Pat Oliphant dead at 90

Photo by Greg Preston 

I woke up this morning to the news that legendary editorial cartoonists Pat Oliphant died yesterday. He was a giant of the profession who spawned countless imitators.

In lieu of personal memories, here is a selection of articles about him on this blog:

Patrick Oliphant, Master of 'a Dying Art'

"A Savage Art: The Life and Cartoons of Pat Oliphant"

Cartoonist Ann Telnaes on Pat Oliphant

Pat Oliphant Interviewed in "The Atlantic"

Pat Oliphant by Dave Coats in Go Comics

News from Patrick Oliphant in the Santa Fe New Mexican

UPDATES

"The Man on the Trunk of the Tree." by Jason Chatfield

Pat Oliphant, world-renowned political cartoonist dies at 90 obituary in the Santa Fe New Mexican

The quiet man with the loud drawings in The Comics Journal

Remembering Mike Constable

 

It is with great sadness that I learned that cartoonist Mike Constable lost, last Friday, his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

In keeping with Mike’s preference for informality, and to celebrate him in a place where he spent a lot of time, a memorial get-together will be held, from 3-6 pm, this Sunday at Last Temptation, 12 Kensington Avenue, Toronto.

Here are a few remembrances about a dear friend.

Russian cartoonist Semyon Skrepetsky shot dead in the street

From Cartooning for Peace.

Russian artist and cartoonist Semyon Skrepetsky, also known as Simon Skrepetski, was shot dead in the street on Monday June 15 in Biała Podlaska in eastern Poland, near the border with Belarus.

An exile in Poland since 2021, he used his drawings to criticize autocrats such as Putin, the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. 

Corax 1933-2026

From Syria Cartoon.

Predrag Koraksić Corax was probably the most famous political cartoonist in the former Yugoslavia. 

He was born in 1933 in the village of Gornja Gorevnica near Čačak, and lost his partisan father to the Chetniks during World War II. 

He finished high school in Zemun and studied architecture in Belgrade. 

In October 2004, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, and he is the recipient of other awards, including the one called New Optimism (2017).

Scott Adams 1957-2026

From AP News.

Scott Adams, whose popular comic strip “Dilbert” captured the frustration of beleaguered, white-collar cubicle workers and satirized the ridiculousness of modern office culture until he was abruptly dropped from syndication in 2023 for racist remarks, has died. He was 68.

His first ex-wife, Shelly Miles, announced the death Tuesday on a livestream posted on Adams’ social media accounts. “He’s not with us right anymore,” she said. 

Giorgio Forattini 1931-2025

From Ansa.

Italian cartoonist Giorgio Forattini died last week at the age of 94.

Born in 1931 in Rome, he worked for Panorama and left-leaning daily La Repubblica, edited Il Male, and later created illustrations for liberal daily La Stampa, conservative daily Il Giornale and centrist daily QN.

Cuban cartoonist LAZ dies at 64

From The Daily Cartoonist.

 

Cuban cartoonist Humberto Lazaro Miranda Ramirez, better known as LAZ, has passed away at the age of 64 on August 4.

On a personal note, I will always cherish the caricature he did of me when the ACC held its' convention in Havana in May 2015.

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.

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.

Yaakov Kirshan 1938-2025

 

Yaakov Kirshan, one of the giants of the Israeli cartooning, died Monday after a lengthy illness. He was 87 years old.

His comic strip Dry Bones was internationally syndicated and published in The Jerusalem Post for 50 years, after which Kirschen moved to the Jewish News Syndicate.

Brad Holland 1943-2025

 

We have just learned of the passing of illustrator Brad Holland after a fatal operation. For lack of more information, here are excerpts from his Wikipedia entry.

Musa Gümüş 1963-2025

From his website.

I have just learned of the passing of celebrated Turkish cartoonist Musa Gümüş.

Born in Gaziantep in 1963, he has won a total of 275 awards from competitions both at home and abroad.

Jules Feiffer dies at 95

From The Washington Post.

Jules Feiffer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter and children’s book author who was one of the most humorously neurotic literary voices of his generation, died Jan. 17 at his home in Richfield Springs, New York. He was 95.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said his wife, JZ Holden.

Riber Hansson 1939-2024

From Marco de Angelis' Facebook page.

Swedish cartoonist Riber Hansson has passed away. 

Born in 1939, he lived and worked in Stockholm and was cartoonist and illustrator at the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet from 1990 to 2000.

Tom Engelhardt 1930-2024

From The Daily Cartoonist. 

Long time St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial cartoonist Tom Engelhardt has passed away.

Born in St. Louis on December 29, 1930, Tom attended the University of Denver, the Ruskin School of Art at Oxford University as well as the New York School of Visual Arts. 

He freelanced in New York City from 1957 to 1960 before landing a job as an editorial cartoonist at Newspaper Enterprise Association in Cleveland, Ohio, before joining the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1962 where he worked until his retirement on Dec. 31, 1997.

Rainer Hachfeld 1939-2024

German political cartoonist and playwright Rainer Hachfeld died of a stroke in Berlin on May 27.

Born on March 9, 1939 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Hachfeld studied animation and stage design from 1956 to 1960 at the Master School for Arts and Crafts in Berlin

Ed Hall 1962-2024

Talented artist, editorial cartoonist, designer and teacher Ed Hall lost his battle to cancer last Sunday. 

He bravely battled the disease over the last 8 years, never letting it slow his creativity. 

Gerhard Gepp 1940-2024

Austrian cartoonist and painter Gerhard Gepp died in Tulln an der Donau on 26 March 2024, at the age of 83.

Gepp was born in 1940 on the western edge of Vienna in Pressbaum where he lived and worked until his death.

Trina Robbins 1938-2024

From Bleeding Cool.

Trina Robbins at WonderCon 2023, photo by Gage Skidmore 

Comic book writer, artist, editor, publisher and historian Trina Robbins suffered a stroke at the end of February this year and died early Wednesday at the age of 85. 

She is also survived by her daughter Casey Robbins and her partner and fellow comics artist, Steve Leialoha.

Known for works like Vampirella & Wonder Woman, and a feminist comics historian, Robbins had a versatile career from clothing design to creating pro-choice comics.

She leaves a significant legacy in comics, fashion, music, and women's rights activism.

Don Wright 1934-2024

From Wikipedia.

Long time Miami News and Palm Beach Post editorial cartoonist Don Wright passed away at 90 in West Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday, March 24.

Don Conway Wright was born on January 23, 1934 in Los Angeles, California and was the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, having received one in 1966 and a second in 1980.