Spring Break
Cartoonists shed light on celebrated work
Brandon Schmidt
Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: News
Five well-recognized political cartoonists were at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery Wednesday. The panel discussed their profession and answered questions from the audience ranging from moral obligations of political cartoonists to the competition artists face from shows like "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report."
The cartoonists were Jeff Koterba of the Omaha World Herald, Glenn McCoy of the Belleville News Democrat, Gary McCoy of the St. Louis Suburban Journals, R. J. Matson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Tom Engelhardt, formerly of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Although political views varied amongst the group, the atmosphere was friendly and the panel was more than willing to share their thoughts on how their profession is transforming.
All panel guests echoed their similar appreciation for the late Charles Schulz and his comic strip "Peanuts."
"I, as well, was inspired by reading those early 'Peanuts' comic strips," Matson said. "And hearing you guys say that makes me wonder, if Charles Schulz had never been born, would we have become cartoonists?"
Before answering his next question, Engelhardt had a response for Matson: "I just want to make it clear: I was making political cartoons before Schulz created 'Peanuts.'"
The cartoonists were light-hearted about their political views and the entire panel agreed that they don't like labels or expectations placed on them because of their paper or past strips.
"I specifically wore a purple shirt today because I'm a passionate centrist," Koterba said.
"I get so sick of the red and blue stuff. There are so many issues out there that go beyond politics and beyond Republican and Democrat," said Koterba.
The panel made it clear that they were not afraid of offending someone if it was a message they felt was worth being said and was morally acceptable.
The panel also discussed how they got into political cartooning. "I think any political cartoonist will tell you that there's a lot of luck getting breaks and things just seemed to fall into place for me," Matson said.
Gary McCoy reiterated this sentiment, saying, "The first comic I ever had published was syndicated."
In perhaps the most ironic quote of the night, Glenn McCoy said, "I don't even like talking about politics in normal conversation. When political cartoonists get together, we would much rather talk about brush types and sizes than our political opinions."
Overall, the panel mostly avoided political issues and discussed their progression as political journalists.
The cartoonists were Jeff Koterba of the Omaha World Herald, Glenn McCoy of the Belleville News Democrat, Gary McCoy of the St. Louis Suburban Journals, R. J. Matson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Tom Engelhardt, formerly of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Although political views varied amongst the group, the atmosphere was friendly and the panel was more than willing to share their thoughts on how their profession is transforming.
All panel guests echoed their similar appreciation for the late Charles Schulz and his comic strip "Peanuts."
"I, as well, was inspired by reading those early 'Peanuts' comic strips," Matson said. "And hearing you guys say that makes me wonder, if Charles Schulz had never been born, would we have become cartoonists?"
Before answering his next question, Engelhardt had a response for Matson: "I just want to make it clear: I was making political cartoons before Schulz created 'Peanuts.'"
The cartoonists were light-hearted about their political views and the entire panel agreed that they don't like labels or expectations placed on them because of their paper or past strips.
"I specifically wore a purple shirt today because I'm a passionate centrist," Koterba said.
"I get so sick of the red and blue stuff. There are so many issues out there that go beyond politics and beyond Republican and Democrat," said Koterba.
The panel made it clear that they were not afraid of offending someone if it was a message they felt was worth being said and was morally acceptable.
The panel also discussed how they got into political cartooning. "I think any political cartoonist will tell you that there's a lot of luck getting breaks and things just seemed to fall into place for me," Matson said.
Gary McCoy reiterated this sentiment, saying, "The first comic I ever had published was syndicated."
In perhaps the most ironic quote of the night, Glenn McCoy said, "I don't even like talking about politics in normal conversation. When political cartoonists get together, we would much rather talk about brush types and sizes than our political opinions."
Overall, the panel mostly avoided political issues and discussed their progression as political journalists.
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