Some of the colorful and unique characters , illustrations and comic art Byron Vaughns had on display around his booth at a recent holiday market in Downtown Meridian showcase his signature style . Photos by Glenda Sanders .
Byron Vaughns moved to California after college and worked as a storyboard artist on dozens of animated cartoons , including “ The Smurfs ,” “ Alvin & The Chipmunks ,” “ Tiny Toom Adventures ,” and “ He-Man and the Masters of the Universe .” Photo by Glenda Sanders .
highest honors in comics . “ I only drew a back-up feature that was eight pages , but it was nominated for the Eisner Award ,” he said . “ We didn ’ t
get it , but we were good enough to be nominated for Best Humor publication .”
Several years ago , Vaughns left Los Angeles to return to White Hall , Arkansas , to help his father .
“ He never really asked me for anything , so I packed up and just ended everything in the Hollywood area and went back to White Hall ,” said Vaughns , whose father is now 103 years old .
He ended up meeting Kate and marrying her in March 2020 , leaving Arkansas to move to Meridian , where she was living .
Since then , the couple has immersed themselves in the local art scene , having joined the Meridian Museum of Art and the Arts & Community Events Society . They added an art studio onto their house .
Vaughns is available for all types of artwork , including commissioned work , book illustrations , workshops and storyboards . He also is working on a special project he hopes to launch that will be like an online version of the old Sunday comics paper .
“ I have been wanting to do this project forever , called Funnies on the Go . It is actually going to be a combination of comics I have wanted to do for a long time , maybe publishing them monthly . And it ’ s going to have local features in it and feature local businesses ,” he said .
It seems as though Vaughns has returned to his roots as a cartoonist raised in the South . M
16 • MERIDIAN LIFE