Monday, December 31, 2012

Bye Bye 2012!

Here is a version of the cartoon published on the cover of today's Le Droit newspaper.


We can recognize from left to right and top to bottom (on a background of red squares): Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Jean Charest, Bashar al Assad, Minister Vic Toews, Dominique Strauss Khan, Lance Armstrong and Gérard Depardieu.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

A conversation with Bizarro cartoonist Dan Piraro

Marc Librescu in The Comics Journal.



Dan Piraro is the creative mind behind the award-winning cartoon Bizarro. First syndicated in 1985, Bizarro has developed a loyal following and now appears internationally in more than 350 daily and Sunday newspapers.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Clay Bennett: 2012 in Editorial Cartoons



The original post is interactive but since I can't reproduce the effect, here are the cartoons in close-up:

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Egyptian Cartoonist sued by rights NGO

From The Egypt Daily News.

You would have never been expelled from heaven had you voted in favour of the referendum!

The secretary-general of the National Centre for Defence of Freedoms has filed a lawsuit against Naguib Sawiris, the owner of Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper, and their cartoonist Doaa El-Adl. The lawsuit, filed on Sunday, is in response to a cartoon depicting Adam and Eve, which the Secretary-General of the centre,  Salafist lawyer Khaled El-Masry said was insulting of the prophet.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Robert Ariail wins 2012 Berryman Award

Michael Cavna in Comic Riffs.



Robert Ariail’s cartoons about geopolitics can range from the warmly humorous (See: Greece as the economic houseguest who won’t leave) to the deadly serious (President Assad painting himself into a corner with Syrian blood on his hands).
For such cartoons that reflected that diversity of his approach, Ariail has just been named the 2012 recipient of the Berryman Award, which is presented by the National Press Foundation.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

Thursday, December 20, 2012

End of an era at Private Eye

From Procartoonists.




Private Eye magazine says farewell to its longtime art director Tony Rushton, with a party near its offices in Soho, London.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year: 2013 Edition



The "Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year: 2013 Edition" should now be in bookstores. The yearly retrospective of cartoons drawn by members of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists was initiated by the late Charles Brooks some 40 years ago, but with his passing last year, the franchise is now edited by editorial cartoonist Steve Kelley. You can order the book online.

Here are my cartoons in the book:

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Q&A: 10 Questions with Canadian Editorial Cartoonist Terry Mosher

Question and Answer session with George Stroumboulopoulos…

George immortalized in one of his favourite outfits.


Canadian political cartoonist Terry Mosher, AKA Aislin, has led a colourful life.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Kal profiled in "The Economist"

"Drawing much more than a line" in The Economist.

KAL, Calendar for The World in 2013

After a day when we were all mulling over big data, small food, cyber-warfare, rising economies and fiscal cliffs, Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, The Economist’s editorial cartoonist, summed up The World in 2013 Festival in New York as only he can—with a whiteboard, a Sharpie pen and his uniquely witty take on the likely events of 2013.

Monday, December 10, 2012

2013 Editorial Cartoonists Convention to be held in Salt Lake City

Alan Gardner in The Daily Cartoonist.



AAEC Logo
Next years convention of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists will be held in Salt Lake City, UT. Salt Lake Tribune editorial cartoonist Pat Bagley will be heading up the local logistics of the hosting. I asked him a few questions about the announcement and what we can expect.
A: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is the first time the AAEC has come to Salt Lake City, right?
P: This will be a first for Salt Lake and Utah. And I didn’t even have to dispense bribes.
A: Do you have a vision yet for the format or venue of the convention?
P: The AAEC will be exploring all of the possibilities, but I see a relaxed, wide-ranging venue with activities open to public participation. It will be equal parts showing off our great state to my peers and showing off some of the greatest creative talent in the country to my fellow Utahns. I’ve talked to several community leaders and they’re all eager to help and participate in our party. I see a lot of love. In fact, you could call it Big Love.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Tintin's Congo Adventure 'Not Racist', Court Says

From Sky News.


A Belgian court says the cartoon, which is sold in the UK with the warning it includes racist content, is "full of gentle humour".

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Dave Brown wins Political Cartoon of the Year 2012

From The Independent.



A cartoon by The Independent's Dave Brown has been named Political Cartoon of the Year 2012.
The cartoon,  'The Last, Last, Last Chance Saloon' (above) was published in last Saturday’s paper, and shows David Cameron's response to Lord Leveson's report. The cartoon was inspired by a painting by Degas.
The award, presented annually by the Political Cartoon Society, was voted for by the society's members together with the cartoonists of all the national newspapers in a ceremony at the Ellwood Atfield Gallery in Westminster's Smith Square on Tuesday night.
Dave Brown has previously won the Cartoon of the Year Award in 2003, 2006, and 2010.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Seth on the end of Bazooka Joe Comics

From Sequential.


Topps recently announced the discontinuation of its long-running Bazooka Joe comic strip, since 1954 a popular addition to its bubblegum packaging.  The strip has a storied history (ironically the subject of an upcoming celebratory book from Abrams ComicArt, Bazooka Joe and His Gang: A 60th Anniversry Collection). For many years the gags were written by Underground comics legend Jay Lynch and drawn by former Tijuana Bible cartoonist Wesley Morse. According to The New York Times, the gum company executives have decided to rebrand, reducing the iconic character to the role of occasional spokesperson/mascot, stating, “What we’re trying to do with the relaunch is to make the brand relevant again to today’s kids.”
Sequential asked cartoonist Seth, creator of the Jocko gum-machine giveaway comic, and a Bazooka Joe collector of long-standing, to comment on the news.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Richard's Poor Almanac debuts on GoComics

Michael Cavna in Comic Riffs.



The Post fans were first.

It was the readers of The Washington Post who, of course, first enjoyed and embraced “Richard’s Poor Almanac,” Richard Thompson’s weekly comic that debuted in 1997 and ran in the Style section. The feature won a national following, combining the wry whimsy and exquisite artwork of a now-acknowledged cartoon genius during its decade-plus run.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Paul Krassner on the Art of Offensive Cartoons

Michael Dooley in Print.



There's something oddly funny about Paul Krassner. And it's been going on for more than 50 years.

Friday, November 30, 2012

AFP Pictures of the Year 2012

From Fubiz.



Like Reuters, Agence France Presse is one of the major news agencies covering all topical issues with photographs. Here are some of the most striking pictures of 2012: 

Thursday, November 29, 2012

World Press Cartoon 2012 (my cartoon)

I received yesterday the 2012 catalogue of the Sintra, Portugal World Press Cartoon competition.
The jury this year included Antonio Antunes, creator of the contest and exhibition, Liza Donnely (USA), Fernando Puig Rosado (Spain), Jean Mulatier (France) and Peter Nieuwendijk (Holland).


Here is my drawing in the editorial cartoon category:

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Black Day at the "Vancouver Province"

From The Daily Cartoonist.

The Vancouver Province sports cartoonist Bob Krieger announced yesterday that he’s drawn his last cartoon for the paper but will be reassigned to work on the web desk along with editorial cartoonist Dan Murphy. Bob says the paper is short staffed so both he and Dan were reassigned as “the best way to manage resources.”


Here are Bob and Dan's last cartoons for the Province:


Last cartoon by Dan Murphy

Monday, November 26, 2012

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Stanley Kubrick exhibition at LACMA

Stanley Kubrick exhibition at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)



Also, an interesting perspective on Kubrick at Fubiz:

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Steve Bell editorial cartoon called antisemitic

From The Daily Cartoonist.



A recent cartoon by The Guardian’s editorial cartoonist Steve Bell is being attacked as antisemitic. 

The cartoon depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a puppet-master controlling Foreign Secretary William Hague and Tony Blair.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Calvin & Hobbes original sold at auction for $203,150

From The Daily Cartoonist.


An original hand-colored 1986 Sunday Calvin & Hobbes original has been sold at auction for $203,150 (login required to see final bid amount). The strip was owed by Adam@Home and Red and Rover creator Brian Basset, who told me last September that he acquired the original back in 1986 after agreeing to exchange originals with Bill Watterson. A recent financial pinch prompted him to put the piece up for auction.

Friday, November 16, 2012

International Day to End Impunity Editorial Cartoon Contest

IFEX, an international network of free expression groups, has launched the Draw Attention to Impunity: Editorial Cartoon Contest. This cartoon contest will be part of the second annual International Day to End Impunity on November 23, 2012. Some of the entries will be featured on the International Day to End Impunity website, and the top three winners will receive cash prizes.
If you subscribe to Facebook, you can vote until November 19 for your favorite cartoon here.
Here are three of the 40 finalists:


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Batman as drawn by...

...some Comics' superheros.

Batman as drawn by Mort Drucker from Mad.

I don't usually bother fellow cartoonists for autographs or originals, but a Montreal friend, who was then publishing a Batman fanzine, learned that I was attending the 1989 NCS convention in Toronto and asked me if I could get a few sketches for him. The response was beyond my wildest dreams!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Cartoon Slideshow: Obama Wins, Now What?

One of my recent cartoons was featured in PRI's The World latest slideshow.


The same cartoon was also part of the weekly round-up at the Newseum in Washington.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

"Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press" at the Newseum in Washington, DC

Last Wednesday's cartoon was featured in the weekly editorial cartoon selection at the "Every Four Years: Presidential Campaigns and the Press" exhibit at the Newseum in Washington, DC.



A close up of the cartoons and more about the exhibition:

“The difference between Obama and Romney…”

From Robert L. Peter's blog.

This ad ran in China today… (perhaps inevitable, given the amount of scapegoating and slagging that Mr. Romney and the GOP have leveled at China in the past weeks and months).

Friday, November 9, 2012

Mucha Documentary

Posted by Charley Parker on his blog Lines and Colors.

A documentary on the brilliant Czech painter and graphic artist Alphonse (Alfons) Mucha is available on YouTube. The video is in six parts and is narrated in English. As always, it’s uncertain how long things like this will remain available on YouTube.
[Via Gurney Journey]

    Links:

    Thursday, November 8, 2012

    How the hometown cartoonists drew the candidates

    From The Daily Cartoonist.

    As I watched the results roll in last night, I wondered how the hometown editorial cartoonists for the presidential candidates approached the win.
    President Obama is from Chicago, so let’s head over to Scott Stantis at The Chicago Tribune. Stantis is a conservative cartoonist who went for poignancy.


    Monday, November 5, 2012

    Oscar Cahén Exhibition at MOCA

    October 4- November 28, 2012 
    The Museum of Contemporary Art Calgary (MOCA) is proud to present the first Canadian solo exhibition of the illustration art of artist Oscar Cahén (1926-1956). His magazine covers helped define Canada at the mid-century. The exhibition was launched at Illustration House Gallery in New york City in 2011 and was curated by Jaleen Grove.




    Jeffrey Spalding in Today's Inspiration:

    Sunday, November 4, 2012

    Saturday, November 3, 2012

    World Evidences: The Drawings of Ángel Boligán

    Angel Boligán was born in Havana in 1965. In 1992 he moved to Mexico. He draws for the newspaper El Universal and the satirical magazines Conozca Más and El Chamuco. He is a member of the cartoonist group "Cartooning for Peace" and won worldwide more than 130 prizes in cartoon competitions.




    World Evidences: The Drawings of Ángel Boligán
    144 pages fully illustrated with drawings by Boligán.
    ISBN 978-960-973-402-8
    Size 17x24
    Prologue by Antonio Antunes, Cartoonist & Director of World Press Cartoon:

    Friday, November 2, 2012

    "The Housing Bubble" by Aleix Saló



    This is a subtitled version of "La burbuja inmobiliaria", a hilarious 6 minutes animated film by Catalan cartoonist Aleix Saló explaining the recent economic crisis in Spain.

    Tuesday, October 30, 2012

    The Enigmatic Edward Sorel

    R.O. Blechman in The Comics Journal.



    The special quality of Edward Sorel is that he captures our zeitgeist as few artists have, and fells his victims with the rapier of irony rather than the blunderbuss of satire. 

    In his first cover for The New Yorker, which happened to be Tina Brown’s inaugural issue, Sorel pictures a barechested, pink “Mohawked rocker arrogantly draping himself on the seat of a horse” drawn carriage. 

    Sorel even gets the rocker’s shoes right. They are pointed like daggers at the back of the hapless driver. Traveling through the gorgeous autumn scenery of Central Park, our passenger might as well be Yeats’s rough beast “slouching towards Bethlehem.” 

    Monday, October 29, 2012

    Jacob Zuma drops Sunday Times 'rape' cartoon case

    From BBC News Africa.


    South African President Jacob Zuma has given up a legal case against a local newspaper over a cartoon depicting him about to rape a female figure representing justice.

    Friday, October 26, 2012

    "Comics Sketchbooks"

    James Thorne in Cool Hunting.


    "Looking through artists' sketchbooks is like viewing those artists naked through a picture window. With 20-20 eyesight or high-powered binoculars you'll see everything: warts, blemishes and all." So begins the introduction for Steven Heller's latest book, "Comics Sketchbooks." 

    Culling 700 private sketches from 80 artists, the collection is billed as a glimpse into the mind of an artist. Without knowing anything about the final story or the characters, the conversation involves nothing but lines and doodles and sparks of inspiration.

    Thursday, October 25, 2012

    "The Lost Art of Heinrich Kley"

    From Lost Art Books


    The Lost Art of Heinrich Kley Volumes One & Two collect over 450 drawings and paintings from a wide array of sources. Neither volume overlaps with past books on Kley, as nearly none of these drawings have been collected and reprinted since their original publication a century or more ago. Both volumes also provide groundbreaking scholarship on Kley’s life and work by German art historian Alexander Kunkel—whose recent research is presented in these volumes for the first time in English—along with incisive appreciations by contemporary artists Michael Wm. Kalutaand Jesse Hamm.

    Wednesday, October 24, 2012

    Where did the party animals come from?

    From Philip Jackman's "Collected Wisdom" Column in the Globe and Mail.


    The question: Robert Findlay of Toronto asks, “How did the Republicans choose an elephant as their party symbol and the Democrats a donkey?”

    The answer:

    Tuesday, October 23, 2012