Tayo Fatunla

Tayo Fatunla (often stylized as TAYO) is a UK-based Nigerian cartoonist, storyteller, comic artist, and illustrator with over four decades of producing comics, illustrations, caricatures, and socio-political commentaries in publications across the globe. He is an artist of the African diaspora. TAYO is a member of several professional cartoon organizations, including Cartoon Arts International, Cartoon Movement, Global Cartooning for the Peace movement, and an active member of the Cartoonist Association of Nigeria (CARTAN).. TAYO was the first international student from Africa admitted to the prestigious art School, The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey, where the legendary Joe Kubert and other great professionals taught him. TAYO is arguably the most popular Nigerian cartoonist in the diaspora. He has held exhibitions and cartoon workshops in the U.K., Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Finland, France, Ethiopia, the U.S., Egypt, Ireland, Israel, Belgium, South Korea, Algeria, and Italy. Tayo has produced cartoons, illustrations, and magazine covers for several clients, including the award-winning digital comic for the BBC World Service titled Hooked; illustrated students’ worksheet on Africa Kingdoms for the British Museum; and the Illustrated histories of cities focusing on Lagos State of Nigeria for the Guardian
==Early life==
TAYO was born in Wimbledon, London, England, in 1961 and has had over three decades of cartooning experience. He is the son of Marcellina (nee Abosede) and Emmanuel Fatunla. His passion for illustration started at a tender age with a great interest in foreign comic magazines, which his mother bought for him over time. These included Buster, Battle, Beano, Tiger, Jack and Jill, and Roy of the Rovers comics. Later in primary school, he came across Marvel superhero comics, the first being Mighty Thor. TAYO attended Lagos Baptist Academy Secondary School, Obanikoro, Lagos, Nigeria, between 1973 and 1978. He published his first cartoon while at school in the Children's magazine titled Apollo, a publication owned by the Nigerian second republic executive governor Olabisi Onabanjo. Soon after, he started producing illustrations and cartoons for different mass media outlets in Lagos, Nigeria.
==Education and career==
Having worked in Nigeria for several years at several print media organizations, including the Daily Times, Daily Express, Lagos Weekend, Evening Times, Concord and notably The Punch newspapers, He drew the back page social critic cartoon character column called OMOBA. TAYO decided to learn art formally and went further to study cartooning at the prestigious Kubert Art School in Dover, New Jersey, in the early 1980s, becoming their first international student from Africa. After his studies in the US, Tayo worked briefly as an editorial/political cartoonist in Nigeria before moving to the United Kingdom during the military era when it became highly unsafe for cartoonists critical of governmental anomalies. He was a resident artist for the Pan-African weekly West Africa magazine for over ten years designing the covers and producing cartoons for the magazine every week. Afterwards, TAYO's mentor Jerry Robinson, creator of The Joker offered to syndicated TAYO's editorial cartoons and OUR ROOTS educational feature in the US through Cartoonists and Writers syndicate which he (Jerry Robinson) founded in 1984.
TAYO's illustrated book, OUR ROOTS, chronicles the history and achievements of Black people globally. The book compilation is a best seller and has won him several awards.
TAYO is an active member of the Cartoonists Association of Nigeria (CARTAN), National Union of Journalists U.K., Cartoon Movement, Cartooning for Peace and France-Cartoons and Cartoon Arts International.
Category:1961 births
Category:People from Wimbledon, London
Category:Nigerian cartoonists
Category:Storytellers
Category:Comics artists
Category:Illustrators