Paul Fell – RIP
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Editorial cartoonist Paul Fell has passed away.
Paul Henry Fell, Jr.
1946 – 2026
Friend and associate Shawn Peirce is reporting for the family that Paul Fell has died.
If he were reading this, Paul might chuckle and humbly accept the praise – and then he’d likely say something like, “Don’t make a big deal of it. Everybody dies. This has been a fun life.” Or as Paul put it in his final email to me, “It’s been a fun ride.” As has been so often the case, I can’t really argue with Paul on that.
You might see a simple obituary in the newspaper, and some posthumous honors, but Paul’s wife Arlene, and his friends like me have been instructed not to do anything big at this point.
In the mid 1970s Paul was a Nebraska high school art instructor and an emerging cartoonist.
By January 1974 Paul’s cartoons were being distributed by Maverick Media to small Nebraska newspapers. Two years later his cartoons on local issues were appearing in The Lincoln Journal where he would become familiar to that paper’s readers over the following years.
By 1984 Paul’s talent had impressed The Journal and he was hired as staff editorial cartoonist and art director. A bit before become a Journal staffer Paul began contributing his Paul Fell’s Sketchbook (aka Saturday Sketchbook) to the newspaper’s Saturday edition.
Paul’s time on staff with The Lincoln Journal would last from September 1984 to June 1992 when Paul and other staffers were let go due to “rising costs and a decline in revenues.” Paul would return to being a freelance cartoonist and was soon once more entertaining Journal readers and others throughout Nebraska and beyond with his self-syndicated Paul Fell Cartoons.
Soon after being laid off Paul would get national attention as a “radio cartoonist.”
Paul Fell’s freelance association with The Lincoln Journal would continue until 2007 when it would end with it being discovered that Paul had violated the newspaper’s corporate owner’s standards by contributing to a political campaign. Alan Gardner reported on the tiff with Paul’s response:
“They don’t pay me enough money to be able to dictate how I conduct myself in political campaigns. I generally do not donate to political candidates, but Maxine Moul is a longtime friend and former newspaper publisher where I got my start as a cartoonist back in 1976.
“Interestingly, during my ‘you’re fired’ phone conversation with the editor and editorial page editor on Friday afternoon, they mentioned that the Journal Star code of ethics covered freelancers as well as full-time staffers. I responded that it would have been nice, then, if they had thought to share that policy with their freelancers.
Along with national events Paul continued to satirize Nebraska politics and, with sports cartoons, celebrate his Nebraska Huskers.
Paul’s art continued to evolve over the years into a clean attractive stylized look, his politics remained progressive.
The Daily Cartoonist extends sincere condolences to Paul’s family and friends.
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