Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at fairy tale cartoons. We first hear fairy tales at an impressionable age, usually before we can read. The characters and their magical stories are part of our collective…
Continue Reading…
Anatomy of a Cartoon
Anatomy of a Cartoon: Unsocial Distancing
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at social distancing cartoons. Mid-pandemic, it feels there’s no end to the upending of our lives. Someday, looking back, we’ll marvel at the strange customs we adopted to cope…
Continue Reading…
Anatomy of a Cartoon: Outside the Box
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at unusual toons. Many cartoonists rely on cliches, that is, setups that can be relied upon because they are familiar yet durable enough to vary in almost infinite ways….
Continue Reading…
Anatomy of a Cartoon: Pandemic Remodeling
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at pandemic remodeling. Signs of normal life are slowing returning: customers in partially-open restaurants, more cars on the road, more flights in the sky. One commercial segment, in particular,…
Continue Reading…
Anatomy of a Cartoon: Political Campaigns
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at political campaigns. They’re baaaack! Political ads fill the airwaves, pop up on social media, and invade our homes. Our only defense: cartoons that deflate pompous politicians, expose their…
Continue Reading…
Anatomy of a Cartoon: Politics
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at the political season. The political season is upon us. Unleash the cartoons! Viewers of the recent Democratic primary debates were struck by the onstage antics of the candidates. Alternately…
Continue Reading…