Bill Amend was born in Massachusetts in 1962. Somewhere around fourth grade he discovered he could draw cartoons pretty well and began entertaining himself and friends with homemade comic books. He moved west to California in 1974. In high school he contributed cartoons to various school publications but was more interested in computers, "Star Wars," and Dungeons & Dragons than anything. He also played tuba in the school band, made science-fiction themed Super 8 movies, and served a brief stint as president of the math club until a messy impeachment.

Amend attended Amherst College where he majored in physics and served as editorial cartoonist for the twice-weekly school paper. As graduation loomed and career panic set in, he decided to give comic strip syndication a shot. Though his early efforts were rejected, he kept at it in his spare time while working in the San Francisco film and animation industries.

After about three years of submitting cartoons, Amend was offered a contract from Andrews McMeel Syndication in 1987, and he's been at it ever since.