Sunday, October 11, 2015

Sunday morning toons: Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes!

Sorry, Donald Trump, TPP, and Planned Parenthood hearings; you all pretty much got Bigfooted this week by the the other two topics:

Guns: Lots of entries here, although it gets harder and harder to be original on deadline when we're averaging about one mass shooting per day. Still, Darrin Bell managed to be original and productive on dealine, while Tim Eagan captured the Quentin Tarantino side of it all.

Disorder in the House: There was a creepy decapitation theme running through cartoon coverage of the latest example of congressional Republicans' unfitness to govern; of those, Mike Luckovich's was the best, and least creepy. Lisa Benson captured the Wile E. Coyote-ness of it all. And I suppose I'd dispute one part of Matt Davies' otherwise-apt piece: He has his Puritans wrong – the Tea Party didn't do Boenher in; it was the even-fringier Freedom Caucus. (Which actually sounds like the curtain line of the 1933 "King Kong".)

Today's toon selections were determined by the outcome of an air battle at the top of the Empire State Building, 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 cartoon goodness.


p3 Best of Show: Robert Ariail.

p3 Legion of Merit: Steve Sack.

p3 Science Nerd Award: Tom Toles.

p3 Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium: J.D. Crowe, Pat Bagley and Joel Pett.

p3 Certificate of Harmonic Toon Convergence: Stuart Carlson, Kaamran Hafeez, and Tom Toles.

p3 Out On the Weekend Medal: Darrin Bell (Friday) (Saturday) (and it looks like Sunday may have her foot in the door as well)

p3 World Toon Review: Tom Trouw (Netherlands), Patrick Chappatte (Switzerland), Gianfranco Uber (Italy), and Fadi Abou Hassan (Norway).


Ann Telnaes celebrates one of the worst plans in current campaign politics. Talk about a cry for help.

Mark Fiore reveals one of the guiding principles of our great democracy: If it works on a bumper sticker, it's a great way to run a country!


Tom Tomorrow notes that the people love a winner. Until they don't. And remember: If you see a unicorn in the garden, you are a booby and people will try to put you in the booby-hatch. But if you think an invisible hand guides economic markets toward optimal outcomes, you're a University of Chicago economist.

Keith Knight pays tribute to Grace Lee Boggs. No punchline.

Reuben Bolling conducts a thought experiment in which . . . uhm . . . nothing really changes.

Red Meat's Ted Johnson takes us to the fine line between delight and agony. Brace yourself.


The Comic Strip Curmudgeon fears the eventual collapse of the Shoeniverse. Be afraid, but don't bother with your homework.

Comic Strip of the Day doesn't ask the question What's in a name? – he answers it.


P.S. Bring Your Lunch. (What??) Despite the YouTube caption, there's no indication that "Betty Boop's Halloween Party," directed in 1933 by Willard Bowsky (uncredited; in fact, everyone's uncredited in this one, including musical director Sammy Timberg, voice talent Bonnie Poe and – I'm pretty sure, although no source even mentions it – William Pennell as the gorilla) was ever banned. La Boop did get a couple of her cartoons banned, usually after the move to TV syndication, but this wasn't one of the ones. The song "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" – which, inexplicably, never caught on as a Halloween party tradition – was written in 1932 by Robert Hargreaves, Stanley J. Damerell and Tolchard Evans. Speaking of syndication and missing production credits, the UM&M TV Corp (which in 1954 bought the syndication rights to all the Paramount cartoons through October 1950, except Popeye and Superman) removed a short filmed introduction by producer Max Fleisher and substituted its ID card at the beginning of the film. So there you are.



The Value-Sized Oregon Toon Block:

Ex-Oregonian Jack Ohman contemplates the last word.

Possibly Ex-Oregonian Jen Sorensen celebrates the hot new trend sweeping America's public colleges.

Matt Bors uncovers the vaguely James-Bondy side of the Pope's recent visit.

Jesse Springer detects a pattern.



Test your toon captioning kung fu 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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