Meet Robb Armstrong | Nationally Syndicated Creator of the comic strip, “ JumpStart “

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robb Armstrong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robb, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Before getting my comic strip, “ JumpStart “ syndicated, I worked as an Art Director in the advertising industry. It was an exciting career, because I majored in advertising design at Syracuse University, and was well-prepared for it. I worked on some national brands such as Scott Paper and Alpo Dog Food. I art directed TV commercials for The Pennsylvania Lottery and TastyKake Snack Foods. It was thrilling, and I even won some awards including a global prize called,” The One Show Silver Pencil”, but my passion was cartooning. I wanted to become syndicated so badly that I worked through the night quite often on my comic strip submissions before returning to my nine-to-five without even sleeping. Once, I fell asleep in the conference room right in front of all the top bosses! Amazingly, I wasn’t fired! All the people I worked with knew that I was chasing an elusive dream of becoming syndicated. Almost nobody ever discouraged me. When I was finally offered a contract in 1989, I stayed in the advertising career for eight more years because my friendships and allegiances meant so much to me.
At the time I decided to fully commit, I had realized that my comic strip would never grow to where it is today, unless I was willing to go all-in.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My career is proof that dreams come true, if a person is willing to pursue that dream as if it is real and inevitable, no matter what., then it will come to be! I hope that doesn’t sound like a cliche, because I mean it quite literally. My passion for cartooning began when I was a toddler. I’ve never let go of it, not for a single day. Desipite the devastating losses in my family, including my mother, my father and four siblings, I have always held on, believing that this is more than my talent… it is my purpose. I believe that God wants this for me more than I want it for myself. So, I execute my craft with seriousness,.
I know that greatness is a perfectly reasonable expectation if I am willing to suffer to achieve it. Mostly, I enjoy the work. “JumpStart” is running in 600 newspapers because I love creating it. Honestly, it brings me joy, almost as much as having a family brings me joy.
“ Joe, “ Marcy”, “ Sunny”, “ Jojo” , “ Teddy and Tommi” and “Mortimer “ seem quite real to me, because they ARE real! They’ve fed my family and put my children through college. They’ve attracted attention from Hollywood and
the book publishing world. “ On A Roll” is the first comic strip 30-year treasury by a Black cartoonist ever published and a live-action pilot was shot by CBS last Spring because the characters in my strip come from a very real place..
“ JumpStart “ is the most widely syndicated comic strip by an African-American on Earth. I’m so grateful that a dream in the mind of a child from Philadelphia can become so real!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When my friends and family visit LA, the most important thing on my list is to drive and talk- to play tour guide. Los Angeles fascinates me, and they can tell. I love saying that “ Sanford and Son” dressed up that storefront over there as a junkyard , while Quincy Jones’ famous theme song played in the opening credits…speaking of Quincy Jones, he’s a friend of mine! His office is right over there in that tinted out building on Barham. After a long drive, I love taking my guests to The Farmers Market at The Grove to eat. There is literally something for every palate there, and I don’t have to convince finicky eaters to try sushi. For culture, we hit The Getty. Amazing! Still can’t get over that it’s free. Then Skirball or LACMA ( especially on a night with live outdoor jazz!)
Dinner? Level8 at The Moxy. Drinks on the roof then a mind-blowing night at “ Mr. Wanderlust”! Sometimes, it’s enough just to take my friends window shopping
on Larchmont . Villa Maria Pizza is there. It’s terrific. Most out-of -town guests want to do the walk of fame on Hollywood Boulevard. I have absolutely no problem taking them there. I happen to like the margaritas at Chavo’s Mexican Restaurant.
Life in LA is endlessly interesting. I once stayed in the bungalow at The Chateau Marmont right next to where John Belushi died. It was a tad morose, but still fascinating. Willem Dafoe walked out of the pool gate as I was walking in. Hearing Dafoe casually say, “hey” is one of those uniquely LA things that I like.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In eleventh grade, I had an extremely influential art teacher. From seventh grade until my graduation in 1981, I attended The Shipley School, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It was a private school with a student body that was almost entirely comprised of girls. And almost no other Black students. I struggled at first there, and had to repeat seventh grade. In eleventh grade, Chris Wagner became the strongest artistic influence in my life. Ironically she was not a fan of my cartooning, believing that my gift was fine art. She taught me to become more than a painter, she taught me to be an original thinker. Nothing is more valuable than that discipline as a professional cartoonist. Last, but not least, I was extremely fortunate that my mother, the late Dorothy Armstrong, always took my artistic interests seriously. Enrolling me in such an academically challenging private school is proof of that. She passed away when I was 19, but she knew that I would succeed!

Website: robb@robbarmstrong.com

Instagram: @robbtarmstrong

Facebook: Robb Armstrong

Youtube: RobbArmstrong

Other: robb@robbarmstrong.com

Image Credits
Nelly andreeva