Michael M. Wartella is an American underground cartoonist. His absurdist early "art comic" Ackxhpæz (1994-1996) was well-received, and led to an expanded variety comic strip Three Hickory Nuts which was syndicated in alternative weekly newspapers nationally from 1998-2000. His sequential work has appeared in anthologies from D.C. Comics and Fantagraphics Books and in magazines including Andy Warhol's Interview and Spin. His illustrations have appeared on the cover of Vice Magazine (his infamous and now extremely rare scratch-off cover) and regularly in Nickelodeon Magazine. His art is also seen on MTV2's cult hit Wonder Showzen. He lives in New York City.
In 2007, Wartella's reportorial cartoons began appearing regularly in The Village Voice.
