‘Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse’ Review

Alan Gardner in The Daily Cartoonist.

The documentary Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse premieres at Film Forum in New York City last week. 

Given the current political climate in the United States and abroad, the film serves not only as an educational 90-minute exploration of one of the most influential comic creators of the 20th century but also as a reminder that the themes running through Art’s life—fascism, illiberalism, and extremism—are not relics of the past but present threats to democracies worldwide.

Clay Jones A Casualty of CNN Downsizing

From The Daily Cartoonist. 

Clay Jones informed fans and supporters last night that his CNN engagement has come to an end:

… One of the assistant editors, Jane, informed me last Friday (July 12) that after five years, I no longer had a freelance gig with CNN. The editor of the opinion section, Rich, gave me a courtesy call this morning to express his appreciation and to wish me well. 

I’m going to miss working with the Opinion team at CNN, but I never allowed myself to believe this would last forever…

BBC Scotland removes cartoons of politicians from social media

From BBC News.

Caricature of Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater

The assault on ‘nasty’ cartoonists and the censorship of their work continues unabated. The latest bowing to political pressure and culling of satirical commentary comes from BBC Scotland.

Treasures of comic strip art on "Sunday Morning"

From CBS News.

An original copy of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century."

Bill Blackbeard was something of a superhero. During his lifetime, he collected and preserved 2.5 million ephemeral artifacts of comic strip art, including newspapers and Sunday color sections dating as far back as 1893. 

Treasures from his collection are now featured in a new exhibit, "Man Saves Comics," at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University. 

"CBS Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Allan Fotheringham, dead at 87

From The Globe and Mail. 

Allan Fotheringham as seen by Maclean's collaborator Roy Peterson.

In May, 1979, when Allan Fotheringham’s array of journalistic sniper’s nests included the back page of Maclean’s magazine, a local Vancouver TV interview program, and a thrice-weekly column in the Vancouver Sun, Tom Alderman concluded a profile of him in The Canadian magazine by noting the columnist had resisted participating in the article but eventually agreed to a chat over lunch. 

The encounter was amiable, then turned alarming: “‘Remember,’ [Fotheringham] said gleefully as we waved goodbye, ‘you can run a Fotheringham story maybe once every 10 years. I’ve got a column every week to get back at you.’”

Spitting Image returns to British TV

Spitting Image has revealed its Boris Johnson, Prince Andrew and Dominic Cummings puppets ahead of the show's return.

The prime minister's puppet has a mass of spiky blonde hair, while his key adviser, Mr Cummings, is seen in his trademark hoodie with a flamboyant silver collar.

Michael de Adder wins the 2020 Herblock Prize

From the Chronicle Herald and the Herblock Foundation websites.

Michael de Adder, cartoonist for The Chronicle-Herald and The Hill Times in Ottawa and contributing cartoonist for both The Nib and Counterpoint, is the winner of the 2020 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning.

Toronto animator censored in a "Good Fight" episode

From Canadian Press.

Canadian animator Steve Angel recognizes the irony that his cartoon about censorship was, itself, censored.

Doug Ford is fodder for editorial cartoonists

From City News.

Graham Mackay, The Hamilton Spectator

Newly chosen Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford has been a familiar face to Ontarians – and especially Torontonians – for years. As a city councillor, he was by his brother Rob’s side during his headline-grabbing tenure as mayor. 

Their father, Doug Ford Sr., was also a provincial politician and successful Etobicoke businessman.

60 Minutes: Bob Mankoff the Cartoonist

In March 2014, 60 Minutes dedicated an entire segment analysing the history and process of getting your cartoon in the New Yorker.

The stories behind some iconic ‘SNL’ photos

From CNN.

Tina Fay in a parody of George Lois' cover for Esquire.

They’re the first thing you see when “Saturday Night Live” comes back from a commercial break: Those iconic celebrity portraits, so bold and fun and quirky that they almost seem to jump off the screen.

The National's Wendy Mesley talks to artist Terry Mosher

From CBC.

Here is the link to the interview.

When Terry Mosher first started drawing political cartoons, Canada was celebrating its 100th anniversary and on the cusp of "Trudeau-mania," which would see Pierre Elliot Trudeau become prime minister.

Now, as Canada marks its 150th with Justin Trudeau at the helm, Mosher — better known by his pen name Aislin — is still rifling the feathers of the country's elites.

Spitting Image set to return to TV

From the Daily Mail.

The programme's creators Roger Law, pictured left, and Peter Fluck, pictured right, are seen among a selection of their puppets.

Spitting Image is set to return to TV screens as it is remade for an American audience by the network behind Game of Thrones.

Programme maker HBO has US president Donald Trump in its sights - with an insider saying there 'has never been more material for political satirists'.

Bob Robertson dead at 71

From CBC News British Columbia.

Veteran Canadian comedian Bob Robertson has passed away in Nanaimo, B.C., last Sunday.

Robertson and business partner, Linda Cullen, had been called the funniest married couple in Canada after spending decades in the entertainment business together.

Covering Donald Trump as an editorial cartoonist

From the CBC.

Host John Northcott speaks with Ann Telnaes, editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post about the role of an editorial cartoonist today.

New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly Joins ‘CBS This Morning’

From Women's Wear Daily.



In an effort to reach new viewers, “CBS This Morning,” the morning show hosted by the trio of Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, has added New Yorker cartoonist Liza Donnelly as a contributor.

American democracy as seen by an Egyptian satirist

The famous Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef tackles American democracy in a new web series.

In “The Democracy Handbook,” Bassem travels across America to learn the lessons of our esteemed democracy. Between corporate lobbying, lax gun laws, rampant racism, and a slew of other problems in the U.S., he discovers that democracy here is one hot mess.

The World This Week

You can see my cartoon at 10'40"

One of my cartoons about the gun debate in the USA was featured in the France 24 program "The World This Week" broadcast last Friday.

Here is the English version of the cartoon:

Steve Brodner: Drawing Trump and Clinton

From YouTube.



In this week's State of the Cartooning, renowned political cartoonist Steve Brodner talks about the complexities of drawing the presidential candidates.

Fired Cartoonist Returns to Farm News

From KCCI Des Moines.

Rick Friday, a newspaper cartoonist fired after a company pulled their advertisements over a cartoon slamming big business, is back drawing cartoons for the very newspaper that fired him.