Michael P. Ramirez, award winning editorial cartoonist for The Las Vegas Review-Journal, has quietly been contributing weekly cartoons to the Washington Post since May 29, 2023.
The Washington Post for years has printed cartoons from a wide variety of cartoonists and labeled them “guest editorial cartoons,” those included Michael’s Review-Journal toons.
But these weekly opinions are datelined The Washington Post, that is new.
The cartoons seem to be exclusive to the WaPo. They are not available through Michael’s syndicate and are not showing up at Michael’s substack. Neither are they on his Facebook or Twitter pages.
Stranger yet is the complete lack of any announcement by Michael or The Washington Post.
Michael signed with The Las Vegas Review-Journal five years ago come September. Is a move afoot?
hat tip: Mike Rhode
I find this very surprising, because compared to the Post’s signature cartoonists, Herblock and Toles, he’s a raving rightist. I wonder if this is being driven by Bezos, who’s eased out the Post’s publisher by creating a cushy job for him?
Other people (and me) have been asking questions about the other 2 people being published as editorial cartoonists, Ellis Rosen and Edith Pritchett. Here’s the most recewnt letters to the WaPo – https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/16/art-history-cave-met/. Here’s 2 blog posts from me (the first of which Daily Cartoonist kindly noted previously), with the 2nd including a letter they didn’t publish – https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2023/05/wapo-doesnt-understand-comics-3-this-is.html and https://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2023/06/that-darn-post-editorial-page-cartoons.html
Ramirez’ cartoons are not only pictorial Republican talking points, but they are also, generally speaking, too on the nose to be funny. They don’t make you laugh with surprise. They are formulaic, albeit well drawn.
Wrong page. The comics are found further back.