Chris Monroe

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Christine Monroe (born April 17, 1962) is an American painter and cartoonist best known for her weekly comic strip “Violet Days,” which appears in the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Duluth News Tribune.

An anthology of her comic strips, “Ultra Violet: 10 Years of Violet Days.” was published in 2004 by X-Communication.

Monroe has also illustrated two children’s books. “Totally Uncool,” written by Janice Levy, was published in 1999. "Monkey with a Tool Belt," written by Monroe, was published in 2008. Both books were published by Carolrhoda Picture Books, an imprint of Minneapolis' Lerner Publishing Group.

In 1999, City Pages named her Best Local Cartoonist, writing: “Monroe's scratchy, winsome Violet Days meanders through everyday topics: the merits of various candies, the habits of squirrels, the shoplifting rituals of young girls. And each quick meditation is delivered with a deadpan tone that indicates a sharp wit honed against life's frailties and absurdities.”

Other periodicals that have featured Monroe’s comics include the Funny Pages, Zenith City Arts, Madcap, Twin Cities Reader, Pulse of the Twin Cities, Ripsaw, Transistor and Ruminator.

She has also exhibited her oil pastels at the Duluth Art Institute and other galleries. She started exhibiting her work in 1984, the same year she graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.

Monroe was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. She lived in the Twin Cities area from about 1980 to 1998, before returning to Duluth.

[edit] References

"Life is a Cartoon for Chris Monroe," by Cheryl Skafte. Woman Today, August 2007.

"Peace, Love, Chico Bon Bon: Duluth-based illustrator Chris Monroe on her first project for children," by Matthew R. Perrine. Duluth Budgeteer News, April 6, 2008.