A Cartoon in a Cartoon Graveyard
Clare De Cleene, Wiley Miller
Washington Post July 22 2023: A15
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/21/art-theater-show-audience/
Ellis Rosen's June 26 editorial cartoon was captioned "The cartoonist has no idea what the inside of a car looks like." He also has no idea what an editorial cartoon looks like. And it seems The Post doesn't either.
The Post has a national reputation. What in the world has happened to the editorial cartoons? They used to be clever, pithy, creative and political. Now, they are mundane.
Clare De Cleene, Derwood
Paul Conrad, one of the giants in the history of editorial cartooning, had a very simple approach to his work. After sketching out the idea for an editorial cartoon, he would sit back, look at it and ask himself, "what's the point?" If he couldn't come up with an answer, he tossed it and moved on to another topic that would voice an opinion. After all, the operative word in this art form is "editorial," which is why it precedes "cartoon."
Sadly, this very simple and basic premise is apparently lost now in The Post. The selected cartoons that have appeared over past month or so are just that, cartoons; they have no point other than to be silly and fun. What makes this even more egregious is that The Post has one of the premier editorial cartoonists in the country on staff, Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the latest recipient of the prestigious Herblock Prize for her outstanding and biting work. Yet we rarely see her powerful editorial cartoons printed in The Post, which is a disservice to the readers of the editorial page.
Please stop with gag cartoons that are suited for the New Yorker and run more Telnaes editorial cartoons, which always have a point.
Wiley Miller, Jefferson, Md.
The writer is the creator of the syndicated comic strip "Non Sequitur" and former staff editorial cartoonist for the San Francisco Examiner.
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