Mark Gonyea was born in northern New York seven years before he saw Star Wars for the first time. Spending the better portion of his early life watching tv, going to movies and playing video games, little did he realize this was to be the essential ground work for a future career in cartooning and graphic design. After graduating from The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art in 1995, he worked briefly in Manhattan as a graphic artist for the magazine Heavy Metal. “Encouraged” to seek other opportunities, he returned to the North East and started working as a graphic artist for The Vermont Teddy Bear Company.

Over the years he got better at design, found his voice, and eventually left to pursue book publishing full time. His first book, A Book About Design: Complicated Doesn’t Make it Good, was published in the fall of ‘05 and was very well reviewed by the New York Times and others. His second design book is soon to be published. Currently, he’s working on a pair of graphic novels based on his NICE GUY comics which can be seen on his website, and is embarking upon his first picturebook adventure. Even with all the writing, he still enjoys watching tv, movies and playing video games. 

www.MrOblivious.com