The elephants in the room

 

KAL wins his 6th Overseas Press Club Award

Kevin (KAL) Kallaugher is the winner of the 2026 Overseas Press Club Award for editorial cartooning. 

This is the sixth time KAL since 1998 that KAL has won the award. KAL’s winning portfolio spans cartoons published in The Economist, The Baltimore Sun, and his Substack, KAL Draws the Line.

"His work is pointed yet funny," stated the judges, "balancing sophisticated hard-hitting satire with belly laughs, the true mark of a great editorial cartoonist."

You can see cartoons from his winning portfolio by clicking here to go to his Substack. 

Drawing the Line: An Evening with Political Cartoonists

From Media and Democracy Project.

Since before the founding of the country, there have been political cartoons, often mocking the powerful with sharp humor, capturing the absurdity of the moment, shaping public opinion, and even exposing corruption. 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in today’s fast paced digital world an image can be shared in the blink of an eye, changing hearts and minds.

With censorship and threats on the rise for the press, including political cartoonists, join us for this special evening with three award-winning political cartoonists who will take us behind the scenes on how they distill the news into a single image and the role that political satire plays in defending democracy.

Jack Ohman wins 2026 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning

From the Herblock Foundation.

Jack Ohman was announced as the winner of the 2026 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning. 

Pedro X. Molina was named as this year’s finalist.

Editorial Cartoonist Walt Handelsman Retires

From The Times Picayune.

Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Walt Handelsman is putting away his pen and ink after decades of delighting Louisiana with his alternately humorous and poignant takes on the state's peculiar politics, personalities and events.

Handelsman, 69, will retire from The Times-Picayune | The Advocate at the end of December.

Clay Jones Fundraiser

From The Daily Cartoonist.

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has organized a GoFundMe page to help Clay Jones recover from his stroke with medical and rehab expenses.

US Cartooning Tradition in Peril

From The Daily Cartoonist. 

In January, the Washington Post spiked a cartoon by Pulitzer Prize–winning Ann Telnaes that criticized the supplicant attitude displayed by the paper’s billionaire owner, Jeff Bezos, towards Donald Trump … 

She promptly resigned after the incident, the first time one of her pieces had been rejected over its subject.

For 31 years, KAL contributed his award-winning cartoons to the Baltimore Sun. 

AAEC annual convention

From The Daily Cartoonist.

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) is holding its annual convention this weekend. We are relying on the cartoonists’ social media platforms to inform us of what is happening.

Quebec Cartoonist Christian Daigle Passes

Roger Waters presents « The Wall » on the Plaines of Abraham in the summer of 2012.

It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of Christian Daigle, better known by his pseudonym Fleg.

He died yesterday from grade 4 pancreatic cancer, which he had been suffering from for the last year.

Our thoughts are with his family and his partner Chantal.

Cartoonist Adam Zyglis threatened over cartoon

From The Freedom Cartoonists foundation.

An event called, "Drawing support for local journalism" at the Buffalo history Museum was canceled after threats of violence against editorial cartoonist Adam Zyglis. 

His cartoon on the Texas floods has drawn furor from MAGA supporters. 

Editorial Cartoonist Steve Benson dies at 71

From the Arizona Mirror. 

Steve Benson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist known for his sharp wit and incisive commentary on American politics, has died at the age of 71.

The Baltimore Sun sets for Kal

From Substack.

I am disappointed to announce that after 31 years of award-winning cartoons in The Baltimore Sun, I was abruptly dismissed from the paper on Friday.

It was just a matter of time.

In February of 2024, David Smith, the conservative owner of the Sinclair Broadcasting group purchased the struggling paper. 

As my politics do not align with the new owners, I assumed my days were numbered. 

Political Violence in the USA

From Counterpoint.

After the assassination of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and the attempted murder of State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, political leaders from across the spectrum issued statements of shock and condolences. 

Many, including Steve Scalise, Nancy Pelosi, Gabby Giffords, Josh Shapiro, Gretchen Whitmer, and Donald Trump, have themselves been victims of political violence or threats in recent years.

Pat Bagley Leaves his Staff Position

From The Daily Cartoonist. 

Pat Bagley announced that he was leaving his staff position at The Tribune as Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall proclaimed May 31, 2025 Pat Bagley Day.

Ann Telnaes & Liza Donnelly Exhibition in Switzerland

From Maison du dessin de presse.

This exhibition highlights the work of two leading American cartoonists, Ann Telnaes and Liza Donnelly, whose incisive and committed drawings offer a powerful perspective on the place of women in society.

Through their caricatures and illustrations, they denounce inequality, defend women's rights, and question power dynamics with humor and insight.

Between satire and activism, their works demonstrate the essential role of cartoons in the fight for equality and freedom of expression.

Exhibition guide here.

Ann Telnaes Wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Ann Telnaes wins the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.  She earned the honor “for delivering piercing commentary on powerful people and institutions with deftness, creativity – and a fearlessness that led to her departure from the news organization after 17 years.” What makes it all the more striking that she won the Pulitzer for The Washington Post — the very paper she left earlier this year in protest over editorial freedom. Here’s a few of the cartoons from the winning portfolio.

"Capitulation is contagious"

Adrienne LaFrance in the March issue of The Atlantic.

By killing a cartoon that lampooned its owner, The Washington Post set a dangerous precedent.

UPenn Lays Off Cartoonist Mr. Fish

From The Daily Cartoonist.

Days after the Trump Administration froze $175 million in federal funding the University of Pennsylvania has terminated the employment of progressive Lecturer (and Cartoonist) Dwayne Booth, aka Mr. Fish.

From the Mr. Fish Patreon page:

Paper Prints Danziger Cartoon, Publisher Apologizes, Fires Editor

The owners of The Palm Beach Post fired editorial page editor Tony Doris last month after the paper published the above Jeff Danziger cartoon and later condemned it as antisemitic.

The full story here.

AAEC 2025 Convention

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists is pleased to announce that it will be teaming up with the Small Press Expo, in September for its' 2025 convention.