Filed under: International

Rob Tornoe reports that Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been released from prison. Hadi was arrested October 22 while attending a religious ceremony honoring political prisoners.

We have three reports from cartoonists regarding their trips to the Middle East region. MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond was part of the NCS/USO group that went to Iraq, Jan Eliot and Daryl Cagle went to Algiers for the 2009 Festival International de la Bande Dessinee d’Alger and then went on to Morocco (Eliot), Egypt […]

From an AP story comes news that two men from Chicago were arrested for allegedly plotting attacks on overseas targets including Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. Federal prosecutors have charged 49-year-old David Coleman Headley and 48-year-old Tahawwur Hussain Rana. Prosecutors contend Headley told FBI agents that the initial plan called for an attack against the newspaper […]

Jan Eliot was invited to speak at the 2eme Festival International de la Bande Dessinee in Algiers. The festival was an international event with cartoonists coming from all over Africa. She’s back and has a write-up of her experience on her blog. It was a real honor to meet these and other women cartoonists at […]

Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari was arrested on October 22 according to Reporters without Borders. Heidari and several others were arrested in Tehran during a religious ceremony honoring political prisoners. Heidari was cultural editor of the banned daily Etemad-e Melli.

South Korean cartoonist “Choi” has been ordered to pay $20 million won (about $17,000) by the Chuncheon District Court to Wonju City who sued the cartoonist for including offensive words about President Lee Myung-bak. The cartoon depicted family members paying respect to a soldier’s monument, but included offensive words hidden in the pattern of the […]

French comic strip characters Asterix and Obelix will turn 50 at the end of this month. The comic strip is based on these two Gallic friends and their adventures with the Romans. Commemorating the anniversary is the release of “Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Golden Book” which will be released in 15 countries. Additionally, Asterix […]

Back in September I reported that Daryl Cagle and Jan Eliot were heading to Algiers to participate in their international cartooning festival. Jan is still traveling but posted news on her blog regarding her initial days there. Daryl has written a longer review of his experience there and has also included photos.

Books» Monte Schulz, son of Charles M. Schulz, has a new novel out entitled “This Side of Jordan.” It will be the first of three that will be published by Fantagraphic books. Comic Strips» Leigh Rubin will be offering a free presentation about creativity and perseverance and the comics life.Editorial Cartoons» The Sunday Mail editorial […]

Prominent South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro (“Zapiro”) has launched an internet satirical news show called “ZA News.” The show uses life size puppets of South Africa’s most prominent figures including Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and South African president Jacob Zuma. The show was originally created for television, but the pilot was never aired after the […]

I’m a day late on this one: To mark the fourth anniversary of the first printing of the Danish Mohammad cartoons, the International Free Press Society has named September 30th as International Free Press day. In an era in which the act of speaking out in the Western world has become increasingly subject to the […]

The British daily comics about football entitled Striker finished a 24 year run by its creator Pete Nash, but The Sun, which published the cartoon apparently never informed the readers that it was ending and abruptly filled the space with “funny pictures from the internet.” The result was a large amount of questions and complaints […]

Ironic that two of the artists behind the infamous Mohammed cartoons would be speaking at Yale, whose publishing house that bears its name, refused to include the cartoons in a book about the cartoons. Kurt Westergaard and Lars Hedegaard will speak to Yale students on October 1, three days after the book, “The Cartoons That […]

Yoshito Usui, best known for his Japanese cartoon series “Crayon Shin-chan,” was found dead from an apparent fall from a cliff. The artist had been missing since September 11. He had told family that he was going to hike in the mountains north of Tokyo but never returned.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is teaching a course on Faith and Globalization at Yale University, has stated that he thinks Yale Press made the right decision to not include the infamous Muhammad cartoons in a book about the cartoons. When asked how he would have approached the matter, he replied: It’s certainly […]