Bill Rechin

Rechin, born in 1930 in Buffalo, N.Y., is rumored to have produced his first cartoon while a parochial school student. The monsignor was not amused. But in the decades since, thousands of others have laughed out loud over the humor in his strips Crock, Out of Bounds and Pluribus.

A graduate of the Albright Art School in Buffalo, Rechin forged an extensive career as a cartoonist and graphic artist. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area in the early 1950s while serving in the Army during the Korean War. During his military service, he produced training materials and manuals, graphic aids, film strips and animated cartoons. Following his discharge from the Army, Bill remained in Virginia to take the position of art director and eventually vice president for a major graphics studio in Washington, D.C. Working in a range of mediums, he produced a variety of projects and visuals for major government agencies.

Following the regional success of his first comic strip Pluribus, he teamed with Don Wilder and Brant Parker to create Crock and made cartooning a full-time endeavor. The feature celebrated its 35th anniversary year in 2010 and turned out its 12,999th cartoon strip in 2011.

Bill is a past president of the National Cartoonists Society, past chairman for the NCS District of Columbia chapter and a recipient of the NCS’s 1993 Reuben Award for “Best Newspaper Panel” for his Out of Bounds feature.

Bill was also instrumental in forging the longtime relationship between members of the National Cartoonists Society and Washington-based No Greater Love, an independent nonprofit that works to honor the sacrifices of our fallen military personnel and their families.

Rechin (pronounced “WRECK-in”) lives near Fredericksburg, Va. surrounded by memories of his beloved wife Trish, the companionship of an overweight dog and daily visits from at least one of his seven flawless children.