The Editoons of Etta Hulme
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Once upon a time in the late 20th Century there was a period when women were offering commentary to the wild and wooly state of Texas. Molly Ivins, mostly based in the state, amused not just the state but the nation with her sarcasm. At the same time politicians locally and nationally had to bear the slings and arrows of editorial cartoonist Etta Hulme from her base at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Hulme has received a well-deserved spotlight with Etta Hulme and the Art of Politics.
The book’s authors, Carrie Liu Currier and James W. Riddlesperger, Jr., selects 180 cartoons from the 8,000 Hulme drew during her 36 year career. The book is broken into chapters with Hulme cartoons concerning U.S. Presidents, Texas Governors, Fort Worth Congressmen, Texas Politics, American Policy, and International Policy. A collection of editorial cartoons is in good part a history book and the authors explain what was happening at the time the cartoons were drawn.
It is especially interesting to follow the progression of Texas from moderately liberal during the ’70s and ’80s to the extreme right around the turn of the century.
Hulme is shown not just as a political critic but as a moral advocate pleading with society to care for each other. She was “woke” before it was fashionable.
As always it is fascinating to compare the past to the present.
Such as Congress ceding their authority to Presidents.
Or the existence of Blue Dog Democrats such as Peter Geren then and John Fettermen now:
Editorial cartoonists’ use of tropes is a familiar standard, but Hulme would turn the allegories inside out.
While President Trump is frequent shown as The Emperor With No Clothes, here Hulme proffers that, while crimes were committed in the Iran-Contra Scandal but President Reagan was deemed guiltless, there is no one occupying the office.
The book is recommended for those of us who miss the annotated cartoon collections of Mauldin, Herblock, Conrad, et. al. and for students of history.
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