In the production notes of In Contempt cartoons I tend to heavily source references made in the cartoons themselves. Today's strip is an extreme example, half the phrases link to news or blog articles providing FURTHER PROOF THAT THESE THINGS HAPPENED!

(Naw, I ain't neurotic ur nuffin.)

Today I feel obligated to source my caricatures. Waving the magic Google Image Finder wand, I came across two photos of Glenn Beck that were so expressive of my dramatic intent, my drawing added little more than a few stylistic mannerisms and cartoony simplifications. Beck is such an obvious clown, there's not much to add, really.

In the first panel, Glenn appears in his weepy mode (a favorite target of Tom Tomorrow), which honestly cannot be exaggerated.


Source: Gawker.

In the last panel, Glenn's creepy mode. Again, no exaggeration needed.


Source: Movie Eye.

Weepy and creepy. That about sums him up, don't it?

Friends of mine will wonder, "Where were you when all this was going on?" I can only answer, "Well, my head was up my ass, you see...."

Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber have launched their first issue of "Underground," a comic book mini-series about a woman attempting to preserve an ancient subterranean cave from the tourist industry. Things go bad quickly, thanks to hasty dynamiting by eager developers, putting lives in jeopardy. Parker is a witty and smart writer, and Lieber draws action-packed scenes with a strong attention to details, both geological and human. Highly recommended.

Read a preview online or download a PDF of the first issue. And give Steve some love: He and his brilliant author-librarian wife Sara Ryan were burgled of their laptops recently a loss that I can only imagine feels like a lobotomy.

The Comics Curmudgeon puts his foot down:

IN OTHER NEWS: I have tried to be nice, and reason with you all, but I am done with that. Discussing Mallard Fillmore in the comments only pisses everyone off and contributes nothing. Anyone doing so will be banned on the first offense I catch, starting now.

Penny Arcade, the pioneer of gaming-obsessed webcomics, posted a funny, sadly accurate parody of mainstream political cartooning today.

Sure, the meta take on this is new media crowing over its take-down of old media. Yet cruise the AAEC, Daryl Cagle or Slate galleries and see how much difference you can spot between the parody and the parodied. If you do notice exceptions to the rule, they most likely come from one of my Cartoonists With Attitude colleagues. Or the brilliant Tim Eagan.

Props to Chris Baldwin for the heads up.

Just posted a new item to the Wanderlost sketchbook. It's not a sample page of an upcoming story, but it could be if I get inspired. Mostly I was just goofing around. I am trying to get more comfortable drawing digitally from scratch. I don't know why. It just seems like a skill set a webcomicker should have, even if I prefer to draw on paper and get ink on my fingers.

Oh - and that sensation when you accidentally smear ink over your drawing? Awesome. Why would I give all that up?

Jeff Danzinger is a great political cartoonist. I love his work. But this is racist:



No, not in intent. In portrayal. Squinty eyes, buck teeth. You can practically hear the "ah, so." I mean - bowlers? Really? How Charlie Chan can you get?!

Which is too bad, because otherwise this would be a funny cartoon.

Click that image to make it grow into a happy, healthy cartoon.

Click the image to read the cartoon at full size. It will make you a better person.

A screenshot of search terms that brought users to In Contempt yesterday:

"Orangutan masturbation" surprisingly, not a feature of my recent work. An orangutan does appear in a couple strips last year, so at least one strip got a hit. Sorry to disappoint the ape fetishist who sought more prurient fare.

Speaking of ape fetishism: Yesterday's In Contempt strip on racist cartooning drew the highest number of hits ever for one of my strips. Big thanks to Barry for linking to it not once, not twice, but three times: two separate posts at his own blog and as a link in the comments of the Daily Cartoonist. This inspired at least one other person to link to it; eventually CNN and two other blogs put in a link, too.

Of course, much of the attention is due to the outrage over Sean Delonas' racist cartoon, which my strip comments upon (as well as David Cohen's much worse, but more obscure offering.) It's great to have new visitors and hear new voices comment upon my work even if one of them confused me with Rick Sanchez. (It's easy to get high profile news anchors and obscure lefty cartoonists confused.) Still

I feel there is something disproportionate about the attention and outrage paid to the Delonas cartoon, at least in the larger context of racist violence our government and allies visit upon the poor people of the world via aerial bombardments in the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan. People are protesting outside the New York Post, demanding it get shut down. By whom? The government? Sorry, folks, but unless you want to repeal the First Amendment, you are stuck living with newspapers and other media that will offend you occasionally. Small price for democracy and having your own voice heard, ya see. If you really want to shut something down, how about the military-industrial complex? They keep sending our fellow citizens to die and to kill people oppressed by corrupt governments and criminal factions our tax dollars support. For what? Cheap labor? Wal-Mart?

To anticipate a likely rejoinder: If I feel this way, why did I draw the cartoon at all? Well, because this problem keeps arising in cartooning and humorist circles. A white guy says or draws something offensive, provokes a strong reaction, and responds in a petulant, self-aggrandizing fashion. I felt it necessary to throw a wrench in the works, to mock this cycle and offer a few actual constructive criticisms. I doubt most cartoonists for whom this strip applies will take it in a corrective spirit. I bet I'll get at least one "No - YOU'RE the racist!" because I target "white cartoonists." One of these days I might do something on sexism; that way I can offend all men white AND of color.

Kumbaya, baby.

Click that image to read all that glorious text. Glorious snarky text.