Toon-Op by Joel Pett

September 28, 2008

Toon Op

The laugh trade

The editorial cartooning trade has its share of panicky naysayers even during good good times, so suffice it to say that few of us have been putting lipstick on the bear market. Ed Stein damned the flooding of financial finaglers with bailout cash. (Heckuva job, Ed ... that picture is worth a thousand ... no, $700 billion.) Rob Rogers' spin machine revolutionized the commando in chief. And Matt Davies' weighty piece depicted the gravity of the situation. Hey Matt, what's with the anvil? Didn't those go out, like, back in the Depression?

September 21, 2008

Toon Op

Animal crackers

CARTOONISTS NATURALLY pursue political animals with political animus, especially when it's election season and two-legged, two-faced candidates are the big game. Though we largely ignore some elephants in the room, like the new Cold War, the global food crisis and whether you can see Russian lipstick from Alaskan bridgework (OK, so we got that one), we always find time to look in the media mirror and reflect on the overage of coverage. Nick Anderson calls 'em as he sees 'em in a coliseum, Dan Wasserman practices pachyderm journalism in a mainstream maelstrom, and John Trever walks (and draws) a more centrist line midway down the affairs of state. Moderation? What a freak!

September 14, 2008

Toon Op

Palin, Chapter 2

Week two of cartoonists firing at Sarah Palin, and the gun-toting, would-be VP is a pretty, easy target. Mike Keefe wondered about the working mom and the founding fathers; Mike Peters played the library card; and Mike Luckovich's pig-penmanship made something beautiful out of the mudslinging. But, given many Americans' low opinion of the media, does all this media vetting just make people like her more? Hmm, I feel a Palin-drome ... . "Drawers harass, Sarah's reward."

September 7, 2008

Opinion

Penciling in Palin

John McMaverick spurned conventional wisdom, spurring cartoonists' conventional wit. His faith-based, drill-now hockey mom with the pro-life profile pumped up the faithful by drilling the fist-bumpers with stinging slap shots. The rifle-toting, polar-bear huntress polarized the convention center, overshadowing the standard-bearer and other big guns. Signe Wilkinson sympathized, Tom Toles just said no, and Jim Borgman considered the outreach a stretch. Borgman, incidentally, announced his retirement after 32 years at the Cincinnati Enquirer. I hate to see him go.

August 31, 2008

Toon Op

Convention fodder

Inside dope about convention cartoons: Most are dopey! No real news happens! Everything is painstakingly stage-managed and scrupulously scripted, so pack journalism rules. One exasperating example: We devised dozens of cartoons of the peeved-off, power-mad Clintons show-stealing, but in the end they were, in fact, gracious and show-stopping. Still, Bob Gorrell's Photoshopped photo captured the milestone in black and white; Nate Beeler artistically cleaned Joe Biden's clock; and Tom Toles looked ahead to an explosive GOP affair in Minnesota. Doesn't John McCain have two houses there?ƒr — Joel Pett

August 24, 2008

TOON OP

Competitive edginess

Though the gold for sharp-penned satire for the 2008 Olympics went to the Americans -- hey, I was the only judge -- the rest of the human race offered plenty of mean-spirited competition. The Netherlands' Van Dam raged against Beijing's slum-clearing machine, and Italy's De Angelis graphically executed a brutal shooting/beating biathlon. Meanwhile, Ecuador's Bonil pictured a drug-running event in which the participants crossed the line mere seconds ahead of the pharmacists. Spanning the globe to bring you some truly medal-worthy presentations. -- Joel Pett

August 17, 2008

TOON OP

Let the games begin

Nobody loves the Olympics like cartoonists. John Trever nailed the compulsories, mocking the meddlesome host government on the medal stand. Steve Kelley scored some belittling laughs wondering about the wunderkind. And Rob Rogers skillfully skewered the Soviets, er ... Russians, for back-stabbing a former satellite. Sarcasm, criticism and scorn — that's the spirit, guys! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do: McCain is lip-synching Dubya's war strategy, Obama just missed another slam-dunk and the housing market and consumer confidence are performing some spectacular synchronized plunging.

August 10, 2008

TOON OP

The punch line is, it’s no joke

Fewer than 100 days remain in the presidential campaign, which means it's time to get serious. Quick, somebody tell the candidates! Rob Rogers evoked the golden age of the silver screen to riff on a platinum blond's campaign cameo. (Will we always have Paris?) Moving from the merely silly to the downright stupid, Tom Toles was energized to drill left and right. And Mike Keefe drove home his point about the fight against evildoers, and their entourages. Wait a minute ... did anyone ask Osama bin Laden's chauffeur about $4-a-gallon gas?

July 13, 2008

TOON-OP

Foreign exchange

Although U.S. cartoonists are far from running out of gas on energy policy, oil exploration and the conservation conversation, it never hurts to check out the foreign competition. Singapore's Heng Kim Song drove home his point -- in an 18-wheel tanker. Austria's Petar Pismestrovic contemplated a grim high-stakes game of food and fossil fuels. But Kenya's Gado really put things in perspective with his blood-for-oil gas-line image. Kind of makes the mileage we get from those living-in-the-SUV jokes look like a waste of time and energy. -- Joel Pett

July 6, 2008

TOON-OP

Happy nation

A hardy band of patriotic cartoonists spent the weekend before July 4 at our annual convention, pursuing happiness. Our host, the dependable John Branch of the San Antonio Express-News, recovered in time to depict Uncle Sam in a dependent fix. Mike Peters' 2nd Amendment offering was first-rate. And I took the liberty of going to the files for a classic Clay Bennett, who keeps his scissors, and his pencil, razor sharp.

June 29, 2008

TOON-OP

A change on Obama

A while back, I wrote that cartoonists were giving Barack Obama a pass while blistering Hillary Clinton. Well, we don't have her to kick around anymore, so enter the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, stage left-of-center. Nick Anderson headed where headwear took him. Chip Bok made Obama look like a fossil fool over taxes, and Mike Lester made the "change" candidate publicly pay for a change of heart. I like Lester's added visual taunt -- a cigarette, an addiction the senator is said to struggle with. Smokin'!

June 15, 2008

TOON-OP

Second thoughts

Forget drawing on the experience of party elders, strategists and insiders to pick a vice president. Who knows more about the high-stakes veepstakes than cartoonists? Tom Toles' recommendation is more DNA than DNC, and it's safe to say John Trever's misgivings about the "dream ticket" won't fit in the overhead compartment. Rob Rogers gave Dubya's sidekick a swift kick in the side. Now that's straight talk, well-expressed. Come to think of it ... didn't Cheney deputize himself to be second banana? There's a task Hillary Clinton is well prepared to step into on Day One.

June 8, 2008

TOON-OP

Finish lines

Who wants to draw about ocean dead zones, the World Food Summit or U.S. noncompliance with the cluster-bomb treaty when there's a a political primary? If we're going to ignore the human race for the White House race, our stuff should be stellar, but this week we struggled. Nobody was a hands-down winner in trying to capture the historic Obama drama, though Signe Wilkinson handed in a decent effort. Tony Auth wasn't exactly feeling the brotherly love. Maybe R.J. Matson came as close as anyone to providing the perfect Hollywood ending. Oh well, like a certain desert-dwelling predator, we'll pick ourselves up and try again. Does Acme Inc. sell ink?

June 1, 2008

TOON-OP

Between the lyings

Amid global catastrophes, (famine, cyclones, tornadoes, the Democratic nominating process), a former spokesman threw the book at President Bush, even as the current spokeswoman filed countercharges. Matt Davies penned the perfect review. Rob Rogers used his space to draw a cosmic connection between little green men and blue-state hopefuls. And Tom Toles tapped into America's endless supply of oil-price laments with an ironic gem.

May 25, 2008

TOON-OP

Here comes the snide

Most cartoonists blissfully espouse opinions supporting the anti-family, anti-God, anti-American gay agenda. I do. And because nothing is more anti-family than marriage, we marched in wedlock-step with the recent California court decision. Nick Anderson was predisposed to trash the opposition. Jimmy Margulies pictured future attack ads -- and attacked them. And Lisa Benson -- apparently she didn't get the memo. You just can't predict those wacky left-coast Californians! Really, isn't it time to put this behind us and focus on something important -- like gay honeymoons and gay divorce?

May 18, 2008

TOON-OP

Blurred lines

Great cartoons are greatly partisan. Deeply, bitterly, my-content-right-or-wrong, you're-with-me-or-the-terrorists partisan. Baring our bias is liberating, allowing us to tee off with free-swinging contempt, like Tom Toles. But few of us are comfortable with racial politics, and I'm guessing fewer still applaud natural disasters. So color Ed Stein some less-divisive shade of gray, and appreciate Rex Babin's juxtaposition of sport and cataclysm for its simple touch of touching sympathy. Now, back to the divisive derision. Fore!

April 27, 2008

TOON-OP

They're all related

War, recession, oil prices and an election about flag pins and bowling scores -- times couldn't be better for cartoonists. We could almost be forgiven for bypassing a tragi-drama in the hinterlands. But Bob Englehart fashioned a provocative piece on women's attire and veiled threats to freedom. Sandy Huffaker put the presumptive GOP nominee to the DNA test. And Nick Anderson penned a sobering reminder of what the children of the fundamentalist Mormon sect truly face. -- Joel Pett

April 20, 2008

TOON-OP

A real blast

Da 'toons this week were da bomb. Nick Anderson's perfectly targeted White House warhead belongs on a list of classic Vatican cartoons. Rob Rogers took aim at Pennsylvania primary campaign bombast with a combination of anti-Clinton artillery and anti-Obama Ba-rocket launchers, scoring a direct hit. Adam Zyglis zeroed in on McCain's gas-tax plan, pumping it full of holes with antitank weaponry. I'm bitter that I didn't think of these. Guess I'll go hunting, or bowling.

April 6, 2008

TOON-OP

Drawn to Obama?

Have cartoonists been kinder and gentler to Barack Obama than to Hillary Rodham Clinton? My manic Web surfing says yes. Consider these heavy-hitters: Tom Toles depicts Clinton sniping at her opponent by throwing garbage at him. Mike Peters evokes images of a rabbit-boiling Hollywood obsessive (OK, that's "wabbit" in toonland), and Pat Oliphant goes a step further with his decapitation caption. Now look closely at all the caricatures out there. Nowhere have I found an Obama cartoon showing him scowling, scheming or scurrilous. It's not fair, but hey, we get paid to be scurrilous.

March 30, 2008

TOON-OP

Simple pleasures

Of all the cartoonist's tools, tactile (pencils, erasers, brushes, erasers, crayons, rounded scissors, more erasers) and cerebral (sarcasm, irony, humor, utter frustration), none are so elusive as sheer, unadorned simplicity. John Branch's Olympic brass knuckles pack a punch with no punch line. Rex Babin fired off just a couple of explosively loaded words at the high-flying former first lady. And Tom Toles nicely sewed up the arrogance of the outgoing administration while simultaneously reiterating the point of this column.

March 23, 2008

TOON-OP

In the spirit

Who says religion and political cartoons don't mix? A bounty of such blessings were bestowed this week. Rob Rogers couldn't pass over the five-year mark of the Iraq war. Signe Wilkinson's biblical imagery was the best of the flock of Barack Obama observations. And I confess to resurrecting a seasonal visual cliche but beg forgiveness because bracketology is indeed a religion in some parts. Week's end saw Osama bin Laden renewing threats against Danish cartoonists for daring to depict the prophet Muhammad. We say, "No separation of church and statement."

March 16, 2008

TOON-OP

Luv that guv

For the doodling classes, nothing fills a day like a sex scandal. To misquote Kurt Vonnegut, God bless you, Eliot Spitzer!

March 9, 2008

TOON-OP

Battle lines drawn

Considering the 24/7 domination of the 2008 presidential nomination race, commentators can be forgiven for overdoing the intense Clinton/Obama primary battle. But it's nice that some aren't content to ignore the war -- the real war. Nick Anderson's overextended soldiers wearily round his figure-eight into the symbol of infinity. Tony Auth's treatment of stateside vets' treatment is sobering. And Dwane Powell came up with 3 trillion reasons to be troubled by a triple-threat of Mideast menaces. And now, back to the big political guns and all that bloodletting in the battleground states.

March 2, 2008

TOON-OP

Primary targets

How does the 2008 presidential race look to cartoonists in the Buckeye and Lone Star states? Houston's Nick Anderson, an Ohio State man, was quick to crash the Ralph Nader coming-out party. Cincinnati's Jim Borgman did nothing to dampen Hillary Clinton's claims of media antagonism. And Cleveland's Jeff Darcy thinks both Barack (Hussein) Obama and John (I had no financial relations with that woman) McCain are getting messed with by attack-mongers. Balance is Darcy's middle name.

February 24, 2008

TOON-OP

Takes the prize

No red carpets or gold-plated statuettes, but it's awards season in Toontown. John Sherffius picked up the first big one, the Herblock Prize, named for legendary Washington Post cartoonist Herbert Block. Jim Morin, Miami Herald cartoonist and one of the jurors, called Sherffius' submissions "the best the art of editorial cartooning has to offer," adding that "through a potent combination of excellent drawing technique, striking original imagery and passionate conviction, his cartoons kick you in the gut."

January 1, 2006

TOON-OP

Drawn-out endings

Last year, editorial cartoonists eulogized civil rights icon Rosa Parks, television veterans Johnny Carson and Peter Jennings, Vietnam War antagonists Gen. William C. Westmoreland and Sen. Eugene McCarthy, and a troupe of beloved actors, many fondly remembered simply by their most famous roles: Mrs. Robinson, Gilligan, Maxwell Smart, Oliver Wendell Douglas.

November 25, 2007

TOON-OP

Thanksgiving leftovers

A tip for cartoon consumers: Our holiday week production is often holiday weak. For Thanksgiving, that meant lots of leftovers: Turkeys labeled "farm bill" or "Musharraf" or "debate format." A plateful of Plymouth Rock/immigration offerings. A pile of inane shopping lines. At least the obligatory feast-amid-famine offerings have a certain seriousness of purpose. But, as with these holiday travel toons, there's always a way to do it right. Rob Rogers refused to give President Bush a waterboarding pass. Our still-insecure skies suited Mike Keefe's stylized sarcasm. And Jimmy Margulies illustrated an ageless cartooning maxim: If you're drawing about something that's more trifle than tragedy, you'd better make it funny as hell.

November 11, 2007

TOON-OP

Punch lines

Editorial cartoonists resent being pigeon-holed as gag writers. Despite the overlapping skill set, we have a different underlying purpose. We bristle when Newsweek and the New York Times package us with late-night monologue zingers. We stew in our creative juices as editors pass over the cogent, original and even profound in favor of the canned, the obvious and the predictable.

November 4, 2007

TOON-OP

Fire lines

In the aftermath of the wildfires in California, cartoonists turned up the afterburners for their afterthoughts. Some joined Signe Wilkinson and cynically lamented that if the flames didn't consume your home, your consumer home loan might. Rex Babin couldn't resist a shot at FEMA, but no matter how well these fine public servants performed, it only served to remind us how we couldn't stand their service in the bayou. Finally, Matt Bors gets some kind of award for outside-the-box thinking. Somehow, though, I suspect he didn't act alone in crafting his rollicking conspiracy theory. He's clearly a security risk and probably had help from the one-armed man on the grassy knoll, funded by the Trilateral Commission.

September 16, 2007

TOON-OP

Toontown Iraq

Between the 9/11 anniversary, Gen. David H. Petraeus' congressional testimony and the presidential war address, it was an all-Iraq all-the-time week in toontown. The six-year remembrance, four-star witness and two-term chief exec hardly left space for barbs about Osama's beard, put-downs of the economic downturn or making a stink about Britney's lip sync. Lisa Benson hijacked unforgettable imagery to slam the judiciary. Gary Varvel drew a tantrum about Congress' treatment of the surgin' general. And Steve Sack trashed the White House's long-term strategy.

July 15, 2007

TOON-OP

Zapping South Africa's Zuma

South African Jonathan Shapiro received the 2007 Courage in Cartooning Award this month from the Cartoonists Rights Network (full disclosure: I'm on the board). Shapiro, who goes by the nom de plume Zapiro, is being sued by former South African Deputy President (and wannabe future president) Jacob Zuma. Zuma lost his post in 1995 amid an arms-deal scandal and was later tried on rape charges. Zapiro's cartoons about the trial prompted the lawsuit. Zapiro responded the only way he knew how … with mean lawyers and even meaner cartoons! Zuma was acquitted. During the trial, Zuma testified that he knowingly had sex with an HIV-positive woman but had protected himself by, no kidding, taking a shower. Zapiro's cartoons have been blistering … like the one above showing a porcine, baby-oil-armed, shower-drenched Zuma emerging victorious from court. I can see how you might not consider that flattering, but a $2.1-million lawsuit? Some people are so touchy! — Joel Pett

July 1, 2007

TOON-OP

The Paris trip

Forget CIA misdeeds, veep-dark secrets, toothpaste made in China, the surge, evil-doers, amnesty for illegal immigrants and the Supreme Court, for the moment. Paris Hilton's three weeks in the joint got the nosy media all out of joint. She may have done the crime and the time, but the prime-time fuss was criminal. The paparazzi harassed, the talk shows harangued, the editorial pages harrumphed and, yeah, we pencil-necked pencil-pushers added our too-incensed two cents' worth. Hilton may have blown 0.08% on a Breathalyzer, but we pointlessly blew it all out of proportion. Mike Peters kept it real, though, and Nick Anderson's take was thoughtful. Rob Rogers finally moved the conversation from the cooler to the next cool thing. I'm glad that's over … now when will Anna Nicole's kid be old enough to drive? — Joel Pett

July 29, 2007

TOON-OP

Dog stars

The dog days of summer are sometimes dry as a bone for the pundit biz. Not lately. The recent YouTube debate, the slumping housing outlook and volatile stock market have given us plenty to gnaw on. Throw in Harry Reid and the House Democrats, Harry Potter and the house elves, Iraq, Iran, pedophile priests, presidential polyps and a roster of sports scandals -- and the ink really started to flow. Pat Oliphant published his own brand of yellow-dog journalism, Dwane Powell unleashed his contempt on lap dog Alberto Gonzales, and Jack Ohman sank his teeth into a quarterback who ought to be permanently sacked.

June 24, 2007

TOON-OP

Cartoon contrariness

Regarding the persistent, polarized, stubborn and bleak cycle of violence in the Middle East, cartoonists are … persistent, polarized, stubborn and bleak. And like the region's political players, we'll observe the same situation for years and draw diametrically opposite conclusions. Check out Nick Anderson and Gary Varvel. Each took the same set of incendiary circumstances, set similar Oval Office scenes, cast a downcast President Bush in the lead role and employed nearly identical cartoon props. Scrutinizing the same big picture, they scribbled contradictory small pictures. At least they're only armed with pens. We'd hate for cartoonists to contribute to Signe Wilkinson's rubble repository.

June 10, 2007

TOON-OP

Border lines

Within the insecure borders of our drawings, cartoonists are doing work that most Americans won't — trying to make sense of the immigration debate. And, OK, we've given you some poor, tired ideas and some muddled messes, but some good stuff too. Pat Oliphant doesn't sit on the fence with his medieval metaphor. Pat Bagley's amusingly complex dance steps on some toes. And who says we're never positive? Steve Breen portrays Dubya as a shining beacon of liberty at the golden door, only to be undermined by hardhearted hard-liners. Let's hope our papers are in order. The country couldn't survive without cartoonists' critical labor.

May 27, 2007

TOON-OP

Unzipping the news

As they say, clothes make the point. Cartoonists dress down politicians, air dirty laundry, find out who's talking through his hat and who's in whose pocket. We de-pant the clueless and clothes-less emperors, size up the real duds and needle them. But no matter how we tailor the message, when we go to work, we wear our politics on our sleeves (and occasionally, like Steve Sack's Alberto Gonzales, we slip politicians up them). Of course, we're not all cut from the same artistic cloth. Contrast Matt Davies' simple, off-the-rack Iraq treatment with Pat Oliphant's vintage garment-district detail and elegance. The naked truth is, most of us would give the shirt off our backs to draw like Oliphant. — Joel Pett

April 8, 2007

TOON-OP

Campaign money season

What a spectacular first quarter for the forces of free speech. No, not in Iran, Guantanamo or China, but right here in the land of the free-range rubber chicken and the home of the $1,000-a-plate soiree. For cartoonists, record-breaking campaign fundraising means derisive dismissals of slimy special interests, sarcastic war-chest scorekeeping and laconic laments of laissez-faire democracy. Although courts have long upheld the right of Americans to charge political speech to their credit cards, (see Buckley vs. Vallejo, McConnell vs. FEC and Insider Slimeball vs. Your Wallet), they've also protected a cartoonist's right to depict a gape-mouthed ex-prez sucking up loose greenbacks for his front-running spouse. Now that's what I call priceless free expression.

April 1, 2007

TOON-OP

Second opinions

A public official's health is legitimate commentary fodder. Dick Cheney's blood clots and heart issues. Bill Clinton's cardiac-burger attacks. Ronald Reagan's basal cell carcinoma and (yuck!) colon polyps. But life-threatening cancer? That's pretty much uncharted territory. No surprise, then, that most cartoonists skipped over Elizabeth Edwards' and White House spokesman Tony Snow's announcements in favor of more comfortable topics — war, genocide or pet poisoning. A couple of us took the easy way out, second-guessing the second-guessers. Kevin Siers was of two minds, but Walt Handelsman delivered a thoughtful point. Now there's another opinion worth considering.

March 25, 2007

TOON-OP

Four years of Iraqi Freedom

Pundits leave no milestone unturned, especially one that's a political millstone, like last week's fourth anniversary of the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Between rerun clips of Operation Rosy Prediction (Donald Rumsfeld: " … could be six days, six weeks…. I doubt six months….") and a midweek presidential plea for Operation Infinite Patience, cartoonists undertook Operation Snarky Rejoinders. Most commentary, like Chan Lowe's, fell somewhere in the tight niche between bleakly grim and darkly somber. But Nick Anderson exposed below-the-Beltway opposition tactics, and Ed Stein, ever the optimist, offered a long-term anti-terror solution! By the way, a quick etiquette check reveals that, in addition to Mike Thompson's linen and flowers, fruit is apropos at the four-year mark. To cartoonists, that can only mean — rotten tomatoes.

March 18, 2007

TOON-OP

Doing them justice

It was "sunshine week," when journalists reminded readers and leaders that openness in government is a good thing. Of course, candid, honest leadership would make for lousy cartooning. Give us a pack of dirty-dealing, power-mad political operators any day … secretive, paranoid Dick Cheney, Machiavellian Karl Rove and, most recently, lap dog Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales. A member of the Cabinet usually appears in a few cartoons when appointed, a smattering more when confirmed and a handful when the department makes headlines. But when you start getting the deface time Gonzales has lately, that's not good. The calls for his resignation aren't coming from us, though. Heck, he's still good for a dozen more cartoons.

March 11, 2007

TOON-OP

A thousand words

Last month, I lauded the alternative-toon crowd for their on-point (if sometimes verbose) panels and chided my mainstream media cohorts for squandering think time and ink time on stink-time celebrity death, celebrity crime and bad-celebrity-haircut cartoons. Well, to be fair and balanced, for all their uproarious, free-wheeling irreverence, the alt-toon clan can't hold a pencil to the daily draftsmen when it comes to understated graphic simplicity. Whether it's the president's prying, the vice president's prevaricating, the pretenders' pandering or a pundit's profanity, we do more with less. And that's a fact, more or less.

February 18, 2007

TOON-OP

Alt cartoonists

While mainstream press cartoonists recover from their wretched run of astronaut diaper doodles and appalling Anna Nicole Smith gags (class action paternity suits?), let's look in on the alternative-press inkers. This restless crowd is joyfully impertinent, blissfully unencumbered by meddling editors and able to stretch the bounds of taste, subject matter and edginess. They're angrier too, probably the result of working day jobs without benefits or continually being overlooked come awards season. And while some lament the long-winded presentation, there's often a payoff in context, detail and having the space to mention obscure facts. (Who knew you couldn't mock the king of Thailand?) Besides, these four comics average about 80 words apiece, about the same as a brief letter to the editor. Pretty good stuff … but can they exploit a salacious celeb tragedy?

February 11, 2007

TOON-OP

Cheney reaction

If you've wondered whether cynical, disrespectful, hyper-critical cartoonists ever give President Bush a break, the answer is yes … and we use the breather to go after the vice president! In between snickering at Super Bowl ads, cracks about astronaut diapers and yet another tiresome season of global-warming/winter-weather snow jobs, cartoonists sniped at Deadeye Dick Cheney's perfect storm of political troubles. Paul Berge stuck it to him on gay parenting. R.J. Matson piped up on the "Scooter" Libby trial. Rob Rogers cast him as an uncharacteristically upbeat actor of evil. And Rex Babin locked him in a rubber war room. Nice touch — a not-so-straight shooter in a straitjacket.

February 4, 2007

TOON-OP

Supporting Bush with their sketches

PC doesn't stand for "political cartoonist," and we're not much for political correctness. We unapologetically employ plenty of grossly unfair stereotypes. For example, I routinely generalize in this space about … political cartoonists! When I wrote that "we" scorned President Bush's surge plan, of course I meant "most-of-we." As you see, there are a number of "we" who have quite different takes: John Trever strikes a blow against Democrat windbags. Chip Bok sympathizes with soldiers caught in a bind. And (to paraphrase Robert F. Kennedy paraphrasing George Bernard Shaw) Glenn McCoy looks at the Democrats as they are and asks "Why?," while Bob Gorrell dreams of what might be and wonders "Whyknot?"

January 28, 2007

TOON-OP

Not in Bush's script

Who says the president isn't a uniter? Nielsen ratings for Tuesday's State of the Union address eclipsed even "American Idol." Apparently, second-rate celebs humiliating third-rate amateurs didn't measure up to first-rate political theater. Fade in a fading but determined Dubya, who wore his outreach hat while reaching into his war hat for another rabbit. Cue the obligatory standing-ovation rotation, alternately led by a dour, distracted Darth Cheney and a lip-bitingly nervous Madame Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pan to the 2008 presidential hopefuls mugging for heir time. Now bring the chatterazzi to the foreground for background, and give the cartoonists a close-up as they shade the president's domestic proposals with blame-duck political overtones. Man, those cartoonists are meaner than Simon Cowell.

January 21, 2007

TOON-OP

Not quite gallows humor

Nobody executes a capital (punishment) idea on deadline like editorial cartoonists, and we've had plenty of shots lately. As if Saddam Hussein's taunt-peppered YouTube noose event wasn't enough, there was that second Baghdad hanging during which heads actually did roll. Although fouled-up string-ups perfectly suit our downbeat brand of suspended animation, Mike Lester's guillotine scene and Tony Auth's injection depiction carry plenty of sting, even without that swing.

January 14, 2007

TOON-OP

New way forward, same old grind

Who does the same thing over and over and naively expects different results? Editorial cartoonists! Blithely undeterred by our utter lack of progress in altering the Bush administration's Iraq strategy, we reacted to the administration's "new way forward" with a surge of the same old stuff … but repackaged and with catchy new slogans! Much of our output was predictably outraged and typically grim, but some of it was more nuanced. Steve Sack redefined "victory lap," John Trever showed us the evolving bipartisan door and Steve Breen penned a plea for diplomacy. As for Pat Oliphant — a new year, a new strategy, but back to the same old grind.

January 7, 2007

TOON-OP

Presidential face cards

Oval Office pressures age every president — graying hair, embedding worry lines and adding eye baggage. Caricatures of presidents develop too. The various scars and Band-Aids plastered on the late Jerry Ford by cartoonists left him with a good-natured grin, if not exactly in stitches. As Jimmy Carter's political woes mounted, his pitiful likeness shrank to sub-munchkin stature. The Reagan pompadour swelled along with the myth. George H.W. Bush grew ever more Dana Carveyesque. Bill Clinton's kisser looked perpetually sheepish, and he still occasionally sports the heart-patterned boxers. Props, quirks and stature aside, we morph presidential facial features as well, sometimes surprisingly dramatically. Of the mugs shown here, only Bob Gorrell's George W. Bush has maintained its basic form over the years. On the other hand, Tom Toles' goofy presidential portraits aren't exactly bookends. Ann Telnaes' Dubya matured a bit, while Jeff Parker's got decidedly littler.

August 27, 2006

TOON-OP

Goofs of Summer

In August, even cartoonists go on vacation. If huge news broke out, like Middle East peace or a development in the JonBenet case, there'd be an alarming shortage of available talent to lampoon, ridicule, belittle, satirize or otherwise distort it. Even those of us who, unlike the president, don't curl up with existentialist French literature take short vacations of the mind, content to go from endlessly summarizing news to the equivalent of an endless-summer snooze. Soon enough, September looms, a school-days reminder to get out our pencil boxes and stop goofing around. There's lots to cover before midterm elections. — Joel Pett

August 20, 2006

TOON-OP

Twisted Terror Scares

Cartoonists relentlessly rip politicos for exploiting terror scares for short-term political gain. (Case in finger-point: Vice President Dick Cheney saying this month that antiwar Connecticut voters might encourage "Al Qaeda types.") But would it be heresy to concede that each new airport incident gives us ideological ammunition too? We gleefully used the liquid carry-on ban to take off on election politics, war and peace, healthcare, even right-wing bottle-blonds.

August 13, 2006

TOON-OP

Pen vs. Rocket

American cartoons about the Middle East are bleak enough, and it doesn't get any more upbeat the closer you get to the action. As war-weary artists the world over deploy pen, pencil and ruler against missile and rocket, some are rethinking the adage about the mightiness of the sword.

August 6, 2006

TOON-OP

Mel and the Middle East

From Beirut to Malibu, last week's top story was about a world at war. Political cartoons from World War II through the Cold War tended to be menacing and stark. Hulking representations of Nazism, communism and totalitarianism loomed darkly over fragile populations, threatening women, alarming children and spooking dogs. Today, as alarmists sound a World War III warning in the Middle East, the throwback imagery of Pat Oliphant and Jeff Danziger retrofits perfectly. Clay Bennett's peace signs bring us graphically into the 1960s, while Kevin Siers' tongue-lashing of Mel Gibson is so au courant. And if Mel's traffic-stop mouth-off inflames global anti-Semitism, well, we all know who's to blame. — Joel Pett

July 30, 2006

TOON-OP

Fetal Positions

Let's talk science! Every organ and tissue in the body develops from stem cells, including bones, skin and even nerves. And, according to exhaustive research conducted in the week since President Bush vetoed stem cell funding, all editorial cartoons develop from just a few lines of reasoning. Plus, full-grown cartoons may tickle your funny bone, get under your skin or jangle your nerves. It's a lab-tested fact that examples such as Justin Bilicki's and Matt Bors' presidential put-downs and Scott Stantis' opposing fetal position contain potential cures for what ails the body politic.

July 16, 2006

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Cartoons on Press Freedom

The U.S. is monitoring terrorists' bank activity? Stop the presses! Surely nobody (even if they were living in a cave somewhere) was really caught off guard by recent news reports that the Bush administration is following Al Qaeda's money. But the White House launched a PR counteroffensive against the newspapers that printed the story, labeling it a major national security breach. I was surprised by how many editorial cartoonists picked up the administration's line of treasoning and accused the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and others of aiding and abetting the enemy.

July 9, 2006

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Court jesters

The Supreme Court term wound down last month, but cartoonists largely ignored it. While the justices handed down key decisions on trying terrorists and policing the police, the jesters handed in work on flag burning, soccer, Warren Buffett's record-breaking charity and Ann Coulter's typical lack of it in describing 9/11 widows as "witches."

July 2, 2006

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Roasting Old Glory

For those not tuned in to the yak-attack media last week, you missed a ruckus over the Mike Luckovich cartoon shown here. Some read it as equating Americans with terrorists rather than as questioning what's fair game in fighting Al Qaeda, which is what Luckovich says he intended. Bill O'Reilly nearly spun out of control as he exploited the misinterpretation. O'Reilly didn't openly incite the faithful to riot, but he did refer to liberal newspapers as "the enemy."

June 18, 2006

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Let's get technical

Last week, cartoonists got together in Denver to hash out the state of the art — on paper, at least. In reality, the members of the Assn. of American Editorial Cartoonists bellyached about the usual: shrinking job opportunities, tangled syndication deals, nettlesome editors. But the show-stealer was a how-to on the step-by-steps.

June 11, 2006

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The unfunnies

Recently, another cartoonist and I met with a New York Times editor, trying to persuade the paper to broaden its use of editorial cartoons in its weekly opinion section. I argued that cartoons can be funny but also poignant, furious, snide, vitriolic, sarcastic, obtuse, opaque, oblique and, oh, bleak. It didn't work. "Come on, they're cartoons," the editor said. "They're supposed to be funny!" That paper now displays editorial cartoons alongside quips from late-night TV comics under the headline "Laugh Lines."

June 4, 2006

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That's why they're 'political' cartoons

My friend Ted Rall — savagely funny practitioner of alt-weekly cartooning — dismisses much of the traditional art form as just so many shopworn renderings of "donkeys and elephants." The implication that political cartoons are as irrelevant and outdated to his demographic as the two-party system is something of a gen-X-eralization, but, like a good cartoon, there's just enough truth in it to sting a bit. Our best work may be outraged windmill tilting, sacrilegious sacred-cow kebbabing and puffed-up-political-persona puncturing, but you can't really take the politics out of politics. That would be like ignoring the elephant ... and the donkey ... in the living room. Or in the freezer. Party on. — Joel Pett

May 28, 2006

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Defacing 'Da Vinci'

For this generation of baby boomer editorial cartoonists, reared on Mad magazine cinematic spoofs and "Saturday Night Live" sendups, the urge to mock movie-poster imagery is adolescent if not infantile. With "The Da Vinci Code," throw in the chance to blend the enigmatic smile of an iconic masterpiece with the furtive smirk of Vice President Dick Cheney, and it's irresistible.

May 21, 2006

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Bush's border order

Tax cuts for the wealthy, a wealth of phone records, record home runs and Ken Lay's Enron run-in headed a long list of topics last week. But they were elbowed aside by the president's immigration speech, which got cartoonists up in arms and our hands busy. We drew tangles of wire (barbed, razor and concertina) atop miles of barriers (chain-link, concrete and steel), complete with moats, curtains, tunnels, gates and doors (slamming, swinging and revolving).

May 14, 2006

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Top-secret Toon-Op

Editor's note: This column was recently declassified. Click the link at the right to read the redacted version.

May 7, 2006

TOON-OP

World wrestling

U.S. cartoonists have spilled barrels of ink about the price of crude, the Islamic bomb and illegal immigration, but what inferences are being drawn in other countries?

April 30, 2006

TOON-OP

Still pumpin' out gas gags

On behalf of editorial cartoonists everywhere, I confess. In the 30 years since a president faced a major oil crisis, we've done some of our crudest and least-refined work on the subject of gasoline prices. We've pumped out scores of trite gags about OPEC having us over a barrel and infinite variations of the gas nozzle as a stickup weapon. We haven't completely kicked the bad-joke habit. Researching this, I saw a Three 6 Mafia spinoff cartoon called "It's hard out here at the pump" — but after three decades, we're getting the hang of it, drilling a little deeper, exploring a little further afield. After all, without a broader perspective, the living-in-your-SUV jokes are $3.19 a gallon, up tenfold from the good old days, but still cheap gags.

April 23, 2006

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Pulitzer, Puh-leeze!

Mike Luckovich of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution picked up his second Pulitzer Prize for cartoons last week. Luckovich's hand- and heart-aching list of 2,000 U.S. war dead in Iraq was the year's blockbuster image, an echo of the time when the Pulitzer was awarded to a single cartoon, not a portfolio of 20. (You can see them all at www.pulitzer.org.)

April 16, 2006

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Sacred spoofs

Every week is holier-than-thou week for we self-righteous pundits of journalism. And although religious satire may be met elsewhere with riotous fatwas, part of what makes this country worth sneaking into is that we tolerate, if we don't exactly worship, graven images that spoof our spiritual beliefs.

April 9, 2006

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Who's on Frist?

People love sports because they are a distraction from the pressing (or depressing) issues of the day. Cartoonists love to draw sports fans back to reality. So, when Dubya made his Major League Baseball opening-day appearance last week in Cincinnati, Rex Babin wound up throwing a high-and-tight fastball at his head of state. Bob Gorrell's adaptation of Peanuts was crackerjack, and the Frist pitch on immigration was a softball even I could hit over the border. Rob Rogers reminded us that as threatening banned substances go, enriched uranium tops anabolic steroids … and if the forces of nuclear nonproliferation strike out, it could be the old ballgame. — Joel Pett

March 26, 2006

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Dumping on Dubya

After last week's big Iraq three-year anniversary blast, the cartoons were all about W, as in war. His poll numbers languishing, the president took to the road to try to hit the high notes.