Sunday, April 5, 2015

Sunday morning toons: The greatest battle, the greatest juggling act

It's not American Republicans versus Iran. It's the Chamber of Commerce paymasters of the Republican Party versus the Tea Party/Neocon/Theocratic base of the Republican Party. Ask Indiana Governor Mike Pence. If he'll answer the phone.

I'm working on this during the NCAA men's basketbal semifinals (although there is local pressure to switch to the Blazers game), and I have to be honest: I was hoping for some kind of live-TV moment that would embarrass Pence, but so far that's not happening. Ah well. Anyone who watches the Final Four (by the way, it's the first week in April – why do we still call it March Madness?) and isn't prepared for the possibility of disappointment has never watched it before.

Today's toons were selected after considerable retooling from the Indiana legislature from the week's offerings at McClatchy DC, Cartoon Movement, Go Comics, Politico's Cartoon Gallery, Daryl Cagle's Political Cartoons, About.com, and other fine sources of toony goodness.


p3 Best of Show: Jim Morin.

p3 Legion of Merit: Tom Toles.

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium (Tie): Clay Bennett and Clay Jones.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence (Part 1): Matt Wuerker and Jeff Danziger.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence (Part 2): Mike Luckovich and Signe Wilkinson.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence (Part 3): Tjeerd Royaarrds and Steve Kelley.

p3 World Toon Review: Wolfgang Ammer (Austria), Paul Zanetti (Australia), and Eray Ozbek (Turkey).


Ann Telnaes nicely captures the GOP juggling act. (By the way, as any juggler will assure you, this guy's doing the standard three-ball in the toughest way: The more common figure-eight pattern looks harder but is easier; the circular pattern this guy's using looks easier but is much harder. And don't even get me started on Chris Bliss! Oops – too late.)


Mark Fiore notes a coincidence.


Tom Tomorrow analyzes Ted Cruz's plan. And stuff.


Keith Knight salutes Indiana's commitment to the people.


Tom the Dancing Bug sympathizeswith the plight of Cafeteria Christians.


Red Meat's Mister Wally considers the intersection of freedom and context.


The Comic Strip Curmudgeon watches as Hi and Lois takes a "Ransom of Red Chief" turn.


Comic Strip of the Day frets about – no, wrong word – laments the Disneyfication of the world. And yet finds hope.


Well, no harm in borrowing a little gas: And there you have the plot of "Well Oiled," directed in 1947 by Dick Lundy from a story by Ben Hardaway and Milt Shaffer, Uncredited: Portland's own Mel Blanc as Woody's laugh (only!), Ben Hardaway as Woody, and Jack Mather as Wally Walrus. Watch "Well Oiled" at DailyMotion.




The Big, And Getting Bigger Since We Welcomed Back The Departed, Oregon Toon Block:

Ex-Oregonian Jack Ohman does the best Indiana/bracketology mashup.

Very Likely Ex-Oregonian Jen Sorensen looks at adaptation, Southern style.

Matt Bors notes that the forces of evil came so close to victory!

Jesse Springer finds it oddto say the least – that Oregon Republicans don't think enough money is being budgeted for schools. For non-Oregonians, the punch line is that the OR GOP, which oversaw the dismantling of Oregon's once-envied public education system beginning with the passage of property tax-cutting Measure 5 in 1990, now suddenly cares about the students. Although not the teachers. Definitely not the teachers. And if they could get the state's idiotic "kicker" fund back into the general fund, that'd free up more tax cuts for their patrons.






Test your toon captioning magic at The New Yorker's weekly caption-the-cartoon contest. (Rules here.) And you can browse The New Yorker's cartoon gallery here.

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