Big Top, Comic Strip by Rob Harrell '91, Now Syndicated to Newspapers Worldwide

July 18, 2002

July 18, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - "Rob [Harrell] came to Greencastle and DePauw University from his home in Bloomington [Indiana] with the intention of pursuing a degree in political science," states an article about the 1991 DePauw alumnus in the summer issue of Delta Chi Quarterly. "Soon after moving into the Delta Chi fraternity as a freshman, his artistic talent was noticed by three brothers. Mike Garrard '88, John Roe '88, and Bill Young '90-- each one a talented artist-- convinced him to switch his major to studio art. That began the process that now has him on the verge of a realizing a dream: to be the creator of a major syndicated comic strip."

Harrell's strip, Big Top, is now being syndicated worldwide by Universal Press Syndicate (click here to learn more), and can be seen in newspapers across America including major cities such as Chicago, Dallas and Detroit. The magazine article, written by 1991 DePauw graduate (and Delta Chi brother) Jeff Main, says Harrell's "artistic skills were formally honed at DePauw (and later at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida."

After graduation, Harrell and another 1991 DePauw alumnus, John Weed, created a business that designed and sold t-shirts and party favors for Greek organizations on several campuses. Harrell "also produces fine art, oil on canvas, for exhibition and sale. Several of his portraits and paintings are currently being exhibited at Clowes Hall in Indianapolis (learn more here) . He has also developed a thriving business of producing original illustrations for advertising agencies and clients as diverse as Volkswagen, TIME magazine and a children's textbook publisher," the article adds.

Big Top appears seven days a week. Universal Press also syndicates Doonesbury and Garfield, and the Delta Chi magazine reports that Rob Harrell had a chance to meet with the creators of those strips, Garry Trudeau and Jim Davis, after being signed. "Talking with them just enhanced the excitement of getting accepted," he says.

You can access the complete Delta Chi Quarterly article online via a PDF File. You can view the daily Big Top strip at Ucomics.com. And, you'll find a Universal Press Syndicate biography of Rob Harrell by clicking here.

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