As is often said here, the “bland restatement” technique of cartoons like This Modern World is often a problem, since the absurd things the characters say are not far off from things actually being said. That’s true of this piece, but the hyperbole of Trump being in possession of an actual nuclear weapon, rather than […]
The war has — appropriately — taken up a lot of interest, but it’s not the only thing happening in the world, and Ann Telnaes expresses her opinion of an attorney general who not only kept his eyes shut but helped hide and deflect what illicit behavior he couldn’t ignore. Until it was time to […]
I usually add a short video at the end of each post, but today I’ll be adding a long one — an hour and 10 minutes — because Ann Telnaes and Kal Kallaugher, with the help of David Folkenflik, held an extraordinary discussion of political cartooning as journalism as part of the Santa Fe Council […]
A lot of stuff to catch up on today, but I can’t hold back on this Arlo & Janis lest they no longer be first. And if this blog weren’t dedicated to saluting good work, I’d start a counter to track the number of masked jack-o’-lantern cartoons to follow. But I won’t. Though it’s okay […]
Kal Kallaugher captures the current situation, in which Dear Leader feigns bravery by boldly confronting a strawman to the applause of his followers. It does little good to argue whether his accusations are right or wrong or if they make any sense at all, because we’ve shot past the phase where Big Lies were challengeable. […]
Tom Toles leads off today with the central issue our country is facing: Donald Trump and his minions are promoting a cult of personality. For those who only know the term through rock music, “Cult of Personality” emerged as a political term in 1956, when Nikita Khruschev took power in the USSR and began attempting […]
If I were, for some odd reason, ordered to live in a major city, Pittsburgh would be at the top of the list, not because it’s where Rob Rogers produces “Brewed on Grant Street” but because it provides the material that makes it possible. It’s a bluecollar city, to begin with, but, unlike Chicago, which […]
I’ve told this story before, but Ted Rall’s latest cartoon makes it seem more relevant than ever. A college friend was doing his psych rotation in med school about the time the Church Committee Report came out. The Report, O Best Beloved, was part of the examination of government we went through following Watergate, and […]
I don’t think you can call Jeremy Banx’s work “deceptively simple” because the depth in his simple work is not at all deceptive or hidden. In this case, the commentary on Trump and Barr etc is like Dali’s (Duh. Picasso. See comments) bicycle-bull sculpture in that, yes, you immediately see the simplicity but you also […]
Ann Telnaes puts a fun spin on the hoo-hah over the latest royal baby with a cartoon about a baby who is not only American but has a lot more authority than little Goober, who is, I guess, seventh in line to the British throne, ever will. Harry and Meghan haven’t announced the name, and […]
The twelve jurors were all writing very busily on slates. `What are they doing?’ Alice whispered to the Gryphon. `They can’t have anything to put down yet, before the trial’s begun.’ The Attorney General of the White House is going to hold a press conference at 9:30 to discuss a report nobody (except his […]
Signe Wilkinson scores with what I’m calling a “Naked Emperor Moment,” wherein someone says what others have had on their minds but didn’t dare bring up. The perfect is the enemy of the good and, while I’m glad to see the DNCC has not pre-approved a candidate in advance this time, the nit-picking does suggest […]
Sousa and Machado‘s commentary on the Barr Report of the Mueller Report is a bit light on metaphor, but, first of all, sometimes being direct is the right choice. Too much subtlety can obscure the point. Second is that they understood that point, and I’m gobsmacked by the number of political cartoonists on both sides […]
Pantalone: What are we to make of this fellow? Is he knave or fool? Lombardi: I really don’t know. Probably a little of both. — Carlo Goldoni, “Servant of Two Masters” If I had a little […]