For once I can’t complain about a slow news week . There have been two major news events that informed last week’s input on toonpool.com.
On Monday morning, Israeli forces boarded the ships of the “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” headed for the coast of Gaza. It’s no use to describe the events in detail here, you very likely read about them anyway. Nine of the ships’ passengers were killed. The majority of artists commenting on the events joined the international protests against Israel’s actions. Here’s three examples: a gunship versus a bread-ship, Israelis as bloody pirates and an abstract comparison with the American oil spill. There are also some cartoons taking Israel’s side, but, unsurprisingly, they are much rarer than the other kind. Here’s the Hamas-powered flotilla and Israel surrounded by enemy guns. If you want to check out all the cartoons on this topic, somebody set up a collection. I know it’s probably useless, but as the person who had to dig through all these works, I am still hoping and waiting for a more sophisticated, less aggressive and less stereotypical approach.
Germany might have been talking about Lena Meyer-Landrut winning the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson all week, if it hadn’t been for German President Horst Köhler. The German president resigned on Monday for reasons that a lot of people here think to be childish. All cartoons on this issue are in German and often intranslatable. Still, here are a few that I liked: 1,2,3.
Cartoons of Interest
My favorite cartoon this week is “In Search of Yeti” by Spanish artist Llobet. It’s a great combination of two clichés, probably a true observation and a really absurd situation, too. Where does this take place? In a ski-lift? A mountain resort? The Yeti’s home?
I have no idea how last week’s Danny-Trejo-caricature fad came into being, but I sure like the outcome. Check out “Warts-and-all Trejo”, “Peyote Trejo“, noseless ‘Trejo Esponja”, and, of course, new user Eno’s very favorable portrait of the Mexican-American actor.
© toonpool.comTags: Gaza, Horst Köhler, Israel, last week, letzte woche
