Cammuso, Frank 1965–

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Cammuso, Frank 1965–

PERSONAL: Born 1965, in NY. Education: Syracuse University, graduated 1987.

ADDRESSES: Home—Syracuse, NY. Agent—Nite Owl Comix, P.O. Box 562, Syracuse, NY 13206-0562. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Syracuse Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY, political cartoonist; former stand-up comedian.

WRITINGS:

Below the Belt (collection of political cartoons), North Country Books (Utica, NY), 1993.

(With Hart Seely) 2007-Eleven: And Other American Comedies (stories), Villard (New York, NY), 2000.

Contributor of political cartoons to New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, and other periodicals; contributor of fiction and satire to New Yorker, New York Times, and Village Voice, and to National Public Radio. Author of columns with Hart Seely.

"MAX HAMM" GRAPHIC NOVELS

Maxx Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective, Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY), 2002.

Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective, Volume 1: The Big Sheep, Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY), 2003.

The Long Ever After Part 1: The Seven Deadly Sins, Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY), 2003.

The Long Ever After Part 2: The Glass Slipper, Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY), 2004.

The Long Ever After Part 3: The Magic Mirror, Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY) 2004.

Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective (contains four Max Hamm stories), Nite Owl Comix (Syracuse, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Frank Cammuso may be best known for the political cartoons he draws for the Syracuse Post-Standard and other newspapers, but he is also the author and artist behind Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective. This private-eye pig, along with his partner, Humpty Dumpty, form the Hamm and Eggs Detective Agency, at least until Humpty Dumpty is murdered. In Max Hamm, Fairy Tale Detective, Volume 1: The Big Sheep, Hamm tries to figure out who killed his friend and also investigates the disappearance of Little Bo Peep's sheep. Along the way, with the help of snitching jazz musician Little Boy Blue, Hamm discovers a giant criminal enterprise that includes would-be Mafia dons the Grimm Brothers and Mother Goose. The book's design is "a perfect mimicry of the Little Golden Book storybook format," Greg McElhatton commented in iComics.com. McElhatton also praised Cammuso's illustrations, noting that "from Little Bo Peep's hugely innocent gaze to the sleazy look of Little Boy Blue, each character is carefully crafted for maximum storytelling effect." "It's simply one of the cleverest parodies of private eyes I've ever read," Kevin Burton Smith wrote on the Thrilling Detective Web site.

Cammuso is also coauthor of another book of parodies, 2007-Eleven: And Other American Comedies. The twenty-nine stories included, written with Syracuse Post-Standard reporter Hart Seely, imagine familiar pop cultural figures in unfamiliar circumstances—fictional super spy and ladies' man James Bond is sued for sexual harassment; playwright David Mamet writes catalog copy; homemaking maven Martha Stewart prepares to host the Biblical Last Supper. In the best-received piece in the collection, "Xmas Files," X-Files television series heroes Mulder and Scully investigate mysterious nighttime home invasions, all occurring just before Christmas, carried out by some powerful alien creature whom readers will recognize as Santa Claus. The book's "safe, silly brand of humor will appeal to a wide audience," concluded Booklist reviewer James Klise.