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Irish cartoonist Martyn Turner e-mailed me to take issue with my screed below:
And from a reader ...
The Best Cartoon of the Year - in the Whole World! When American cartoonists look around the world at other cartoonists, we see strange cartoons and an even stranger business. While American cartoonists are most concerned about building a list of publications that print our cartoons, in much of the world cartoonists are motivated to build their CV's (or resumes) by entering contests. For foreign cartoonists who live in countries where it is impossible to make a living selling cartoons for publication, it makes perfect sense to make a living doing something else while chalking up cartooning successes in contests. The foreign cartoonists, and the people who run these worldwide contests often wonder why American cartoonists don't participate. Some feel slighted that "arrogant and elitist" American cartoonists show no interest in their contests. For our part, these contests often include rules that American cartoonists find daunting. The winning cartoons often seem to us to be incomprehensibly foreign. The winning cartoons typically have no words; the foreign cartoonists see the cartoons as simple and elegant where the American cartoonists often see them as unsophisticated. Winning international cartoons often depict dark scenes, like prison, or unrequited love, or torture, or frustration with authority or bureaucracy. American cartoonists call typical world contest winners "daisies in the gun barrels" cartoons. With recent winners we're seeing more of the contrast between the human condition and new technology or bureaucracy.
The Grand Prize winning cartoon is by German cartoonist, Rainer Ehrt, whose big win can be seen in excited announcements on dozens of web sites, none of which are in English. All the winning cartoons can be seen on the WPC web site at worldpresscartoon.com. The Grand Prize winning cartoon is a lovely rendering but I didn't get it. A bunch of guys are sitting in a pile of desks, each with a European Union flag; more desks are being added, and one desk is smoking. I know, it's a Euro-thing and my mind isn't running in Euro-mode. I wrote to the WPC people, asked them what the cartoon means and I got this reply: The Grand Prix, Rainer Ehrt cartoon is based on a Brueghel painting. He uses the idea of a Babel Tower applied on an endless enlargement of Europe with its multiple languages and differences, and also, with a threatening dark clown above the Tower that give us an idea of an uncertain future...
The winner of the caricature category is a by Italian cartoonist Achille Superbi. I couldn't tell who was depicted in this caricature, so I asked. I was told it is "Michael Ballack." I had no idea who "Michael Ballack" is, so I Googled him and learned that he is a German soccer player with a big Wickipedia page. For me "Michael Ballack" is an incomprehensibly obscure guy - but they love their soccer in Europe. OK. I couldn't tell who the second and third place caricatures were either. I'm told that the second place one is Elvis Presley (looks like Elvis would make a lovely lamp) and the third place one is Manuel Noriega (I thought it was Robert Mugabe). The winner in the gag cartoon category is by Iranian cartoonist Hassan Karimzadeh, showing a framed, green guy, whose mouth is "loading" like a computer slowly downloading a file. Maybe we're all becoming like computers, or you can't eat information, or well I don't know. But for the worldwide contest folks, this one is a knee slapper. I like seeing big contests for cartoons, with big cash prizes, but I think I may not be sending in an entry to the World Press Cartoons contest again next year.
Congratulations are due Congratulations to Nate Beeler on his new son, 8 pound five ounce Maxwell Owen Beeler. Also, congrats to my Greek cartoonist buddy, Michael Kountouris, on his new web site, www.michaelkountouris.com. Also, congratulations to my buddy, Mexican cartoonist, Angel Boligan, for his new site at boligan.com. April 24, 2008 My Cartoon Error Cartoons about Israel and the Palestinians always brings in the mail, with questions like those from the reader below. After I drew and sent out this cartoon I was shocked to realize my error - I had drawn two sets of ears on each dog - both human ears and doggy ears. Yipes! I'm just so used to drawing ears on human heads, and my drawing hand was running on automatic, I didn't even think that I was giving out surplus ears. Oooh! Sometimes my cartoons about the Middle East are so wrooong!
From: Jake Barlow Second question: How do you justify the cartoon you drew of Carter being a dog pissing on Israel? Who were you personally showing solidarity with, and why? Or are you simply a hack who was trying to capitalize on well-worn bigotries that the US media has been reinforcing through propaganda? Follow up: Why are you so disingenuous? Regards, Visit our collection of cartoons
about President Carter's visit with Hamas. Top College Cartoonist Wins the Top Scholarship from the Top Cartoonists Organization The National Cartoonists Society Foundation (NCSF) announced the winner of the first annual Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship, Juana Medina, a sophomore at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She was chosen by a jury of ten of the nation's top cartoonists, including Michael Ramirez, this year's Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, Rick Kirkman who draws "Baby Blues," Mad Magazine's Tom Richmond, greeting card artist Sandra Boynton and other 'toon luminaries. I'm the president of the NCSF, and I have to say that is fun giving out scholarships. Juana Medina was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. She completed high school in 1998 then moved to the U.S.A. where she has lived ever since. For two years, she studied at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, D.C.; she is now majoring in Graphic Design at RISD. She is a regular contributor to the College Hill Independent, a weekly magazine produced by students at Brown University and RISD. Her work has appeared in publications in South America and has been part of collective exhibitions in Colombia and Mexico. In her application for the award, Medina wrote: " I grew up in a country where war has been a constant since long before I was born. Our voices have been quieted by terrorist acts and constant threats from both governmental and clandestine groups, up to a point where the smell of gunpowder and the countless bomb threats became a part of our daily life ... I found situations where there is little I can do to change reality but I have found in cartooning a voice that strongly reflects my feelings and intentions. I have found a way to raise consciousness without scolding, fuming or losing my stomach to an ulcer." Medina will receive her award, and a $5,000 scholarship, and will meet the professional cartoonists who selected her at the National Cartoonists Society's Annual Reuben Awards banquet in New Orleans on May 24th. The Scholarship was created to honor Jay Kennedy, a beloved comics editor at King Features Syndicate, which endowed the scholarship. This is the first year for the scholarship and we got more than 200 submissions which amounted to a huge stack of stuff. I expect it will be an even bigger stack next year. Two samples of Juana's work are below.
April 7, 2008 This column is posted courtesy of my buddy, Dave Astor, at Editor & Publisher. PULITZER WINNER: Ramirez Hopes His Award Illustrates the Need
for 'Substantive' Cartoons Published: April 07, 2008 5:05 PM ET "My approach is to have a powerful image along with a significant statement," said the Investor's Business Daily (IBD) cartoonist, when reached by phone this afternoon. "It's great to be funny, too, but the most important element is the message -- to have an impact and make people think." Ramirez added: "Editorial cartooning is an extension of journalism, not just entertainment." Some editorial cartoonists -- whether on their own volition or because of pressure from controversy-averse papers -- rely a lot on gags these days. Ramirez, who now has two Pulitzers, said cartoonists trying to make substantive statements "have to do their homework." He's helped in this respect by being part of the team running the IBD editorial page -- a level of responsibility few other staff cartoonists have at their newspapers. "It gives me a better perspective on the news," he explained. Ramirez, 46, joined IBD in early 2006 -- soon after being forced out of the Los Angeles Times. When asked if winning the Pulitzer was especially satisfying after that experience, he took the high road. "I'm very grateful for the time I spent at the Times," Ramirez said. "There were some wonderful people there. They gave me a great deal of creative freedom, and were very supportive until the last one-and-a-half years. I'm sad I wasn't able to win a Pulitzer for them." But Ramirez said he's thrilled to win for his current paper. "It's fantastic to bring one home for IBD," he said. Ramirez previously won the Pulitzer in 1994 for The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, for which he worked from 1990 until joining the Times in 1997. Cartoons in Ramirez's Pulitzer portfolio this year included ones that commented on the vagueness of some of Barack Obama's stands, on the troubled U.S. economy, on the use of corn to make ethanol rather than as food, and on other topics. Ramirez is considered a conservative cartoonist, but said he tries to approach every issue with an open mind. Sometimes, he noted, conservatives criticize his work. Last year, all three cartoon finalists did some animation in addition to print work, and observers wondered if this was the shape of things to come for the Pulitzer. But Ramirez doesn't do animation. The California resident did say he likes some of the animation out there, and may try it himself at some point. But Ramirez reiterated that the most important thing about a cartoon is the message -- whether it's conveyed in a black-and-white print cartoon, in a color print cartoon, or in an animation. Ramirez's work is syndicated by Copley News Service. When reached by E&P, Copley Vice President/Editor Glenda Winders said: "We are thrilled and so proud of Michael. He is the master of integrating art and idea, and he richly deserves this second Pulitzer. It's a happy day here at CNS!" Dave Astor (dastor@editorandpublisher.com)
is a senior editor at E&P.
Cagle's New Newsletter Top Ten Visit our newsletter sign-up page and subscribe to your favorite cartoonists and columnists. We've had free e-mail newsletters for a few months now, we're seeing some new trends in subscriptions and I thought I would post a new "Top Ten" list now that we have a much bigger list of subscribers. My own name in the top spot is an aberration, because this is my own site and I'm probably the most recognizable name on the list. 1. Daryl Cagle 2. Eric Allie 3. Pat Bagley 6. Andy Singer 7. Matt Bors 9. Chuck Asay 10. Kirk Anderson The most interesting change is Kirk Anderson's climb to number 10 on the list - since Kirk hasn't submitted a new cartoon for four months! Maybe this just shows that Kirk has fans who are frustrated by his hiatus. I e-mailed Kirk and asked him what's happening with his 'toon drought", and he tells me he will be drawing more and wants to keep his stale slot on the site, so I share the frustration of our readers. That Kirk can gather hundreds of new subscribers while he draws no new cartoons is truly amazing. The other newcomer to the newsletter top
ten is Christian-conservative cartoonist Chuck Asay, who draws in a multi-panel format.
I remain impressed with the popularity of altie cartoonists Matt Bors, Shannon Wheeler and Andy Singer. Jen Sorensen was on our top ten list last
November, and she dropped to number 11. Lloyd Dangle is number 13. These are alternative
cartoonists who don't get a lot of ink in mainstream, daily newspapers
and it is instructive to me to see their popularity on our site
over many of the stars of traditional editorial cartooning. Fine-tooning the Planet
March 29, 2008
March 19, 2008 YAHTZEE FEST I used to be more assertive about posting
"Yahtzees" (my term for when five or more cartoonists
draw matching cartoons). Some of the most Yahtzee-prone cartoonists
got their noses out of joint by my pointing out their similaries,
and they chose to leave the site. I'm a bit less motivated to
rub the noses of our loyal contributors in their similar cartoons
now that some of the worst offenders escape criticism by bailing
out. That said, our readers love the Yahtzees, and I get e-mails
asking whether I've noticed this Yahtzee or that Yahtzee - and
why don't I post them?! OK, I won't post them all, but here are
some representatives from three big, recent Yahtzees.
Welcome Gordon Campbell Today we're adding cartoonist Gordon Campbell to our site. This is ironic, because Gordon is the latest casualty in the parade of cartoonist job layoffs. Even without a job (at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin), Gordon will continue to draw cartoons regularly as a freelancer - a fate that seems to be in the future for every cartoonist. See Gordon's cartoon archive. E-mail Gordon. I asked Gordon to tell us a bit about his situation.
The Seven Deadly Offset Credits The Vatican just announced a brand new, modern set of seven deadly sins to supplant the old seven sins which have grown pretty tired through the years. The old seven deadly sins: lust, wrath, gluttony, sloth, greed, pride, and envy were proclaimed by a sixth century pope and were made famous by Dante in his "Divine Comedy" and by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in the movie "Seven," which was a pretty darn scary movie. The new sins are: 1. Genetic engineering 2. Drug abuse 3. The disparity between the very rich and the very poor 4. Pollution 5. Abortion 6. Pedophilia 7. Causing social injustice The church describes the new sins as social in nature and "a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalization." Societies have experience regulating social issues, like pollution, and that experience gives us a great leg up on regulating the other sins. California's Governor Schwarzenegger likes to fly his jet home, from Sacramento to Los Angeles, each night after work, so he can spend time with his family. Schwarzenegger creates a lot of pollution in his daily commute, but the governor buys carbon-offset credits from businesses that are more environmentally friendly than they need to be, selling their eco-surplus back to the governor. Al Gore does the same thing, reducing his big carbon footprint from his private flights and his big houses by buying carbon-offset credits. It's cool. Offsets work. It's the free-market solution and the system works for other sins too. "The disparity between the very rich and the very poor" is another great sin for offset credits. Very poor people could sell their "poor-people-offset credits" to very rich people who need to relieve their guilt about being rich and reduce the size of their very rich footprint. "Poor-people-offset credits" would create a free market of guilt-reduction exchanged for income redistribution that would work every bit as well as the carbon-offset credits work to reduce the guilt of polluters. In fact, the system applies to all of the deadly sins. This afternoon I watched New York Governor Eliot Spitzer squirm, under the glare of his dowdy wife, at a one-minute press conference about his being caught as the customer of a high-priced hooker. I've never used the services of a prostitute myself, and I think I deserve some credit for that credits that I should be able to sell to Governor Spitzer at a time when he really needs the "hooker-offsets." In fact, I personally fare much better with this new set of seven deadly sins than I did with the first set. As an editorial cartoonist, I create very little pollution I even use those curly light bulbs. Given the number of pencils I use, I probably haven't killed any more than one tree in my whole career. Two at the most. Not counting the paper. I don't cause social injustice (not much anyway); I'm not a pedophile; I don't have abortions; I don't abuse drugs or do any genetic engineering. I score so well on the new sins test that I should be awarded plenty of offsets that I could sell back to the Vatican to offset their pedophile priest problem. I'll be rich! (But not "very rich,"
because that would be a sin.)
I thought I'd take some time out to highlight Etta Hulme, a cartoonist who should get more attention here. Click on the image at the right to watch an interview with Emma. She's the most widely read woman cartoonist in America, with hundreds of newspapers running her syndicated cartoons. Etta is a charming, talented, grandmotherly character and her cartoons are just as warm and charming - in sharp contrast to the harsh, younger cartoonists. Thanks to Dr. Elaine K. Miller, a college
professor who specializes in the study of editorial cartoons
and who produced the documentary on Etta that the clip is taken from. I hope to see it on TV!
E-mail Dr.
Miller. See Etta's cartoon archive. See the Etta interview clip.
Thin Skinned Editorial Cartoonists Our readers never miss an opportunity to let me know when my productivity drops off. I had the flu last week and I haven't been writing and drawing as much as I should. A few days ago, as I was recovering from my viral stupor, the editorial cartoonist community was agitated into an online kafuffle by an anonymous critic on the web. I was surprised by the overblown reaction from my peers, who posted to chat boards, e-mailed me and e-mailed each other in a thin-skinned conniption fit. The anonymous guy ranted mostly about cartoons that he thought were lousy, but he saved some of his venom for me. He doesn't like my web site which he thinks looks like "vomitus." He was also bothered by the ads on my site, complaining that I'm greedy, cheap and fat. The guy showed particular interest in my "fat ass." All in all, the anonymous "Bad Cartoonist" sounds like most of my daily e-mail. My cartooning colleagues need to understand that the internet is built upon a foundation of rude, anonymous jerks and get back to their job of being graphically rude on the editorial pages.
March 4, 2008 How to Draw Hillary As a cartoon character, Hillary is definitely the best choice for president and her dive in the polls has some editorial cartoonists sweating. She's barely holding on after her win tonight in Ohio, I haven't heard the results in Texas, and I'm one of the cartoonists who's sweating.
Compared to a comic strip cartoonist, I've got it easy. Comic strip artists spend their whole careers developing characters in tiny, daily increments. It takes years and years of strips before readers know just what is in Lucy's mind when she holds the football for Charlie Brown - that kind of intimate knowledge of character gives cartoons wonderful depth. When our readers know our characters, we can draw cartoons that are rewarding just because we see the character acting as we already know he will. A subtle bit of body language can be a punch line when readers really know the characters, and it is the best kind of humor when the gag was years in the making. Hillary Clinton is a cartoon character that has taken many years to develop and every editorial cartoonist can claim her as his own. We know Bill Clinton as intimately as we know Charlie Brown. We know Hillary as intimately as we know Lucy. They are an editorial cartoonist's treasure. I drew a cartoon with Bill and Hillary that was probably my most reprinted, most popular cartoon ever. They were on a book tour, and I drew Bill and Hillary at a table together, signing books. Bill had his book open with a Playboy style fold-out dropping out of the book, and Hillary whacked Bill on the side of his head her book. There were no words, just facial expressions and body language. My readers loved it! Oh! The mail I got on that one! As Hillary's campaign prospects fade I'm seeing my best characters fade away. Obama is easy to draw, but there's nothing behind the long face no pain we all shared, no national embarrassment, no anger, no crazy, complex, cheating spouse. For all the excitement of his supporters, Obama is dull. He's a straight man, commenting on the events around him, or riding the crest of a wave, or driving a steamroller over Hillary. There isn't any facial expression I can put on Obama that will make the readers say, "I know just what he's thinking!" The guy is a cartoon disaster. John McCain isn't much better. The term of art for McCain is "pudding-face." In fact, McCain is more like tapioca, with a lumpy face that looks like he has his cheeks filled with marbles; that doesn't help me much. McCain has a reputation for a hot temper, which is fun for a cartoonist, but we haven't seen enough of his temper to expect it in a cartoon. Al Gore and John Kerry were stiff, dull and just as bad for cartoonists. When President Bush ran against Sen. Kerry in 2004, there was no doubt that the best choice for the cartooning business was Bush. In the past eight years we've had great material for cartoons. We've had wars, terrorist attacks and some ugly times in Washington, but there have been some great cartoons during the Bush administration. Tough times make for good cartoons too. In fact, I'll bet my cartoons would look better if I knocked my head against the wall a few times. I'll try that when Hillary drops out of the race. February 21, 2008
February 12, 2008 Oh! The mail on my cartoon ...
The arrests were made in pre-dawn raids in Aarhus, western Denmark, "to prevent a terror-related murder," the police intelligence agency said. It did not say how many people were arrested nor did it mention which cartoonist was targeted. However, according to Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that first published the drawings on Sept. 30, 2005, the suspects were planning to kill its cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. It said those arrested included both Danish and foreign citizens. "There were very concrete murder plans against Kurt Westergaard," said Carsten Juste, the paper's editor-in-chief. The cartoons were later reprinted by a range of Western publications, and they sparked deadly protests in parts of the Muslim world. Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry. Westergaard, 73, and his wife Gitte, 66, had been living under police protection because of the murder plans, Jyllands-Posten reported. "Of course I fear for my life when the police intelligence service say that some people have concrete plans to kill me. But I have turned fear into anger and resentment," Westergaard said in a statement published on Jyllands-Posten's Web site. PET, the police intelligence service, called the action "preventive," saying it decided to strike "at an early phase to stop the planning and the carrying out of the murder." In the uproar that followed the publishing of the cartoons, Danes watched in disbelief as angry mobs burned the Danish flag and attacked the country's embassies in Muslim countries including Syria, Iran and Lebanon. Jyllands-Posten was evacuated several times because of threats and posted security guards at its office outside Aarhus and in Copenhagen. The paper initially refused to apologize for the cartoons, which it said were published in reaction to a perceived self-censorship among artists dealing with Islamic issues, but later said it regretted that the cartoons had offended Muslims. The Danish government also expressed regrets to Muslims, but noted that it could not interfere with the freedom of the press. Kasem Ahmad, a spokesman for the Copenhagen-based Islamic Faith Community, a network of Muslim groups that spearheaded protests against the cartoons in Denmark, said he hoped Tuesday's arrests would not rekindle the uproar. "We urge Muslims to take it calmly," he told the TV2 News network. The rage over the caricatures resonated beyond Denmark. In Germany, two men were accused of planting bombs aboard a pair of German commuter trains in 2006 that failed to explode. One of the men, Youssef Mohammed el-Hajdib, a Lebanese citizen, is on trial in Duesseldorf. The second man, Jihad Hamad, was convicted in December in Lebanon and sentenced to 12 years in prison. El-Hajdib told the court last week that Hamad planned the attacks as revenge after some German newspapers reprinted the Muhammad caricatures. Hamad, however, testified at his trial
in Lebanon that el-Hajdib was the initiator of the failed plot.
He said el-Hajdib brainwashed him and exposed him to extremist
videos and propaganda.
February 5, 2008 Introducing Taylor Jones I'm delighted to add Taylor Jones to our
site. I think Taylor is the most brilliant caricature artist
working today; his caricatures are widely syndicated to newspapers
around the world, but what most people don't know is that Taylor,
who lives in Staten Island, NY, is also the editorial cartoonist
for the El Nuevo Dia newspaper in Puerto Rico. That's
one of Taylor's Puerto Rican cartoons below - about Super Tuesday.
(Be sure to visit our great SUPER TUESDAY cartoon collection!) E-mail
a welcome to Taylor Jones. See Taylor's archive.
Complaints about the relative sizes of fish
I get a whole lot of e-mail every day reminding
me that size DOES matter. In this case, I'm referring to the
relative share of the online search market, where Google controls
about 75% of the business. Here the fish are drawn with correct
relative volumes - the Microsoft and Yahoo! fish are roughly
spherical and the Google fish is flat, viewed from the side.
Our readers need to think in three dimensions. January 20, 2008 Huge, Crazy Reaction to Girl Scout Cookies Column We've been getting a crazy reaction to a recent column we syndicated by Tom Purcell. Stark raving crazy readers have been flooding us with email and phone calls complaining about the column below, which makes a tongue-in-cheek argument that Girl Scout Cookies should be banned. We've learned that you don't joke about little girls. If you want to comment on the column, click here. Considering the flood of e-mail from shallow readers, I asked Tom for a comment:
Here is the offending column: Why Girl Scout Cookies Must Be Banned The Girl Scout cookie season is upon us. That means one thing. The annual cookie sale must be banned. How can we allow anyone, in these progressive times, to inflict empty calories on an already obese public? How can we be so inconsiderate to diabetics and others who are unable to consume sugar? How can we allow any organization, regardless of its cause, to use children to pimp products loaded with trans fat, the partially hydrogenated oil that Americans fear more than communism? It is true that the Girl Scouts organization was founded in 1912 to help girls develop physically, mentally and spiritually. I know the annual cookie sale has become a tasty part of American culture since it originated in 1917. But the fact is this: The annual sale is teaching girls TERRIBLE values. It is teaching them raw capitalism -- how to exploit the weak and the helpless. My own niece, an otherwise sweet and lovely child, knows I can't help but eat shortbread cookies by the row. I eat Thin Mints as though they were Tic Tacs. I down Peanut Butter Patties the way grizzlies dine on wild salmon. I'm addicted. But rather than protect me from my addiction, she preys on me. She calls or visits just before dinner -- when I am at my most hungry and vulnerable. She tells me about her troop's good deeds and how my order will fund even more. The clever little manipulator always walks away with a sizable order. All Girl Scouts do. They probably meet in private to laugh about the helplessness of their victims -- they laugh about the strong-arm techniques they use to part friends, family and neighbors from their hard-earned dough. In the process, they are destroying our environment. More than 200 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies are sold every year -- that's $700 million in annual revenue. Precious trees must be felled to farm the grains and sugars needed to produce them -- trees that are essential to dissipating carbon dioxide. What's worse, as those cookies are manufactured, packaged and shipped, more carbon dioxide is pumped into the air. That's right, the Girl Scouts are causing the Arctic ice cap to melt. The next time you dip a shortbread cookie into a cup of milk, the least you can do is remember the starving polar bears stranded on hideously small ice floes. That's why the annual Girl Scout cookie sale must end. Look, if the Girl Scouts want to teach girls how to market products and manage inventory and money, can't they be more socially responsible? Instead of selling cookies, why not sell low-energy-consumption light bulbs? Why not sell something that makes the girls aware of man's thoughtless destruction of our fragile ecosystems? Better yet, instead of teaching the girls the principles of capitalism, why not teach them how to be government bureaucrats instead? America is moving toward European-style socialism. The careers of the future will be in government, not the private sector. Why not have the government produce a pamphlet on the harmful effects of cookies, then mandate that the girls develop a program to distribute it? Sure, I know some people will criticize me for demanding an end to the cookie sale. They'll say that it really does teach girls useful business skills. They'll say that it's as much a part of American culture as baseball and apple pie -- that we should celebrate it and enjoy it. They'll say that America has real problems and that I ought to focus on those rather than something as harmless as a lousy cookie sale. Well, nuts to that. I urge you to write your senator and congressperson. If the Girl Scouts won't willingly stop foisting their cookie pox on the rest of us, we must use the might of the federal government to mandate a ban on their annual sale. I hope the ban goes into effect before
my niece talks me into placing another order. If you want to comment on Tom's offensive column, click here Here is some cartoon supporting evidence for Tom's position:
This is in from our buddy, Dave Astor at E&P, posted with permission: A Cartoon Flip-Flop After New Hampshire's
Primary NEW YORK Hillary Clinton may have turned the Democratic presidential race upside down when she won last week's New Hampshire primary. Meanwhile, editorial cartoonist Bob Englehart definitely turned New Hampshire upside down. Englehart, of The Hartford (Conn.) Courant and the Cagle Cartoons syndicate, did a four-panel drawing last week about Clinton's victory. In the last panel, the "Live Free or Die" state was flipped. When contacted by E&P, Englehart replied: "Hah! I made a mistake. I was so focused on making a vertical state fit a horizontal space that I didn't even notice I had made it upside down! Most people didn't even notice." And he quipped: "I hear New Hampshire is changing its slogan to 'Live Right Side Up, Or Die.'" Click here to comment on Bob's upside down state cartoon.
Quotes Quotes Quotes My friend, professor Chris Lamb, who usually writes about editorial cartoons, has written a book about famous quotes. The book is called, "I'll be Sober in the Morning." The title is culled from a famous Winston Churchill quote. The book is great fun and Chris sent me a collection of his favorite quotes from the book that I am including below. E-mail Chris. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
had been drinking heavily at a party and bumped into Bessie Braddock,
a Socialist parliament member. John Wilkes, the eighteenth-century British political reformer, was debating John Montagu, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, in the House of Parliament. As the exchange went on, the tone grew more and more personal. Montagu finally shouted at Wilkes that he would either die on the gallows or of venereal disease. To which Wilkes responded, "That, sir, depends on whether I first embrace your Lordship's principles or your Lordship's mistresses." During one of the famous Lincoln-Douglas
debates, U.S. Sen. Stephen Douglas told his conservative audience
that he had once seen his opponent selling whiskey. When Woodrow Wilson was governor of
New Jersey, he was informed that one of the state's U.S. senators
had died and it would therefore be up to Wilson to appoint a
successor. Shortly thereafter, a state politician called Wilson
and said, "Mr. Governor, I'd like to take the senator's
place." One evening a nervous soprano struggled
hopelessly before President Calvin Coolidge at a White House
recital. Former Georgia Governor Herman Talmadge
was asked what would be the effect of all the people moving from
Georgia to Florida. During an exchange in Parliament, Lady
Nancy Astor snarled at Winston Churchill and said: "If you
were my husband, I would poison your coffee." Churchill
replied: "If you were my wife, Nancy, I'd drink it." CLICK
HERE TO GO TO THE Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec 2007, CAGLE WEB LOG
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April
26, 2008
One
of the biggest contests, the World Press Cartoon (WPC) contest
in Portugal, has been making a special effort to get American
cartoonists to submit entries. They have three categories: gag,
caricature and editorial cartoons, each with a 5,000 Euro prize.
One of the three category winners brings home the grand prize,
a whopping 20,000 Euros (or $31,400.00). WPC just announced their
winners for this year which fall squarely into the "strange"
and "incomprehensible" category.
OK.
I don't see a threatening clown, but maybe they mean "cloud."
Nothing was really on fire. That's not smoke. It's a cloud. I'm
good. Big European bureaucracy. Too many desks. Dark cloud. It's
an allusion to a painting I don't know. I get it now.
April 21, 2008
As
an editorial cartoonist I don't make up my own characters; the
world provides me with characters. Great characters. Better characters
than I could ever make up. I sit around at my desk all day, watching
Fox News and MSNBC. I get angry and I think of cartoons. It's
the good life.
From:
John Evans
I'm
pleased to add three new foreign cartoonists to our site today.
Jens Hage is an award winning 'toon talent from Denmark, he is
a freelancer for the Danish national newspaper "BerlingskeTidende"
(the world's oldest newspaper) and works on the staff for the
annual Danish satirical book "Blæksprutten" (the
Octopus), which has been published for 116 years. 
Jeremy
Nell's cartoons, titled "Ditwits," appear on the front
page of one of the largest daily, national newspapers in South
Africa, "
Our
third new cartoonist is Khalil Rahman who is the staff cartoonist
for the Bengali newspaper, the Daily Naya Diganta in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
