Simpson accused of plagiarizing MacNelly cartoon

A David Simpson editorial cartoon in the latest issue of The Urban Tulsa might look eerily familiar to fans of the late Jeff MacNelly. The original MacNelly cartoon depicts is a scene of a military junk yard with President Jimmy Carter trying to jump start an aged jet with a beat-up pickup truck. The Simpson cartoon… well same cartoon right down the the fence, jet, pickup and trash on the ground. The labels are updated to make the cartoon work for a current Oklahoma news story.

Here’s MacNelly’s original:

Here’s Simpsons’s cartoon:

And here’s the MacNelly’s cartoon overlaid with Simpsons. You can tell the cartoon was redrawn and not photocopied.

This is not the first time Simpson has been accused of plagiarism. He was let go from The Tulsa World in 2005 after it was pointed out that he had blatantly redrew a 1981 editorial cartoon by Bob Englehart of the The Hartford Courant.

The Urban Tulsa has not responded to a request for comment. I’ll post their response as well as a response from Simpson if provided.

UPDATE: This Land has taken upon itself to look for further cases. They’ve found several more.

55 thoughts on “Simpson accused of plagiarizing MacNelly cartoon

  1. Ouch! It’s bad enough when cartoonists retread the same paths to ideas and concepts, a la the recent “Steve Jobs at the Pearly Gates” cartoons. However, this is just plain theft, plain and simple. Sorry to see this sort of thing happen. And, it’s pretty nearly impossible to pull this off unnoticed, especially when you steal from one of the best cartoonists of all time!

  2. The original cartoon has a lot going for it.

    The regurgitation isn’t funny because the metaphor doesn’t apply as well. Simpson’s not just stealing — he’s doing it BADLY.

  3. This is certainly not a coincidence – it is pure plagiarism, unadulterated, with malice aforethought… A very desperate artist would copy the artwork of a deceased legend like MacNelly without hesitation – I wonder what exactly drove Simpson to it?

  4. So does the old saying “Good artists copy, great artists steal” apply? I think not. In the immortal words of the Fat Albert kids – “It’s like school on Sunday – NO Class!” You should at least put an “apologies to?” in there somewhere to make it seem that in your own mind you were trying to pretend it was a homage and not a blatant rip-off.

  5. What amazes me is that it’s a simple single drawing that could easily have been “referenced” and not made to look close to MacNelly’s original… and instead great, painstaking detail at the lightbox was taken to copy over the exact placements of shading, blades of grass and bits of debris on the ground. The amount of time devoted to stealing someone else’s work is sort of impressive, albeit ironic.

    Oh and, you know, completely unforgivable. Best of luck being a two-time thief trying to find another job, David.

  6. This is flat-out bizarre. Why? Plagiarists must want to get caught. An artist has many, many ways to completely reinterpret an idea visually. This kind of copying is just weird.

  7. Didn’t this cartoonist lose his job a few years back for doing the same thing? Pathetic

  8. I missed the part of story confirming he was fired in 2005.
    With the number of good Editorial cartoonist looking for work
    how does a serial plagiarist get another job?

  9. Deadline pressures for editorial cartooning are uniquely challenging, compared with other forms of cartooning — it’s difficult if not impossible to ‘bank’ a bunch of ideas in advance to deal with dry spells, because you have to keep up with current events, and come up with something every dang day.

    Nevertheless, this is appalling.

  10. Why is it usually MacNelly that is so flagrantly stolen from? Even Pulitzer winners have reproduced his material. Maybe he’s technically won more than three.

  11. Why no hue/cry over “GREAT PUMPKIN”, “THA-THAT’S ALL FOLKS”, ROADRUNNER, PINOCCHIO, (etc. etc.) cartoons? Same thing, it’s just accepted nomenclature. Bob Gorrell published David Levine’s 1966 famous LBJ VIETNAM SCAR cartoon last week w/ ouline of Iraq. -crickets-

    Why torch this nobody when the big boys are reading the obits and doing Apple logo gags?

    Alan, comment #4 gives credit to you for this “catch”. I’ve noticed you don’t hat tip or credit or correct this pat on the back when provided stories pertinent to cartoonists and thereby take credit. It’s your blog but it’s ironically, not dissimilar to the topic at hand. For the record, the “catch” goes to Matt Bors.

  12. No, no. I didn’t catch it. Someone else made the connection. I merely wrote the editor and publisher. This was floating around on email so I think a few people had it.

  13. @Mike Lester

    The way I see it, being lazy and unoriginal (Jobs at the Pearly Gates, tombstone treatments of the Apple logo, assorted flavors of Editorial Cartooning Yahtzee [Cagle FTW!]) is commonplace.

    Actual plagiarism is something completely different.

    I’ve seen plenty of criticism on this board regarding the sins common to editorial cartoonists. That’s no reason not to dogpile Simpson for being a liar, a thief, and a bad cartoonist.

  14. and he would?ve gotten away with it if he had put ?after the great Jeff MacNelly? like Bob Gorrell did when he scanned this David Levine’s LBJ Vietnam scar catoon

  15. Mike (#20), easy there fella. No where have I claimed to take credit for this. Like Matt said, several of us were copied on the broadcast of this news. I did ask Matt if he wanted to be cited as the source for this discovery and he declined stating several other cartoonists were aware of this.

    If you want the credit you can have it. You seem to have the J. Edgar Hoover file on every other cartoonist out there.

  16. Somebody told me Wally Wood was credited with saying “Don’t draw what you can copy, don’t copy what you can trace, and don’t trace what you can cut out and paste down”. I believe he meant it ironically, as a time saving suggestion in the low-paying world of comic books. Looks like this guy went and took his advice!

  17. I would think that Wally Wood meant PHOTOS, not other people’s illustrations…

    Mr. Essman makes a good point – Simpson should have blatantly acknowledged his blatant copying of someone else’s research, someone else’s composition and someone else’s drawing style…

  18. David Simpson was known to have plagiarized many times from MacNelly, Oliphant and others for at least a decade, going back to the late 1970s. I remember John Trever had kept a whole file of clips demonstarting this.

  19. Mike- I see a an obvious difference between doing a parody of
    the great pumpkin and that’s all folks and blatant plagiarism like
    what is seen in this cartoon

    Even MacNelly did a parody of Homer’s famous “Gulf Stream”
    I did a Great Pumpkin parody last month and googled a pic from
    the special to draw from to get it right. It’s obvious to anyone who sees a cartoon like that the cartoonist isn’t the creator of Linus and Sally
    or porky pig. In this case it wouldn’t be obvious to Tulsa readers
    unless they were students of MacNelly or Editorial cartooning.

    Matt is correct in his comment. MacNelly has a cartoon in which
    I believe he shows a Russian leader standing in a circle of old
    mirrors of different shapes and sizes. Years later I recall seeing
    that exact same composition and the same style mirrors drawn
    by an Editorial cartoonist who would later win one or more
    Pulitzers.

  20. Hi. I”m the Curator Archivist of the Jeff MacNelly Estate Archives. So, y’all know, I’m quite sure this guy won’t get away with this for long. Stumbling across this article just got me very busy…. Stay tooned, folks!

    Philip S. Rosemond.
    Jeff MacNelly Estate Archive.
    Flint Hill, VA

  21. Best of luck Philip.
    Based on what Steve Greenberg said of this going back to the late seventies, he’s been getting away with it for three decades.
    What does it say about the state journalism in the Sooner state
    that he not only keeps getting hired but gets inducted into a
    Journalism Hall of Fame.

  22. I am very new to cartooning and I am still developing my style.
    I don’t look too much at the work of other artists because not only do I constantly compare my work to thiers and wonder “why bother” , but I am even more afraid that I may inadvertantly start to emmulate either thier style or maybe co-op an idea.
    I am petrified of this so as a consequesnce I don’t look much at the work of others.
    Someday soon I hope to be past that but for now that is my reality. I can’t imagine ever literally tracing someone elses work and passing it off as my own. Does anyone else here ever have those worrisome thoughts?

  23. A student SHOULD study and even copy the work of great cartoonists as a learning tool – for instance, you can learn a lot by tracing stick figures over various artists’ cartoons and then drawing your own characters on them.

    You can learn immeasurably by carefully studying the work of others, many others, not just one…

    Over time, these influences coalesce into your OWN personal style. And if you are really, really lucky and work hard and achieve some success, perhaps you, too, will someday be included in someone else’s pool of influences…

  24. I agree with Mike Lester (OH MY GOD), and those Halloween/Thanksgiving/Xmas themed cartoons are stale. I’ve drawn them too but I’ve reeled it in over the past few years.
    How many more “hokie pokies”, “titanics”, “lemmings”, “mazes” “cars going off a cliff” cartoons do we need? We’re supposed to be professionals and some of us multi-award winners. Can’t we do better?
    I’m nowhere near where I wanna be with my work and I’ll never be perfect. But after nearly two decades of trying to think like everyone else, I’m now fighting not to. It’s hard.

  25. I hear what you’re saying Clay. But what you and Mike are talking about are tired Cliche’s that’s not the same as plagiarism.

    Excuse me while I get to work on my Romney trick or treat ‘toon

  26. Ooh! I love these kind of puzzles. Let me see, 1) there a sign in the top picture and none in the bottom. 2) The guy has stuff coming out of his head in the top and not the bottom. and the only other difference I could find is the signatures are different.
    That is about as traced as it gets. I’m sure his Simpson’s print of MacNelly’s cartoon lays perfectly over his drawing. Sad.

  27. I watched an amazing career go down the drain in the 1980s when a fabulous editorial cartoonist and mentor of mine was let go from the Orange County Register for repeatedly copying MacNelly cartoons…Why, has always been my question? All of his original stuff was first rate, he was filled with ideas and original thought, and his inking was amazing.

    I studied many cartoonists of the day, and I thank many of you now for your amazing talent, but I never felt the need to go over the line, reach into your pockets and take anything! Lesson learned.

    This whole thing is sad!

  28. You might want to redo the overlaid version, but rotate Simpson’s version -5.13 degrees, then move it a bit to align the body of the jet. It makes the similarity all the more striking.

  29. Do you think he did’nt realize that was an aircraft carrier in the back or was that the ONLY thing he changed?

  30. Sorry to see this sort of thing happen. Similar ideas are an occupational hazard, but this… this is a little much. Look at the junk. He’s copied it verbatim. This is certainly not a coincidence – it is pure plagiarism, unadulterated, with malice aforethought… How can anyone derive any artistic satisfaction from something like that?

  31. It would be bad enough to steal the concept and the layout but taking it down to the line work. I hope that douche gets fired.

  32. He could have at least flipped it! This is such an insult to every one out there who wants to do editorial cartoons and has actual talent rather than a library of other people’s work and a light box.

  33. Hey all. After e-mailing UTW Editor Gavin Elliot, this is the response I got:
    ?Hi Keith ? I can appreciate your being upset about Simpson?s plagiarism. As soon as it was brought to our attention, Simpson was let go. We had already gone to press with the last one before it was brought to our attention, which is why it ran.?

    He went on to say in a follow-up e-mail that Simpson was a contract cartoonist and not on staff.

  34. Mickey Mouse Nursery

    Have you thought to give your baby any greatly decorated Mickey Mouse Nursery? Mickey Mouse is a very well-known, well loved traditional Disney character, and it is a great way to decorate your nursery. Mickey Mouse is merely so cute as well as adorable.

    If you are not sure how you want to enhance your nursery, maybe the idea of a Donald duck nursery has spurred your interest? If so, maybe something you uncover here will give you motivation. I sure desire so. I hope you appreciate as you explore the fantastic World of Mickey .

    Photo inside the intro provided by andrew castro on Flickr. Hyperlink is below.

    Mickey Mouse Photo by andrew castro on Flickr

    a%3A12%3A%7Bs%3A18%3A%22allow_email_notify%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A8%3A%22approval%22%3Bs%3A6%3A%22manual%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22blurbCount%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%225%22%3Bs%3A17%3A%22fb_twitter_notify%22%3Bs%3A2%3A%22on%22%3Bs%3A7%3A%22options%22%3Bs%3A72%3A%220c6596632edcbc1b4ab35b10f8316532%2CYes%2Cce8bd3f41dfbe69cd5ffe4977f98a0ce%2CNo%22%3Bs%3A6%3A%22period%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%220%22%3Bs%3A8%3A%22question%22%3Bs%3A56%3A%22Will+you+be+using+a+Mickey+Mouse+theme+for+your+nursery%3F%22%3Bs%3A12%3A%22requireLogin%22%3Bs%3A5%3A%22false%22%3Bs%3A9%3A%22sendEmail%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A12%3A%22showComments%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22showPhotos%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A9%3A%22stripHTML%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3B%7D

    Launching poll. Please Wait…

    This Mickey Mouse Some Piece Crib Comforter cover would be a great searching for your baby boys baby’s crib. This set is adorable with a classic sports design theme with red, white-colored, blue and dark brown colors throughout.

    This kind of set comes with a baby’s crib quilt, crib bumper, dust ruffle and equipped crib sheet.

    These kind of Mickey Mouse accessories range from Vintage Mickey collection. These kinds of accessories would be a great addition to your baby boy’s Vintage Mickey nursery decor.

    These adorable Vintage Mickey Wall Arts present Mickey playing three different sports: soccer, football and also basketball. Great for baby boy’s nursery wall membrane.

    This vintage Mickey Limit is adorable, and also would be great for storing your baby’s dirty clothes (which will be many) 🙂

    This vintage Mickey lamp might look so sweet on your dresser, and would be a cute method of getting some light inside your nursery.

    http://getlouisvuittons.webs.com/ How pretty can you get? These kinds of cute Mickey’s will be relaxing your child should you choose to purchase this great vintage donald duck mobile.

    This pretty crib bedding set can be great for your baby female’s crib with its Baby Minnie design. Its smooth pink colors are sure to look great in your infant girl’s minnie mouse nursery.

    This crib collection comes with a Comforter, Bumper Rail, Head board, Fitted sheet,and Baby crib skirt.

    This Eight Piece, Mickey Mouse and Friends crib bedding would be a great match up for your Mickey Mouse themed nursery!

    This collection comes with a quilt, installed sheet, dust ruffle, diaper stacker, musical mobile about three pieces of wall art.

    This cute Mod Mickey , 3 bit crib bedding set is super cute as well as affordable. Would seem cute, especially for a boy’s nursery as well as comes with a quilt, installed sheet and dust ruffle.

    An incredible collection of Mickey Mouse blankets. All of them would be ideal for your baby and would certainly keep them cozy and warm.

    This quilt is part of the Antique Mickey collection. I love the particular dark blue color of the actual blanket!

    If you love Mickey or Minnie Mouse, and would like to use a Mickey/Minnie mouse diaper bag to carry around all of your infant’s essential, can’t-do-without items, you will find a good selection of these people here.

    If you’d rather have a tote bag, this is a cute one. You could carry around your baby’s essentials in this too.

    Amazon will periodically up-date this selection of donald duck night lights. Twenty-four hours a day come back later for brand new selections.

    Here you will find a selection of Mickey Mouse picture frames that Ebay will certainly automatically update.

    a%3A10%3A%7Bs%3A8%3A%22approval%22%3Bs%3A6%3A%22manual%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22blurbCount%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%225%22%3Bs%3A7%3A%22option1%22%3Bs%3A12%3A%22Mickey+Mouse%22%3Bs%3A7%3A%22option2%22%3Bs%3A12%3A%22Minnie+Mouse%22%3Bs%3A6%3A%22period%22%3Bs%3A1%3A%221%22%3Bs%3A8%3A%22question%22%3Bs%3A40%3A%22Seriously+guys%2C+who+is+the+better+mouse%3F%22%3Bs%3A12%3A%22requireLogin%22%3Bs%3A5%3A%22false%22%3Bs%3A9%3A%22sendEmail%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A10%3A%22showPhotos%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3Bs%3A9%3A%22stripHTML%22%3Bs%3A3%3A%22yes%22%3B%7D

    This particular video is from 1929. I simply love this vintage cartoon bit. It’s great. Mickey Mouse ended up being cute and gifted even back in 1929.

    operated by Youtube

    This module only appears with actual data any time viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll

    options will appear over a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged inside.

    If you would like to see even more great nursery concepts, you might like to check out some of my other nursery websites below.

    Hello everybody. If you would like to go away me a comment please do so here. I would wish to know that you fallen in!

    Add Comment

    Thank you for visiting my lens. I really like having visitors 🙂 If you need to know a little bit more with regards to me, you’ll find a few info here.

    Hi there All! My name is Italy. I have a wonderful husband and one adorable 2 year old son. 🙂

    I love to read christian fiction, going for walks an…

    a lot more

    These Toy Bins are awesome! They come in Mickey or Minnie style. When you have a child, your toys just keep building up, and keep in mind that, you will need a place to shop them.

    If you like Mickey Minnie Mouse, then why not get this toy box? It’s so cute!

  35. Thank you for some other magnificent article. Where else could anybody get that
    kind of info in such an ideal manner of writing?
    I have a presentation next week, and I’m at the look for such info.

Comments are closed.

Top