Political cartoons for the LA Times for May 10, 2010.

Last updated on January 3, 2023

I’m a little late for my roundup of last week’s best cartoons. Okay, way late.

I think I’m on the other side, though. And I couldn’t let the whole week go by without pointing out the best cartoons of the week…for the Los Angeles Times crowd, that is! (Speaking about editors and awards, I used to write bitter posts here about Time Magazine’s Cartoons of the Week. I don’t bother anymore. Turns out Time chooses cartoons from only 3 syndicates – BORING – and so their choices are extremely limited, and are only what they pay for. Like every newspaper in town. So their famous award…not so meaningful now.)

Aside from the BP oil spill – which according to my own stats, ranks right up there with Tiger Woods in the public’s interest and concern – not that many big stories last week. The headline on USA Today for Friday’s big news was about the weather: Gloom predicted in several states. That says it all.

As it happens, all my picks this week come from Cagle Cartoons, which is the most local syndicate to Los Angeles, anyway.

What a great looking cartoon! Cameron Cardow is not only pretty, but has combined two issues in one: both the oil spill and the Goldman Sachs dustup (piggy activity).  Even though we are home to movie stars (and of course, oil wells, if you remember Beverly Hillbillies) all of us here know that even the stars love a good bargain! Why do you think  swag bags proliferate at every single event? And so, the LA Times gets a double header with this cartoon.

Great colors, limited gradient or fade tool (my least favorite effect in Photoshop) and super concept. Funny, there are an awful lot of Goldman Sachs rear ends in this cartoon…  

(I love this cartoon, but there are so many good oil slick cartoons out right now that I think I’ll also make it the theme for next week.)

I just love a little mythology thrown into the mix! Kind of like Lost does, but Lost is rather sucky this season, so let’s concentrate on Icarus. I knew Icarus was a Greek hero who made his own wings and flew too close to the sun and died, very sad. But Wiki also adds that he could have been the person who invented sails on boats, which is somewhat like flying, I guess, since roller coasters hadn’t been invented yet, and then he still died by falling out of the boat and drowning. (like Fate, in Lost…)

I like the Jimmy Margulies’ imagery of the Mastercard and Visa melting. Does this really represent Greek’s meltdown? Who knows? But it does relate to our own country’s confused and dysfunctional relationship with credit cards.

Here’s an article about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, since I’m unable to help you with this. It’s something about mortgages, and if I am ever lucky enough to own a house in my lifetime, I’ll read about it then. Even though houses are out of reach for so many people here,  real estate is super important in LA, so the Times will dig this cartoon by Nate Beeler!

At first I thought the cartoon was on the running theme this year on obesity, so it works that way, too. I didn’t even see Uncle Sam squeezed between them – I’m not a fan of donkeys, elephants, or Uncle Sam as symbols – until I had already downloaded the image. Oh, and it’s something about the Greek Debt Crisis, as well. Here’s a triple-subject cartoon for you, Times!  

Honorary Mention: here’s one by Mike Lester, on National Prayer Day.

I didn’t know there was such a day, but it’s a great idea, isn’t it? It’s kind of a lightweight cartoon, and the very loose drawing style matches that. I like all the sketchy pen strokes here – casual, yet controlled. I don’t know why his name is so childish and dark, however; it distracts from the easy lines.

People think of LA as being Godless. That’s not true. We don’t talk about it much, but we pray, we do.

Thanks, everyone, for the terrific cartoons I was allowed to share with everyone today! And thanks to Daryl Cagle for letting me borrow them.

My own cartoons:

Comments on Republicans are here. (Sorry, no link now. Uclick threw away 2 years of my cartoons on Slate, Gocomics and Yahoo News when they kicked me out of Gocomics.)

Comments on unemployment are here. (no link now, see above) And I hope you caught this one, one of my favorites!

Comments on illegal immigration are here.

Captions for blind Google: Icarus flies into the sun with Greek debt, Mastercard and Visa. An appropriate punishment for Goldman Sachs Executives: cleaning the Gulf shoreline of oil from BP. National Prayer Day – Governor says Pray! That’s a switch. The other 364 days they say Pay! Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and Uncle Sam: Tsk! That’s what happens when you don’t keep yer house in order! Hey, buddy, ol’ pal! Can you spot me another $11 billion? Greek Debt Crisis.