Today's political cartoonists are our modern version of philosophers. I suspect they're more effective than we'll ever know.
I've long been enamored of political cartoonists in general. There are several who are especially fascinating in their ability to capture deep and complicated emotions/thoughts in well drawn cartoons. I'm often in awe at the genius in these.
Today's political cartoonists are our modern version of philosophers. Two, especially, stand out in all regards: Clay Bennett and Mike Luckovich.
Clay Bennett often surprises me with his deep thinking but the fact that he is also an excellent artist(the best of the political cartoonists, IMNSHO) makes him a no-brainer for #1 in all categories.
IMNSHO, Mike Luckovich fits approximately the same category but comes in several steps behind Bennett because of the difference in art work, cartoonist vs. artist.
Rob Rogers deserves at least a mention because he often does a great job of hitting the nail square on the head and his art work is decent. Rob has paid a higher price for his integrity than most: he was fired from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in mid-June 2018 (after 23 years!!) for his cartoons that were critical of Donald Trump. See Rob Rogers, cartoonist — Wikipedia
Here’s his website and it’s well worth your clicks (check out his latest): Rob Rogers.com
Tom Toles, too, often hits the political nail squarely on the head but his art leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve seldom made it a point to look for Toles (as opposed to my feeling of affection and respect for Bennett and viewing his every offering).
Clay Bennett draws for the Chattanooga Times Free Press newspaper and I'm often surprised at that location. I suspect it's a safe assumption that he's had death threats and I give big kudos to the AJC for not bowing to mob mentality and firing him. Incidentally, Bennett is a nominated finalist for The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning seven times; Bennett won the Prize in 2002. The full list of awards he's won is quite long. Wikipedia has a decent write-up on him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Bennett_(cartoonist). Talk about leaving a legacy!
Here are a few examples (I won’t upload these because I don’t own the rights to them):
Bennett, 9/02/2020 (mask v. tinfoil hat– fabulous art work of Trump, etc.)
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2020/09/02
Bennett, 8/21/2020 Life preserver
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2020/08/21
Bennett, 8/15/20 fabulous portrayal of Trump
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2020/08/15
Bennett, 8/11/2020 PPE including mail-in ballot
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2020/08/11
Bennett, 7/14/2020 Uncle Sam with burst thermometer
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett/2020/07/14
Mike Luckovich draws for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Luckovich
Samples of his work:
Luckovich, 8/30/2020 Titanic
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2020/08/30
Luckovich, 8/27/2020 the CDC
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2020/08/27
Luckovich, 12/03/2019 This one provoked a lot of controversy
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2019/12/03
Luckovich, 11/24/2019 Putin leads the GOP choir
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2019/11/24
Luckovich, 11/17/2019 You'll love this one, the 1% vs. 99% and Elizabeth Warren
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich/2019/11/17
I could easily go on and on about these two people who probably have more readers – and effect on readers – than many of the best known pundits.
Bookmark them for sanity breaks (they tend to publish every two days but sometimes more often):
https://www.gocomics.com/claybennett
https://www.gocomics.com/mikeluckovich
