Jump Start Cartoonist Robb Armstrong

SALISBURY, MD--For more than 10 years, Robb Armstrong has entertained and enlightened millions of readers with “Jump Start,” his daily and Sunday comic strip distributed by United Feature Syndicate. One of a handful of syndicated African-American cartoonists, Armstrong brings a unique perspective to his strip with art and storylines that are upbeat, fun and undeniably realistic.

Armstrong will share that perspective on Wednesday, February 6, at 7 p.m. in the Wicomico Room of the Guerrieri University Center on the Salisbury University campus. His presentation is free and open to the public.
Armstrong has lent his characters to several public service campaigns, including the American Diabetes Association's campaign promoting the Diabetes Risk Test and the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout." In 1995, the Religious Public Relations Council presented its Wilbur Award to Armstrong for demonstrating "excellence in the communication of religious issues, values and themes."

Armstrong is a cartoonist who is serious about helping young people set and achieve goals, using himself as a role model. "I hope some kid who didn't know he could ever hope to be a professional cartoonist sees my strip and says, 'I could do this too!'" He inspires young people with the story of his own success, and how they too can succeed if they stay in school and work toward their goals.

Armstrong has also appeared as a motivational speaker for major companies such as Merck Pharmaceuticals and has addressed the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. He has spoken at many colleges, including Syracuse University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan, and served as a visiting professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Articles about Armstrong and “Jump Start” have appeared in Time, Ebony, The New York Times, Black Enterprise and People among others. He has also contributed cartoons to national magazines including The New Yorker. He has been a featured guest on "Good Morning America," MSNBC and numerous local and national TV shows.

The youngest of five children raised by a single mother, Armstrong was born and raised in West Philadelphia, graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor's degree in fine arts and began his career in advertising. Armstrong remembers that as a child he aspired to have a syndicated comic strip, a dream he began pursuing around the age of 3, when he started sketching Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Armstrong’s presentation is sponsored by the SU offices of Cultural Events and Museum Programs and Multiethnic Student Services, and the Art Department.

For more information on Armstrong’s presentation please call the SU Public Relations Office at 410-543-6030 or visit the University Web site at www.salisbury.edu.