Fort KnoxMedia Release -- Join cartoonist Paul Jon at the Cartoon Art Museum on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 7pm for a detailed presentation on what it took to get his Fort Knox feature signed and launched with the Washington Post Writers Group (hint: lots of blood, sweat and groveling). The strip launches nationwide on Monday, October 5, 2009. Paul Jon, an Army brat, grew up all over the country and will tell you how he survived the multiple moves, merciless bullies and chronic asthma. He later managed to stuff his experiences in his comic creation, Fort Knox - the first syndicated comic strip centering on a military family. As a special treat, Paul Jon will have his long-suffering parents at the event. Feel free to give them your condolences.

This special event is free and open to the public.

About the comic strip: Fort Knox chronicles the life of a military family: Dad, Major Joe Knox; Mom, Jane Knox; and their two boys, Donald and Wesley. The family has picked up and moved — again — thousands of miles from family and friends to take up residence at Joe's new assignment at Fort Lincoln. Donald and Wesley have moved before, but that doesn't make it any easier on them. They must face down new bullies, master a new school system and new teachers, and navigate a new community. Added to these pressures is the distance the move puts between them and their beloved grandmother, who's a known troublemaker if not a known felon (yet). On top of all that, there's the strain that military life puts on their parents' otherwise happy marriage.

About the artist: Fort Knox: Cartoonist Paul Jon is, of course, a military brat himself. "The downside was that every time we moved, I gained a new bully. Eventually, I had to give them numbers to keep track," he jokes. "In many ways, they were like terrifying personal trainers. Thanks to all the running away I did, I was able to overcome my childhood asthma."

"Since 2005, Paul Jon has been developing Fort Knox and tapping the well of his childhood experiences — the frustrations and embarrassments and angst," says Washington Post Writers Group Comics Editor Amy Lago. "Four years of cartooning no doubt has been cheaper for Paul Jon than four years of therapy. The Writers Group is pleased that the cartooning, at least, is beginning to pay off." Fort Knox will be distributed by the Writers Group starting Oct. 5.

Cartoonist Paul Jon is the son of an Army colonel whose tours of duty included Fort Leavenworth, Fort Jackson and Fort Knox, and who, every morning, liked to say to his fellow soldiers, "It's a great day to be in the Army." Paul Jon understands his dad's attitude, and feels that being a military brat "made me understand the sacrifices that military families make for our country, and also made me a better person for having to deal with new people all the time." Luckily for Paul Jon, he had an eccentric red-haired brother and his trusty inhaler to keep him company through each change in location.

In addition to his daily and Sunday Fort Knox duties, Paul Jon runs the creative services department of a Bay Area software company, and his artwork has appeared in newspapers, magazines and online publications across the country. He earned his B.A. in journalism from the University of South Carolina.

To view samples of the upcoming comic strip, please visit: http://www.postwritersgroup.com/comics/fortknox/samples1.htm