Sunday, May 8, 2011

Sunday morning toons: Birtherism -- That's so eight days ago

Okay, everyone who thinks that the top political toons for this week will be about Donald "The Short-Fingered Vulgarian" Trump's latest race-baiting bloviation, or about the wholly lackluster GOP presidential debate in South Carolina, please take one step forward.

Not so fast, Mr. bin Laden!

Today's selections have been lovingly hand-selected from the week's political cartoon pages at Slate, Time, Mario Piperni, About.com, and Daryl Cagle:

p3 Picks of the Week: Mike Luckovich, Gary McCoy, Steve Benson, Tony Auth, Stuart Carlson, Rob Rogers, Pat Bagley, Mike Keefe, David Fitzsimmons, Signe Wilkinson, Tom Toles, R. J. Matson, and Monte Wolverton.

p3 Gold Star and Seat at the Head of the Class: Clay Jones.

p3 Legion of Merit (with Comb-Over): Drew Sheneman.

p3 Recognition of the Right Stuff: Jeff Parker.

p3 Certificate of Massive Harmonic Toon Convergence: Almost everybody.

p3 World Toon Review: Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Paresh (Dubai), Christo Komarnitski (Bulgaria), and Tayo Fatunia (West Africa).


Ann Telnaes asks a not-reasonable question: Where do bin Ladens come from?.


Mark Fiore introduces a new term to the lexicon of anti-terrorism: uptrodden.


Taiwan's Next Media Animation raises a perfectly good point: If America can not put a man on the moon, why can't we not kill Osama bin Laden? I mean, really. Think about it.


According to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.

There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
This could go a long way to explaining why this week's Tom the Dancing Bug story has alternate endings. Or, you know, not.


Managing to offend nearly everyone: Have you seen I Think I Was an Alcoholic, the 1993 animation based on the book by the same name by the pitilessly funny Portland cartoonist John Callahan?


It's not like it was his Fortress of Solitude, but this is a sad story.


Comics Should Be Good brings this somewhat-belated April Fools Day offering by Mad Magazine legend Sergio Aragonés.


Want to know where Marvel superheroes live? There's an app for that.


Tom Tomorrow take a stroll down memory lane: From 2001, wouldn't it be great if America was as good as this? And from 2003, casting the ultimate "buddy movie."


The K Chronicles has an unusual angle on the Commander in Chief. Not precisely on the Topic of the Week, but all the more interesting and unexpected as a result.


Comic Riffs presents 13 eye-catching toon images from the only topic this week.


At Red Meat, Bug-eyed Earl suffers for his art.


The Comic Curmudgeon marks the arrival of a weekly Beetle Bailey tradition.


Portland homeboy Jack Ohman reflects on cosmic justice.


Where would classic animation be without Lizst's Hungarian Rhapsody #2? I had completely forgotten about "Rhapsody in Rivets," a 1941 Oscar-nominated toon by Fritz Freleng. It probably never got much TV replay since it doesn't involve any of the recurring Warner Bros characters. Several of the gags -- including dodging the cloud and slamming the door -- also appeared in a Popeye cartoon in which he builds a skyscraper with his nephews, although I'm not sure which one came first. I'll have to do some research on that. (Meanwhile, for more golden-age toons featuring Hungarian Rhapsody #2, go here.)


(Note to Facebook friends: If you're reading this in FB Notes, you'll need to click View Original Post, below, to see the video.)

p3 Bonus Toon: Talk about making a bad situation worse: What's the only thing worse than not reforming Oregon's ridiculous "kicker" law? Jesse Springer knows.




Test your toon-captioning skills at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.)

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