11/27/11

Today's jpost.com cartoon

didnt we already finish with this stuff in february egyptian protesters cairo tahrir square policeman running riot shield baton throwing molotov cocktail tear gas canister
The (Egyptian) natives are restless, complaining about the army holding too much power in the ongoing transfer of power, so they've (re)taken to the streets, including the famous Tahrir Square, to protest. It is, as the above fellow notes, all very deja vu.
On a side note, I went online to research the Arabic words you see above. Thus the sign really does say Tahrir Square (or, to be more precise, Mīdān at-Taḥrīr) and the riot shield really does say "police", or rather a phrase I found under the word "police" on the riot shields in a photo of Egyptian policemen.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/24/11

Today's jpost.com cartoons

After some delay, both of this week's political cartoons have been posted to the site. Let's take a look, shall we?

barack obama diminished stature republican candidates down here shorty rick perry mitt romney herman cain michele bachmann newt gingrich
While I'm no supporter of Barack Obama, the field of presidential candidates currently available to Republican voters (a situation best summed up by this Dave Granlund cartoon) leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. Still, every cloud has a silver lining, and in this case it's me itching to caricature a whole slew of highly caricaturable politicians. The result is before you. (The skin tone on Obama and Cain is off, but that's what I get for coloring on a laptop with an adjustable LCD screen.)

With both China and Russia blocking serious sanction measures against Iran and Syria in the UN, these two rogue states are singin' (or at least walkin' comfortably) in the rain. It was fun to draw Bashar Assad as an old-style gangster complete with zoot suit. Fun fact: this is my heaviest political cartoon by file size to date, clocking in at a whopping 3.3 MB.
UPDATE: Reblogged by Daniel Dagan.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch) (both)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen (both)
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen (both)
Black marker (first)
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0 (second)
Serif PhotoPlus SE (first)

Bonus pic: the initial pencil sketches for the Republican nominees!

Rick Perry is the hardest of the lot to draw accurately, and you won't find many political cartoonists who draw him in similar ways (looking back at the end result, I think I made his face too squashed-looking). After him comes Bachmann, who does have distinctive facial features which were nonetheless somewhat difficult for me to distill into a recognizable caricature. Easiest is Herman Cain.

11/17/11

Today's jpost.com cartoon

personification of israeli democracy sitting up in coffin not yet dead rigmarole floral wreath tzipi livni yariv oppenheimer aluf benn mourners
I've talked beforehand about the knee-jerk reaction of Tzipi Livni and Kadima to assign blame to the Netanyahu government for absolutely anything they can think of, but lately they've been joined in mindless overreaction by the rest of Israel's Left, who have been loudly announcing The Death Of Israeli Democracy and The Advancement Of McCarthyism et bloody cetera, after several admittedly controversial bills were brought up for possible passage into law. This overblown hysteria is exceptionally nerve-grating to me, prompting this reaction.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/15/11

Today's J. Post cartoon

It's not often that I get an idea from an article headline, but when I read about the Quartet trying to "jump start" the peace process, something just clicked.

mideast peace process frankenstein monster body covered with blanket on slab laboratory reanimation defibrillation electric shock paddles igor lightning in castle window
Reanimating the dead = apt comparisons ahoy.
The look of Igor and the lab definitely drew inspiration from The Far Side.
UPDATE: Now the third cartoon of mine to be reposted by La Boucle d'Occam.
Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Blue 0.5 mm needle tip pen
Blue 0.7 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/11/11

In Pixar We Trust

woody mr. incredible flik saluting pixar flag toy story the incredibles a bug's life
This one's for you, Coren ;-)

Drawn using:
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen

11/9/11

Today's J. Post cartoon

Finally changing the subject, let's take a look at how the highly-touted "Arab Spring" is faring:

cold front moving in arab spring winter flower wilting petal flying leaf on ground snow falling piling up wind blowing radical islamists threat
Oog. You know, I would have probably used a frying pan and fire to make my metaphor clear, but this fit in better with the theme. Getting rid of dictatorships? Good. Falling under control of religious Muslim extremists? Not good. Falling under control of religious Muslim extremists elected by democratic means? Ironic.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Black 0.7 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/8/11

Today's J. Post cartoon

Yes, this makes two cartoons in a row about "Palestine"'s admission to UNESCO. Sue me.

abbas abu mazen unesco take israel to task for destroying palestinian arab muslim antiquities joseph's tomb fire flamethrower
The Palestinians' claims that Israel is destroying "Palestinian antiquities" and "erasing the Palestinian character" of places like Jeruslem, while laughable on their own, are doubly ludicrous when placed against the Palestinians' own history of systematically destroying or damaging Israeli heritage sites (which actually are both (a) Israeli and (b) ancient), such as Solomon's Stables on the Temple Mount, ancient synagogues in Gaza, and the above-seen Joseph's Tomb, which has by now been torched and vandalized on a number of occasions (although never, admittedly, by Mahmous Abbas wielding a flamethrower)--in addition to steadfastly denying the Jewish and Israeli nature of said sites--so as to further their claim of our not "belonging" here.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Black 0.7 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/5/11

Drama Llama

drama llama in suit holding gun light glinting off sunglasses
To inject MOAR DRAMA into any situation, simply call upon the Drama Llama. He'll always be there for you.

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black ballpoint pen
Adobe Illustrator CS3
Serif PhotoPlus SE

11/3/11

Today's J. Post cartoon

palestine unesco united nations education security and culture organization kill the jews written on blackboard bombs explosives tnt dynamite chemistry physics rocket qassam theater protocols of elders of zion jenin jenin jaws 4 the revenge
In a move of dubious legality and morality, UNESCO (remember, the ones who unthinkingly accepted outlandish Palestinian claims on the history of Rachel's Tomb) have officially accepted "Palestine" as a member-state of the organization, even though they are not actually a state. Mocking the UN and its offshoots is like shooting low-hanging fish in a barrel of fruit, but sometimes a cartoonist's gotta do what a cartoonist's gotta do. For those who are unaware, UNESCO stands for United Nations Education Security and Culture Organization; and I decided to showcase just exactly how "Palestine" qualified for each of these categories. Note the map showing the entire territory of Israel as a single Palestinian state (their idea, not mine), and the marquee advertising Jews IV: The Revenge.
UPDATE: Now my second cartoon to be featured on Brabosh.com.
Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Blue 0.7 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus 6.0

11/1/11

What You See Is What You Get--or is it??

90s kid linkara lewis lovhaug at4w entity missingo from pokemon cosmic horror outer god
'90s Kid, as possessed by the Entity, a.k.a. [spoilers in alt text], as featured in the conclusion of the latest Atop the Fourth Wall storyline. I took some artistic liberties with his appearance, making him seem more ominously "glitchy".

Drawn using:
No. 2 pencil (sketch)
Black 0.4 mm pilot pen
Black 0.5 mm pilot pen
Black 0.7 mm pilot pen
Serif PhotoPlus SE