What little is known about Chris McCulloch (aka
Jackson Publick III), creator of The Venture Brothers, has been gleaned largely from rumor and Internet speculation. His scripts and videotapes arrive at Cartoon Network via airmail from various countries, bearing no return address, and in simple
brown wrapping - save for a garish "Astrobase-Go!" sticker. While he doesn't return phone calls, in the unlikely event
one does make contact with him, it's usually too difficult to hear over the noise of helicopter engines.
What is known about him is that he is a Caucasian male, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1971 - the only son of
Jackson Publick, II, whom the
baby-boomer generation may remember as the prolific author of the popular
Rusty Venture boys' adventure novels of the 1950s and '60s. Publick II's own father,
Jackson Publick I, had penned more than 70 Doc Venture serial novels two decades earlier.
Having exhausted his trust fund sometime in the early '90s, and lacking any other marketable skills (despite being a few credits shy of achieving degrees in geology, biology and super-physics), the younger
Jackson put his propensity for doodling and lying (ironically the causes for his dismissal from several East Coast private schools) to good use and entered the fast-paced world of television animation. Working under the pseudonym Christopher McCulloch to avoid being accused of trying to cash in on his father's name, he left his mark on such animated fare as The Tick, King of the Hill, Sheep in the Big City and The Grim Adventures of
Billy and
Mandy. However, by 2002 his penchant for quality bedding and bespoke suits prompted
Jackson to reconsider cashing in after all. He came to grips with his creative legacy and reclaiming his name, updated the characters his father and grandfather originated - emboldening them with his own style and sensibility to create The Venture Brothers, a new Venture family saga for the new medium of television and new generation of youngsters-at-heart to enjoy. When in the United States,
Jackson resides in the legendary Penthouse C ("the jewel of the East Village" -
House and Home Magazine), high above New York City.
