Tom Batiuk is a graduate of Kent State University. His Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft comic strips are carried in hundreds of newspapers throughout the United States. He was recognized as one of the three finalists in the cartooning category of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize awards for the series of daily comic strips that chronicled the death of longtime character Lisa Moore. His Funky Winkerbean series and Roses in December were finalists for the 2016 Eisner Awards.