The blurry line between creator and journalist
How Nazanin Nour is helping redefine journalism
How Nazanin Nour is helping redefine journalism
Gene Park, who recently interviewed Frank Miller, seems to be filling some of the rolls that Michael Cavna and David Betancourt did. I'm glad he stayed with the paper.
Donald E. Graham, Washington
Von Drehle praised Oliphant’s willingness to criticize his targets harshly. I grew up reading Herblock when only he and a handful of writers took aim at Sen. Joseph McCarthy, a vicious, dangerous target who was willing to hit back at Herb and at the paper that printed him. Herb was a pinko to McCarthy, and the Wisconsin Republican charged that his cartoons were aimed at secret communists within the government (these remain secret to this day). Herb’s cartoons led Vice President Richard M. Nixon to cancel his subscription to The Post — more than once! And Herb did not let up.
Day after day, brilliant drawing after brilliant drawing, Herblock left his contemporaries far behind. We who read The Post were lucky to know him.
The writer is a former publisher, chairman and CEO of The Post.
There are practical problems with restricting minors’ access to social media platforms. But there is also a historical parallel worth considering.
In 1950s America, comic books became the focus of a national moral panic. Critics claimed they were corrupting children, promoting violence and fueling juvenile delinquency. Political pressure eventually produced the Comics Code Authority, a censorship regime that revealed far more about adult anxieties than about comic books.
Social media risks becoming the latest scapegoat.
This is not to deny the dangers of algorithm-driven platforms, especially for adolescents. Artificial intelligence increasingly powers recommendation systems designed to capture attention. But banning teenagers from social media will not prepare them for a future in which digital systems influence nearly every aspect of life.
History suggests that societies rarely resolve cultural anxiety simply by prohibiting the dominant medium of a generation. Rather than trying to shield young people from digital reality, democratic societies should focus on teaching them how to navigate it responsibly.
Art directors at The Washington Post commissioned work in 2025 from dozens of artists, who illustrated a variety of topics, including politics, climate, lifestyle and more. The following showcase represents freelance artists from around the world, along with a selection of original artwork created by our own staff. For additional context, check out the previously published stories in which the illustrations originally appeared in print and online.
While shifting from the political right to the left, he skewered politicians including Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham and President Donald Trump.
As I’ve previously proffered, there seems to be some form of comic collaboration occurring on the pages of The Post. On May 8, four strips featured takeout food, and two of them specifically mentioned pizza. Granted, Dagwood in “Blondie” is obsessed with eating the most unhealthy, gargantuan sandwiches almost every day. How does he stay so slim?
Eric Greene, Annapolis

Wait. Was it a joke within a joke?
I scanned the QR code embedded in the May 18 “Doonesbury” that was supposed to take me to a list of MAGA’s banned words. Imagine my dismay when I got a dreaded 404 error message saying the site had “disappeared.” That message suggests that the site once existed and Garry Trudeau didn’t make the whole thing up. So how scary is that? Should we be worried Trudeau might meet that same fate? Should we worry that he might be renditioned to some black-hole prison somewhere? How worried should we be about Stephen Colbert, Dana Milbank and others who use their words and wit to skewer President Donald Trump and his minions? How worried should I be if The Post publishes this note? What a sorry state we’re in!
Janet Keefer, Pittsboro, North Carolina
Note from the prankster “Doonesbury” editors: The 404 error page is intentional! “The banned word list is banned!”
“WuMo” MustGo! It’s not funny or clever, as hard as Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler try. You’re wasting The Post’s (and readers’) money on them. I don’t have a replacement to suggest, but there must be other cartoon creators that are worth reading.
Lewis Gollub, Bethesda
I request that you remove “Heart of the City” from your comics lineup. The characters are confusing. The content is unintelligible. It’s a waste of valuable space when there are probably hundreds of aspiring cartoonists who are more creative.
Pam Williams, Spokane
In her May 17 Free for All letter, “It’s unfunny because it’s true,” Anne Schwartz suggested that The Post consider eliminating “Prickly City.” It is the best political cartoon in the paper. Scott Stantis has stayed neutral, using his strip to point out inconsistencies and problems in the Biden administration and now highlighting illegal actions taken by the Trump administration. Comic strips are not necessarily funny. “Prickly City” rightly provides a warning to citizens to pay attention to what’s happening in this country. If anything, please move this strip to Page A2.
Janet Burt, Fairfax
The “Beetle Bailey” cartoon glorifies bullying and physical abuse; The Post needs to eliminate it from the comics pages. Multiple members of my family have served in the U.S. military, and I find the cartoon’s depictions of military service offensive.
Catherine Nellist, Rockville
I always appreciate the concisely rendered messages of Joe Heller’s and Clay Bennett’s editorial cartoons. And I’m always laughing at my favorite comics: “Prickly City,” “Non Sequitur,” “Baby Blues,” “Lio,” “Pickles” and “Red and Rover,” and saving my favorite, “Pearls Before Swine,” to read last. But I am also looking at the half-page dedicated to Edith Pritchett’s cartoons. Please stop squandering precious space and subscribers’ money (both of which are at grave risk now) on the Pritchett void.
Jane Margaret Dow, Arlington
I am not easily moved to tears, but Harry Bliss’s May 4 Book World article, “Loving my dog Penny meant digging her grave,” sure did the trick. My husband, Eduardo, and I share our lives with our two amazing Pomeranians, Dolce and Gabbana, who will be 10 this month. I cannot fathom the day either of them leaves us. However, as with many other important issues you touch on in marriage, this has been discussed, albeit with difficulty.
Even though his piece was hard to read, we fully agree with Bliss that the generosity and love our dogs give us unconditionally, at all times, is profound, “and profound things need to be written about.” We’ve discovered that we often find our humanity by interacting with these soulful creatures. No matter how many more years Dolce and Gabbana have left to grace us with their company, we can’t be thankful enough.
Carlos Navarro, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
I don't usually pay attention to the real estate section, having committed myself to a small house over 30 years ago, but I paged through today's Spring Home Buying Guide, and much to my surprise, found a cartoonist.
Let's not be mean-spirited and hurtful.
Barbara Wilson, Bethesda
Well, Edith Pritchett has done it again. Her March 29 editorial cartoon, "Your 23andMe results are here," was mean-spirited and hurtful. We all know people who have faced some of the very situations she makes fun of, and I can imagine how they might feel if they saw this cartoon.
The Post may have lost (aka gotten rid of) most of its political cartoonists, but the daily strips are starting to make up for that.
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