Editorial Cartoons by Daniel Nott

EDITORIAL CARTOONS

Honors Project by Daniel Nott

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Contents

I. Notes & Illustrations II. Sketchbook & Cartoon Ideas III. Final & Revised Cartoons IV. Thesis & Bibliography Introduction..................................................1 1. Dissecting the Visual Language of the Cartoon...............................................2 2. Reading Cartoons in Context.....................11 3. Reflection.....................................................21 4. Annotated Bibliography.............................32

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Revised Cartoons 2008 - 2011

y & h p s i a s r e g o i Th l . b i V I B The Layered Language of Editorial Cartoons: The Theory, History and Practice of a Uniquely Visual Language

Introduction..................................................1 1. Dissecting the Visual Language of the Cartoon...............................................2 2. Reading Cartoons in Context.....................11 3. Reflection.....................................................21 4. Annotated Bibliography.............................32

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Introduction Over the past 50 years, people all over the world have contributed to the creation of a vast new infrastructure for information and content distribution that has turned all industries previously involved upside down. Those responsible for the publishing and distribution of movies, books, and music have struggled to adapt not only to the ease and convenience of free content sharing through the Internet, but also to the way that the Internet is rewiring our minds to favor content that is quickly and freely consumed and digested. Journalism has received a great deal of attention throughout this transformation, as centuries-old news institutions across the country have been broken down and thrown into cyberspace to compete with a new community of bloggers and news aggregations. With the thunderous collapse of the print journalism industry, few have noted the more quiet demise of an obscure worker within the trade: the political cartoonist, who had once relied on the editorial pages of the ubiquitous local and national newspapers to carry his or her work. With less than 90 full time editorial cartoonists working on the staff of major newspapers today, it is not surprising that the trade does not get much attention and is often misunderstood as merely a visual supplement to editorial and news content. Editorial and political cartoonists do not just draw pictures; they use a complex visual language of icons and symbols to construct meaning. The use of a unique visual linguistics enables political cartoonists to pile layer upon layer of meaning into their work, and to do so within a condensed package that is—unlike quality journalism—perfectly suited to new media consumption. It seems that now is a better time than ever to ask questions of this strange hybrid language and its creators: What tools does the editorial cartoonist use to create messages? Where did the tradition come from, and where is the medium going? The first part of this paper will be devoted to outlining a theoretical framework for understanding how the messages in political cartoons are constructed. This includes the way icons and symbols are arranged with metaphors to create messages, as well as the way that the visual style of the artist contributes to meaning. The second part of the paper is devoted to using this framework to

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analyze the messages in a selection of cartoons within their historical context, with the intention of showing the effectiveness of cartoons in practice rather than theory. In the third part, I will reflect on the contemporary environment that political cartoonists operate in and how I accessed their “conversation.” Additionally, I will describe the development of my own process and use the framework developed in part one to explain the way I used the visual language of cartoons to convey my own messages.

Part 1: Dissecting the Visual Language of the Cartoon Terminology: Cartoons, Comics, and Graphic Novels The first step in understanding the editorial and political cartoon is to distinguish it from other similar genres. Scott McCloud, in his illustrated analysis Understanding Comics, describes cartooning broadly as a form of “amplification through simplification” (30). If this understanding is qualified with illustration, then it works as a manageable, but still expansive definition. A cartoon is an illustration that uses simplification to amplify a message. Linus Abraham reaches a similar conclusion, when he claims, with a somewhat more limited scope, that the intention of cartoons is to “condense and reduce complex issues into a single, memorable image often pregnant with deeply embedded meanings” (121). While cartoons can combine words with its images, many rely solely on the visual vocabulary of icons and symbols for the creation of meaning. Abraham’s single-image definition of cartoons is limited, as it does not contain the possibility for a comic to be a cartoon. A comic is a unique form of art that uses multiple, sequential images, often within panels, to communicate to readers. Comics as a genre are unique because its reliance on closure—or the phenomenon of observing the parts but perceiving the whole—requires the reader to engage actively with the content to fill in the material between the frames (McCloud 63). Additionally, comics are often—but not always—text-driven, which provides a different mode of message transmission than image-driven cartoons. Graphic novels, which lie outside the scope of this paper, develop stories through use of the language practiced by comics in a cohesive, literary

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format that simultaneously offers a range of visual possibilities not available to traditional novels.

Sources of Cartoon Content The political cartoon is a subset of the editorial cartoon, and depending on how expansive one’s definition of politics is, they can often be used synonymously. However, for the purposes of classification, the editorial cartoon will be defined as working with the broadest aspects of human interaction, political and social. For the political cartoon, which is the focus of this paper, I will use and expand upon the classification system created by Martin Medhurst and Michael DeSousa (1981). In their work Political Cartoons as Rhetorical Form: A Taxonomy of Graphic Discourse, the authors describe political cartoons as coming primarily from four topoi: Political commonplaces, literary and cultural allusions, popular perceptions of personal character, and idiosyncratic and transient situations. 1. Political Commonplaces Political Commonplaces are the broad topics inherently available in the nation state system, such as the political and electoral process, and domestic and international affairs. Most political cartoons draw from some aspect of the political commonplace to convey their message. 2. Literary and Cultural Allusions Literary and Cultural Allusions are the themes and references drawn from popular legend, literature and culture. These references can add multiple layers to a cartoon’s meaning, but require the audience to be familiar with the cartoon’s context. These inspirations can come from a broad range of content, from Shakespearean themes and Roman mythology, to popular culture references. Joan L. Conners notes that over a quarter of the cartoons she surveyed contained cultural allusions, and that many cartoonists use popular contemporary topics as a method to help their audience relate to and engage with complex political issues (264). 3. Popular Perception of Personal Character Popular perception of personal character is when a cartoonist takes the perceived personality traits of a politician or public figure and renders them visually in a way that adds layers of meaning

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to the reading of the subject, often through caricature. The way that artists use amplification and exaggeration to engage with popular perception of personal character will be discussed later in the section devoted to an artist’s use of visual rhetorical style. 4. Idiosyncratic and Transient Situations Idiosyncratic and Transient Situations include the events that occur unexpectedly, and therefore have an “immediate impact and timely message” but little salience to those unfamiliar with the context (Medhurst and DeSousa 202). Cartoonist who draw five to seven cartoons a week often base their messages around these events—such as candidate gaffes and current events—to give their audience content that is relevant to the current news and national discourse.

Forms of Rhetorical Disposition Medhurst and DeSousa discuss how the editorial cartoonist uses three different elemental means of rhetorical disposition and arrangement (205). This can also be described as how the cartoonist fundamentally frames his or her persuasive argument, and their choice has crucial implications for how the audience will interpret the message. A cartoonist may establish a metaphor by means of contrast, which invites individual reflection and consideration, by means of commentary, which describes a situation as it unfolds, or by means of contradiction, which will lead the audience directly to the artist’s perspective. Cartoonists use contrast to create tension between forms and ideas, and the viewer’s attempt to reconcile the two competing forms is one of the processes that makes cartoons so engaging. Artists achieve this in multiple ways. They may juxtapose two images—a wealthy, fat man and a poor, skinny man, for example. Artists may also create contrast between an image and text, between two verbal texts, or between the reader’s expectation and the artist’s final rendering. Commentary is used by cartoonists to affirm a reader’s perception without providing the “clash or tension from which this truth evolved” (206). Medhurst and DeSousa give the example of a political cartoonist, who, at the end of a political campaign, depicts tired runners approaching the victory tape. This image does not “force a clash of ideas, but safely implies or reflects a cultural

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political truism” (207). The third method of rhetorical arrangement is contradiction, which invites the audience to share in the artist’s condemnation. This may involve an image of a politician doing one thing and saying another at the same time. While contrast invites the audience to consider the range of issues that arise between two opposing forms, contradiction explicitly leads the audience to how that tension should be interpreted, often highlighting hypocrisy. Simply stated, all contradictions are contrasts, whereas not all contrasts are contradictions.

Icons, Symbols and Metaphors in Visual Meaning Making Cartoons are intended to condense complex issues and arguments into a small, often single frame, and because of this, artists use images that are layered with meaning. McCloud explains that the images in comics are almost all icons, which he defines broadly as “any image used to represent a person, place, thing or idea” (27). He breaks icons down into symbols, images used to represent concepts, ideas and philosophies, icons of language, science, and communication, such as numbers, mathematical signs, and punctuation, and pictures, which are images designed to resemble their subjects. By omitting detail and simplifying pictures to be more iconic—which is at the heart of the cartoon—the artist causes readers to engage with the image, often filling in the vacuum with their own “identity and awareness” (36). Abraham outlines a semiotic system—one based on the study of signs—to understand how cartoons effectively convey meaning and orient social issues. He identifies three signs integral to the communication of messages: icons, indexes and symbols. He defines icons more narrowly, as a “sign that resembles its object,” which is particularly useful for descriptive communication but not as much for the expression of abstract concepts that are crucial to conveying meaning (130). An index is sign that has a “direct existential, casual or physical connection the object or event to which it refers.” For example, a sneeze is an index of a head cold (131). The symbol has little connection with its object other than what is conventionally agreed upon by the audience. The American flag is a symbol of the United States not because it resembles or describes it, but because the viewer

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universally recognizes it as embodying the concept of the country. The abstract nature of symbols allows them to contribute to the analytical communication that is crucial to effective cartoons. Still, the semiotic approach, which has its basis in linguistics, has its limitations in the study of cartoons. Karin Kukkonen notes that the approach of categorizing the sign system uncovers only the most basic meanings, while ignoring the complexities that go beyond language (91). She posits that the literary trope of metaphor, which “transfers meaning from one conceptual domain to another” and metonymy, “which renames one thing with a name from the same conceptual domain” are two tools used by cartoonists to convey meaning (90). The example of using a crown to represent a monarch is metonymic operation because the two forms operate within the same conceptual frame, while placing the crown on a lion causes us to map the conventionalized qualities of a lion onto the monarch, oscillating between the two conceptual frames until they merge in a metaphoric operation. While metaphor and metonymy are common in our every day language, they are effective tools for analyzing how cartoonists make meaning with images. Medhurst and DeSousa discuss the use of root metaphors to explain the way in which cartoonists’ structure thought and evoke memory to frame their message at a fundamental level. An example of a root metaphor on the political process is the completion of the phrase “Presidential politics is…” This can take on any number of forms, commonly including: “Politics is a battle, a race, a gamble, a media event, a circus, a beauty contest” (222). Root metaphors are effective for conveying meaning because they mimic how humans perceive and create reality. Lakoff describes root metaphors as frames that each have their own roles, settings and hierarchies (Lakoff 1). Relating these components of frames back to root metaphors, the metaphor “Politics as a battle,” for example, will invoke a number of associated frames—warriors, weapons, methods of attack, an arena— that can be employed as images. These frames channel cultural memories “along specific paths and become links in the enthymematic chain of interpretation” and help “set the boundaries and limits within which the reader is invited to unpack the multiple layers of culture and remember their meaning” (Medhurst, DeSousa 222). The use of root metaphors allows cartoonists to pack their creation with already-conventionalized meanings, creating many layers of meaning in the limited space afforded

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by the image’s panel.

Visual Rhetorical Style While decisions made in the arrangement of the argument and use of symbols applies broadly to communication, an artist’s visual style can greatly affect how the cartoon is read, and provides the true uniqueness of cartoons as a form of visual communication. An artist’s style can add layers of meaning, based on the “idea that a picture can evoke an emotional or sensual response in the viewer” (McCloud 121). The stylistic choices that an artist makes affect how we interpret the mood of an image, often at an unconscious, instantaneous level. For this reason, the objective analysis of artist’s style is difficult, and the subjective nature of the image and its components must be appreciated. Medhurst and DeSousa break down the stylistic elements used by cartoonists as the use of line and form, relative size of objects within a frame, exaggeration and amplification, placement within the frame, relationship between text and image, and visual montage. 1. Use of Line and Form McCloud invites us to consider whether, at their fundamental level, all lines “carry with them expressive potential” (McCloud 126). The way line is used may create realistic, powerful images, or simplified and humorous iconic images. A cartoonist’s choice of medium and how it is rendered will dictate a specific reading of the image. An image rendered in dark, expressive charcoal lines will set an entirely different mood than a colorful computer-rendered image. Artists’ ability to find cohesive styles that consistently match and add to the mood of their message is the hallmark of a developed cartoonist. 2. Relative Size of Objects Within a Frame By manipulating the size of forms within the panel, a cartoonist is working with the “grammar of cartooning” (Medhurst, DeSousa 213). Size differences can be used to create stark, obvious contrasts between forms that create meaning on a metaphorical level—such as a politician in a chair that is clearly too large for their body. It could also be used to compare forms within the

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frame—two individuals of the same size will be immediately recognized, albeit often thoughtlessly, as being on an equal plane. As Medhurst and DeSousa note, “within the frame, size embodies value statements, and values invite judgments” (214). 3. Exaggeration & Amplification At the heart of caricature is the exaggeration of features in a way that amplifies both their physical and personality characteristics. According to Chris Lamb, caricature requires two artistic impulses: to observe reality objectively and to transform it subjectively (49). Caricature, in essence, should capture the style of an individual, and the rhetoric of the political cartoon should link the two so that it is “difficult to separate the person from the myth” (Medhurst, DeSousa 216). It has been suggested from a cognitive psychology perspective that this unique form of distortion might be more effective than a normal picture not only in capturing the character of individuals, but also in depicting appearances as well, because the exaggerated features set the individuals apart from everyone else (Rhodes 18). Another reason that caricature is so powerful is because, like varying the size of forms within a frame, exaggeration invites value judgments. However, the viewers reception of the cartoon relies on their subjective interpretation of the context and imagery and their predisposition and knowledge (Medhurst, DeSousa 214). Caricature involves a fine line between exaggeration and ethnic stereotyping—highlighting lips in African Americans or noses in Jews can be misinterpreted as racist and offensive. Just as political cartoonists need to be sensitive of the fine line that exists between their caricature and what a viewer might perceive as prejudice, so readers and editors should be sympathetic to the role of the editorial cartoon and the equally fine line between political correctness and censure. 4. Placement Within the Frame The placement of forms within the standard cartoon frame may also indicate the attitude or value judgment of the editorial cartoonist (Medhurst, DeSousa 216). For example, placing one figure above another is a method of indicating superiority or transcendence in the language of visual rhetoric, just as forms in the foreground of an image will take precedence over forms relegated to the background. The placement of forms within the frame is also important for the effective reading

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of the intended message, and cartoonists assume that the audience will read from the top left to the bottom right of a page or frame. Understanding how a reader’s eyes will move over the page is particularly important with verbal text—such as exist in speech bubbles—because the sequence of a conversation is crucial to understanding the message. 5. Relationship Between Text and Image One of the most distinctive features of the form of cartooning and comics is the pairing of words and images in a single frame, where the two mediums work together to create a new, unique message. McCloud notes, “at its best, words and pictures are like partners in a dance, and each one takes turns leading” (McCloud 156). McCloud breaks down the ways in which this “dance” takes place, and the dynamics involved in communicating using two mediums for message transmission (153). Cartoons that are word specific and picture specific use either words or pictures as the main method of communication, with the other simply illustrating or adding a soundtrack to the primary method of transmission. Duo-specific involves words and images that essentially send the same message with the purpose of complimenting the other. An additive combination occurs whenever “words amplify or elaborate on an image, or vice versa,” which is similar to the previous dynamic (154). Parallel combinations involve words and images that follow seemingly different courses without intersection, and engage the readers by causing them to ponder the connection between the two. A montage combination is where the words are considered an integral form or part within the composition. The most significant dynamic is interdependent, where words and images work together to “convey an idea that neither could convey alone” (155). Medhurst and DeSousa elaborate on the relationship between text and images as a form of rhetorical style, noting that in the medium of editorial and political cartoons, text is either used as verbal text attributed to actors within the cartoon by speech bubble or other devices, or as labels to help explain the visual message (217). Regardless of whether text is used as a verbal text or as a label, there are three ways in which the image-text dynamic can contribute to the message: commentary, explanation and revelation. Commentary involves the artist’s narration or comment

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on the content. Using text to provide explanation serves to unpack meaning layered into the content of the cartoon. Revelation is used when the artist uses the text’s relationship with the image to disclose some previously unknown “truth” about the subject. 6. Visual Montage The sixth graphical tool used by cartoonists is the inherent combining of the previous components of visual rhetoric—“the way that meanings form from the whole of the rhetorical and aesthetic artifact” (Medhust, DeSousa 218). The full meaning of the cartoon is the result of clashes and tensions contained in each of these visual elements. Most of these aspects of rhetorical style are combined at a unconscious level, and if the viewers are not aware of the many layers in the visual presentation of the cartoon’s argument, then they will likely miss out on parts of the message. For this reason, artists that can most effectively use each of these tools of visual rhetorical style are more likely to have their ultimate message interpreted correctly.

The Framework In the study of the editorial cartoon, scholars haven taken different and sometimes divergent approaches to making sense of how images are used to create layers of meaning. For the purposes of this paper I will use Abraham’s definition of icons as signs that resemble their object, and symbols as signs that represent more abstract concepts. Within the definition of icons, I will pay attention to McCloud’s assertion that icons exist on a continuum with different levels of realistic or iconic content, and that each will frame the message with a different mood. Heavily iconic content can engage viewers by causing them to fill in the vacuum of detail with their identity and awareness. Icons and symbols can then be used to create further meaning by activating different conceptual domains through metaphoric and metonymic operations, and they can be set within a larger stage framed by the root metaphor of the cartoon. The editorial cartoonist draws inspiration from four tropes: political commonplaces, literary and cultural allusions, popular perceptions of personal character, and idiosyncratic and transient situations. To make this argument, editorial cartoonists fill their composition with symbols and icons

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to layer meaning and engage the reader. These forms can engage in metaphoric and metonymic operations within the constraints of the root metaphor to convey the artist’s message. Cartoonists arrange their rhetorical forms to provide a message of contrast, commentary, or contradiction and use rhetorical style, including the use of line and form, relative size of objects within a frame, exaggeration and amplification, placement within the frame, relationship between text and image, and visual montage to contribute to the presentation of their message. On top of this intricate structure, one must acknowledge that the field of visual communication is broad and artists often use techniques and tools outside the parameters of this framework. Taken together, it is clear that the form of editorial cartooning is as complex as any method of communication. As Medhurst and DeSousa note, “It is precisely this graphic complexity which helps to explain the disparity between the cartoonists persuasive intention and the eventual interpretation of the cartoon by readers” (219). However, the complexity of the form allows for remarkable amounts of meaning to be layered into a single frame, creating a product that instantaneously engages and challenges the reader to comprehend and “un-riddle” the full extent of the message.

Part II: Reading Cartoons in Context Understanding the meaning-making and visual tools that a cartoonist uses is crucial for dissecting the most out of a political cartoon, but to truly understand the power of the form, these cartoons must be looked at within their historical context. From Benjamin Franklin’s “Join, or Die” cartoon to modern cartoonists making the transition to a digital environment, political cartoonists have used these tools of meaning-making and visual style to convey complex messages about their contemporary political environment. American political cartooning appropriately began when Benjamin Franklin, one of its founders, penned his famous “Join, or Die” image as a call for unity among the colonies in 1754 (Press 29). It was first used at the outbreak of the French-Indian War and then reappeared in 1765 at the time of the Stamp Act, and again in 1776 when the colonies revolted (Hoff 31). The image was poorly reproduced because American printers relied on discarded British equipment, one of

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the reasons for the slow development of the medium in America (Lamb 62). The inspiration for Franklin’s cartoon came from the political commonplaces on the topic of the defense of the nation. The visual style of the image is simplistic, likely due to printing technology constraints, which has the effect of placing the entire message within the use of metaphor and text. The image uses the root metaphor of nation as animal, with each section of the snake as a metaphor for the colonies, labeled with their initials. The bottom quarter of the frame is devoted to the text “JOIN, or DIE” creating a powerful contrast between the two options. The relationship between the text and image is interdependent, as the image of the separate states signifies what must join, yet without the text the image itself would not convey a call for unification. The cartoon’s power is derived from this powerful text and from reframing the territories, which people may have considered individual colonies, as interdependent parts of a whole body. While the cartoon was used repeatedly and considered a symbol of the revolution, it has certain flaws. While the snake was used as an early symbol of the nation, it fell into disuse because of its connotations (Press 209). While the animal provided a convenient form to portray an easily divided string of colonies—a chopped up eagle would hardly have the same effect—a snake as a venomous reptile with biblical connotations was not suitable for the symbol of a nation. Additionally, by showing the snake as already severed, one cannot help but recognize the futility of uniting separate parts of a dead animal. This being said, the cartoon can be received most effectively as a warning for what might happen should each of the colonies choose not to join. While Franklin may have been the first American to use cartoons as an effective method of communication, it was Thomas Nast who was the true founder of American political cartooning.

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He established many of the graphic symbols cartoonists rely on today, including Uncle Sam, the Democratic donkey, Republican elephant, and even our conception of Santa Claus (Hoff 74). Using finely rendered drawings, Nast used his prominent position at Harpers Magazine in the post-Civil War era to espouse the ideals of the Northern Republicans and viciously attack those whom he deemed in violation of his moral code. Nast used his editorial cartoons as a weapon, saying, “I try to hit the enemy between the eyes and knock him down” (Keller 77). The significance of Nast comes not in his message, but in the raw emotional power he harnessed and directed with his images. Following the Civil War, Ulysses Grant, whom Nast helped elect, commented that Nast “did as much as any man to preserve the union and bring the war to its end” (13). Thomas Nast is probably most famous for his impassioned and sustained assault on the political machine of Boss Tweed that ran Tammany Hall and New York City. Over the year of 1870, Nast’s series of cartoons played a large role in the destruction of the Boss’s machine, while raising the circulation of Harpers from 100,000 to 300,000 copies. The embattled Tweed famously commented, “I don’t care what they print about me, most of my constituents can’t read anyway—but they can’t help seeing them damn pictures!” (Keller 4). In his cartoon, “who stole the people’s money,” Nast portrayed the Tweed ring using the full force of the medium. The image combines multiple topoi used for inspiration, including government corruption from the political commonplaces, greed and dishonesty as popular perceptions of his personal character, and the allegations made by the New York Times of theft inside the Tweed ring as inspiration from a transient event. The root metaphor used here is of the Tammany Ring as an actual ring of individuals, around which blame is passed in an infinite, circular manner. Each of the individuals with his backs turned is an icon representing one of the different industries connected with the Boss, while the leaders of the ring are caricatured front and center. Nast uses visual rhetorical style to contribute to his message in more subtle ways. The four individuals he deemed most worthy of attack are drawn with more detail, and with bolder, darker lines than the rest. Their forms are larger than the other individuals, and are placed in the very

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center of the frame to draw focus. Nast makes heavy use of exaggeration and amplification to demonize his opponents, made easier by the fact that Tweed was particularly easy to caricature. Tweed’s three accomplices appear disgruntled and disheveled, while Tweed himself is portrayed as overly corpulent, and arrogantly staring directly at the reader with small beady eyes while he shrugs off blame to the individual to left. Nast uses text as a tool for labeling and for verbal queues. The label “Tammany Ring” runs around the front of the ring to both label the group and cement the connection to the arrangement of the individuals. Labels are also used to indict the faceless members of the ring with their backs turned. At the bottom, the question is posed by the New York Times, “Who stole the people’s money?” to which supposedly each of the members reply, “Twas him.” The interdependent combination of this text and image creates a contradiction, which causes us to adopt the artist’s belief that the members of the Tweed Ring are connected in their corruption.

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that “great editorial cartoons contain basic truths—and are relatively timeless…the individuals portrayed in the cartoon may change, but the themes do not.” He added that “people may not remember Boss Tweed…but they know we’re always going to have the all-around scoundrels that turn up in politics. So when the cartoonist Thomas Nast portrayed Tweed as a sack of money, he captured that type in a way that will always be remembered” (Lamb 45). The ability to produce images which encapsulate a message that transcends time is the hallmark of the best cartoonists. In 1916, Robert Minor commented on the politics of the military by drawing a monstrously large, headless soldier solider, to which an Army medical examiner proclaims, “At last a perfect soldier!” (Hoff 119). In 1950, Herbert Block, or “Herblock,” coined the term McCarthyism, reducing the “vast right-wing conspiracy to a single word,” and turning “McCarthy into a metaphor for the abuses of the Red scare” (Lamb 107). Another cartoonist with the unique ability to construct long-lasting and striking messages through his images was Paul Conrad, whose five-decade long career as a political cartoonist allowed him to attack eleven presidents and win three Pulitzer prizes. Paul Conrad became famous for his attacks on Nixon following the Watergate scandal, but his excellence is perhaps even better demonstrated in his portrayal of complex issues such as President Carter’s attempts to broker peace between the state of Israel and the Arabs. In a 1978 cartoon, Conrad used the political commonplace (relations between Egypt and Israel), a cultural and literary allusion (the Myth of Sisyphus) and a transient situation (the Camp David Accords) to comment on President Carter’s struggle to negotiate peace between the State of Israel and Egypt. Conrad uses the root metaphor as “American diplomacy between Israel and Arabs as endless struggle,” using the actions of an iconic Carter as a metaphor for Sisyphus, and the faces of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as a metaphor

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for a the rock the Sisyphus is eternally obligated to push up the hill. The way that Sadat and Menachem are arranged as facing away from one another in the metaphor is particularly effective because it emphasizes both the leaders’ inability to communicate and their inextricable relationship to one another. The rhetorical style used in Conrad’s cartoon contributes to its effect. Conrad uses line in a realistic way to convey a serious mood and vividly portray the caricatures of Begin, Sadat and Carter. The use of long erratic lines on the hill also suggests the movement of the trio up the steep terrain. The overwhelming size of the two Middle Eastern leaders as opposed to Carter illustrates not only the daunting size of the task but the lightweight nature of the American president, putting the two forms in tension. This perception of Carter is amplified by Conrad’s exaggeration of his scrawniness. Conrad also uses caricature to render the images of Begin and Sadat, exaggerating physical stereotypes of Arabs and Jews. Taken generally, this image is still effective in our contemporary discourse. While a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel still stands three decades later, the comic comments on more than that. Conrad specifically uses the myth of Sisyphus to comment on each president’s successive attempts to solve problems between the state of Israel and the Arab nations, one that often starts with momentum but ends in frustrating failure or resignation. If we were to replace the President Carter with President Barack Obama, and the faces on the rock with that of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu and President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, it

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would apply to contemporary issues without losing any amount of its brilliance. The universality of this cartoon is derived from its root metaphor and the durability of the issue in the political commonplaces, which allows the specifics of the cartoon to be adjusted while the message remains intact. In addition to single frame images, which have the power of being read instantly, some editorial cartoonists use comics for a different set of distinct advantages. For over forty years, Gary Trudeau has developed a world of symbolic characters that he creates interactions between to comment on contemporary issues. Those who follow the characters know the context associated with the cast of characters, which creates messages deeply layered with meaning. Due to their consistent presence, and Trudeau’s knack for combining character development with commentary on issues, readers can also relate emotionally to the cast of Doonesbury, much as one becomes attached to characters in novels. However, the downside of this method is those that only read the comic occasionally will often not have the contextual knowledge to understand the story past the surface message. On March 30th, 2010, Trudeau uses his longstanding character Zonker Harris to comment on the Tea Party. Zonker’s appearance of long unkempt hair and a Hawaiian shirt suggest that Zonker is a holdover from the hippy movement, an ideology that consistent readers will instantly identify with the iconic character. There is no root metaphor in this cartoon, instead, Trudeau creates meaning through the interaction of his icons, Zonker Harris and the Tea Party activist, and their dialogue. By having Zonker express interest in the Tea Party—presented comically as an American dressed in the icons of colonial hat and a clown nose—Trudeau is commenting provocatively on

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how the populist ideals espoused by the conservative Tea Party are at times compatible with their ideological opponents on the left. Without understanding the context of Zonker Harris and the meaning that his icon carries, the message will not resonate as deeply. Of the forms of rhetorical style, the most important in meaning making here is the relationship between text and image. The relationship in this cartoon can be classified as an additive combination, with the text identifying the scene and driving the message while the images add to the meaning and provide further context. Also important is Trudeau’s signature use of iconic, lighthearted forms, which set a humorous tone and take the sharpness out of the presentation. Cartoonists who want to convey radical messages sometimes use comic forms to mask the severity of their claims. In addition to using a traditional single panel format, cartoonist Ted Rall often uses a comic format to tell stories that require multiple settings or sequential events. In his cartoon on February 10th, 2012, Ted Rall comments indirectly on the Occupy Wall Street movement. The first four panels set up a chain of events involving protesters “working within the system” by politely asking their oppressors, portrayed as CEOs, to stop oppressing them. At first their democratic pleas are ignored, and then suppressed. The fifth panel portrays the subsequent battle and destruction, including the use of drones on protesters without text. The sixth panel shows the same CEO hung from a tree and the protesters noting that their oppressors should have worked “within the system.” Like Doonesbury, Ted Rall’s comics describe a series of events using icons and text as dialogue as opposed to working heavily through symbols and a root metaphor. Unlike Doonesbury, understanding the comic does not have require any contextual knowledge, though a basic understanding of the occupy movement will aid in putting it in contemporary context. Rall comments that the Occupy movement is being perhaps overly peaceful through an exaggeration of their dialogue: “It would be awesome if you were to stop oppressing us.” He contrasts this with an exaggeration of the “oppressors” response: “Let them eat pepper spray.” He opines optimistically that the protesters will ultimately be successful, using the brutal but comic imagery of the “oppressor” hanging from the tree. Rall suggests between the panels that it is the illegal response of

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the “oppressor” that will lead to escalation and their eventual downfall. He does not provide time frames for any of the events that occur, forcing the reader to engage with the panels to imagine the content that occurs in the jumps across time and space. The use of heavily iconic—as opposed to realistic—forms is important because of its lack of specificity. If Rall had depicted the “oppressor” realistically and as a recognizable individual, the comic would be far more offensive and probably outside the realm of publishable opinion. Iconic forms, which the audience will inherently recognize as humorous, blunt the direct emotional impact of the comic, allowing the underlying meaning to convey much more radical message. Other cartoonists have recognized the potential for iconic forms in the more traditional format of single panel editorial cartoons. Clay Bennett, of Chattanooga Time Free Press, draws his images traditionally before rendering the final image using a computer to create a “soft” and humorous feel to his forms.

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In an April 4th cartoon on Mitt Romney and the Republican Party, Clay Bennett uses this style to his advantage. For this cartoon, Bennett draws on the 2012 election in the political commonplace, perceptions of personal character of Mitt Romney, and the transient situation of Romney being unofficially accepted as the nominee. Using the root metaphor of “party-candidate relationship as master-pet dynamics,” Bennett creates a huge contrast between two symbols. As a symbol of the Republican Party, Bennett constructed a figure using a “tough guy” stereotype, informed by boots, a chain, a spiked leather jacket and wristband, earrings, and an American flag bandana. The metaphor is also informed by the figure’s tattoos, a useful device for layering meaning into a metaphor that originated with Joseph Keppler’s depiction of Ulysses S. Grant as a “tattooed man” in 1875 (Makemson 3). Bennett uses the tattooed icons of barbed wire, a skull, the Republican elephant, donuts, a “mom” tattoo, and two crossed revolvers in addition to the figure’s attire to coalesce into a cohesive metaphor for the Republican Party through the process of visual montage. With the first figure, Bennett took the somewhat abstract concept of the Republican Party and personified it. A similar metaphorical device is used with the image of the poodle labeled as

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“Mitt,” which causes us to oscillate between our understanding of a poodle (feminine, pampered, posh) and what the reader knows about the candidate until their similarities converge. The fact that the smiling poodle is “on a short leash” held by the unenthusiastic figure of the Republican Party begs the audience to receive the cartoon as an indictment of Mitt Romney as the Republican Party’s “bitch.” However, the ambiguity of the form means that Bennett, if pressed by a concerned editor or reader, could argue that his intended message was simply that the two are not a good match for each other. Bennett’s use of rhetorical style contributes to the audience’s understanding of his message. As discussed previously, Bennett’s characteristic use of soft, iconic forms softens the force of his provocative message and creates a humorous tone, as opposed to the scathing force that Nast achieved through his hard, realistic forms. The size asymmetry between the two figures creates value judgments and contributes to the contrasting meanings provoked by the “tough guy” and “poodle” metaphors. Text is used only as labels to make the metaphors clearer, allowing the cartoon’s visual metaphors and their expressions to mostly speak for themselves. Despite variations in the format and medium, cartoonists from Thomas Nast to Ted Rall have used similar rhetorical tools to convey visual messages. While most editorial cartoonists use the standard single-frame format to convey messages in a single image, some cartoonists use a comic format, which is more conducive to text-based messages. By reading cartoons in context it is apparent that the style of a cartoonist, particularly their level of realistic versus iconic content plays a large part in how the viewer will interpret the mood of the image. Throughout the history of American political cartoons, artists have found many different devices and styles that can be used to convey different meaning, and this diversity is one of the aspects that makes the form of editorial cartooning so interesting.

Part III: Reflection Over the past four months, I have approached the field of editorial and political cartooning from multiple angles. The first two parts of this paper are the culmination of the research component

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of my Capstone, which was geared toward having an understanding both of medium’s history and how it functions on a fundamental level. However, this curriculum serves means to an end, that is, improving my ability as an editorial cartoonist, and it was completed in conjunction with actually practicing and creating works of my own. In addition to researching the history and frameworks of editorial cartoons, which I illustrated and recorded in a notebook, I immersed myself in the contemporary conversation of cartoonists, maintained a sketchbook of ideas, and produced eight editorial cartoons based on the material I was learning. The decline of print journalism has led some to consider what the future holds for the editorial cartoonist. Newspapers have traditionally carried the editorial cartoonist, offering them job security and income, usually with the stipulations of editorial controls and deadlines (Danjoux 245). The struggles of the newspaper industry have called this compromise into question. Chris Lamb writes that there are between 80 and 90 editorial cartoonists that work in full time staff positions at daily newspapers, while “twenty-five years ago, that number was perhaps twice that size” (The fixable decline 21). Lamb argues that newspapers should re-hire editorial cartoonists in order to save the dying breed. While staff editorial cartoonists are dwindling with their respective newspapers, the problems with the method of distribution should not be confused for problems with the form itself. In fact, the very medium that is killing the newspaper may provide the cartoon with its greatest potential yet. In my studies of contemporary cartoons, I found enormous advantages in Internet distribution not only for the individual editorial cartoonist, but also for the community of cartoonists at large. As a part of my capstone, I aimed to look at cartoons daily, with the intention of understanding who the different voices in the community are, as well as how they interpret and relay issues on a daily basis. Instead of being limited to local cartoonists accessible through print newspapers, I was able to access anywhere between 30 to 50 cartoons a day from both national and international artists through two aggregated websites. The Association of Editorial Cartoonists displays around 30 cartoons a day in slideshow format from artists that are members. Daryl Cagle’s The Cagle Post, sponsored by MSN and MSNBC evolved the idea considerably by providing a website organized

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by traditional newspaper topic headings (Election, Economy, Science, Politics, Technology, Media, Life, Sports) but filled with syndicated cartoonists. Most significantly, the Cagle Post also organizes cartoons by “trending topics,” allowing viewers to see a variety of perspectives on the same topic. Viewers can also vote thumbs or thumbs down, providing feedback to the cartoonist in the form of a positive or negative score. Through aggregating cartoons by topic and providing a mechanism for feedback, the Cagle Post has added a conversational dimension to the medium, allowing more voices to be heard on any topic and creating an additional incentive for cartoonists to be original and innovative. The disadvantage inherent in this method of distribution is that viewers have to actively seek out the cartoons, instead of being forced to react when they open up the editorial pages of a newspaper. Hopefully, newspapers will increasingly feature cartoons within their digital layout to continue to bring the content to ordinary readers. I believe this is particularly hopeful since the notion of condensing messages into quickly digestible forms is conducive to the way we receive much of our Internet content. For example, the Economist uses social networking website tumblr deliver the work of their staff cartoonist, Kevin Kallaugher, or “KAL,” to each subscriber’s

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“dashboard.” While there are certainly challenges for the distribution of editorial cartooning in digital media, there are exciting new possibilities for future of the form as well. As I went through cartoons each morning, I got to know and understand the community of cartoonists—their distinctive signatures, their political ideologies, and the different tools and styles they use to convey a message. I would save the cartoons I found particularly effective, either in conveying a message or because of a successful caricature. Over time, I recognized that there were certain cartoonists whose attitudes toward the medium I could relate to most. One of the cartoonists I particularly admired was Adam Zyglis, whom I felt consistently approached topics with excellent draftsmanship and thoughtfulness. In a phone interview, he described his relationship with his paper, the Buffalo News, which he draws five cartoons and a Sunday Book Page illustration for every week. Zyglis graduated from Canisius College in 2004 after completing a thesis on editorial cartoons, and is fortunate to not only have a staff position at the newspaper, but one that provides him with few editorial constraints. His process involves waking up around 7 a.m., reading the day’s news and replying to readers via e-mail for a few hours before going into the office. He completes around eight ideas, or “roughs” on a handful of topics, and shows them to people around the office for feedback by around noon. Once Zyglis has his idea completed, he shows it to his editor and begins the final version by his self-imposed deadline at 2 p.m. He produces cartoons on local and national issues that are all printed in the newspaper and published to his blog. The cartoons on national issues will also appear alongside other cartoonists on websites such as AAEC and the Cagle Post. Talking to Zyglis about his process was useful, as the process of finding a topic, choosing the message you want to covey, and the way to construct a cartoon to successfully convey this message can be a grueling process. For my project, I kept a sketchbook of ideas as a key component of this process, jotting down compositions and concepts when they occurred to me. Within these pages, I would practice caricatures of the individuals I wanted to depict, and redraw drafts until I was happy with the arrangement. After choosing the medium I thought would be best for the particular message, I started the final cartoon on Bristol paper. The final drawing was then scanned, which

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allowed me to clean up the image, choose whether to add digital text and shading, and submit it to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian for publishing. I also published my cartoons on Facebook, a social networking website, which allowed me to receive feedback and distribute my cartoons to those who couldn’t pick up the paper. When drafting my cartoons, I attempted to utilize the tools and styles that I had been reading about, while commenting on issues that I felt were important. For the above cartoon, I used the topics of free speech and elections from the political commonplaces and the literary allusion of George Orwell’s parable Animal Farm to comment on the Citizen’s United decision by the Supreme Court. To me, the idea that money is equivalent to speech suggested that those with more money had more rights to speech. I wanted to draw a parallel between this decision, and the scene in Animal Farm when Squealer changes the meaning of “All animals are created equal” by adding “some animals are more equal than others.” The scene is not set within a specific root metaphor,

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instead, the black paint scrawled underneath the principle of “All speech is equal” is used as a symbol for the decision. The tension between the phrases is an example of contradiction, creating an indictment of the Supreme Court’s decision. The use of black, dripping paint on the historical building under the cover of nightfall is meant to suggest an illicit act, and also to convey a sense that the new addition is a stain on the institution of the Supreme Court. In terms of rhetorical style, the forms are rendered in a realistic way, intended to grab attention and convey a serious mood in the frame. As mentioned, the contrast between the realistically rendered Supreme Court building and the more iconic black paint is meant to create tension and suggest that the ruling is out of place. In the style of Thomas Nast, I included the literary illusions as text at the bottom of the frame. The quote from Animal Farm combined with the image serves as a parallel combination, inviting readers to deductively examine the connection between the allusion and the image. The description of the ruling is placed in contrast with the allusion to Animal Farm, as well as providing additive context to the image. The cartoon leaves the audience room to interpret the message, which has advantages and disadvantages. While interpretation requires engagement and reflection, it can also lead to misinterpretation. When I originally showed the cartoon to my editor, she remarked that it looked as if I had “tagged” the Supreme Court, and I realized that my decision to not include the perpetrator left it up to the audience to interpret. While the overall message of the cartoon remains intact regardless, it reminded me of the importance of considering multiple interpretations. In another cartoon, I chose to emulate the style of Adam Zyglis, who traditionally uses word play, crosshatching and simple compositions to deliver pointed, clever messages. This cartoon draws on the topics of elections and super political action committees (Super PACS) from the political commonplaces, and the news item of Santorum dropping out of the race as a transient situation. The root metaphor here is “Presidential campaigning as a water gun fight,” using “Super Soakers” as a metaphor for the candidate’s respective Super PACs. The use of water guns also suggests the metonymic image of a candidate being “saturated” by his opponent’s resources. The scene, which is a snapshot frozen in time after Romney successfully outguns his opponent, shows Romney

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untouched and with plenty of ammunition left for future political battles. The use of line and form is intricately detailed in order to grab attention, but it is also iconic enough to convey a light-hearted mood. The size of the candidates may be comparable, but the size of their weapons creates tension. The stark contrast between the sizes of the “weapons” is used to illustrate the discrepancy in funds between the two campaigns, and of equal importance, to invite the audience to consider whether the way we select our candidates is fair or based on irrelevant circumstances. Exaggeration and caricature is used to identify the candidates, and amplification is used particularly in Mitt Romney’s crooked smile to invite value judgments about the candidate. While I tried to include in the image multiple layers of meaning, I noticed when showing the image to people that they often would not read into the meaning further then the play on words in “Super PAC Soaker.” I think this can be attributed to the misconception that cartoons carry a single message, and the difficulty of reading the graphic complexity of the form. This might explain why some cartoonists use simple arrangements and metaphors conducive to an easy understanding. While it is important to present the majority of the message in an easy to understand way, I think

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much of the power of cartoons derives from the complexity contained in multi-layered images. The third cartoon I created is on the topic of Bashar al-Assad’s brutal repression of the Syrian opposition from the political commonplaces, the transient situation of Russia continuing to supply the regime with weapons to fight the opposition, and popular perceptions of al-Assad as a butcher of his own people. Instead of working through a root metaphor, I constructed this cartoon to be straightforward. Besides the metaphor of “Assad as Butcher” I relied mostly on icons and text to carry the message. Tension is created by contrasting Putin’s message of support for Assad’s “continued dialogue” with the Syrian people, while he is handing him a box of weapons labeled “Arms for democracy suppression.” This creates contradiction, which instead of causing readers to reflect on what is happening, invites them to share my outrage at the hypocrisy. The context of the

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interaction is set by the embattled city that both of the figures stand in, creating further tension between Putin’s message of “continued dialogue” and the reality on the ground. I also used a specific artistic style to contribute to the message with the intention of giving the cartoon a stronger emotional force. I used black India ink and a metal dip-pen to create lines that are detailed and at times graphic, with dark blotchy ink used to connect the violence in the city and the blood stains on Assad’s apron. The figures of Assad and Putin are both much larger than life, to suggest the power they have over the violence taking place below. A good deal of caricature is used both to identify the individuals and to elaborate on their character. Putin is portrayed as stoic and professional, though a subtle grimace suggests a mean spirit. Assad is depicted as a head of state turned butcher, which is received through the metonymic inclusion of a bloodstained apron over his stately suit and tie, and a butcher’s knife. His eyes and expression were drawn in a manner that conveys hopeless and ignorant insanity more than mean-spiritedness or “true evil,” mirroring the way in which he looks at public appearances. The text at the bottom provides an interdependent combination with the image. While the message of Putin’s delivery of weapons to Syria would still be retained without it, the text adds tension by illustrating hypocrisy and contradiction.

Conclusion This capstone has provided me with the opportunity to examine the form of editorial and political cartooning from multiple angles. The time that I spent researching the history and components of the form taught me invaluable lessons on the wide array of visual devices and styles that can be used to convey different kinds of messages. This framework has proven successful at dissecting as much of the cartoonist’s intended message as possible, while understanding that we as viewers can never truly understand the exact meaning that an individual intended. I also found this framework useful in constructing my own series of cartoons, as it helped me understand how to use a variety of tools to layer meaning in a single image. My experience reading cartoons and understanding where the form stands today was also incredibly useful in crafting my own process that I will be using well after the completion of this project. Were I to start from scratch, this process would be a larger focus of mine, and I would set stricter guidelines for myself in terms

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of the deadlines for cartoons to mirror the conditions cartoonists face in the industry. Moving forward, I hope to take what I’ve learned in this project and continue to apply it in more cartoons and illustrations, whether as a traditional staff cartoonist or independently. I believe that the crisis in how the form will be distributed and presented in the future will present unique opportunities to carve out my own niche, and I will use what I’ve learned in this project to realize this goal. While some have predicted the descent of editorial cartooning into obscurity and irrelevance, I believe that a new chapter of the form is just beginning.

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Works Cited: Abraham, Linus. “Effectiveness of Cartoons as a Uniquely Visual Medium for Orienting Social Issues. The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. 2009. Web. Conners, Joan L. “Popular culture in political cartoons: Analyzing Cartoonist Approaches. Political Science and Politics. American Political Science Association. April 2007. Web. Danjoux, Ilan. “Reconsidering the decline of the editorial cartoon.” Political Science and Politics. American Political Science Association. April 2007. Web. DeSousa, M. A. and Medhurst, M.J. Political Cartoons as a Rhetorical Form: A taxonomy of Graphic Discourse. Communication Monographs 48. September 1981. Hoff, Syd. Editorial and Political Cartooning. New York: Stravon Educational Press, 1976. Keller, Morton. The art and politics of Thomas Nast. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Kukkonen, Karin. “Beyond language: Metaphor and metonymy in comics storytelling. English Language Notes. 46.2. Fall/Winter 2008. Lakoff, George. “Frames and Brains.” Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision: A Progressive’s Handbook. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006. Web. Lamb, Chris. Drawn to Extremes: the Use and Abuse of Editorial Cartoons. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. ---. “The fixable Decline of Editorial Cartooning: Editorial Page Editors and Business Decisions Combine to Weaken what is the Strength of Editorial Cartoons. Nieman Reports 58.4. Fall 2004. Web. Makemson, Harlen. “One Misdeed Evokes Another: How Political Cartoonists Used ‘Scandal Intertextuality’ against Presidential Candidate James G. Blaine.” Media History Monographs 7:2. 2005. Web. Paul Conrad: Drawing Fire. Dir. Barbara Multer-Wellin. By Jeffrey Abelson and Barbara MulterWellin. Independent Lens. PBS, 2006. Web. McCloud, Scott. Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993. Rhodes, Gillian. Super Portraits: Caricatures and Recognition. Erlbaum: Psychology Press, 1996.

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Images in order of appearance: Franklin, Benjamin. “Join or Die.” Originally appeared in Pennsylvania Gazette. 9 May 1754. Retrieved from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Web. Nast, Thomas. “Who Stole the People’s Money?” Originally appeared in Harper’s Weekly 15: 764. 19 August 1871. Retrieved from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Web. ---. “The Brains.” Originally appeared in Harper’s Weekly. 21 October 1871. Retrieved from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs. Web. Conrad, Paul. Cartoon depicting Carter as Sisyphus. Originally appeared in Los Angeles Times, 1978. Tribune Media Services. Retrieved from Independent Lens, “Paul Conrad: Drawing Fire” image gallery. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. Trudeau, Gary. Comic featuring Zonker Harris and the Tea Party. Universal Uclick. 30 March 2010. Retrieved from Doonesbury.com. Web. Rall, Ted. “Shoulda worked within the System.” Universal Unclick. 6 February 2012. Retrieved from Ted Rall.com. Web. Bennett, Clay. “Really?”. Chattanooga Times Free Press. 4 April 2012. Retrieved from timesfreepress. com. Web. Kallaugher, Kevin. “Arm Twisting.” The Economist. 4 April 2012. Screenshot from tumblr.com.

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Annotated Bibliography Books: Colldeweih, Jack and Kalman Goldstein (ed). “Graphic Opinions: Editorial cartoonists and their art. Bowling Green: Bowling Green University Popular Press. 1998. Print. This collection offers brief essays on new challenges facing editorial cartoonists as well as profiles and comparisons of contemporary political cartoonists across the country. Varnum, Robin and Christina Gibbons (ed). The Language of Comics: Word and Image. University Press of Mississippi. 2001. This collection asks whether the balance of power in communication is shifting back toward the image through a series of essays that examine the relationship between words and images in cartooning. Hoff, Syd. Editorial and Political Cartooning. New York: Stravon Educational Press, 1976. Organized into three sections, this book provides a comprehensive examination of editorial cartoonists from the “old masters” to contemporary and international artists. Fitzgerald, Richard. Art and Politics: Cartoonists of the Masses and Liberator. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1973. This book hones in on two radical publications – “The masses” (1911-17) and “The Liberator” (1918-24) and the problems raised by art in service of politics. Special attention is paid to five artists: Art Young, Robert Minor, Joan Sloan, K.R. Chamberlain and Maurice Becker. Keller, Morton. The art and politics of Thomas Nast. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968. Provides a study of the art and political context in Thomas Nast’s career as a cartoonist at Harpers in the late 1800’s. Includes a large selection of his artwork. Vinson, J. Chal. Thomas Nast: Political Cartoonist. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1967. A more personal study of Nast’s life as a political cartoonist, with historical context to much of his work. Includes a moderate selection of his artwork. Rhodes, Gillian. Super Portraits: Caricatures and Recognition. Erlbaum: Psychology Press, 1996. This book provides an analysis of the psychology of successful caricatures, and in particular what can make them seem more “real” than reality. This is particularly useful for the

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practical, artistic component of this project. Press, Charles. The Political Cartoon. East Brunswick: Associated University Press, inc., NJ. 1981. Provides an examination of the editorial cartoon from a political perspective. Philippe, Robert. Political Graphics: Art as a weapon. New York: Abbeville Press, 1980. This book is a broad analysis of political art as a means of dissent. In addition to cartoons, this book looks into posters and other mediums of popular art. Lamb, Chris. Drawn to Extremes: the Use and Abuse of Editorial Cartoons. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. The author starts with the response of editorial cartoonists to 9/11 and the political aftermath in order to analyze the behavior of this subgroup of artists. He also examines other crisis’s in American history, such as McCarthyism to identify the responsibilities of the medium. McCloud, Scott. Understanding comics: The invisible art. New York: Harper Perennial, 1993. McCloud’s seminal breakdown of comics and cartoon art, presented in the medium itself, illustrates a framework for understanding comics, and the way our brains put together words and images to receive an artist’s message. This framework is comprehensive enough to apply to political cartoons. *Hess, Stephen and Sandy Northrop. Drawn and Quartered: History of American Political Cartoons. *Fischer, Roger A. Them Damned Pictures: Explorations in American Cartoon Art. *West, Richard. Satire on Stone: The Political Cartoons of Joseph Keppler *Minear, Richard H. Dr. Suess Goes to War: The WWII editorial cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Articles Diamond, Matthew. “No Laughing Matter: Post-September 11 Political Cartoons in Arab/Muslim Newspapers.” Political Communication 19 (2002): 251-272 The authors selected a range of 9-11 cartoons from international Arab and Muslim newspapers and discuss the messages from the artists as well as the process of reading the cartoons. Laraudogoitia, Jon Perez. “The comic as a binary language: A hypothesis on comic structure.” Journal of Quantitative Linguistics. 15.2 (2008):111-135.

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This article is interesting because it takes a positivist approach to analyzing language in comics. While the content of the article may be less important, it is useful to measure the different approaches to analyzing the medium. DeSousa, M. A. and Medhurst, M.J. Political Cartoons as a Rhetorical Form: A taxonomy of Graphic Discourse. Communication Monographs 48, (September 1981) Carney, Sean. “The ear of the eye, or, do drawings make sounds?” English Language Notes 46.2. (2008) Much in the vain of McCloud, the author examines the relationship between the comic and the reader, suggesting a type of “private correspondence” that is unique from other mediums. Abraham, Linus. “Effectiveness of Cartoons as a Uniquely Visual Medium for Orienting Social Issues. The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. 2009. This paper attempts to “ground cartoons within a theory of visual semiotics and visual persuasion” to address some concerns over the effectiveness of editorial cartoons, showing how they can present deep reflection as opposed to just a “passing chuckle.” Heer, Jeet. “Little Nemo in ComicsLand.” The Virginia Quarterly Review. (Spring 2006): 104-121. The author discusses “Little Nemo in Slumberland” and it’s effect as an early American comic strip. McCay’s use of imaginative imagery would breathe a distinct life into cartooning from then on. Kukkonen, Karin. “Beyond language: Metaphor and metonymy in comics storytelling. English Language Notes. 46.2 (Fall/Winter 2008) While comics are often thought about and broken down into a language, this may have a negative effect on its standing as a significant literary medium. This article analyzes the complexities and issues that come with treating comics as a language. Conners, Joan L. “Popular culture in political cartoons: Analyzing Cartoonist Approaches. Political Science and Politics. American Political Science Association. (April 2007) This article examines how cartoonists use popular culture themes and icons to make sense of political issues, and reasons why this may or may not be successful for the medium. Danjoux, Ilan. “Reconsidering the decline of the editorial cartoon.” Political Science and Politics.

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American Political Science Association. (April 2007) This article discusses the relationship between publishers and cartoonists. It asserts that despite the apparent decline in editorial cartoons in newspapers, the capabilities of cartoons to be an effective voice in national discourse has not been diminished. Hoffman, Donna R. and Alison D. Howard. “Representations of 9-11 in editorial cartoons.” Political Science and Politics. American Political Science Association. (April 2007) This paper analyzes the use of 9-11 imagery in American editorial cartoonists, and the audience reception of this imagery. It analyzes the do’s and don’ts that emerged in the medium. DeSousa, M. A. and Medhurst, M.J. Political cartoons and American culture: significant symbols of campaign 1980. Studies in Visual Communication 8, (1982): 84-97 This paper creates a framework for analyzing the different ways that editorial cartoonists create messages and meaning in images. Explains the topics used for inspiration, ways cartoonists can arrange an argument, use of metaphor, and stylistic choices that contribute to meaning.