A buddy of mine, talented cartoonist Karl Savage, recently reminded me of an illustration he did as a project back when we were in class together at the Joe Kubert School. If I remember correctly, it was an assignment in our humor class for former MAD Magazine cartoonist Brian Buniak, and we were supposed to take an iconic image and parody it. I was always fond of what Karl produced, particularly the nice touch of writing “590 Fleurette Jewelry” in Arabic.

Here is Karl’s description of the assignment:

The tragedy in Denmark had just occurred. Muslim extremists were setting off bombs in retaliation of a published newspaper cartoon that depicted Mohammad wearing a bomb as a turban, complete with a burning wick. The parodic opportunities of Islam were making headlines, so I decided I would tap into that.

Teaming it with this iconic Marilyn Monroe pose was a no-brainer. She’s THE sex symbol of the 20th century. Here was the perfect opportunity to tap into that appeal. Muslim women probably have sexy legs, but few men get to see them.

Here’s the illustration. What do you think:

Karl Savage / Karlsavage.com (click to enlarge)