The late New Orleans cartoonist Bunny Matthews will be the subject of a forthcoming book by Alison Fensterstock and Michael Tisserand, the two announced via social media. The book, to be published by The Historic New Orleans Collection, will include numerous illustrations by Matthews, including selections from his popular Vic and Natly series which was published in OffBeat magazine as well as other publications.
Fensterstock and Tisserand will work on the project with Jude Matthews, son of Bunny Matthews.
In a Facebook post, Fensterstock wrote that the book will be a “criticial celebration of Bunny as the artist, writer and character who both chronicled and helped define 20th-century New Orleans.”
Tisserand added, “[The book] will of course be lavishly illustrated and include a full biography written by Alison and me. Just from our initital research, I’m already dazzled by the breadth of Bunny’s work over the years. I believe this book will be revelatory for his fans as well as those unacquainted with his comics, arat, writing, video and everything else Bunny.
Also, with this announcement comes an author’s query: If you have have Bunny stories of any type—and if you have Bunny original art, film, old Figaros, music posters or anything else that might be useful in a Bunny book—please let us know!”
Tisserand lists his website, michaeltisserand.com, as the best means of contact.
Matthews died on June 1, 2021, following a long bout with brain cancer. He was born on February 15, 1951, in Monroe Louisiana and after studies at the University of New Orleans became a journalist and cartoonist. Matthews’ Vic and Natly series was first published in 1982 in Dixie, the former weekly supplement of the Times-Picayune. The cartoons appeared in OffBeat from 1999 to 2005 when Matthews served as the magazine’s editor.
A Wikipedia entry describes the Vic and Natly cartoon characters as “an overweight husband and wife who speak in what some call the Yat dialect and run a working-class corner bar and po-boy emporium in the city’s Ninth Ward. In light of these characters’ sometimes unfavorable reception, it bears noting that Matthews has often and repeatedly described others’ use of the word ‘Yat’ as derogatory.”
During his career as a music journalist, Matthews interviewed countless celebrities including James Brown, Brenda Lee, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino, Eddie Bo, Ernie K-Doe, King Floyd, Bobby Marchan, Jessie Hill, Albert Collins, Elvis Costello, Mark E. Smith, Marilyn Chambers, Cab Calloway, Black Flag, Jonathan Richman, Suzi Quatro and Al Green. He composed album liner notes for artists including Smiley Lewis, The Meters, Earl King and James Booker, with whom Matthews was close friends until his death in 1983.
