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SEPTEMBER 28, 2005
Cartoonist Scott Bateman has a very cool animation about President's
Bush's ABC's. Come
take a look.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
 DAN REYNOLD'S Caption Contest Winner
Well...another cartoon caption
contest has come and gone. We have a winner: Louise Boyd, her
winning line was....
"Remember that little fling you had with Mrs. Potato
Head"???!
Congratulations, Louise!
I had a number of people come up with pretty much the same caption
I used on the original cartoon. My original caption was:
"Did you peel the potatoes and put out the cat?"
Louise will be receiving a 7 by 10 Dan Reynolds autographed reprint
of the cartoon with HER caption in it, suitable for framing and
displaying in her home.
Along with the many entries I received encouraging words from
many of you telling me that you want to see more of this contest
so I will keep it going. Some of the other noteworthy entries
are below. Thanks for playing and I'll send another one your
way real soon. Dan (email Dan at: dreynol3@twcny.rr.com)
Honorable mentions:
"Honey, quick question...Where the hell's the cat?"
philhess94
"Ted, about the Atkins Diet...I've been seeing carbohydrates
behind your back ..."
Chet Shuty
"You have been gone 2 hours and you still couldn't
remember the potatoes!"
CHRISTINA LEMONGELLO
"There is some woman at the door. She says she knew
you from the old days."
Patrick Wimberly
"Wadaya mean,you thought I was on the front step?!"
Roscoedelong
"Did you put the cat out and peel the potatoes like
I asked you to?"
Sarah Davis
You are not the only one with eyes for me!
Jesse Ynclan
"Heavens Jim, this EBay addiction is totally out of
control!"
Andrew P Vidor
SEPTEMBER
25, 2005
Nazis, Nazis Everywhere
Anyone who chats on internet
bulletin boards knows how often, and how quickly, any discussion
of politics turns into a discussion of Nazis. It seems that references
to the Holocaust come up almost casually as metaphors for any
situation.
Suffer from lousy service at the restaurant? That waitress ...
wasn't she the waitress at Auschwitz?
Don't like arguing with a conservative? Call him a Nazi and then
you can argue about name calling instead of arguing about anything
of substance.
The Nazi metaphorical inflation also applies to cartoons, but
when we see a hyperbolic Nazi reference in a cartoon, we get
mail. We got this interesting e-mail from a reader in Israel,
in response to the Doug
Marlette cartoon below.
Dear Mr. Marlette:
Holocaust Survivors, professional writers,
and artists always wrestle with any creative work that could
possibly diminish the cruelty, suffering, and death of the Victims
of the Holocaust, regardless of how serious their work; much
less making any attempt at humor. Millions of people loaded into
trains and deported to thousands of concentration camps, as slave
labor, subjected to incomprehensible abuses and humiliation,
with an excess of six million people having been gassed to death,
is nothing to make light of.
Your cartoon with the word balloon that
reads "This year they tattooed your wrist with your SAT
scores" as students enter a gate marked "Arbeit Macht
Frei" is in flagrant and blatant disregard for the Victims
and Survivors. And, an insult to the people who take upon themselves
the study of the Holocaust and those who use creativity in various
academic works and art forms to remember it and to portray it.
Moreover it shows in you a distinct failure of understanding
and absence of knowledge of what really happened in Europe between
1933 and 1945, and a whole disregard for the few Survivors, who
have tattooed numbers that were put on their arms as children,
who are still with us, and their families.
How would you feel for someone to make
light of 9/11 in any form?
I highly recommend that you read/study
Art Speigelman, Maus I and Maus II, If this is a Man or Survival
in Auschwitz: The Nazi Assault on Humanity (same books, just
different titles), among other important books and to visit the
Holocaust Memorial in Washington D.C. In addition, make
it a priority to come to Israel to visit the Holocaust Memorial
at Yad Vashem and personally walk under that gate into the Auschwitz presentation
before you attempt any other representation of the Holocaust.
Yocheved
Menashe
Jerusalem, Israel
SEPTEMBER
23, 2005
TOON TATTOO
Cartoonist Joe
Heller of the Green Bay Press-Gazette sent me this interesting
tidbit ...
Daryl,
Being a cartoonist for the last 20 years
I've had some interesting requests for reproducing my toons.
This one I had to pass on to you. Early in June, Mike Sorace,
a firefighter from New Jersey contacted me to ask permission
to tattoo my cartoon from 9/11. He mentioned that many of his
fire fighting buddies had "inked" themselves in memory
of the tragic day; and that he just never found the right image
to use until he saw my cartoon.
I felt honored that he felt that way about my work and gave permission.
A month later, he sent me a photo of his arm with the black outlines
of the tattoo completed. His plans were to have it colorized
on Sept 12.
As many editorial cartoonists know, most of our work is fleeting
in its message and context. But to have my work permanently etched
on another human... think about it.
Joe
(E-mail Joe)
If any of our readers have editorial cartoon tattoos, please
send us a photo!
SEPTEMBER
22, 2005
CARTOONISTS WITHOUT BORDERS
I'd like to congratulate the Northern
California Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society for their
cartoon efforts on behalf of Hurricane Katrina victims. Chapter
Chairman, Michael Jantze sent me the information below, along
with a fine selection of cartoons from their Hurricane Katrina
cartoon site. Michael Writes:
We, the collected punsters, bards, illustrators,
humorists, poets, story tellers, and the occasional mime, have
donated our content for your reading pleasure. We hope that you
will in turn donate to the very needy, deserving victims of the
hurricane.
The hope is to help you laugh a little
and care a lot.
It's not complicated. Our goal is to simply
post some strips and remind people to continue to give to their
favorite charity. The site will mature in design and content,
but we'll never take anyone's money directly...only direct them
to reputable charities.
"I spent five years working as a journalist
in New Orleans," says Michael Jantze, chair of the Northern
California chapter of the National
Cartoonist Society, "I can testify that New Orleans
is a great city empty of its great people. New Orleans and the
Gulf Coast needs us." Cartoonists Without Borders organized
in response to Hurricane Katrina. It's obviously a big mess out
there. And we've decided to do our meager part by raising awareness
through cartoons.
To contribute work to this effort, send
an inquiry (and any relevant work) to: submissions@cartoonistswithoutborders.com
To donate money to your favorite charity,
visit
http://www.cartoonistswithoutborders.com
There are a lot of ways to help on the
Katrina disaster. And we hope you take the time to "pace
yourself" and not get burned out on the news and politics
that are to come. Cartoonists Without Borders is an effort from
various regional chapters of The
National Cartoonist Society.
In the future, we hope to use this site
to inspire your charity for other nasty events. Enjoy the site.
Happy Giving. And thanks.
Special thanks to
Wizard Textware for footing the cost of
this site.
Ches Wajda for the site design and development
All the cartoonists who have graciously allowed us to post and
link to their cartoons.
Contact: Michael Jantze, NCNCS Chair at
michael@thenorm.com
Here are some excerpts from the Cartoonists
Without Borders site.
Remember, visit Cartoonists Without Borders!
SEPTEMBER 20, 2005
One of these Mike Lester cartoons actually ran in the newspaper,
and the other one was killed by his editor. Can you guess which
is which?
Mike writes:
It's an unbelievable story.
"Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval
to a new Vatican policy document that bans men with homosexual
tendencies from being ordained as priests, reports Catholic World
News."
The Vatican has authored a DOCUMENT that
is designed to identify "TENDENCIES".
So Rock Hudson could've snuck by. You can't
make this stuff up.
As for as my cartoon, I entertained no
expectations that my editor would run the banana gag but it was
my first reaction to reading the story and positing my own question:
"how can they tell?"
My second reaction(s) included questions
re: track lighting, show tunes, and Liza Minelli. You know, "Catholic
Eye for the Queer Guy". All rather stereotypical.
My editor's reaction was that I didn't
need any drawing at all. The head was enough. I tend to agree
but I just wanted to draw pointy hats.
ML
SEPTEMBER 19, 2005
I'm slated to chat on the conservative Radio America network
tomorrow on the "Battle Line with Alan Nathan" show
at around 2:30pm or so. Listen
online here.
I'm sorry to see Jud go, he will be missed. --Daryl
Comic Creator and 'Cartoonist Profiles' Editor Jud Hurd
Dies
By Dave Astor , Posted with permission from Editor
& Publisher
Published: September 19, 2005 11:10 AM ET
NEW YORK Jud Hurd, a cartoonist and longtime editor of
"Cartoonist Profiles" magazine, died Sept. 14 of pneumonia.
He was 92.
The Westport, Conn., resident had previously
suffered a stroke in May. "He had a very difficult four
months, but he never complained," his widow, Claudia Hurd,
told E&P Online Monday.
Jud founded "Cartoonist Profiles"
in 1969 after editing the National Cartoonists Society's (NCS)
newsletter for several years. Claudia said Jud was able to work
on the just-published issue of "Cartoonist Profiles."
There will be no more issues after that.
In 2004, Andrews McMeel Publishing released
a book by Hurd called "Cartoon Success Secrets: A Tribute
to 35 Years of Cartoonist Profiles." The 350-page hardcover
included stories and interviews from the quarterly magazine,
autobiographical material, and Hurd's personal recollections
of cartoon legends such as Walt Disney, Rube Goldberg, Harold
Gray ("Little Orphan Annie"), George Herriman ("Krazy
Kat"), and E.C. Segar ("Popeye").
From 1961 to 2002, Hurd collaborated with
Dr. Michael Petti on the United Media-distributed "Health
Capsules" comic (now done by Bron Smith).
Hurd began his cartooning career in 1936
at an animation studio, and soon started doing the "Just
Hurd in Hollywood" strip. (The cartoonist's real first name
was Justin.) For that syndicated comic, Hurd interviewed stars
such as John Barrymore, Claudette Colbert, Gary Cooper, Joan
Crawford, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, Lana Turner, and John Wayne.
After the "Hollywood" feature
ended, Hurd did political cartoons, corporate and advertising
art, the stock-market-themed "Ticker Toons" comic,
and more.
"Jud Hurd was just an incredible asset
and resource for the cartooning community," said comics
historian, "Hi and Lois" writer, and NCS Connecticut
Chapter chair Brian Walker, when reached by E&P Online. "This
was not only because of his magazine but because of his whole
lifetime of experience and dedication to cartooning. And he was
a great guy. There wasn't one person in the world who didn't
like him."
Claudia Hurd, who was married to Jud for
58 years, concluded: "He lived a full life. He enjoyed his
work. What more could a person want?"
 SEPTEMBER
18, 2005
MORE ON THAT BOLIGAN CARTOON
Angel
Boligan responds to explain his cartoon:
Hello Daryl,
When I do a conceptual drawing like this,
I don't look for only one interpretation. I'm pleased to see
that your readers have different interpretations; this suggests
that each person looks to his imagination to interpret the cartoon
in his own way, much like a poem that doesn't need an author
to explain it.
In this drawing I compared a judge to Don Quixote. I'm inspired
by the Don Quixote character with his madness and strong passions
and his ability to convince Sancho to follow him. Nowaday we
get the same thing from judges who can convince us to follow
them in their madness. I drew several symbolic elements in this
cartoon, instead of a lance, Don Quixote carries a pen, representing
ideas, and a mallet, representing his power to force a judgement
upon others.
Regards, Boligan
And here are some of your comments ...
I may be wrong... this cartoon, to me,
is not cute.... it's scary! The Judge is not skewered, but carrying
a pen in his right (write? Reicht? Right Wing?) hand and the
new Chief Justice appointee (John Roberts) is going to work not
only as a judge, but as a legislator... Get it? Judges use just
gavels to decide if something is constitutional.. don't need
pens to write laws... but Bush and his bunch intend on doing
just that. The first law the Bush and his Reicht Ving want rewritten
is "Roe v. Wade". Hell, Bush is in office due to the
Supreme Court Coup d'etat declaring him President.
If you have any more "difficult, but cute" cartoons
you need 'splained... send on down to KinTukee! Yee Haw!
Day Johnston, country boy.
Look again - he's not skewered by that pen - he's carrying it
under his arm! Are judges rewriting laws there?
Kathleen Reeves
It seems a bit condescending to talk to readers like children
because they don't understand a cartoon. And I don't think the
judge is 'skewered' by the pen. I think he is carrying it under
his arm. The point of this cartoon is that judges are re-writing
law from the bench. C'mon, this isn't rocket science.
Andrew Sokol
Hey . we are not all totally ignorant - even in far corners of
the Globe! - you don't need a school-entrant level explanation
- some of your readers actually enjoy your selection of cartoons
- highlight of my day!
Malcolm Craig
Daryl--
I beg to differ with you about the Angel Boligan cartoon. The
judge isn't impaled by the pen, but is carrying it under his
arm. One could say he's jousting with it. I imagine the cartoonist
is implying that the pen is a mightier weapon than the sword
or that judges do their fighting through their legal work on
the bench. Keep up the great work--and please continue giving
us the non-American view of the political cartoonists' world.
Sincerely,
Bren Shuler
Tokyo, Japan
SEPTEMBER 17, 2005
MORE ON THOSE FOREIGNERS
This complaint just came in:
Regarding your blog entry of Sept. 16,
entitled "Political Cartoons Ain't Rocket Science, People!":
why is it so galling to you that some Americans wouldn't understand
international cartoons? I've viewed your site almost daily for
about two years, am about to graduate with a degree in political
science, and have followed politics (both domestic and international)
closely for nearly five years now. I still don't get some
of the cartoons by the international cartoonists, simply because
I don't have the same perspective as they do. That doesn't make
me stupid. And is it really necessary to treat your audience
like petulant fourth graders? Not exactly the best way to increase
visitors, now is it?
Regards,
Lindsay
Actually, most of our readers are schoolkids.
State mandated testing in every state requires the "interpretation
of a political cartoon." Social Studies teachers must "teach
to the test" and they use our site to help their students
understand the visual metaphors that we cartoonists rely upon.
There must be hundreds of classrooms where students have an assignment
this weekend to write an essay explaining what an editorial cartoon
means. The number one e-mail we get on our site goes something
like this:
"What does this cartoon mean? I
don't get it and I have to write a paper about it that is due
tomorrow.
Sincerely, Little Johnny".
Some of the e-mail is more to the point:
"Explain this cartoon to me."
While we're on the subject of incomprehensible
cartoons, Brazilian cartoonist Osmani
Simanca just sent me this gem (below). It won the second
prize this week in São Paulo's 32th
International Humor Exhibition of
Piracicaba. Simanca writes,
"The cartoon is about the political
crisis in Brazil and our president Lula. The stars are the symbol
of the PT Partido de los Trabajadores (Workers Party) in the
mud sea."
Of-course, I knew that.
 SEPTEMBER
16, 2005
POLITICAL CARTOONS AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE, PEOPLE!
I recently rearranged the "Best
of the Day" cartoons, in response to reader requests
to add more cartoons per page. What had been 30 pages of cartoons
is now squeezed into 19 pages. I made a point of deleting cartoonists
who do not update frequently and adding some new cartoonists
who have started updating regularly.
 Then the complaints
started rolling in ... "What happened to pages 20 through
30? They have gone missing!" and "Why are those foreign
cartoonists up there? I don't like foreign cartoonists!"
and "I don't get the cartoons by the foreign cartoonists
--I don't understand any of the cartoons starting on page 18!"
Really. I have been getting lots of complaints that readers "don't
get" the cartoons on page
18.
OK, class, let us review the cartoons that you "don't get"
on page 18.
The first cartoon is by Ares, it shows the Linux Penguin, with
a slingshot, and he just broke a Microsoft Window. It means that
Microsoft is suffering from competition from upstart Linux. C'mon
people, this isn't hard.
 The next one, by
Arcadio Esquivel, shoes the American flag with hearts instead
of stars, and little ambuances driving down the stripe streets.
It means love and aid is on it's way in America. See? This is
easy.
The next one, by Angel Boligan, shows a judge skewered by a pen.
OK, I don't get this one, but hey, it's cute.
 The next one, by
Swedish cartoonist, Riber Hansson, is titled, "Party Glass,"
it shows the United Nation's globe in a martini glass, it means
the U.N. parties like jerks while the world drowns in their martini.
The next one, by Alen Lauzan Falcon of Chile, shows an awkward
pen labeled, "Iraq," trying to write the word "constitution"
while it drags a mess from three uncoordinated component pens
labeled Shiites, Kurds and Sunnis. It means that it is hard to
get it together to write a constitution in Iraq.
C'mon people, this isn't rocket science.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2005
This article about New Orleans cartoonist, Steve Kelley, is posted
with permission from David Astor of Editor
& Publisher. See
Steve Kelley's cartoon archive here.
'Times-Picayune' Cartoonist Kelley Draws
on New Orleans Experience
 By Dave Astor
Published: September 13, 2005 9:30 PM ET
NEW YORK Since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Times-Picayune
staff cartoonist Steve
Kelley has continued to draw regularly for the paper's print
and online editions--but he has been doing it from California,
not Louisiana.
Kelley visited the West Coast late last
month to host a charity event, and was scheduled to return to
New Orleans on Aug. 28. But that was the day before Hurricane
Katrina was due to slam the city.
"The newspaper told me to just stay
put," said the former San Diego Union-Tribune staffer, when
reached Tuesday by E&P Online.
After the flood devastated New Orleans,
Kelley continued to draw cartoons even though he couldn't initially
make contact with his editors. And getting the cartoons to his
editors wasn't easy, either, given that The Times-Picayune server
was down. Now Kelley, who has been staying with his longtime
girlfriend in San Diego, is sending the cartoons from his personal
AOL e-mail address to a Yahoo address set up by the newspaper's
photo department.
 Kelley
said the waters pouring over the levees came close to, but did
not flood, his New Orleans house -- located on somewhat higher
ground very close to Lake Pontchartrain. Neighbors who took a
boat across the lake to inspect their house after the flooding
also inspected Kelley's house, and reported that it was mostly
OK. "A couple of doors were blown open but it wasn't looted,"
said Kelley, who emphasized that he was luckier than many city
residents.
The cartoonist -- whose work is distributed
by Creators Syndicate -- said he keeps up with post-hurricane
news by reading newspapers, watching CNN, and visiting The Times-Picayune's
NOLA.com site. Kelley said Times-Picayune staffers have been
doing "great, great work."
What has it been like drawing cartoons
from a distance? Kelley said in some ways he's used to it --
noting, for instance, that he comments on Iraq despite being
thousands of miles from that country. And Kelley has access to
a wider range of media reports in California than he would in
blacked-out New Orleans. "But it's harder to get as profound
a sense of the suffering from watching on TV," he said.
 Kelley
has lived in New Orleans for three years. He said that this familiarity
has also helped the hurricane-related cartoons of Mike Luckovich
and Walt Handelsman, Kelley's predecessors at The Times-Picayune.
In his Aug. 31 cartoon, Kelley drew a close-up
of a man saying: "Katrina wiped out our house, our car,
and most of our belongings...but nothing important" -- as
the picture widened to show the man with his wife and kids. On
Sept. 10, Kelley showed the directors of FEMA and the Department
of Homeland Security being directed to a bus under the caption:
"Forced evacuations we'd like to see."
Kelley is not sure when he'll be able to
return to New Orleans. He said he might try to find a place near
the city to live temporarily, and that he would like to personally
inspect and get some items from his house.
 These
articles are by JP Trostle, and are reprinted from editorialcartoonists.com,
the web site of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.
E-mail JP at jape@nc.rr.com
Cartoonists Deal with Katrina
Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina
slammed into the Gulf Coast, three editorial cartoonists and
AAEC members continue to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
Steve Kelley, of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, J.D. Crowe of
the Mobile (Ala.) Register and Ricky Nobile of the Mississippi
Business Journal were all affected by the devastating storm.
In fact, we have still been unable to reach Mobile, who lives
in Hattiesburg, Miss. News outlets report that some power has
been restored to the Hattiesburg area, but much of the region
still has no reliable electricity or phone service.
Steve Kelley, who had been on the west coast at the time Katrina
hit, has been staying with his long-time girlfriend in San Diego
and is waiting for "Mayor Nagin to issue an 'all clear'
for residents to return to New Orleans."
 "When that
happens, I'll go back and begin the process, whatever that process
happens to be," Kelley wrote over the weekend. "Satellite
photos and neighbors' reports indicate that floodwaters stopped
literally at my driveway."
Kelley said he is "certainly among the luckier New Orleaneans."
As for the disruption to his job and his paper, Kelley wrote:
"The [Times-Picayune] is publishing again, and we are close
to having phone contact again. I'm guessing that by the end of
this week, I should be on a very normal routine again."
"I've been drawing cartoons for the newspaper since Day
1, but the communications have been difficult. Initially there
was no phone, fax, or email possible. I just drew cartoons and
sent them off, hoping for the best. I recall thinking that with
all that the editors were facing there, their biggest fear must
have been that I was working without supervision..."
 J.D.
Crowe reports that, though parts of coastal Alabama were
hit hard by Katrina's storm surges, by and large they suffered
only a glancing blow in Mobile.
"Generally speaking, the feeling here in Lower Alabama seems
to be a gumbo of horror, uneasiness, and compassion mixed with
a big dose of "what in hailfar is goin' on with these effin
hurricanes?" Crowe wrote by e-mail. "Psychologically,
it's uneasy and surreal, like we're on the outskirts of a war
zone ... and the hurricane season hasn't even peaked. "
"Our communities will absorb its share of evacuees. We welcome
them with food, donations, a pat on the back, and some apprehension
I guess we'll be hunkering down with these folks, counting on
them to be avid newspaper readers."
-- J.P. Trostle contributed to this article.
Two Cartoonists Swap Jobs, Cities
John
Cole and Dennis
Draughon officially traded places over the weekend.
In April, John Cole was hired by the Scranton Times to fill the
job left open when the Times let Draughon go in 2004, and this
past week Draughon took over Cole's weekly slot at the Durham
News in Durham, N.C.
The Durham News bid Cole farewell and welcomed Draughon in a
pair of articles on Saturday (see below).
Originally from the Raleigh-Durham area, this was something of
a homecoming for Draughon who, in the late 1980s, had been the
cartoonist for the now-defunct Raleigh Times.
Cole had been doing work for The Durham News over the last six
months after being fired from the nearby Herald-Sun as part of
a massive purge of employees when the Herald-Sun was purchased
by Paxton Media in January. Cole continued to submit cartoons
to the Durham paper even after he relocated to Pennsylvania in
April.
The Herald-Sun staff position was eliminated by Paxton Media
as a "cost saving" measure.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2005
... and Mike
Lester responds to Scott and Adam ...
Daryl,
If I read another installment of "You're
a Cartoonist? Me Too!" between Scott and Adam I'm going
to find out where they're registered and get them a nice set
of napkin rings.
XOXOXO
ML
... and Adam
responds to Scott below ...
Scott,
Thanks for your thoughts. It's nice to
hear your Sheehan story - and how you still used the cartoon.
I personally try to avoid the reactionary tomatoe truck cartoons
myself. I completely agree that the best cartoons are timeless.
They aren't tied to a specific news story or event, and they
can run almost anytime. These cartoons have the longest impact
and tend to make larger statements with universal appeal.
However, as you noted, we are in an age
of late breaking news coverage and short attention spans. Because
of this, there does seem to be a place for the 'quick punch'
cartoons. The nice thing about the situation I just faced was
that Saturday's Buffalo News read "FEMA CHEIF SENT HOME"
in bold letters on the frontpage, while my updated cartoon ran
a few pages away. I received a good local response because of
my timing. And in that sense it was much like many of the local
topics I deal with - the timing being a huge factor.
Best Regards,
Adam
Scott
Stantis, the cartoonist for the Birmingham News (AL) responds
to Adam's note below.
Adam,
Deadline cartooning is the price a lot
of us pay for having a job. And it's one of the reasons newspapers
keep us on staff.
I had a similar situation happen to me
recently. I was about two thirds done on a cartoon commenting
on Cindy Sheehan and the circus that had erupted around her visit
to Crawford, Texas when my editor walks into my office at 5:30,
(never a good sign), to tell me that Sheehan was leaving Texas
to be with her mother who had just suffered a stroke. I put the
drawing aside and drew a cartoon commenting on a local water
works scandal.
Happily, I did not throw the drawing out
as Cindy Sheehan decided being in the media spotlight trumped
family concerns. On her return to Texas I was able to use the
cartoon.
Jeff MacNelly once said that a cartoon
is not like a truck load of tomatoes. His meaning being that
an editorial cartoon should be more timeless, or at least be
relevant longer than a few days. Sadly, with the hyper-ventilated
24/7 news cycle on cable television and the Internet this is
no longer true. Staying ahead of the curve and making cartoons
that are relevant to the readers is growing more and more difficult.
Another part of the equation is that we
cartoonists have an obligation to our readers and our newspapers
to be able to respond to breaking news. When something happens
of note I hope one of the questions the local readership asks
themselves is, "I wonder what the cartoonist will do with
this?" This is particularly true of local issues. But then,
that's another conversation.
Great recovery from the breaking news blind
side that hit ya. There's nothing like working on a daily newspaper
with a crushing deadline to keep the blood pumping and thoughts
of why, oh why, didn't I get that business degree?
Best,
Scott
Stantis
SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
I got a note from Buffalo News cartoonist Adam Zyglis last
week, and thought I'd post it here. E-mail Adam at AZyglis@buffnews.com.
Visit
Adam's cartoons.
Hey Daryl,
Today was a first for me. I spent all day developing and executing
a cartoon on FEMA director Mike Brown. Then, after the last line
of ink had dried, my editor comes to me with breaking news -
FEMA CHIEF IS RELIEVED FROM STORM DUTIES. So now I had exactly
hour to quickly conceive, crank out, and process a new cartoon
on the topic. A little stressful, I must say. I have attached
web versions of both cartoons to show you. Considering the time
constraint, I think I did alright. I was just wondering how often
other cartoonists are faced with this dilemma, and if they chose
to speed sketch or call it a day?
Thanks for your thoughts,
Adam
Adam Zyglis
Editorial Cartoonist
The Buffalo News
First Version:
Second Version:
SEPTEMBER 11, 2005
Don't miss our 9/11
Anniversary cartoons collection!
BY POPULAR DEMAND ...
You complained and I listened! I got lots of e-mail complaining
about the changes to the daily cartoons
updating pages, which were reduced from six cartoons per
page to three per page. I've rearranged the pages so that they
now have seven cartoons per page. Sorry to bother all of you
with so much page turning!
The second big complaint was about pop-up ads, and I'm happy
to note that we no longer suffer from the pop-up ad blight now
that we have moved back to MSNBC.
So, we had six months of unpleasantness, but now we're back to
normal. Enjoy!
SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
Cartoon by Daryl
Cagle of MSNBC.com
Come
see our "Blaming Bush" cartoon collection!
MY "RACIST" CARTOON REDUX
We've gotten lots of responses in response to the responses to
my looters cartoon, from the newsletter two days ago (and below).
Here is a sampling. Thanks to everyone for being so responsive.
--Daryl
I read the angry responses concerning the
looting cartoon (after hurricane Katrina). I would like to say
that there was nothing wrong w/the cartoon, it depicted what
happened, and that was that. I am sorry the cartoonist received
so much hate mail about that particular cartoon. If there is
a response page to those angry emails, I would appreciate my
response being posted. In summary: the cartoonist can draw whatever
he/she likes. If other people don't like it, then tough, go to
another site. Also, instead of whining about a cartoon, why don't
these people get off their butts and pledge some money or supplies
to help the hurricane victims? It's a better use of time than
whining like a little kid.
Alison Alti
Just got the latest looter cartoon
with the angry emails down below.
Thought you might like a kind word. I am a conservative who subscribes
to the email cartoons and they really brighten my day. I often
disagree with the politics, but hey, I can take a joke.
You really couldn't win with this one. NO is about 70% black,
so of course most of the looters were black. If you portray them
as black, you're a racist. If you portray them as white, you're
being politically correct. I saw black and whites looting, but
probably you could only win if you made them purple. No, people
would still say you were being PC. Face it; you were going to
come under fire for this one regardless.
Anyway, I liked it and didn't think anything one way or the other
until I read those emails. It's all in their heads. Thanks for
providing this service to those of us who appreciate you.
Ginger Edwards
Avon Lake, Ohio
To steal is a matter of values.
I am sure that merchants would have given water, bread and other
food items. If one would take another's property without a "ok"
then the society is really in trouble. Many people steal, rape
etc and someone can always justify such acts.
Gene Ward
You are so full of crap. The second wave was FEMA's criminal
mishandling that led directly to the deaths of thousands of poor
people.
Thanks for perpetuating stereotypes. Guess it's OK to be a racist
now?
Kelli Emma Goldman
Your looting cartoon was in
very poor taste to this very white observer. I think it probably
caused some added pain to the people suffering the destruction
of their homes and city. Hopefully few of them will see it.
Jim Teegardin
Mr Cagle,
Apparently you're damned if you do and
damned if you don't. A point I like to make in your defense.
The looting by "needy" people
began the day after the storm. So most of these people were so
poorly stocked with diapers and other necessities that they immediately
needed to take advantage of undefended local businesses? Ok,
water, maybe, but not the crap we were seeing on TV. There's
no justifying such a breakdown of civil behavior. Most of the
people stranded in New Orleans are (or were) African-American,
but the dilemma is if their race is emphasized, then it just
supports old, ugly stereotypes- fuel for real racists who only
need the slightest excuse to unleash their venom.
I can see why you may have hesitated to make your cartoon looters
any specific race- it's uncontrolled human nature not race that's
the problem, or the "second wave".
The real racism is by those who sit smugly
in their chairs and convince themselves that's how those people
are, not my people. It's just funny how real racists seem to
have such a hard time seeing themselves in people of other races.
I appreciate and will continue to appreciate
your comic insights. Don't let it get you down. I shared your
Statue of Liberty weeping cartoon with my students on 9/11/01.
You senses are on-target; keep the faith.
Steve Gordo
Modesto, CA
Really insensitive cartoon you loser
HACK.
Twocats2crazy
SEPTEMBER 6, 2005
MY "RACIST" CARTOON
Cartoon by Daryl
Cagle of MSNBC.com
All eyes are on New Orleans and the
devastated Gulf Coast now, but it seems that eyes are also on
my cartoons --I've been getting a storm surge of email about
my cartoon showing looters in New Orleans. The angry mail comes
in two categories:
1.) Since "all of the looters" are black, I'm either
timid, politically correct or a liberal-wuss for not drawing
the characters to look negro enough.
2.) I'm a racist-conservative for depicting
the poor people who are looting, because there is nothing wrong
with looting in this emergency.
Actually, the cartoon doesn't express
much of an opinion. Last week I was listening to the first news
reports about looting in New Orleans, and looking at scenes of
people stealing big televisions; there were reports of looters
with bags full of sneakers. The cartoon was just a "this
is the news" cartoon, so the furious response surprized
me. Here are some of your responses ...
You are a vile and vicious person. You want to sell this image?
Put a copy on your own wall and as the body count rises reflect
upon the hundreds of people who took sneakers because they had
to walk through infested waters. It's funny that you don't show
diapers and milk in the bags. There will always be a few people
who'll loot. Can you imagine stealing a television? That's real
poverty, isn't it?
The fact that you produced this vile depiction
of one of the saddest episodes of our history is just one more
indication that racism is alive and well.
Do yourself a favor and remove this picture
from the web. It speaks volumns about your character and one
day when, and if, through the Grace of God you do experience
spiritual growth you will be ashamed of your role in harming
God's children.
Elaine Portee
Why are the people in the looting
cartoon White? I saw not one person who is white looting in the
news videos. In fact they were all Black. Are you afraid to portray
the real criminals for what they are because of race?
James Jordon
All White looters? You PC whore.
-A White guy
Good to see you scored another blow for political correctness
by indicating the guy with the TV to be Caucasian, or at best,
a 'pass for white' Latino. Sometimes I think my TV needs color
adjustment, since the vast, and I do mean VAST, number of looters
resemble Negroes......ooops, that's African Americans, of course!
Whatever.......
Stan Denny
AMAZING YOUR CHARACTERS ARE ALL WHITE.
Madonna Robertson
Hey,
I saw BLACK folks looting. A seven year old was raped BY BLACKS!
So why do you portray WHITES gleefully stealing non-food items?
Can't handle the truth?
Bernie
Why are the people in the looting cartoon
White?
I saw not one person who is white loting in the news videos.
In fact they were all Balck.
Are you affraid to protray the real criminals for what they are
because of race?
James Jordan
I normally love your cartoons, but
if you're going to produce anything about the Katrina disaster,
why don't you focus on the majority of desperate people who are
asking for help, and not the small minority of idiots that are
trying to take advantage of the situation. Your current cartoon
just reinforces the stereotype that many Americans have of the
poor of this nation. You may not understand the breadth of your
influence, but I, and others do.
Sincerely,
Michele C. Van Ness
Your cartoon was racist. Apparently,
you oppose looting and stealing when it is being done by people
who are not your class or race. The stealing of tennis shoes
and TV's will pale in comparison to the millions of dollars in
"looting" that the oil companies and other businesses
will enjoy from price gouging as a result of this tragedy.
You need to re-examine your values and humanity.
Byron B. Mathews, Jr.
Just one complaint about
your cartoon...it's and insult to monkeys everwhere!
Anthony Beavers
SEPTEMBER 5, 2005
Our political humorist, Will Durst, was caught in New Orleans
just before Katrina hit. Will files this report with us about
his escape.
A Speck In Katrina's Eye
Raging Moderate, By Will Durst
Hard to fathom the chaos I'm seeing on
my TV, soggy but safely ensconced here at my Dad's house in Milwaukee.
A wrung out speck of comic detritus lucky
to have dodged the wrath of Katrina's eye. And a mite sheepish.
Always told anyone who bothered to listen I wanted to experience
a hurricane; but then, when the chance finally came, I hiked
up my skirts and ran like a little school girl. And am extremely
glad I did.
My scheduled two dates last weekend were
going to be a working vacation with the emphasis on the drinking-like-a-fish
part. Working on Saturday at Martine's, a club in Metairie, and
then the House of Blues Parish Room (little venue - seats about
240) in New Orleans on Sunday. Followed by a flight out of Armstrong
International to Milwaukee to see my Dad Monday morning. Cue
ominous music.
After landing Friday night, the joke was
the damn hurricane was going to screw up not just the whole town,
but our shows as well. We would make a fortune with our "Dive
the French Quarter" t- shirts, featuring a logo of a tiny
floating scuba diver holding a hurricane glass. Easy, less-than-a-one-percent-chance-of-it-ever-happening
kind of laughter.
Saturday morning the chuckles started to
stick in our throats like a canapé made out of sawdust.
Katrina stubbornly refused to veer off and wimp out, as all New
Orleanians distractedly assumed she would. People exhausted from
evacuating hurricanes that had never come. Who had heard the
weathermen cry "Chicken Little" too many times: twice
last year and twice the year before. People suffering from a
serious case of Hurricane Fatigue.
But that didn't factor into our thinking.
We were just comics trying to salvage a gig (me and Bill Dykes,
the producer/comic who booked the mini tour), so we spent an
hour haranguing the general manager of the HOB, that "the
show must go on."
"How bad can it be? We'll just work
for the waiters and service staff of the clubs in the Quarter.
The ones who can't leave. Screw the tourists. It'll be therapeutic.
Besides, she's not supposed to hit until Monday."
Corporate fiscal sense prevailed in his
decision to close the whole joint after Sunday's Gospel Brunch,
and he only kept that open because it had pretty much sold out.
As for us, he really didn't have any choice since most of his
staff had already called in reporting they were getting the hell
out of Dodge. Then the Gulf casinos announced they were closing
at 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Casinos closing. Not a good sign. Huge
corporations turning away free money. If there were a canary
in the coal mine of a hurricane scare, this had to be it.
Bill and I went shopping in a semi-frenzied
grocery store, and shared chagrined grimaces as we showed up
at the cart at the same time from different directions with arms
full of bottled water - and a couple of six packs and Doritos.
A quick nap and we headed out to Martine's in Metairie, which
is a weekly one-nighter hosted by comic Jodi Borrello in a suburb
about 10 miles west of town. She was excited, as we were scheduled
to sell out the 100 seat room. Scheduled being the operative
word here. 10 p.m. rolls around and nine people showed up. Nine.
Count 'em. Oh, I did. Mostly Jodi's family. Great show anyway.
For the nine people.
Borrello-Dykes-Durst. Lots of weathermen-Hurricane-natural
disaster jokes, as one might imagine. Lots of nervous laughter
as one might also imagine.
Afterwards, the entire Borrello Krewe laid
rubber steaming directly from the show to higher ground in Opelousas
near Lafayette. Bill and I commenced to perform what must be
the norm when you think of preparing for the worst impending
natural disaster in our nation's history - a tour of the French
Quarter.
The streets were dead - no, really dead.
Not Quarter dead. Rhinelander, Wisconsin week-after-New Year's-dead.
Boarded-up dead. Eerie dead. Neon signs advertising "Hurricanes"
lit above the makeshift plywood shutters dead. A few bars open.
We hit "Mimi's' in the Marigny for a quick bite right before
they boarded up. In answer to the question that opened each casual
meeting: "You staying?" the answer was invariably "no."
EVERYONE was leaving.
Dave at "d.b.a.," a club on Frenchman,
who had ridden out every Hurricane in memory (a Big Easy badge
of honor worn with pride), said HE was splitting. And I saw Bill's
internal engine hum "hmmm." There was a lot of rationalizing
going on involving the kids/pets thing, but the media scare job
was working. All the TVs in the city were switching between The
Weather Channel's trajectory of doom, and the 24-Hour Hurricane
Watch on the local affiliates, which focused on the traffic jams-from-hell
retreating from the Gulf. The general consensus was "Leave
or Die! No, really! We're not kidding this time!"
Driving down Decatur Street. Nothing, not
a thing open, at all except Molly's, but that's to be expected.
Nobody walking. Only us driving. Not even any cops. Plenty of
parking spots. Not a good thing, by a factor of five. Finally
saw some life up near Canal at Lounge Lizards where "Johnny
Sketch and the Dirty Notes" were wailing away to an almost-full
house including the "Mardi Gras and a Half Girls,"
dressed mostly in white feathers and boas. People milling on
the sidewalk outside drinking out of to-go cups.
Ahhh, semi-normality. Stayed 'til three.
Not wishing to openly reveal my weenie
doubts about riding it out, I had earlier surreptitiously inquired
as to changing my Monday flight to Sunday, but United laughed
"hah hah hah hah hah," so I made online reservations
with Hertz for a Sunday morning pick- up, and this allowed me
to sleep the slumber of the stupid, thinking: "If Katrina
veers off before i wake up, i'll stay; if she threatens to pummel,
i'll drive out - no problem." God laughs.
By dawn Sunday, Katrina had ramped up to
Category 5, which had everybody shaking like a shaved kitten
on a frozen lake. Olden-timey weatherman visibly sweating with
their sleeves rolled up on the TV.
Only two Category 5s have EVER EVER hit the mainland of the US.
EVER, and the New Orleans Superdome is crosshaired directly in
the middle of Katrina's unerring greenish blue eye.
I call Hertz. They joined United and God
in their laughing. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha - oh, I'm sorry sir,
that location has been evacuated and the staff escaped in the
dead of night."
"What about me? I could have taken
one of your precious cars to high land, you silly person."
"Click." The airport is closed. I compile a list of
my luggage I really NEED to leave with. A couple of vests and
my laptop are the only finalists.
I don't know what convinces Bill to borrow
an ex-roommate's car and drive me out; a sense of duty, the impending
doom, some suspicion my wife will hunt him down and eat his entrails
if I die. But we split around 11:30 in a '95 Honda Accord with
84000 miles on it, which needs gas, and air in all its tires.
Gulp. First we stop at his place and try to convince his present
roommate Maggie (no - just roommates) to join our frantic exodus,
but as an artist she's worried about her pieces and vows to shepherd
them through hell and high water. She kisses us off waving a
double-tall Jack and Coke.
We flee the city through the back roads
- Magazine to River Road to Jefferson Highway to Williams, catching
up with I-10. Our plan is to head west to Houston where Bill
lived and has friends and family. And I'll fly out or something.
Just AWAY is what counts right now. AWAY from Katrina, the bitch.
Houston is normally a five-and-a-half-hour drive. Takes us that
long to crawl 20 miles. Stuck on the Spillway for over an hour,
not moving at all. Much bathroom activity improvisation ensues.
Against our will we get shunted north on
I-55 when we'd rather continue west on I-10, and 15 hours after
leaving the third-world nation with OSHA standards that is New
Orleans we plop down on a pair of soft, sweet double beds at
the Memphis Hilton. Even with gas station coffee and adrenaline
shooting through our veins like the first pressings of a Kentucky
meth lab, we immediately pass out as the fingertips of Katrina
reach out to us via a muted CNN. And that's how we escaped. And
I thank God we did and hope we can return someday to even a semblance
of the city we left.
May God watch over you, New Orleans. And
please survive, so we can come back and help drink your economy
back to health.
Political Comic Will Durst is
wearing a stained Bourbon Street t-shirt.
Will Durst is a political comedian
who has performed around the world. He is a familiar pundit on
television. His two CDs are available at laugh.com. Look for
Will's collection of columns "Raging Moderate" in a
bookstore near you soon. Email Will at willdurst@sbcglobal.net.
©2005 Will Durst.
SEPTEMBER
2, 2005
Cartoon by Emad
Hajjaj of Amman, Jordan
Worldwide Cartoonists Take Pleasure
in America's Pain
The easiest way to see what world opinion
looks like is to look through the mirror of political cartoons.
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has done nothing to elicit
sympathy from the world according to cartoonists around the globe
who are finding pleasure in America's pain.
In Europe, anger at President Bush's rejection
of the Kyoto treaty to stop global warming is the focus of "I
told you so" cartoons. The Europeans see global warming
as the obvious cause of Hurricane Katrina and seize the opportunity
to blame the president for causing the calamity.
 German
cartoonist, Heiko
Sakurai, depicts president Bush swept up in a tornado along
with a sign that reads, "Welcome to New Orleans," the
president says, "Global warming? What a ridiculous idea!
But we got very serious information from our intelligence services
that there might be a connection to Al Qaeda "
Swiss cartoonist, Patrick
Chappatte of the Paris based International Herald Tribune
(owned by the New York Times) draws a scene of flooded New Orleans
ruins, with a billboard that quotes the president, "'Climate
change remains to be proven' George W. Bush."
Cartoonist Olle
Johansson from Sweden shows the president taking his "global
warming dog" for a walk; the dog has escaped from his collar
and turned into a raging storm outside the frame, as the president
says, "The hurricanes just love to play with him."
New Zealand Herald cartoonist Rod
Emmerson shows President Bush addressing the nation, "The
American people can rest assured that we plan to invade New Orleans
as soon as possible."
Bill Leak of The
Australian newspaper in Sydney shows President Bush dressed as
a cowboy, holding out a tin cup begging, for help as Australian
President John Howard looks the other way, telling an aide to
tell Bush that he gave "at the office."
 Cartoonists
in developing countries, the Middle East and Latin America display
their disgust for America and President Bush at every opportunity.
Americans are portrayed as greedy, obese, stupid and arrogant.
Hamburgers are a worldwide symbol for America and we often see
ugly depictions of hamburgers. It seems strange to us, but defiled
burgers are instantly recognizable around the world as insults
directed against America. In Middle Eastern countries where there
is no Christian lore that would give rise to a devil character,
Dracula is substituted for Satan, and President Bush or Uncle
Sam are often depicted as vampires.
Another common symbol for America is the
comic book superhero, sometimes Batman or Spiderman, but usually
Superman is the worldwide substitute for Uncle Sam, and in most
cartoons Superman suffers an indignity that brings joy to an
America hating audience. In his most recent cartoon, Emad
Hajjaj of the Al-Ghad newspaper in Amman, Jordan draws President
Bush in his Superman suit, with Hurricane Katrina as his up-blown
skirt, exposing his skinny, naked, black legs trudging through
the mud, labeled, "Third World."
Many of the world's cartoonists work in
countries that allow no press freedom, but the cartoonists describe
themselves as being "free." A Cuban cartoonist once
told me, "I'm free to draw whatever I want as long as it
is about the United States."
Bashing America is a daily job for the
world's cartoonists, and it will take a lot more than death,
devastation and widespread human suffering to jar them from their
routine.
Cartoons by Patrick
Chappatte of the International Herald Tribune, Paris.
Cartoon by Heiko Sakurai
|
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have spanky new web sites and have asked me to give them a plug
in the blog. The AAEC site is funded by a grant from the