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Cartoonists Love Michael Phelps

I drew this cartoon of Michael Phelps during the 2008 Olympics.  The swimmers wore body suits then (which have since been banned) and I thought the body suits were funny.

Phelps seems to be having some troubles this time around, but it seemed to all the cartoonists that he swam like a dolphin in Beijing.

David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star
Mike Keefe / PoliticalCartoons.com

Many cartoonists drew Phelps sinking to the bottom of the pool under the weight of his gold medals.  Many more drew him as a super hero.

Pat Bagley / Salt Lake Tribune
JD Crowe / Mobile Press-Register

Soon after the olympics there was a little scandal about Phelps smoking marijuana – not something most people would care about, but cartoonists love to draw marijuana cartoons.

Frederick Deligne / France, PoliticalCartoons.com
Taylor Jones / PoliticalCartoons.com

I thought this Phelps cartoon was charming …

Joe Heller / Green Bay Press Gazette.

I’m rooting for Michael Phelps to get it together and come back.  He’s good for cartoonists.

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RIP Dave Thorne, Father of Hawaiian Cartooning

I’m sad to report that my friend, cartoonist Dave Thorne, often refered to as the father of Hawaiian cartooning, has died at the age of 82.

Thorne was well known in Hawaii for his funny cartoons and his commitment to educating and reaching out to kids with his work. He would often travel around the island and give “chalk talks” to young people, inspiring them to grab a pen and start drawing.

Up until October of last year, Thorne had been drawing “Thorney’s Zoo”, a gag strip filled with funny animals, for Sunday’s edition of Honolulu Star-Advertiser. I can probably count on one hand the number of newspapers across the country that commission cartoonists to draw local comic strips. Thorn also taught cartooning regularly at UH Manoa for twenty-three years before retiring in 2001.

Here’s a video from 2011 of Thorne as he sketches for kids at the McCully-Moiliili Public Library in Hawaii:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzvPzbzQ1-E]

There’s a nice Facebook tribute page up with people from across the country weighing in and drawing cartoons in Dave’s honor.

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Best Political Cartoons of the Week

Every Friday, we collect the best political cartoons of the week and stuff them into one big, glorious slideshow.

So just relax and catch up on a week’s worth of news with our Best Cartoons of the Week slideshow.

Nate Beeler / Columbus Dispatch (click to launch slideshow)
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My Aurora Shooting Cartoon

Here’s my new cartoon about the decision by both Mitt Romney and President Obama to pull their attack ads in the wake of the terrible theater shooting in Colorado…

Categories
Blog

Best Political Cartoons of the Week

Every Friday, we collect the best political cartoons of the week and stuff them into one big, glorious slideshow.

So just relax and catch up on a week’s worth of news with our Best Cartoons of the Week slideshow.

Mike Keefe / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to launch slideshow)
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My Recent Cartoons About the Presidential Campaign

It’s difficult to watch cable news at times. What do new anchors hope to get from Romney’s surrogates that over any insight or analysis on the campaign:

Obama also has his own army of well-trained surrogates to keep pushing the campaign’s narriative:

Lately, Obama has been on the attack about Romney’s time at Bain Capital and his refusal to release additional years of his tax returns:

Despite the attacks, the candidates have been able to make the choice in the upcoming election clear:

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Should Penn State’s Football Program Be Suspended?

Ever since a report was released last week that shows legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno covered up the child abuse being committed by his former assistant Jerry Sandusky, our cartoonists have been weighing in with their thoughts.

While most critics are calling for Paterno’s statue to be removed (including our cartoonists), Mobile Press-Register cartoonist JD Crowe thinks the entire Penn State football program should be suspended – for 14 years.

Here’s his cartoon:

And here’s what he wrote on his blog:

For 14 years, Jerry Sandusky was allowed to roam, raping children and destroying young lives while the powers at Penn State turned a blind eye and said nothing.

The Penn State football program should be silenced for at least 14 years. It’s as plain as the nose on Joe Paterno’s face.

Do you agree with Crowe, or should the football program not be punished? Comment below or drop us a note on our Facebook page.

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Joe Paterno’s Statue

Cartoonists like visual metaphors, and there’s no bigger representation of everything that’s wrong at Penn State than the bronze statue of Joe Paterno that stands outside of Beaver Stadium.

Critics are calling for the statue to be town down in lieu of a report that clearly shows Paterno helped cover up the actions of his former assistant coach, convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky.

Here are some cartoons about the statue by a handful of our cartoonists. Think it should be torn down? Comment below or drop us a note on our Facebook page.

Nate Beeler / Columbus Dispatch (click to view more cartoons by Beeler)
Rob Tornoe / Philadelphia Inquirer (click to view more cartoons by Tornoe)
J.D. Crowe / Mobile Press-Register (click to view more cartoons by Crowe)
John Cole / Scranton Times-Tribune (click to view more cartoons by Cole)
Milt Priggee / PoliticalCartoons.com (click to view more cartoons by Priggee)
Categories
Blog

Best Political Cartoons of the Week

Every Friday, we collect the best political cartoons of the week and stuff them into one big, glorious slideshow.

So just relax and catch up on a week’s worth of news with our Best Cartoons of the Week slideshow.

Rick McKee / Augusta Chronicle (click to launch slideshow)

 

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A Cartoonist’s Thoughts On Scranton’s Salary Slash

Yesterday, the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania announced that due to ongoing budget problems and the threat of bankruptcy, all of Scranton’s 398 city workers — including cops and firefighters — will be paid minimum wage effective immediately.

I asked John Cole, the staff cartoonist for the Scranton Times-Tribune (whom I syndicate though Cagle Cartoons), what his thoughts were on the news:

Ask 10 Scrantonians who and/or what is to blame for their city’s seemingly inexorable slide into insolvency and you’ll likely get 10 different answers. OK, maybe seven. Or even five. Whatever the number, they’ll all be right to one degree or another. Scranton’s cash crunch has been years in the making and — in my opinion, at least — is the product of four forces: An eroded and aging tax base; Pennsylvania’s system of tiny, autonomous municipalities; expensive public-safety union contracts, and a fractious and parochial political culture.

The first three ingredients in that recipe would be manageable if the fourth weren’t so completely dysfunctional. The current mess is largely due to a power struggle between Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty and a veto-proof “super-majority” on the city council that’s led by Council President Janet Evans. Doherty has been trying without success for years to rein in union labor costs through a state-backed recovery plan; the unions in turn have fought back furiously with the help of local pols like Evans. The result has been a back-and-forth stalemate of sorts, with the courts occasionally stepping in to make matters worse.

Here are seven cartoons drawn by Cole dating back to November 2010, tracing the arc of Scranton’s decline:

A state court sided with the police and fire unions, thus putting Scranton on the hook for tens of millions of dollars to cover back pay and future pay raises. The city hadn’t anywhere near the means to cover the tab. It still doesn't, in fact.
Just as the city pleaded poverty, the city discovered $3 million in parking meter receipts. It’s the latest example of a government too incompetent to account for the revenue it has on hand.
Barack Obama came to town, offering a reminder to Scrantonians of how similar their own local government is to the polarized, obstructionist and ineffective mess in Washington, DC.
Saddled with local school and city taxes while supporting a number of non-profit institutions (three hospitals, two universities and many social service organizations), Scranton’s tax base has been effectively picked clean.
Around Christmas last year, the state Supreme Court sided with the city's police and fire unions, effectively saying that the state’s recovery plan cannot preempt arbitration or the unions’ contracts and ending the city's legal argument. This set the stage for the city’s current financial nightmare.
In late June, the council super-majority voted not to pay off the Scranton Parking Authority’s city-guaranteed bonds, effectively placing the authority and city in default. Quite predictably, lenders took flight and the city’s credit line effectively disappeared. (The council furiously back-pedaled on this issue a week later, but the damage was done). Coincidentally, the council also pushed a 67-percent raise for its solicitor, who earlier had told the council he saw no problem with its decision to default.
Facing payless paydays for its employee and vendors threatening to cut off supplies for things like gas to power its police cruisers, Scranton weighs bankruptcy.