17th
Cartoonery
I have to admit to a weakness for political cartoons. I think it takes a real talent to perfectly encapsulate the absurdities of a situation in a box smaller than an index card. Sometimes drawing talent isn’t nearly as important as simply being clever. For instance, Tom Toles of the Washington Post isn’t exactly what you would call a first rate artist, but his ideas are usually pretty fresh and funny. If you check the political cartoons over at Cagle’s site, you will notice that quite often three or four artists at different newspapers have practically the same idea and have drawn essentially the same cartoon at the same time. That never happens with Toles.
I also like Ann Telnaes, who is also over at the Post, except she’s doing sort of rudimentary animation that manages to work really well.
Kevin Kallaugher, late of the Baltimore Sun and currently of the Economist, is a political cartoonist of the old school type in that his drawing style is reminiscent of a cartoonist from the 19th century. He’s also old school in the sense that he isn’t afraid to use Uncle Sam and the Statue of Liberty and the Grim Reaper as characters.
Speaking of old school, I am also a fan of Toles’ predecessor at the Washington Post. Herbert Block was the cartoonist there for damn near fifty years, and as a history dork I am pretty fascinated by his take on events.
The great majority of political cartoonists, in my opinion, fall into the category of “average,” which means that they have flashes of brilliance, but for the most part they are run of the mill, or allow themselves to rock the cliché’s without even thinking about it. For instance, if you see a political cartoon that shows ANYBODY entering the gates of heaven after they die, that cartoonist isn’t trying very hard.
Bill Garner, the former cartoonist for the Washington Times, holds a special place in my heart because not only is he a horrible artist, but he’s also buggy ding-dong crazy. He was recently laid off, which makes you ask, “How nuts do you have to be to get fired from the freaking Washington Times?” Pretty nuts.
Here, for instance, is a cartoon in which he portrays Pakistan as America’s good natured pet. I bet the Pakistani’s just love that. And just in case you missed where this guys mind-set is at, here’s one of a terrorist knocking out Uncle Sam in the boxing ring while a democrat referee cheers him on.
