An architect by education, Tommy Thomdean has grown to become one of Indonesia’s most talented cartoonists. He draws cartoons for the Jakarta Post, the largest English language newspaper in Indonesia, and I recently spoke to him about what it’s like to cartoon in his own country.
One thing I discovered about cartooning in Indonesia – Cartoonists apparently cross the line when they compare their leaders to Nixon.
We live in a free country, but sometimes that freedom is ugly. Like the freedom of the Westboro Baptist Church to show up at funerals of fallen soldiers and wave flags saying “God Hates Fags,” “God Hates America,” “God Loves Dead Soldiers, while singing God hates America to the tune of “God Bless America.” It may be vile, but the Supreme Court ruled that their speech is protected.
The free speech of cartoonists is protected as well. Check out what they think of the Supreme Court’s ruiling in our new Funeral Protests cartoon slideshow.
Nate Beeler / Washington Examiner (click to view cartoon collection)
Our talented conservative cartoonist, Eric Allie, drew a cartoon yesterday about the protests in Wisconsin that seems to have touched the nerve among our readers. In the cartoon, featured below, Allie recast the fight going on in Wisconsin, making the public sector union the behemoth, while making the average taxpayers as “the evil greedy corporate monster.”
Click to use cartoon in your publication
Here’s a sample of some of the comments we received about the cartoon: VickySP: “I am a public sector worker and I couldn’t disagree more. I took a paycut to take this job almost 15 yrs ago. Not only did I never get back to my pre-public sector pay, I’ve taken pay cuts for the past several years that have put me even lower than when I started. Why do I stay in this job? I took it originally for the job security and benefits – I have family obligations. I’m still there because of the family obligations and the lack of any local job opportunities in my field. Not all public sector unions are the same. Not all are “Goliath”. Look at the facts before you make assumptions.”
Brian Mitchell: “Wonder who the Bankers’ & Stockbrokers’ Association gets to do its corporate cartoons? Sell-out.”
Hhvision: “No wonder cartooning is a dying industry. With a perspective like Mr. Allie’s, it should have passed away years ago.”
David Bruce: “Accurate depiction despite all the marketing spin to the contrary.”
Ron Evry: “I hope the lady in the picture packed her kid’s knapsack with plenty of Brawnyâ„¢ Paper Towels. The hundreds of millions the Governor just gave the Koch Brothers might not be enough for them…”
Steve Berlin: “Considering taxpayers don’t pay for Union pension, once again Conservatives are crying how that mean ol’ David is picking on poor old Goliath.”
Justin Jones: “Wow, what a completely stupid, uninformed, and tone-deaf cartoon.”
Alexander Thorburn Hoffman: “Perfect cartoon. Union thugs vs the people who actually have to pay their salary.”
What do you think about the cartoon: Fair or Foul? Leave your comments below.
Anyone who listened to Charlie Sheen’s crazy rant on “The Alex Jones Show” last week was introduced to a mentally imbalanced, power-hungry control freak who is willing to go battle with any and all of his critics. Hmmm… reminds me of a certain dictator in Libya.
Here’s my new cartoon about Libyan President Moammar Khadafi, who has not stepped-down amid protests for his resignation and turned to violence to defend his power. Fighting so far has claimed over 1,000 lives, and as both sides dig in, it doesn’t seem as though the conflict will end quickly… or with an end to the bloodshed.
It’s that time of year again to watch overpaid actors and attention-crazed celebrities pat themselves on the back and boost their already-inflated egos. What do cartoonists think of the annual ritual knows as the Academy Awards? Check out our new Oscar cartoon slideshow to find out.
Brian Fairrington / Cagle Cartoons (click to view slideshow)
Popular talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh is no stranger to controversy, and often says dumb things just to get people riled up. But on a recent show, Limbaugh exceeded his own standards and called out first lady Michelle Obama on her body and eating habits.
“I’m trying to say that our first lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you,” Limbaugh said Monday.
I guess Rush doesn’t have a mirror, or else he might have steered clear of commenting on the perceived healthiness of someone else. Luckily for us, we have political cartoonists to take his dopey comments and re-direct the fun his way.
My favorite so far might be this cartoon by Pat Bagley depicting The Maha Rushie as Jabba the Hutt, and his dittohead followers as a poor princess trapped by the powerful toad-eater.
Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune
Brilliant caricaturist Taylor Jones got in on the act as well, depicting a scene no one on this Earth ever wanted to witness: Rush in a bikini.
Taylor Jones / PoliticalCartoons.com
Not surprisingly, Sarah Palin has gotten in on the nutrition-bashing act as well. Here Nate Beeler puts her silly and hyper-partisan comments into the proper perspective.
I had the pleasure of speaking with brilliant Spanish editorial cartoonist Jaume Capdevila, who goes by the pen name Kap (see more of Kap’s cartoons).
Kap lives and works in Barcelona, and draws political cartoons for La Vanguardia and El Mundo Deportivo, among others. There are a bunch of great editorial cartoonists in Spain, and a lot of hard hitting cartoons. However, the cartoons tend to be local and we don’t see much of them in the United States because they don’t draw much about international issues. Kap draws a lot about international issues, so we’ve added his bold, brilliant cartoons to our Spanish syndicate.
The ongoing economic recovery in the nation’s financial sector isn’t reaching the rest of the economy, and as a result, unemployment remains high. What do the nation’s cartoonist think about our jobless recovery? Check out our latest cartoon slideshow to find out.
As they attempt to live up to campaign promises and slash the federal budget, House Republicans are taking aim at Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive health and child health services, including providing abortions.
Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in politics today, and political cartoonists don’t shy away from controversy. Here are some cartoons, both right and left, that have come in on the issue.
Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune sees members of the GOP praying to the alter of the Religious Right…
