On the Line

Anthony Feinstein in The Globe & Mail.

Strongmen have an extraordinarily thin skin when it comes to laughing at themselves.

It is a striking that these men with enormous power, vast armies, lethal weapons, and apparently limitless self-confidence fear the simple cartoon. 

Is it because they know instinctively that Mark Twain was correct when he had one of his characters observe, “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand”? 

Hitler’s fury at being lampooned by the cartoons of David Low pales, however, when compared to the violence unleashed more than half a century later by 12 cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. 

“Under Pressure”: Report on the Situation of Threatened Press Cartoonists Worldwide (2023–2025)

From Cartooning for Peace.

Niels Bo Bojesen (Denmark)

The new report on the situation of threatened press cartoonists around the world will be released on March 2, 2026. 

It is the result of a joint effort by Cartooning for Peace, Cartoonists Rights and their partners: Freedom Cartoonists Foundation, FORHUM, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression – Columbia University, and Reporters Without Borders.

Ann Telnaes reflects on the Charlie Hebdo killings

From The Freedom Cartoonists Foundation.

10th anniversary of Charlie Hebdo killings – A visual essay by Ann Telnaes

Maison du dessin de presse to open in 2027

From Sortir à Paris.

After a long period of uncertainty, Culture Minister Rachida Dati has confirmed that the Maison du dessin de presse will indeed open in Paris' 6th arrondissement in 2027.

Unveiled in 2020, during the President's wishes to the press, the project to create a Maison du Dessin de Presse seemed to have been forgotten. 

Cartoon Movement editor on the House of Cartoons in France

 From Cartoon Movement.

The future location of the House of Press and Satirical Cartoons in Paris.

Last week, French president Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a European House of Press and Satirical Cartoons in France. 

Good news for editorial cartooning, of course. I am of the opinion that every country should have a center for political cartooning, or a center for journalism and press freedom, with a section dedicated to political cartoons.

A European House of Editorial Cartooning will be created in Paris

From Patrick Chappatte's Facebook page.

Wonderful news: the European House of Editorial Cartooning will be created in Paris, as recommended by our working group. It will network energies in France (including the St-Just show) and in Europe (including the Morges Maison de la presse). Maryse Wolinski's wish is granted! 

A message of solidarity with French cartoonists and educators

The Association of Canadian Cartoonists and The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists wish to express solidarity with our cartooning colleagues and educators in France.

Viewed from our shores, the violence perpetrated by extremists has been shocking and deeply saddening.

Citizens have the right to disagree with the content of a cartoon, but that right can under no circumstances include a violent response.

The murder of Samuel Paty was a dreadful act and something no educator should ever have to fear.

Our members stand with the people of France and insist that crimes against cartooning professionals and the educators that bravely bring context to their material should never be tolerated or justified.

The Association of Canadian Cartoonists and The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists

 Cartoon by Bruce Mackinnon, The Halifax Chronicle-Herald.

Charlie Hebdo trial resumes

From Euronews. 

A man looks at a painting in tribute to the members of the Charlie Hebdo attack.

The trial over the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack resumes in Paris on Monday after being suspended for three weeks when several defendants tested positive for coronavirus.

But some French legal professionals have taken issue with the fact that primary suspect Ali Riza Polat, who is ill with COVID-19, will not appear in person at court, but via video link.

Charlie Hebdo reprints cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad

 From PRI-The World.

French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is reprinting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, just as accomplices in the 2015 office attack begin their trial today. 

That massacre left a dozen people dead, including some of France’s most notable — and controversial — cartoonists. 

Cartoonist Patrick Chappatte talks to host Carol Hills about what's changed in the past 5 years in terms of tolerance for political cartoons.

The power of the political cartoon

Neil Mackay in The Herald Scotland.

"Plumb-pudding in danger", James Gilray

The Guardian newspaper has decided that it won’t renew the contract of its top cartoonist Steve Bell, triggering a fresh round of controversy over cancel culture.

Writer at Large Neil Mackay looks at the power of the political cartoon and finds that for satire to work, it needs to offend and be brutal.

Tales from the Vault: 40 Years / 40 Stories

From the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

(Top row, left to right)
1 – Rube Goldberg, Rube Goldberg Views the News for His Latest Invention, March 31, 1951.
2 – Richard F. Outcault, Around the World with the Yellow Kid: The Yellow Kid Invades Germany, 1897.
3 – Al Capp, Li’l Abner, October 21, 1946.
4 – Lyn Chevli and Joyce Farmer, Abortion Eve, 1973.
(Bottom row, left to right)
1 – Various artists, All-Negro Comics No. 1, June 1947.
2 – Lynn Johnston, For Better or For Worse, April 10, 1995.
3 – Victor F. Gillam, Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal, June 4, 1884.

The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum has launched a new digital exhibition based on our 2017 exhibit, Tales from the Vault: 40 Years / 40 Stories, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of our founding.

An illustrated history of Charlie Hebdo

The following is a presentation I gave last week in Toronto at the 102nd Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

You will find here cartoons from both versions of Charlie Hebdo as well as a few cartoons I drew after the shooting in their offices on January 7th 2015.

Charlie Hebdo's new subject: U.S. under Trump

Carol Hills from PRI's The World.

Laurent "Riss" Sourisseau, a cartoonist and editor of Charlie Hebdo, arrives for his interview accompanied by bodyguards who hover outside the neutral office location where we talk.

They've been the cartoonist's permanent companions since January 2015, when the Kouachi brothers forced themselves into the offices of the French satirical newspaper and murdered his friends and colleagues in the name of Islam. Riss was injured in the attack.

Siné: A Lifetime of Anti-Imbecile Cartoon Provocation

Michael Dooley in Print.

The notorious French anarchist-cartoonist Maurice Sinet, who signed his art Siné, died last Thursday at age 87. His favorite targets included capitalism, colonialism, and Christianity as well as all other major religions. And he viciously skewered them with considerable graphic dexterity and an incisive, often merciless—and occasionally crude and juvenile—wit.

Giving Offense: Humor and Stereotype in Political Cartoons

From The University of Tulsa website.

From April 8-9, the Oklahoma Center for the Humanities at the University of Tulsa will host a public symposium on the role of stereotype and humor in American political cartoons. This event kicks off with a keynote talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) on Friday April 8, followed by a day-long series of panels featuring nationally recognized political cartoonists Clay Bennett (Chattanooga Times) Bruce Plante (Tulsa World), and Scott Stantis (Chicago Tribune) as well as local civil rights leaders, law professors, and free speech scholars.

Charlie Hebdo Anniversary Edition Cover

From The Guardian.

French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo will mark a year since an attack on its offices with a cover featuring a bearded man representing God with a Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder, accompanied by the text: “One year on: the assassin is still out there.”

The scurrilous lies written about Charlie Hebdo

Robert McLiam Wilson in The Guardian.

The anniversary of the 7 January attack on Charlie Hebdo is coming up. Whether you feel that Charlie is a symbol of freedom of expression or a scabrous hate sheet, you are about to be deluged in a giant vat of stuff.

Some will be positive, some negative but an oxen-stunning proportion of it will be written by people who do not speak French. The result will be divination and portent, written by people more likely to read tea leaves than Charlie Hebdo. 

‘Charlie Hebdo’ donates $4M to victims of January attacks

Lori Hinnant of The Associated Press.

Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper whose staff was decimated by Islamic extremist gunmen and then beset by internal tensions over an unexpected influx of donations and readers, said Wednesday it will turn over all the money to victims of the three days of attacks in January.

Maine Governor Jokes About Shooting Newspaper Cartoonist

From The Huffington Post.

George Danby, The Bangor Daily News

WASHINGTON -- Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) said Wednesday that he'd like to shoot the cartoonist for the Bangor Daily News, a joke that fell flat in light of the January shooting that killed five Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in France.

Top cartoonists endorse Charlie Hebdo’s PEN Award

Michael Cavna in The Washington Post.

Ann Telnaes / The Washington Post

Cartoonists Art Spiegelman (“Maus”), Neil Gaiman (“The Sandman”) Alison Bechdel (“Fun Home”) and Jules Feiffer as well as New Yorker art director Françoise Mouly endorse PEN’s decision to present its Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award to Charlie Hebdo.