“The best cartoonists aren’t side commentary. They’re critics with a sharper tool.”Nik Kowsar dismisses efforts to belittle editorial cartooning as a lesser form of journalism.Nik Kowsar is an Iranian-Canadian residing in Washington, D.C. and sentenced to prison in absentia for his cartoons about Iranian regimes. He recently used his Subtack to praise the art of […]
The top tier of Jeff Mallett‘s treatise on Christmas traditions in today’s Frazz hits on the American Santa Claus as a long-standing part of Yuletide season, ending with Thomas Nast‘s personification of the elflord.The Birth of a Holiday and the American Santa ClausYesterday Talmadge Boston for The Dallas Morning News told us the story of […]
Bookstores are rebounding, The Philosophical Implications in Calvin and Hobbes, Go with King Features’ Popeye, The Phantom, and others on a Sea Cruise, and cherished children’s book covers are transform into ecological posters. But we start with the non-anniversary of a political animal.November 7, 1874 – First cartoon of the Republican Party elephant (Not)While some […]
In the early nineties, I spent countless hours digging through foreign publications, hunting for lessons and inspiration. I translated articles, wrote essays, and hoped my fellow Iranian artists would catch the spark I felt. I wanted them to see the magic tucked between the lines, the way Western cartoonists held power to account with nothing […]
Call it media illiteracy. It’s the pervasive lack of knowledge about what a political cartoon is supposed to be, and what it’s supposed to do — provoke thought and, yes, even disagreement. Instead of understanding that, many people leap to the faulty conclusion that since the editorial commentary comes in the form of a cartoon, […]
For reasons unexplained I have dozens of cartoonist self-caricatures. Before deleting them thought I’d share ’em. So… Not enough? Hundreds more at…
Throughout the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the early years of the Gilded Age, Thomas Nast used his political cartoons published in Harper’s Weekly to satirize current events, expose corruption, and even influence elections. Kaleena Fraga for All That’s Interesting (ATI) takes a positive look at cartoonist Thomas Nast and his career. Nast’s career began in […]
It’s not often I find myself agreeing with the McCoy brothers, but this 2013 strip echoes my feelings. Back when I was in an Irish pub band, we had mixed feelings about March 17, because it was an excellent payday but one we hated for just the reason the McCoys illustrate above.In fact, a year […]
AdExchanger “facilitates the exchange of ideas between all members of the ecosystem, including marketers, agencies, publishers, data providers, advertising and marketing technology companies, analysts, the investment community and the press.” As such it is, on the whole, non-political, wishing to be a resource for all advertisers. On Friday though… I wonder if this is cartoonist […]
Time Person of the Year cartoons are piling up, as are social media posts pointing out that Adolph Hitler also made the cut, but I think Dave Granlund hit the combo with this collection of Dubious Heroes. Though he missed this one from 1979. It’s not intended as an honor. It’s supposed to reflect the […]
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 […]
Constant Readers know how much I hate March 17, but that means I got a kick out of John Cole’s contribution to the day, because it’s entirely silly start to finish. Darby O’Gill and the Little People is not, by far, the worst Irish-American film ever shot, but it does play on sentimental archetypes and […]
Following Saturday’s mention of the time Boss Tweed was arrested in Spain with the aid of a Thomas Nast cartoon acting as a mug shot, Friend of the Blog Ann Telnaes retrieved the cartoon with which Spanish authorities identified the prison escapee and posted it on-line.I knew the story, but the Harper’s clipping offered a […]
Scott Stantis (Counterpoint) brings up the question of the First Amendment, which doesn’t apply to private companies except, perhaps, in communist countries where the central government controls industry. But that itself offers a lot of fodder, because moderation of media is very much on the table at the moment.The rightwing blogosphere is currently in an […]
Barney & Clyde (WPWG) has it right, but it’s more complex.I don’t think people are any more stupid than in the past, nor do I believe there are any more stupid people than ever. However, stupid people are far less isolated than they used to be, and that gives them a great deal more power […]