic-Con, the Ohio Arts Council Excellence Award, the Master Cartoonist award at the 2016 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

In 2026, Carol Tyler was a Judge's Choice inductee into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.<ref>https://www.comicsbeat.com/eisner-awards-hall-of-fame-inducts-18-judges-choice-creators/</ref>

== Biography == Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she attended Catholic schools, K -12, and Middle Tennessee State University where she achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.<ref name=ABG>[http://www.adambaumgoldgallery.com/telling_tales/Tyler_Carol/tyler.htm Tyler bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220090144/http://www.adambaumgoldgallery.com/telling_tales/Tyler_Carol/tyler.htm |date=2016-12-20 }}, Adam Baumgold Gallery website. Accessed Aug. 5, 2016.</ref> Tyler became interested in the underground comics movement while pursuing a master's degree in painting at Syracuse University in the early 1980s.<ref name="Chrislip" /> This interest brought her to the underground comics hotbed of San Francisco.<ref name="citybeat.com">Ramos, Steve. "[http://www.citybeat.com/2005-08-31/cover5.shtml Drawn to Be an Artist: Clifton cartoonist Carol Tyler is a late bloomer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617142313/http://www.citybeat.com/2005-08-31/cover5.shtml |date=2006-06-17 }}". ''Cincinnati CityBeat'' (August 31, 2005).</ref>

Her first comics publication was the 1987 story "Uncovered Property", in ''Weirdo''.<ref> Mautner, Chris. [http://www.tcj.com/i-was-dipping-a-pen-at-my-dying-mothers-bedside-an-interview-with-carol-tyler/ "'I Was Dipping a Pen at My Dying Mother's Bedside': An Interview with Carol Tyler,"] ''The Comics Journal'' (June 26, 2013).</ref> Tyler's short slice-of-life stories and her distinctive artwork brought her critical attention as one of a growing number of female artists shaping the direction of underground/alternative comics in North America in the 1980s; she appeared in the influential feminist anthologies ''Wimmen's Comix'' and ''Twisted Sisters''.<ref>Meier, Samantha [http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2014/02/between-feminism-and-the-underground/ "Between Feminism and the Underground,"] ''The Hooded Utilitarian'' (Feb. 5, 2014).</ref><ref>Lopes, Paul. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yYInVE6OLiQC&dq=feminist+comics+anthologies+influence+Wimmens+comix&pg=PA83 ''Demanding Respect: The Evolution of the American Comic Book''] (Temple University Press, 2009). p. 83.</ref><ref>[http://www.fantagraphics.com/completewimmenscomix/ ''The Complete Wimmen's Comix'' page], Fantagraphics website. Accessed Aug. 5, 2016.</ref> Her first solo book, ''The Job Thing'', was published in 1993. She produced short comics for publications including ''LA Weekly'', ''Pulse'' (Tower Records), ''Strip AIDS'', ''Heck'', and ''Zero Zero''.

Tyler also performed live comedy with the Rick & Ruby Patio Show at LA's The Comedy Store, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, and the Clunie Center in Sacramento.<ref name="ABG" />

Her second solo work, ''Late Bloomer'', was published by Fantagraphics in 2005.<ref>Spurgeon, Tom. [http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/interviews/4383/ "An Interview With Carol Tyler,"] ''The Comics Reporter'' (March 13, 2006).</ref> It's a career highlight collection including both previously published and new material. In his foreword, Robert Crumb says, "She's tops in my book. One of the best artists alive and working in the comics medium. Her work has the extremely rare quality of authentic HEART. Hers are the only comics that ever brought me to the verge of tears."<ref>Crumb, R. introduction, ''Late Bloomer'' (Fantagraphics, 2005).</ref>

Her latest work is the two part "Ephemerata" series. "The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief" (Fantagraphics, 2025) and the upcoming "Verdante: The Ephemerata Goes Home." (Fantagraphics, 2028) "Fab4 Mania: A Beatles Obsession and the Concert of a Lifetime" is about the author's discovering and loving the Beatles when she was 13. The book is a slice-of-life, and leads up to her seeing them perform live at Chicago's Comiskey Park in 1965. (Fantagraphics, 2018). Before that, in 2015, the ''You'll Never Know'' trilogy was combined in to one volume called "Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father, A Daughter's Memoir." These books "Soldier's Heart/and the 3 You'll Never Knows" are about her search for the truth about what happened to her father during World War II, and her attempt to understand the damage his war experiences had on her life and future relationships. The ''New York Times'' called it " a vivid, affecting, eccentrically stylish frame built around a terrible silence".<ref>Wolk, Douglas. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/books/review/Wolk-t.html "What Did You Do in the War, Dad?" ''New York Times'' (June 5, 2009).]</ref> ''Book One: A Good & Decent Man'' was released in May 2009. ''Book Two: Collateral Damage'' was released in July 2010.<ref>[http://198.234.121.108/aroundcincinnati/102509_CarolTyler.mp3 Tyler interview], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704031902/http://198.234.121.108/aroundcincinnati/102509_CarolTyler.mp3 |date=July 4, 2011 }} "Around Cincinnati," 91.7 WVXU Cincinnati. Accessed July 7, 2010.</ref> The final installment of the trilogy, ''Book Three: Soldier's Heart'', was released in October 2012.

Tyler taught a comics class at the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning from 2006 - 2019. Her primary focus was teaching students the methods and techniques of comic creation. In teaching the history of comics "Tyler can pull out almost the entire history of comics in this country, everything from 1930s classics to 1950s comic magazines teaching aspects of African American history (regarding Harriet Tubman and Crispus Attucks) to an original of the first issue of the iconoclastic ''Mad'' Magazine."<ref>Reilly, M. B. [https://www.uc.edu/profiles/profile.asp?id=7370 "Carol Tyler Draws a Comic Career One Line at a Time,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060701/https://www.uc.edu/profiles/profile.asp?id=7370 |date=March 4, 2016 }} University of Cincinnati website (Nov. 19, 2007).</ref> She has also brought her current book theme, military service, into the classroom.<ref>Reilly, M.B. [http://www.uc.edu/News/NR.aspx?ID=9697 "Arts Innovation for the 21st Century: Instructor Makes Serious Use of Comics to Help Veterans,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324173703/http://www.uc.edu/News/NR.aspx?ID=9697 |date=March 24, 2010 }} ''University of Cincinnati News'' (March 3, 2009).</ref><ref>Reilly, M.B. [http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=10117 "Just in Time for Memorial Day: UC Arts Leadership Brings 'Comic Relief' to Veterans,"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615172558/http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=10117 |date=June 15, 2011 }} ''University of Cincinnati News'' (May 19, 2009).</ref><ref>{{YouTube|t61-WpS6aYE|"Carol Tyler, student at University of Cincinnati,"}}. Accessed Jan. 14, 2014.</ref>

Another cartooning endeavor was a series of one-page stories called "Tomatoes" for ''Cincinnati'' magazine. Based upon her experiences of growing tomatoes and friendships in the heart of the city, "Tomatoes" appears monthly on the publication's inside back page.<ref>Stowe, Jay. [http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/columns/letter-from-the-editor-january-2013/ "Letter from the Editor: January 2013,"] ''Cincinnati Magazine'' (January 1, 2013).</ref>

Tyler was a 2016 [https://civitella.org Civitella] Ranieri residency fellow. She is also a Residency artist through the Arts Learning Program with the Ohio Arts Council.<ref>[http://www.oac.state.oh.us/search/AIE/ArtistsDirectory/default.asp?strCategoryName=ResidentVisualArts&intEducatorID=150 "Residency Artist - Visual Arts: Carol Tyler," Ohio Arts Council.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203151253/http://www.oac.state.oh.us/search/AIE/ArtistsDirectory/default.asp?strCategoryName=ResidentVisualArts&intEducatorID=150 |date=February 3, 2010 }} Accessed July 7, 2010.</ref>

In 2016, Tyler spoke at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Art Museum on "... the unique challenges of autobiographical storytelling set in real time with real characters."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2016/02/09/biclm-event-carol-tyler-presents-soldiers-heart/|title = BICLM Event: Carol Tyler Presents "Soldier's Heart"|date = 9 February 2016}}</ref> She also spoke at The Society of Illustrators.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.societyillustrators.org/Events-and-Programs/Lectures/2016/Hart-Tyler/An-Evening-with-Tom-Hart-and-Carol-Tyler.aspx|title=Homepage|access-date=2016-02-25|archive-date=2016-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223033505/http://www.societyillustrators.org/Events-and-Programs/Lectures/2016/Hart-Tyler/An-Evening-with-Tom-Hart-and-Carol-Tyler.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

DAAP Galleries staged a major one-woman [https://vimeo.com/158968730 exhibit] of Tyler's work which included "...written entries of her ascent into illustration, accompanied by artworks and sketches from throughout her career," and "...eclectic 3-D creations...A flashing, multicolored light inside of a star rotates along one wall. An interactive piece called the "Ego-Meter" asks viewers to pull a string that raises a wooden face up the meter. A creepy baby doll spins around on a stick...an excellent job of showcasing an inspirational artist and professor at UC".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsrecord.org/arts_and_entertainment/daap-galleries-digs-into-cartoonist-carol-tyler-s-process-in/article_441f7d9a-ca0a-11e5-b13f-1f0faa196930.html|title=DAAP galleries digs into cartoonist Carol Tyler's process in new exhibit|date=2 February 2016 }}</ref>

In 2017 she gave a [https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-8600 talk] about her process of creating ''Soldier's Heart'' at the Library of Congress, titled "Comics to a 'T".

In 2020, Carol Tyler's work was chosen to be a part of the Society of Illustrators Museum exhibit "Women in Comics: Looking Forward, Looking Back".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.societyillustrators.org/exhibits/women-comics-looking-forward-and-back |title=Women in Comics {{pipe}} Society of Illustrators |access-date=2020-02-21 |archive-date=2020-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200601221159/https://www.societyillustrators.org/exhibits/women-comics-looking-forward-and-back |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From November 5–20, 2021, "Shaping Grief: Carol Tyler's Mourning Mind" an interactive art experience was featured at the DSGN Collective in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was composed of comics, repurposed objects, murals, mobiles, and a giant mourning bonnet which served as a gateway through which people would walk to observe the exhibit. The artwork and bonnet are part of her upcoming book "The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of My Grief".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/645245169|title=Shaping Grief - Carol Tyler's Mourning Mind - Nov 5 - 20|date=12 November 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dsgncllctv.com/artshows | title=SHOWS | date=13 March 2023 }}</ref>

Carol Tyler and her late husband Justin Green are the subject of the documentary film ''Married to Comics'', which premiered in 2023 at the Small Press Expo event feature at the AFI Silver Theater and Culture Center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cavna |first=Michael |date=2023-09-21 |title=Their undersung art changed comics. Their marriage changed each other. |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2023/09/19/married-to-comics-carol-tyler/ |access-date=2023-10-27 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="z419">{{cite web | last=Kelly | first=John | title=Married to Comics: A Powerful Film About the Lives of Justin Green and Carol Tyler | website=The Comics Journal | date=2023-09-28 | url=https://www.tcj.com/married-to-comics-a-powerful-film-about-the-lives-of-justin-green-and-carol-tyler/ | access-date=2025-12-03}}</ref>

In 2025, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum hosted a solo retrospective highlighting Carol's decades-long achievements in comics with a show called "Write It Down, Draw It Out: The Comics Art of Carol Tyler."

== Personal life == Tyler currently lives in Cincinnati. She has been there with the cartoonist Justin Green since 1997 until his death (1945–2022).<ref>Mautner, Chris. [http://www.tcj.com/i-was-dipping-a-pen-at-my-dying-mothers-bedside-an-interview-with-carol-tyler/ "'I Was Dipping a Pen at My Dying Mother's Bedside': An Interview with Carol Tyler,"] ''The Comics Journal'' website (June 26, 2013).</ref> Before that, they were in Sacramento. They met and lived in San Francisco in the early 1980s, married in October 1984, and have a child, Julia Green.<ref name="citybeat.com"/> Her brothers are Olympic bobsledders Joe Tyler (USA #1 1980) and Jim Tyler (USA #1 1984).

== Awards == In 2016, Carol Tyler received the Cartoonist Studio Prize from the ''Slate Book Review''.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2016/04/cartoonist_studio_prize_2016_winners_boulet_and_carol_tyler.html|title = Announcing the Winners of the 2016 Cartoonist Studio Prize|journal = Slate|date = 8 April 2016}}</ref> With fellow recipient Sergio Aragones, she accepted the Master Cartoonist Award from Cartoon Crossroads Columbus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cartooncrossroadscolumbus.com/index.html |title=Cartoon Crossroads Columbus |access-date=2016-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018014121/http://cartooncrossroadscolumbus.com/index.html |archive-date=2016-10-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''You'll Never Know, Book I: A Good & Decent Man'', ''Book II: Collateral Damage'', and ''Book III: Soldier's Heart'' have been nominated for many awards in the comics industry, including eleven Eisner Award nominations for Best writer/artist non-fiction, Best graphic album, Best Lettering and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist, 2 Harvey Awards, and 2 Ignatz Awards. The series was named as a finalist for the 2011 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize.<ref>Clark, Noelene. [http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2011/04/29/youll-never-know-carol-tylers-family-album-of-war-pain/#/0 "'You'll Never Know': Carol Tyler's family album of war pain,"] ''Los Angeles Times'' "Hero Complex" (Apr. 29, 2011).</ref> In 2016, "A Soldier's Heart" brought Tyler another nomination for an ''LA Times'' Book Prize.<ref>Kellogg, Carolyn. [http://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-jc-la-times-book-prize-finalists-20160222-story.html "L.A. Times Book Prizes will honor Juan Felipe Herrera, James Patterson; finalists announced,"] ''Los Angeles Times'' (Feb. 23, 2016).</ref> It also received an Ohio Arts Council Excellence Award.<ref>McGurk, Caitlin. [https://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2016/02/09/biclm-event-carol-tyler-presents-soldiers-heart/ "BICLM Event: Carol Tyler Presents 'Soldier's Heart,'"] Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Blog (FEBRUARY 9, 2016).</ref>

In 2010, it was named one of "The Most Memorable Comics & Graphic Novels of 2010" by NPR's Glen Weldon.<ref>Weldon, Glen. [https://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2010/01/2009_the_graphic_novels_that_u_1.html "Graphic Novels That ... What Was I Saying?"] NPR.org (January 6, 2010).</ref> It ranked #5 on Rob Clough's Top 50 Books of 2010 at High-Low.<ref>Clough, Rob. [http://highlowcomics.blogspot.com/2011/08/better-late-than-never-top-50-books-of.html "Better Late Than Never: Top 50 Books of 2010,"] ''High-Low'' (Aug. 29, 2011).</ref> It also made the "Best of 2010" lists at Comic Book Resources,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101230230948/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30081 "CBR'S TOP 100 COMICS OF 2010, #50 - 26,"] ''Comic Book Resources'' (December 29th, 2010).</ref> Robot 6, and Politics and Prose.<ref>[http://www.politics-prose.com/graphic-novels/2010favorites "2010 Favorites,"] Politics and Prose website. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827004917/http://www.politics-prose.com/graphic-novels/2010favorites |date=August 27, 2014 }}</ref> ''Best American Comics'' listed it as a "notable comic" in 2011.<ref>Abel, Jessica. [http://dw-wp.com/2011/12/notables-2011/ "Best American Comics: the Notable Comics of 2011,"] ''Drawing Words and Writing Pictures'' website (Dec. 7, 2011).</ref>

Tyler's piece "The Hannah Story", published in ''Drawn & Quarterly'', was nominated for a 1995 Eisner Award and is on the Fantagraphics list of Top 100 Comics of the Twentieth Century.<ref>[http://www.fantagraphics.com/youllneverknow2/ ''You'll Never Know Book 2: Collateral Damage'' page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315084943/http://www.fantagraphics.com/youllneverknow2/ |date=2016-03-15 }}, Fantagraphics website. Accessed Aug. 4, 2016.</ref>

In 1988, Tyler was awarded the inaugural Dori Seda Memorial Award for Best New Female Cartoonist from Last Gasp.<ref>[http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2259&Itemid=82 Carol Tyler bio, Fantagraphics website.]</ref>

''The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief'' was a finalist for the 2025 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=L.A. Times Book Prize honorees named — many celebrate resistance: ‘When people rise, empires always fall’ |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2026-04-17/la-times-book-prize-winners-2026-ai-book-bans-amy-tan-we-need-diverse-books |website=Los Angeles Times }} Retrieved 2026-05-14.</ref>

In 2026, Carol Tyler was selected for inclusion in the Eisner Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/eisner-awards-hall-of-fame-inducts-18-judges-choice-creators/|website=The Beat|first=Heidi|last=MacDonald|date=January 23, 2026|title=Eisner Awards Hall of Fame inducts 18 Judges Choice creators}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Graphic novels=== * ''The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief''. Fantagraphics, 2025. {{ISBN|979-8-8750-0143-7}} * ''Fab4 Mania: A Beatles Obsession and the Concert of a Lifetime''. Fantagraphics, 2018. {{ISBN|978-1-68396-061-4}} * ''Soldier's Heart: The Campaign to Understand My WWII Veteran Father''. Fantagraphics, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-60699-896-0}} * ''You'll Never Know: Book III: "Soldier's Heart"''. Fantagraphics, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-60699-548-8}} * ''You'll Never Know: Book II: "Collateral Damage"''. Fantagraphics, 2010. {{ISBN|978-1-60699-418-4}} * ''You'll Never Know: Book I: "A Good and Decent Man"''. Fantagraphics, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-60699-144-2}} * ''Late Bloomer''. Fantagraphics Books, 2005. {{ISBN|1-56097-664-0}} * ''The Job Thing''. Fantagraphics Books, 1993. {{ISBN|1-56097-111-8}} * {{cite book | title=The Ephemerata | publisher=Fantagraphics Books, Inc | publication-place=Seattle | date=2025-09-09 | isbn=979-8-8750-0143-7}} <ref name="i917">{{cite web | last=Thielman | first=Sam | title=Book Review: 'The Ephemerata: Shaping the Exquisite Nature of Grief,' by Carol Tyler | website=The New York Times | date=2025-11-01 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/books/review/the-ephemerata-carol-tyler.html | access-date=2025-12-03}}</ref><ref name="q113">{{cite web | last=Schwartz | first=William | title=Grieving in Carol Tyler's New Graphic Memoir | website=Book and Film Globe | date=2025-10-21 | url=https://bookandfilmglobe.com/uncategorized/grieving-in-carol-tylers-new-graphic-memoir/ | access-date=2025-12-03}}</ref>

===Comics and magazines=== *''Weirdo'' *''Wimmen's Comix'' *''Street Music'' *''Zero Zero'' *''Mineshaft Magazine'' *''Prime Cuts'' *''LA Weekly'' *''Drawn & Quarterly'' *Tower Records' ''Pulse!''

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * {{Inkpot Award 2010s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyler, Carol}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Alternative cartoonists Category:American women editorial cartoonists Category:Syracuse University alumni Category:Artists from Chicago Category:American editorial cartoonists Category:American comics artists Category:American women comics artists Category:American graphic novelists Category:21st-century American women Category:Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame inductees