AAEC News

Cartoonists overseas

1) In mid-October, 10 cartoonists from the NCS and AAEC, including Mike Peters, Michael Ramirez and Chip Bok, were part of a week-long USO entertainment tour to visit troops stationed in Germany and the Persian Gulf.

"The group will visit wounded troops at the USO Warrior Center at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and more than a dozen military bases in the combat zone," stated the press release, posted on The Daily Cartoonist. "Committed to showing their support to America’s Armed Forces, they will also make personalized sketches for troops."

Star & Stripes carried on article on the cartoonist's visit, and Chip Bok posted a photos and links from the trip:
http://www.bokbluster.com/2009/10/26/uso-ncs-tour/
http://www.bokbluster.com/2009/10/26/uso-cartoonists-trip-ii/
http://www.bokbluster.com/2009/10/28/more-stuff-about-our-uso-trip/

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2) In the meantime, Daryl Cagle was travelling in North Africa and the Middle East for several weeks, first at the Algiers Comics Festival.

Then he was off to Egypt and Israel, where he was able to engage in a number of interesting discussions on cartooning and symbols:

The cartoon they showed me would make an American editor choke; it showed a spitting snake, in the shape of a Star of David; inside the snake/star was a peace dove, behind bars, and above the snake, in Arabic, were the words, “It’s not about the bird flu, it’s about the swine flu.” I explained that in America this cartoon would be regarded as anti-Semitic, and it would never be printed.

The Egyptian journalists were emphatic, explaining to me that the cartoon was about Israel, not about Jews - an important distinction to them.

“Israel isn’t mentioned anywhere in the cartoon,” I said.

“But we all know the Jewish star is the symbol of Israel,” they responded.

I said, “It is a religious symbol. It is the same as if I took the star and crescent off of the flag of Pakistan and drew a similar cartoon, saying it was about Pakistan.” They didn’t respond to me, my comment was such nonsense. I continued, “The cartoon seems to say that Jews are like snakes and pigs.”

“No, no! We have lots of symbols for Israel that we all know, like the Jew with black clothes and a big hooked nose!” one of the Egyptian journalists insisted with some passion. “We like Jews, we just don’t like Israel!”

All the cartoonists returned from their adventures safe if not sound.

Endowment honoring Corky Trinidad seeks funding

By Belinda A. Aquino

Today, the late Corky Trinidad would have reached the age of 70, and as far as we know, he never missed a deadline. Family, friends, colleagues and admirers have chosen this day to begin a campaign to memorialize Corky's artistic and professional legacy.

The “Friends of Corky” initiative aims to establish an endowment at the University of Hawaii Foundation to assist students, scholars and researchers in the fields spanning Corky's lifelong interests, including journalism, mass communication, fine arts — especially painting — performing arts and human rights.

A minimum of $35,000 is needed to name an endowment for Corky, who died Feb. 13. Upon reaching the amount, the UH Foundation will administer the endowment in conjunction with the Center for Philippine Studies at UH-Manoa.

“Friends of Corky” organizers are delighted that the Star-Bulletin has pledged a significant amount to the endowment project. Several pledges from various donors already have been received, some coming from friends and colleagues on the mainland and abroad.

Corky was a talented, tireless, delightful, devoted and loyal worker for the Star-Bulletin for nearly 40 years. I know that many people, especially in Hawaii's large Filipino community, subscribed to the paper because they loved Corky's cartoons. They would often greet each other with, “Did you see Corky's cartoons today?” or “What do you think he meant by that cartoon today?”

His fans obviously miss him.

Underlying his genius was the way he treated and used humor. He often quoted Abraham Lincoln who, according to Corky, gave the best definition of humor when he said, “I laugh because I must not cry.” The purpose of humor, he said, is “to express the truth in another manner that softens the hurt. Like slapping someone with reality wrapped in a pillow.”

The Corky Trinidad Endowment Fund will perpetuate Corky's long and distinguished legacy of independent thought and free expression through the arts.

Anyone wishing to make a contribution to Friends of Corky, can send a check to “Friends of Corky” c/o FilCom Center, 94-428 Mokuola St., Suite 302, Waipahu, HI 96797. For further questions, contact Friends of Corky organizer Teresita Bernales at tgb103@hawaii.rr.com or Geminiano Arre, president of FilCom Center at (808) 680-0451. All donations are tax-deductible.

—May 26, 2009

Belinda Aquino is professor and director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

Saving Pease

By Dennis Myers

Jefferson High School in Portland, Ore., was built in 1909, and recently a clean up of its storage room turned up several dozen pieces of art, many of them by New Deal-era artists like Otis Oldfield and Elinor Stone.Also found were the originals of 19 cartoons by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Lucius “Lute” Pease, who was born in Winnemucca, Nevada 140 years ago.

Pease was a cartoonist for the Oregonian in Portland, editor of the Pacific Monthly (a literary publication), and cartoonist for the Newark (N.J.) News. His 1948 Pulitzer reportedly made him the oldest person to that time—80 years old—to win the coveted journalism award.

Jefferson High is trying to raise $27,000 for restoration and protection of the artworks. In Pease's case, that may involve treating the paper on which the cartoons were drawn if it turns out to be acid based paper. About $5,000 has been raised so far.

Contributions can be sent to Jefferson Artworks at Jefferson High School 5210 No. Kerby Ave, Portland, OR 97217. Information on the project is posted at http://jeffersonart.wordpress.com/lute-pease-drawings/

—Reno News Review, April 23

Kartoonists for Kids Kaper 2009

If memory serves me, this was the 7th annual trek to Sick Kids, aka Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

My wife Dawn is the dynamo behind the scenes, emailing, faxing, phoning, goading and reminding all those talented cartoonists who live within 50 miles to spend a couple of hours mesmerizing those little people whose health has been unfairly treated by fate.

The rewards? Maybe a wan smile, or a giggle, or sometimes a gratifying belly laugh from a pale-faced tyke hooked up to a web of tubes.

A visit on Valentine's day offers kids the chance to 'art direct' a drawing for themselves, or one to give a parent or sibling. It's empowering, gives them a chance to be in charge for a while, a change from the daily grind where everyone wants a piece of them ? doctors, nurses, technicians, etc.

Graphic wise, cartoonists can't get too complacent ? requests can range from cupid to the Hulk to Superman. So it's wise to have reference material tucked into the back of your mind, or the drawing pad. My strategy is to draw a cartoon of a cupid character complete with bow and arrows, then fill in the name of the recipient the patient has chosen, though now and then the little one will request their own name on the card instead \, which is great too!

On this last Kaper, one 9 year-old requested Batman armed with a bow and arrow. My finished cartoon looked more like Robin Hood with a mask and pointy ears, but I had one supremely satisfied client.

To be honest, the hospital excursion can be traumatic and is not recommended for the faint of heart. Each cartoonist is accompanied by a child life specialist or hospital volunteer to playrooms, units or individual rooms. A couple of years ago I was assigned to the intensive care floor, where I was kitted out in hospital hat, gown and slippers.

What we, the cartoonists supply is a brief break from the routine of doctors and nurses, injections, heart monitors, ongoing therapy and the endless what if's required to get these little ones up and running and laughing.

Dawn and I are deeply indebted to the members of the NCS, AAEC, ACEC and the local cartoonists group, the Society of Ontario Cartoonists (SOC).

Pass on the good word. The kids at your local hospital could benefit from a visit anytime, or make this your group or chapter Valentine's Day outing.

—Ted Martin, Toronto

'Toonists Visit Troops

by Bill Castanier

Bob Hope, the dean of overseas USO tours to entertain troops, was famous for deadpan jokes. A recent USO trip to Germany by eight cartoonists could have been grist for one of the late comedians patented gags, which may have gone something like this: Hope goes on stage, sees a group of nerdy guys and asks who they are. When they tell him they're cartoonists sent to draw for injured troops, Hope replies, “I thought I asked for a bunch of strippers.”

But even though the seriously injured soldiers they visited are used to seeing the likes of Anna Kournikova and Scarlett Johansson sent in to help boost morale, USO officials say they were just as, if not more, affected by a visit from eight American cartoonists, including Jef Mallett, creator of “Frazz.”

Mallett and the other cartoonists, including two-time Pulitzer winner Michael Ramirez, spent April 6 through 10 visiting Bethesda Hospital, in Maryland, Walter Reed Hospital, in Washington, and medical facilities for the seriously wounded in Germany. While on the tour, they spent time with soldiers and staff and drew cartoons for them.

None of the cartoonists knew much about their mission going in except the basics: one day at Bethesda and Walter Reed, followed by an flight to Germany, to visit and draw for soldiers who had serious injuries, such as the loss of limbs and severe facial injuries; most of the injuries had been inflicted by roadside bombs.

In Germany, the cartoonists spent 13-hour days drawing personalized cartoon art for the soldiers, many of them just days off the front. “Our job was pretty simple: to listen to them, to draw pictures for them and to say thanks,” Mallett said.

For the tour's Michigan contingent, the experience was not only dramatic, but one that can almost be described as life changing. “These men had amazing, heroic stories,” Mallett said. “Here are young men whose lives have been changed forever. I was impressed with their sense of devotion. They are very focused individuals.”

Knowing he'd be visiting the most seriously injured, Mallett said he girded himself for the tour, but when they visited the rehabilitation facility in Bethesda, it was still “staggering.” “There is no other way to say it,” Mallett said. “It was the only time I was really knocked on my heels. The room was packed with people working out, all missing a limb or multiple limbs.”

When the question “What do you want me to draw?” was posed, most soldiers didn't have a specific request. Many were happy someone was just paying them a visit. “It didn't matter to them,” Mallett said.

Walt Murren, USO Europe regional vice president, said the tour was the most well received in terms of impact on troops of any he's seen. “And I am talking movie stars and rock stars,” he said.

“[The cartoonists] were up close and personal, going one-on-one with the wounded,” Murren said. “They were able to create a tremendous relationship with the wounded warriors. When I visit the units, all I hear about is the cartoonists.”

Since the tour was such a success, the USO is already making plans for another cartoonist tour this fall, most likely to Iraq or Afghanistan. “I would like them to come back next week,” Murren said. “I am not thinking about it; I will definitely be going,” said Mallett, in his typical understated way. “I will grow so much in one week, just like I did on this trip. I was so humbled by the experience. You can't grasp the extent of what is going on.”

—April 29, 2009

To read the article in its entirety, go to http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-2932-from-the-funny-page-to-just-off-the-frontline.html