One year ago, on September 13, 2009 , I posted the first “Last Week on toonpool.com” entry. Looking back at about forty-five articles, I can say that I definitely got to know toonpool.com a lot better. I discovered lots of great cartoons, battled several slow news weeks and got annoyed more than once. I guess it shows in the articles. I did not change much about the layout and structure of these articles although I have been planning to do this very early on. I am still thinking about it. So, if you have any suggestions or comments, I would be glad to hear them.
This week saw another, less positive, anniversary. Nine years ago, the September 11 attacks took place and, of course, there are some commemorative cartoons (e.g. this one). There is, however, a much greater number of cartoons on an event only indirectly connected with 9/11. These days, a Floridian minister sharing his name with a Monty Python member is in the center of media attention. Pastor Terry Jones was planning to commemorate the 2001 attacks by publicly burning the Qur’an. In the end he didn’t do it but he sure got the attention he was aiming at. I think that this cartoon by Portos neatly sums up the situation. There are two other cartoons that I liked: this one for being well-drawn and this one for summarizing Western fears about Pastor Jones’ plans. Unfortunately a large number of cartoonists insists on demonizing him the same way he demonizes Islam (e.g. here, here & here). I definitely prefer Tim Leatherbarrow and his demonization of Wayne Rooney.
All this left aside, we are happy to announce a new feature introduced earlier this week. Toonpool.com now offers subcategories as a way to improve the organization of cartoons in the toonpool.com archive. Learn more in this forum post by Max.
Cartoons of Interest
My favorite this week is “Dog” by Hamed Nabahat from Iran. The gag in itself is a good one already, but it’s the composition that makes this a truly great cartoon. The empty space above the characters – roughly one third of the whole cartoon – effectively communicates the total lack of action. Taking in account the nature of both statues and dogs it is safe to assume that this will go on for a while.
On Thursday we posted a call for caricatures in our newsletter. A German TV production company had inquired about portraits of the Ludolf brothers who star in a reality show about their life. There are some cool contributions already, e.g. here, here & here. Keep them coming!
Finally, there is Frank Hoppmann’s caricature of Thilo Sarrazin.
© toonpool.comTags: 9/11, Islam, last week, letze woche, Terry Jones
