Bunny Matthews: His Life, Art, and Obsessions

“A masterpiece of an art monograph.”

— Rien Fertel, The Advocate

Fiendishly creative, sharply observant, and deeply devoted to his city, Bunny Matthews was among the most influential cartoonists and writers in New Orleans. Matthews both celebrated and obsessed over his city, and throughout the four decades during which his art and writing appeared in almost every local magazine and newspaper, he revealed that city through his work, teaching New Orleans new ways to listen to itself and laugh at itself. Along the way, he helped found or influence some of the most important local cultural entities invented by his generation: Jazz Fest, Tipitina’s, and WWOZ.

Matthews is best known for his cartoon characters Vic and Nat’ly, two irreverent bar owners from the Nint’ Ward who rank alongside Ignatius J. Reilly and Blanche DuBois in the pantheon of fictional New Orleanians. As a critic, Matthews both defended and offended New Orleans, spilling thousands of words to articulate what he saw as the depreciation and corruption of the city’s cultural capital. He died in 2021, but his legacy lives on in the young writers he helped mentor, the cartoonists he inspired, a fleet of po-boy bread trucks, and in the yellowing clippings of Vic and Nat’ly still found taped to refrigerators throughout New Orleans.

Matthews once wrote, “Be witty. Be nasty. Be silly. Don’t be boring.” That ethos animates the pages of Bunny Matthews: His Life, Art, and Obsessions, the first monograph of his work.

Praise for Bunny Matthews: His Life, Art, and Obsessions

“This Bunny was like no other Bunny, and here he is in all his skuzzy glory.”

— Roy Blount, Jr.

“Alison and Michael explore the breadth of Bunny, and show us how deeply entwined he and his work are with the identity of New Orleans. The book is just an absolute marvel.”

-- Gil Roth, host, The Virtual Memories Show 

“Alison Fensterstock and Michael Tisserand, powerhouse cultural critics, deliver not only a deeply researched narrative of a distinctive and beloved artist, but further of the city itself, and its thriving and morphing communities. Charming and compelling.”

— Hillary Chute, author, Why Comics? From Underground to Everywhere

“Bunny Matthews, the rare cartoonist who both observed and defined a city and its culture for decades, is finally introduced to the rest of us. What a treasure.”

— Dan Nadel, author, Crumb: A Cartoonist’s Life