Ted Rall and Steve Brodner
George W., Land Reformer
By Ted Rall
Posted Monday, Oct. 11, 1999, at 5:41 PM ETDear Steve:
Hey, good illustrations. The one thing that really bummed me about being paired up with you to do this Breakfast Table gig was knowing that you'd effortlessly outdraw my sorry ass, and that's even when you've got a color pallette tied behind your back. Well, at least I have my new, post-Central Asian Diet Plan waistline--lose 36 pounds in 28 days! (really)--to comfort me.
I'm glad you brought up the weirdness of the George Quincy Bush (yes! let's nominate the frat-boy son of a loser do-nothing president!) campaign. On my Los Angeles radio show this past Saturday I did a facetious "Welcome to the Left" bit embracing GWB's new move to the progressive side. I announced that I had it on good authority that he was going to end capitalism, nationalize industry, eliminate pay inequity, and institute forced collectivization, all while playing Billy Bragg's "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward" underneath my monologue. I went too far by reminding voters that Clinton turned out not to be lying about being a New Democrat (i.e., conservative Democrat), so perhaps Bush is telling the truth about really caring about poor people. (Hey, maybe he's rebelling against dad late in life.)
In any event, my lines were jammed with callers seemingly unaware of the joke; several worried aloud that May 4th farms were around the corner from next November. Ah, if only it were true. But the point here remains sound--the two-party system, perhaps the most stupid political structure ever conceived, is dead if you can convince people that Bush is a leftist and Clinton can still pass himself off as a liberal after pushing through NAFTA, GATT, and that rancid welfare-reform bill--not to mention signing countless death warrants as governor of Arkansas. Personally I'm a fan of European-style parliamentary democracy; even fringes of the electorate get represented. But at least with single-party dictatorship, you get efficiency. Two parties give you paralysis, and worse than that, the illusion of choice between two virtually identical wholly owned subsidiaries of corporate America.
As for the Diva (now I'm calling her that!), anyone who worked on that Dukakis campaign is by definition a moron. I walked in, and right out, of his New York HQ when I saw how disorganized they were (nobody was there to answer the phone or unlock the front door), and that was the last time I ever considered participating in allegedly organized party politics.
Very truly,
Ted
George W., Land Reformer
By Ted Rall
Posted Monday, Oct. 11, 1999, at 5:41 PM ETTed Rall is a New York-based political and social-commentary cartoonist and opinion columnist for Universal Press Syndicate and the author of Revenge of the Latchkey Kids (click hereto buy it). Steve Brodner has been a satiric illustrator for 27 years and has contributed caricatures of political and pop figures to a wide variety of publications. The Fraymaster adds:
Some reactions from readers:
Steve asks if the whole hoo-ha over at the Brooklyn museum is about captions... And the answer is, of course it is.
I have yet to see anyone substantially refute Tom Wolfe's theory, back in The Painted Word, that today's art has devolved into being illustrations for the catalog. Take away the catalog, and there's no there there. One or the other of the fellows cited Serrano's Piss Christ--it's the perfect example. I doubt many people have seen it in person--it's a huge 6-foot-by-4-foot (or so) chibachrome--and more than anything else comes across as a modern chiaroscuro photo-mural. It's reverent. Right up until you read the title, and figure out just how Serrano got those gorgeous tawny reds and burnt umbers. But it's only the title--or the catalog--that fills you in.
The whole Virgin Mary thing is much the same--I doubt there's any way to tell just how the image was made, elephant dung or not, except through the catalog. To be sure, I haven't actually seen it (this summer I've been seeing the Van Gogh, Sargent, Ingres, and Diego Rivera exhibitions as I travel), but that's my bet... Though I'll cheerfully defer to a real live witness.
(To reply, click here.)
Dear Ted,
I agree wholeheartedly with you in regards to the death of the comic strip, and glad to see someone else who views the Peanuts as melancholy. As a former illustrator (I know--do not call me bitter just yet) I think that the entire world of illustration is a rotting cadaver. Working now as a web designer I can't help but feel sympathy for my friends who valiantly try to establish careers in this former occupation. Many believe photography has killed the illustrator, and to some extent I agree, but I think the true blame falls upon the state of art education within our country.
Art schools have become a haven for the untalented and unimaginative, upper-middle-class would-be rebels more concerned with looking the part than being. Instructors, often failed artists themselves, so afraid of offending these cash cows offer no realistic criticism or advice. Since "all art is good art," students who would have been laughed out of my 2nd grade arts and crafts class are encouraged to pursue their "style." After graduating art school, it took me 2 years to enjoy drawing again....and I am not alone. Keep up the good work my brother!
(To reply, click here.)
People always feel that to say things like, "theater is dead," or, now, "the comic strip is dead" raises them to the level of philosopher. So, when someone has some silly stuff to say to seemingly back up such an impossible phrase, they get excited and say it all over the place and as loud as they can.
The comic strip isn't dead. New and great cartoonist will come in great forms no one can predict and, therefore, it's amazingly arrogant to predict the death of an art form. The Internet provides all sorts of new room for artists (this includes cartoonists) to work and spread around their wares.
(To reply, click here.)
Hey Ted Rall,
Yeah, your comic strips are great, but you made a big mistake in your blanket dismissal of all the comics in the comics page (save Peanuts). Your glaring omission: Mutts by Patrick McDonnell. This guy can DRAW! His comics are funny, sweet, and compassionate without being treacly--no mean feat. What's more, he takes a strong and unapologetic stand on animal rights, which takes guts in a nation of necrophages.
McDonnell's a genius. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pray with Johnny Hart.
(To reply, click here.)
What do you guys think of Tom Toles? His cartoons single-handedly got me through the Reagan/Bush years.
(To reply, click here.)
I think it's a bit too early to say the comic strip is dead. I think Robotman, Non Sequetor, and Mutts are some of the great comics in the papers, but for the rest I don't bother. It seems true that, in newspapers at least, comics are resorting to simple puns.
However, on the Internet the art of the comic strip is still alive. Some of the best, in my opinion anyway, are Ozy and Millie and Freefall, which are genuinely funny and entertaining. While the newspaper comics may be reverting to single unfunny puns, the Internet may be a place where the art of the comic strip is still living.
(To reply, click here.)
--Michael Brus (10/14)
What did you think of this article?
Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum
PRINT
DISCUSS
E-MAIL
RSS
RECOMMEND...
Facebook
MySpace
Mixx
Digg
Reddit
del.icio.us
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Sphere
StumbleUpon
Happy Birthday, Smokey Bear
Are Gas Grills More Eco-Friendly Than Charcoal Ones?
He-Man: Briefs of Rage and Other Toy-Inspired Movies We're Dying To See
"Skewer of Strange Tastes" and Other Dishes From the Futurist Cookbook
The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti Cordially Invites You to a Fourth of July Cookout
The Week's Best Editorial Cartoons
The Fraymaster adds:
Some reactions from readers:
Steve asks if the whole hoo-ha over at the Brooklyn museum is about captions... And the answer is, of course it is.
I have yet to see anyone substantially refute Tom Wolfe's theory, back in The Painted Word, that today's art has devolved into being illustrations for the catalog. Take away the catalog, and there's no there there. One or the other of the fellows cited Serrano's Piss Christ--it's the perfect example. I doubt many people have seen it in person--it's a huge 6-foot-by-4-foot (or so) chibachrome--and more than anything else comes across as a modern chiaroscuro photo-mural. It's reverent. Right up until you read the title, and figure out just how Serrano got those gorgeous tawny reds and burnt umbers. But it's only the title--or the catalog--that fills you in.
The whole Virgin Mary thing is much the same--I doubt there's any way to tell just how the image was made, elephant dung or not, except through the catalog. To be sure, I haven't actually seen it (this summer I've been seeing the Van Gogh, Sargent, Ingres, and Diego Rivera exhibitions as I travel), but that's my bet... Though I'll cheerfully defer to a real live witness.
(To reply, click here.)
Dear Ted,
I agree wholeheartedly with you in regards to the death of the comic strip, and glad to see someone else who views the Peanuts as melancholy. As a former illustrator (I know--do not call me bitter just yet) I think that the entire world of illustration is a rotting cadaver. Working now as a web designer I can't help but feel sympathy for my friends who valiantly try to establish careers in this former occupation. Many believe photography has killed the illustrator, and to some extent I agree, but I think the true blame falls upon the state of art education within our country.
Art schools have become a haven for the untalented and unimaginative, upper-middle-class would-be rebels more concerned with looking the part than being. Instructors, often failed artists themselves, so afraid of offending these cash cows offer no realistic criticism or advice. Since "all art is good art," students who would have been laughed out of my 2nd grade arts and crafts class are encouraged to pursue their "style." After graduating art school, it took me 2 years to enjoy drawing again....and I am not alone. Keep up the good work my brother!
(To reply, click here.)
People always feel that to say things like, "theater is dead," or, now, "the comic strip is dead" raises them to the level of philosopher. So, when someone has some silly stuff to say to seemingly back up such an impossible phrase, they get excited and say it all over the place and as loud as they can.
The comic strip isn't dead. New and great cartoonist will come in great forms no one can predict and, therefore, it's amazingly arrogant to predict the death of an art form. The Internet provides all sorts of new room for artists (this includes cartoonists) to work and spread around their wares.
(To reply, click here.)
Hey Ted Rall,
Yeah, your comic strips are great, but you made a big mistake in your blanket dismissal of all the comics in the comics page (save Peanuts). Your glaring omission: Mutts by Patrick McDonnell. This guy can DRAW! His comics are funny, sweet, and compassionate without being treacly--no mean feat. What's more, he takes a strong and unapologetic stand on animal rights, which takes guts in a nation of necrophages.
McDonnell's a genius. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pray with Johnny Hart.
(To reply, click here.)
What do you guys think of Tom Toles? His cartoons single-handedly got me through the Reagan/Bush years.
(To reply, click here.)
I think it's a bit too early to say the comic strip is dead. I think Robotman, Non Sequetor, and Mutts are some of the great comics in the papers, but for the rest I don't bother. It seems true that, in newspapers at least, comics are resorting to simple puns.
However, on the Internet the art of the comic strip is still alive. Some of the best, in my opinion anyway, are Ozy and Millie and Freefall, which are genuinely funny and entertaining. While the newspaper comics may be reverting to single unfunny puns, the Internet may be a place where the art of the comic strip is still living.
(To reply, click here.)
--Michael Brus (10/14)