“Along with our devils there are quite a few angels in America”: “Freiheit” by Reiner Schwalme
An Interview with Joel Barbee
Joel Barbee (*1935) joined toonpool.com in January 2008. So far, he has uploaded over 900 cartoons – all of them in a unique and great style, most of them political and irritatingly conservative. Joel agreed to answer some questions via email from his house in San Clemente, California. As I suspected, he is a nice guy.
Joel, you seem to be a really productive artist : one cartoon per day minimum – and that’s only on toonpool.com. Moreover, you have been doing this for quite a while now. How does a day in the life of Joel Barbee look?
Good Morning Paul, Things are busy, good and busy. Just the way I like them. If I am not working on assignments from publications I do a few political cartoons or take up an art project that interests me. My studio is the hub of my other interests. Fishing, boating and outdoor sports take up a good amount of my time too. You are correct in that I have been doing this for a long time, making a living in the art business since 1958 and freelancing since 1969.
Most of your cartoons are political in nature. What do you expect from uploading cartoons dealing with US politics to an international website such as toonpool.com?
toonpool.com is a terrific site. I really enjoy participating and it gives me an opportunity to display one hell of a portfolio to any prospective customer that contacts me. I reference the cartoonists at toonpool.com to any clients that my art work is not appropriate for, when I feel that somebody else’s might be. Particularly the great caricaturists on the site.
I noticed that you are doing a lot of cartoons on president Obama. What’s your opinion of him? What do you think about the way he has been depicted by non-American cartoonists?
Obama cartoons sell like hotcakes over here. Liberals, the world over, seem to trust him, while conservatives distrust him. I find him most smarmy (toon word for “I wouldn’t trust this guy for all the beer in Germany”).
"Obama cartoons sell like hotcakes": "On the Road" by Joel Barbee
So, does the demand play a role in your decision to draw him?
Depends on, if he has said or done anything of note.
Let me ask a question about one of your cartoons: The one about waterboarding stirred some debate on toonpool.com. What did you think about the reactions in caused?
TERRIFIC! More talk the better! My opinion stems from discussions with a number of Navy Seals and a friend who is a Congressional Medal of Honor winner and a long term guest at the Hanoi Hilton.
Joel Barbee's controversial cartoon "waterboarding"
What did he say?
On a scale of one to 10, death being 10. Hanoi was 9 and waterboarding was not on the chart.
Did you have a different opinion on waterboarding before you talked to him? I had never heard about passive waterboarding. I had read of the torture system waterboarding used by the Japanese in WW2 that most often resulted in death.
Do you usually get a lot of feedback for your cartoons – Fan mail, hate mail, anything? The waterboarding cartoon has been published a lot – more than 20 US newspapers, if I remember correctly.
Yes, I hear from folks all over the place, pro or con, love comments. Keeps the juices flowing, I think the cartoon community is a huge crazy quilt of ideas, the more varied the more beautiful.
I have yet one more question about cartoons and conflict. There is the cartoon “Freiheit” by German cartoonist Reiner Schwalme that also raised a lot of complaints. Among others, one American user, who, unfortunately seems to have left toonpool.com, wrote: “I would like to tell people about toonpool but I can’t because this cartoon keeps popping up as number 1. [...] I’m sure it scares people away. It makes toonpool seem inhospitable to Americans.” What do you think about the cartoon and the statement? The toon is fine, I am sure folks know that along with our devils there are quite a few angels in America. I think the fellow who commented was a bit thin skinned. Don’t be that if you want to be a happy toonist!
Thanks for your time, Joel, and have a great week!
Paul Hellmich
Aww. That’s very sad he died. Just out of curiosity, if anyone knows, how did he die?