In the News-Bob Englehart

Bob Englehart, Indiana-born cartoonist for the Hartford Courant, has channeled another Bob--Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman--for an editorial cartoon published earlier this week. The cartoon shows Batman with tears in his eyes in response to the massacre at the first showing of the newest Batman movie in Aurora, Colorado. The massacre took place on July 20, 2012. Mr. Englehart's cartoon is dated two days later. You can see the cartoon on the website of the Hartford Courant, here.

Copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-David Horsey

Editorial Cartoonist Weighs in on the Aurora Massacre

David Horsey, Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist formerly with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and now with the Los Angeles Times, has weighed in on the recent shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater. Mr. Horsey's cartoon and editorial, "Despite Colorado Theater Massacre, a Discussion of Guns Is Off Limits," dated July 24, 2012, appear on the website of the Los Angeles Times, here. We should note with some irony that David Horsey's most recent collection of cartoons is entitled Draw Quick, Shoot Straight (2007).

By the way, David Horsey, who was born in Indiana and drew cartoons for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for many years, moved from that paper to the Los Angeles Times in January 2012. You can read a press release about the move, dated December 19, 2011, on the website of the Northwest Progressive Institute Advocate, here.

Copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Joel Pett

Kentucky Basketball--The Cartoonist Responds to the Response

Cartoonist Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader has responded to outraged fans who have cancelled their subscriptions, fired off angry emails, and voiced threats over his May 8 cartoon about Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. In his response, released on May 13, 2012, by the website of the Herald-Leader, Mr. Pett discussed the issue, then closed with an irony:

For all the demands that I apologize, what I really regret is that of all the subjects we cover--in news, editorials and cartoons--UK basketball is the only one, with the possible exception of the you're-with-us-or-the-terrorists Iraq war, that has inspired this level of genuine outrage and passion.

A further irony: Joel Pett issued his response following his return from Washington, D.C., and a meeting with the Cartoonists Rights Network International. Attendees at the meeting discussed cartoonists who have been beaten and threatened with death by foreign dictators and about newspapers that have been bombed by terrorists, all because of drawings on paper. The website of NBC Sports' College Basketball Talk also weighed in on the controversy, attempting to put it all in perspective by writing, "As much as we all love the games and the bragging rights that come with them, at the end of the day they’re just that: games." You might similarly say that cartoons are just funny pictures, yet time after time they have shown themselves to be a powerful force and a continuing threat to those who would practice violence, oppression, corruption, and graft.

Text copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Joel Pett

Cartoonist Joel Pett Involved in a Basketball Brouhaha

Joel Pett, editorial cartoonist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, has landed himself and his paper in hot water over one of his recent cartoons. Entitled "Coach Cal's Trophy Case," Mr. Pett's cartoon displays the meager trophy case of University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. Sure there's a trophy for the March 2012 NCAA championship, but flanking it are two vacated spaces (for vacated Final Four appearances at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Memphis) and a deflated basketball representing the coach's desire to play basketball arch-rival Indiana University on a neutral court. Kentucky basketball fans, angry over the cartoon lampooning their coach, have threatened to cancel their subscriptions and otherwise boycott the Herald-Leader.

Joel Pett walks a fine line as an editorial cartoonist. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University and its storied basketball program, Mr. Pett attended IU and cartooned for his hometown Herald-Telephone before landing a job across the river at the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has tackled difficult and controversial issues before and was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Many of those issues may pale in comparison to the subject of Kentucky basketball, though. In any case, you can read more about the controversy and see the offending cartoon in the following articles:

"Cartoonist Courts Ire of Kentucky Fans" by Lynn Zinser at The Quad: The New York Times College Sports Blog, May 8, 2012

"Editorial Cartoon Blasting John Calipari Angers Kentucky Fans" by Jeff Eisenberg at Yahoo Sports, May 8, 2012

Text copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Nikko Elliott

Cartoon Controversy at Purdue University Calumet

A recent editorial cartoon by Nikko Elliott, appearing in the Purdue University Calumet Chronicle, has become part of a larger public discussion on the subjects of religious tolerance, racism, free speech, professor-student relations, and the point at which personal opinions, when expressed in a public forum, cross the line. If it sounds complicated, that’s because it is. To learn more about the issues inspiring the editorial cartoon and the larger controversy of which the cartoon has become a part, follow these links:

"PUC Professor Calls Cartoon Anti-Semitic" by Carmen McCollum, Northwest Indiana Times, March 8, 2012.

"Professor's Facebook Comments Draw Protests from Students" on NBC Chicago.

"PUC Students Protest Professor's Comments, Facebook Page” on Hammond Community.net.

Written by Bridget Hanley, Proficient Pen.

Copyright 2012, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In The News-Cartoon Controversy Revisited: Is SpongeBob Bad for Kids?

According to a recent study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the popular animated Nickelodeon TV series SpongeBob SquarePants is detrimental to children, specifically, to children’s ability to focus, solve problems, and remember details. The study, which was released in the September 12, 2011, issue of the Journal of Pediatrics, involved sixty participants, all of whom were four-year-old children. One major fault with the study according to a Nickelodeon spokesperson is that participants were significantly younger than the show's target demographic, as SpongeBob is designed for children between the ages of six and eleven.

Findings of the study suggest that fast-paced programs like SpongeBob leave children who view them at a disadvantage, particularly when compared to those who spend time viewing more slow-moving educational programming or exercising their creativity with paper, crayons, markers, and other art supplies.

This isn't the first time that SpongeBob SquarePants has come under criticism. The program has been targeted by many special interest groups over the course of its twelve-year run, as have other animated programs such as The Ren and Stimpy Show, Rocko’s Modern Life, and The Powerpuff Girls. 

SpongeBob SquarePants was created by Illinois native Stephen Hillenburg, a former oceanographer. Originating one state to the east, Indiana cartoonist, illustrator, and animator Mark O'Hare has worked on the SpongeBob show as well as SpongeBob books for children. Mr. O'Hare graduated from Purdue University and drew the comic strip Citizen Dog, distributed by Universal Press Syndicate from May 15, 1995,  to May 26, 2001. His other animation credits include the less controversial Dexter’s Laboratory and Hey Arnold! 

To read more about the recent study, take a look at:

“Pediatricians' group finds fault with ‘SpongeBob’,” Reuters, by Daniel Frankel, September 12, 2011,

And “Is SpongeBob SquarePants Bad for Children?” The New York Times, by Roni Caryn Rabin, September 12, 2011,  

Or review the findings and details of the original study, “The Effects of Fast-Paced Cartoons,” by Dimitri A. Christakis, Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, September 2011.

By Bridget Hanley, Proficient Pen.
Copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-Cartoons and Violence

Study Finds Violence in Cartoons Does Not Make Them More Appealing to Children

Researchers at Indiana University, Purdue University, and two out-of-state institutions have found in a study of children's viewing habits that cartoon violence does not make a program more enjoyable or appealing. Andrew J. Weaver, assistant professor of telecommunications at Indiana University, and his co-authors suggest that action--often associated with or conflated with violence--is more likely what appeals to children when they're watching cartoons. You can read a more complete discussion and summary in the journal Media Psychology and in a number of articles on the Internet, at the IU Newsroom, TG Daily, and Irish Health among them.

Copyright 2011, 2024 Terence E. Hanley

In the News-David Horsey

Editorial Cartoonist David Horsey Holding a Cartooning Marathon for Election Day

Originally posted Nov. 2, 2010

In an attempt to keep up with fast-breaking Election Day news, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist David Horsey is holding a twelve-hour cartooning marathon, from noon until midnight, today, Tuesday, November 2, 2010. You can read more about it on Mr. Horsey's blog, on the website of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, here.

Mr. Horsey has weighed in on the controversy over depicting the prophet Mohammed in cartoons. Soon after Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris announced plans for an "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day," she received word from the FBI that she should go into hiding to avoid reprisal. In response, Mr. Horsey wrote a brief essay which begins: "There is no sane or humane creed that would justify putting Seattle cartoonist Molly Norris on an execution list, but there is little that is sane or humane about radical Islam." You can read the entire essay and more about the controversy on the website of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Copyright 2010, 2024 Terence E. Hanley