Meet the Illustrator: Charlie Manfredi

The saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, then the imagination of Charles “Charlie” Manfredi holds enough material for a lifetime of stories—many of which are now beginning to find their way onto The Banner’s broadsheet.

Manfredi, a recent full-time resident of McKenzie, is the illustrator behind The Banner’s newest cartoon feature, “Things in My Head with Charles Manfredi,” a series that blends wordplay and visual humor with a steady stream of ideas Manfredi’s been collecting for years.

Originally from Long Island, New York, Manfredi relocated to McKenzie with his wife, Lisa, and their 8-year-old English bulldog, Krypto, at the end of January. His connection to the area, however, dates back to 2018, when he purchased a home with several acres of land—and even a small lake—tucked away off a private road.

After years of splitting time between Tennessee and New York, he finally made the move permanent in January, closing his remodeling business and trading in busy suburban life for quiet, open space.

“It’s just a different world down here,” he said. “My neighbor’s about, I don’t know, half a mile down the road from me.”

Before the move, Manfredi’s business on Long Island specialized in kitchens and bathrooms after starting out in tile work. Over time, the business expanded to include full design services, complete with a showroom where clients could plan projects from start to finish. The work allowed him to stay creative in a hands-on way, designing spaces and working directly with clients.

Now, in McKenzie, Manfredi is returning to his artistic roots and taking some time to dabble in a few more hobbies.

“I’ve always been drawing,” he said, recalling childhood days spent copying comic strips and sketching characters. One of his earliest major projects was a claymation short film, created using the stop motion technique — a process that required patience and painstaking attention to detail. His innate artistic ability followed him through school and later to the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

There, his style began to take shape. He gravitated toward humor and character-driven work, influenced by the playful cartoons and comic strips he grew up with. He points to longtime cartoonist Charles Schulz as a favorite, admiring both the simplicity and emotional depth of the Peanuts series.

Over the years, Manfredi has worked across a range of creative media, including freelance illustration and sculpting. He also developed a line of small figurines called “Baldies,” copyrighted characters that he occasionally customizes for clients.

Manfredi’s two-dimensional artwork, including cartoons and comic strips, leans heavily on quick wit and visual puns. He said his cartoon series title, “Things in My Head,” is a literal representation of his creative process.

“I’ll hear something—on the radio, in a conversation—and it just clicks,” he said. “Then I write it down and build something from it.”

Those ideas often turn into cartoons built around wordplay or exaggerated everyday scenarios. The humor can be subtle or offbeat, but the goal is always the same: making people smile.

“I don’t want to do anything political,” he said. “There’s enough of that [in the world]. I just want people to laugh.”

Manfredi had driven past The Banner office many times since purchasing his home in 2018. Each time, he considered stopping in. This month, he finally did, asking about the possibility of contributing a comic.

“I just always wanted to do it,” he said. “I just never did.”

Now settled in McKenzie, Manfredi continues to draw, create and develop new ideas—many of which, as the title suggests, have been in his head all along. If he’s not creating art or working on his home, Manfredi can be found tending to his booth of collectibles at the McKenzie Antique Mall.