Cartoonist Steve Stegelin is a snarky Charleston iconoclast who makes us laugh out loud, cringe and nod at political truths.
For 20 years, he’s been Charleston City Paper’s resident cartoonist, crafting award-winning drawings that got better year after year. His original gritty style morphed into colorful weekly panels on important issues that sometimes skewer, sometimes nail and always entertain.
The Charleston City Paper cover features Steve Stegelin, their editorial cartoonist for the past 20 years.
Former City Paper Editor Stephanie Barna remembers the newspaper learned about Stegelin’s cartoons after a daycare teacher mentioned to a staffer that her husband was a cartoonist. The staffer suggested to her that Stegelin contact the paper.
“Luckily, he was really talented, and we were thrilled to find such a unique talent in our midst,” she recalled. “His illustrations were hilarious, and his tone perfectly suited the paper.”
And he still does, as Barna observed: “Stegelin has a perfectly skewed sensibility. He can highlight the absurdity of what’s going on in the world and make you laugh.
Along with Andy Brack’s profile and interview with Steve Stegelin the August 9, 2024 issue of The Charleston City Paper features a gallery of Steve’s personal favorite cartoons since 2004 – including his first cartoon for the paper (above) and his latest regular weekly cartoon (also above). The gallery is a nice showing of how Steve’s art style has evolved over two decades. The City Paper’s archives of Stegelin cartoons goes back to 2005.
Steve’s wonderful non-political illustration and sequential art can be enjoyed at his site.