Eric Lurio

Eric Lurio was born on a cold February day in 1957 somewhere in Newark, New Jersey. He didn't grow up there though, rather it was in New York City and it's Westchester suburbs that he completed his primary, secondary and tertiary education before going to attend George Washington University, where he was cheated out of his degree by an evil professor. Arriving home defeated yet defiant, he began his career as a freelance illustrator, and a number of childrens' books, including "Illustrated Guides for Young People" (Horseback Riding and Backpacking) hich came out in 1980 and 1981. In 1981, be took his first solo journey to Europe, and thus began an ever expanding number of journeys throughout the World, which to date has included approximately 100 countries. After a grand tour of Europe and the Middle East in 1983, he decided to get that degree he was cheated out of, and from 1984 to '86 he attended the prestigious Pratt institute, where he earned a BFA in illustration. The day after he was informed that he would indeed get his degree, Lurio walked into the offices of what was then called Harper and Row, and pitched the "Cartoon Guide to the US Constitution" to one of the editors there. He received a contract immediately. The book came out in 1987. The tome sold poorly, and after a few month freelancing, he got a steady job as an art director for a small gambling magazine, where he earned enough money to take take a trip around the world in 1989. This took the better part of that year. Changing directions on his return, he began writing for local magazines and newspapers, still selling the occasional drawing, and in 1991, with the unexpected help of the great Larry Gonick, got a contract to write another book, "The Fractured History of the Discovery of America," which should have been called the "Christopher Columbus Haffamillenial Funbook" (it would have sold far better that way) which was published by Dell three weeks after the Columbus Quincentennial was over. (methinks it was done on purpose for some reason). In 1996, he joined the staff of the Greenwich Village Gazette, where he soon became their film critic and remained so until 2008. He is now a blogger for the Huffington Post.