Industry news for the professional cartoonist
Mike Smith (KFS) begins things by expressing doubt that tonight’s debate will change any votes, and he may be right, not because it won’t be a chance to evaluate the candidates head-to-head but because the people who watch will likely be the people who have already been paying attention. Lisa Benson (Counterpoint) makes much the…
Peter Steiner sums it all up. Thank you for coming and don’t forget to tip your waitress. But, no, I’ve never been known to avoid elaboration, and there’s a lot more to be said, even if you shouldn’t say it in Louisiana. Or Texas or Arizona or in any of a number of other places…
A “cartoon yahtzee” is when five or more editorial cartoonists draw a similar approach to a news story. “The Catch” is Willie Mays refusing the Cleveland Indians an eighth inning run and probable win of game one in the 1954 World Series (Willie stealing second in the tenth inning also helped win the game for…
I’m going to let Bill Bramhall’s tribute stand for all the Willie Mays cartoons, most of which took advantage of “The Catch” but too many of which cluttered it up, particularly with Pearly Gates cliches. Bramhall keeps it simple, though I have to chuckle over him giving Mays a blue hat rather than a black…
Too Much Coffeeman brings up the hostility some people have for banjos, which I confess I don’t understand, but which seems to be of a piece with their hostility towards bagpipes and accordions. I’ll confess to not being a big fan of full-sized accordions — forgive me, Myron Floren — but I enjoy a well-played…
Clay Bennett (CTFP) marks Flag Day with a display of US flags flown respectfully over the years, contrasted with the improper display of the flag currently practiced by the New Confederacy. Respect for the flag is a tradition, not a law, but if you read the current United States Flag Code, you’ll find all sorts…
Keith Knight! Brian Fies! Sergio Aragonés! Al Jaffee! Lalo Alcaraz! Keefer Got The Key! From Keith Knight: Holy smokes! One pleasant surprise that I made reference to in this week’s strip [link added] was the mayor of my hometown showed up to my slideshow and gave me the key to the city! I can now…
We’ll start with something that hardly counts in the Grand Scheme of Things, except that accuracy does matter, even when good intentions only pave the road to Heck, not Hell. Clay Jones has a point to make in observing that Trump can no longer shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single vote…
There used to be a Sunday talking heads show called Issues and Answers, which was a pretty ambitious promise, though back then they tried. Today, it would be called “Issues and Talking Points” and I don’t watch Sunday political chat shows because I’m old enough to remember when politicians who went on “Meet the Press”…
Best way to shut me up is to draw the perfect cartoon. Too Much Coffee Man has done just that. Fortunately, the effect is temporary. Matt Golding usually ends up in political cartoon postings, but this one is purely social, and let’s note that obnoxious people with leaf blowers are blowing leaves Down Under. Up…
(Thank you, Clifford Berryman) Pearls Before Swine (AMS) makes an excellent point, though there’s more to it. If you go back half a century, the evening network news was half an hour, but so was the local news and there was another half hour before bedtime, for a total of 90 minutes. Drop back a…
Aislin starts off our D-Day commemoration in part because the Canadians tend to get bunched in with the British forces in other commentaries I’ve seen, but mostly because he marks the day by remembering strong, young men while most others are depicting old guys in wheelchairs, sometimes saluting. Saluting happens in cartoons on military holidays:…
To repeat an oft-told story in political cartooning, Bill Mauldin was at a luncheon when news of JFK’s assassination came. He raced back to the newsroom and, within an hour, had this classic cartoon ready for the afternoon’s Extra edition. I point this out because, while I was indeed surprised at how quickly the jury…
Sometimes you need a dose of silliness, and Jimmy Craig is just the one to deliver. This gag requires a little cultural literacy, because, first of all, you have to know who Jackson Pollock was, which isn’t all that esoteric though his paintings are. Plus it adds another chuckle to know that the story of…
A VIP tour of The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, a look at The Nancy Show, and a report on NancyFest 2024. Jason Chatfield, The Former Guy at the National Cartoonists Society (thus inclusion as part of the NCS VIP tour), presents a travelogue of his recent trip(s) to Columbus Ohio. NancyFest 2024 was…