Patrick McDonnell is the creator of the Mutts comic strip, which is about to celebrate its fifteenth anniversary. He has illustrated for the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, Time, Parents, and other journals, done CD covers for the Greatest Hits classical music series, and created a license plate for his home state of New Jersey. Hailed as "the next Charles Schulz," Patrick sits on the board of directors of the Humane Society of the United States, and has won numerous awards for both Mutts and his animal welfare work. He is the author of The Gift of Nothing, Art, Just Like Heaven, Hug Time, and South, and the co-author of Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman.