Pittsburgh Cartoonist And Emmy Award Winner Joe Wos: Patch Spotlight

Joe Wos has been cartooning professionally since he was 14. His career path since than has taken as many twists and turns as one of the mazes for which he is known for: a performer who illustrated stories as he told them; founding and running a cartoon art museum in Pittsburgh, illustrating symphony performances live with orchestras nationwide and exhibiting his art in museums worldwide. Last year, he won two Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards stemming from his role as host of the PBS program "Cartoon Academy."

Patch wanted to draw a clearer image of the cartoonist for readers, so we threw some questions his way. His thoughtful responses follow.

How did you get into cartooning?

I’ve just always done it. Since I was a child. My parents caught me drawing on the walls and said go ahead, and I kept on drawing. But I imagine Snoopy was what ignited that passion. I’ve been lucky enough to get to work with those characters now in my book A-maze-ing Peanuts, and it felt very much like the fulfillment of a life long dream.

You've always had an interest in mazes and in 2012, you created the world’s largest hand-drawn maze. Measuring at 140 square feet, it featured more than 100 illustrations. What keys your interest in mazes, and how long did it take to draw that monster one?

Mazes are the oldest interactive art form. They aren’t truly completed until someone else solves them. You can go back thousands of years in almost every culture and religion and find some variation of mazes. They are used as a common metaphor for problem solving, or the journey of life. I don’t really know why I was “drawn” to them, I just and an immediate inclination and aptitude for creating them. There is no plan, no design ahead of time either, I just sit down and draw and trust that the solution will reveal itself.

Favorite thing in Pittsburgh that no longer exists?

My dad. But in a broader sense, who my dad was, and all the dads like him. The everyman steel worker who was the embodiment of Pittsburgh’s spirit and will, people drawn together from different background, cultures, and ideas that just wanted to work hard to make a living to support their families and in doing so helped build a nation not by intention but as a secondary outcome to building a better future for their children. People who wanted to make things better not for themselves but for their kids, and in doing so built a better community and city and nation and took great pride in it. I still do. When I see the Saint Louis arch or a bridge I say to myself, Pittsburgh made that. My dad made that.

Most recent book read?

Like some people might turn to the Bible or Koran, or other religious book, I turn to Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz. It distills all the knowledge and wisdom of the universe into four panels.

Movie you could watch any time?

Can’t chose one! "Casablanca," "Jaws," "The Sting," "Cats Don’t Dance" and "Cannonball Run"!

Favorite pizza topping?

Just cheese. I’m easy. I love Slice, I think they are the best pizza place in Pittsburgh.

Early bird or late-nighter?

Late-nighter which sometimes turns into early morning. Oh, the stories I could tell!

Favorite Pittsburgh restaurant?

I love Eat n Park’s potato soup. As you get older, soup becomes a bigger part of your life. I never cared this much about soup as I do now. I check the schedule, what soup do they have today? I should wait to go until Sunday, that’s potato soup day. Whatever restaurant I visit my first question is always “What’s your soup today?” There lies great wisdom in every morning as you face a new day turning to the world and asking “What’s your soup today?” If it’s something you like, get up and get going and you have something to look forward to! If they tell you it’s cabbage and bean, go back to bed.

Favorite adult beverage?

Vodka. On the rocks. That’s it, clean and simple. Oh and one glass of water for every two vodka’s. Staying hydrated its the most important thing. Before my daughter went off to college and asked for any advice I said, “stay hydrated.” It’s just good advice in general.

Favorite Pittsburgh national celebrity, living or dead?

Matt Baker, the legendary comic book artist who never got the recognition he deserves in this city. But right behind him, Jeff Goldblum.

Favorite local sports mascot: Steely McBeam, Pirate Parrot or Iceburgh?

Steely McBeam is an abomination who should be melted down and poured into a mold for Joe Magarac. Joe Magarac is Pittsburgh’s greatest hero! The original man of steel. But, if I have to pick from the list, I like Pirate Parrot best. Great design, playful character, and in the 1980’s led a wild life before turning it all around to become the upstanding and beloved bird we all know and love today. I like Iceburgh, too, but he never hit rock bottom and had to claw his way back to the top like the Pirate Parrot.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

If I wasn’t a cartoonist I have only one other ambition in life. To be a lounge singer in a seedy bar in Las Vegas.