Caricature Books

This book as well as any other books by Rob Portlock are wonderful and so much fun to share with friends and family. They are sure to bring a smile, stir up a memory or even laugh out loud which I often do when enjoying ANY Rob Portlock. Book...this as ALL his others are great and everyone should own each and every one.....and give as gifts as well. I can't say enough good things about them!

One has to appreciate the skill that went into such early cartoons. Many appear to be dated by today's standards, but to see how the average, or lower middle classes lived at the beginning of the 20th century, there is no better way to get quickly acquainted than with cartoons. J.R. Williams was another cartoonist who has left us with memories of the twenties and thirties, and how people coped with a different sort of life than we now have.

Jay Sidebotham infuses humor into some of the most important text ever written for mankind. A must read for those studying Hebrew or brushing up on the books of the Old Testament. And all with touches of humanity found in the artistic skill of his clever illustrations. Goofy, fun and theologically sound, this book I highly recommend.
-Scott Carlton, New York City

Pat Oliphant is one of my favorite political cartoonists and this is among the best of several collections of his work. What to say? Oliphant's Anthem is the companion volume to an exhibition at the Library of Congress (in 1998) which commemorated his art. It provides graphic and compelling illustrations of his reactions to a period which extends from the Viet Nam War until the Clinton administration. The collection includes 60 drawings, sculptures, and various art media which have been added to the Library's permanent collection. In the Preface, James H. Billington observes that the Library of Congress is pleased "to add Pat Oliphant's name to the pantheon of great political artists represented in our holdings and proud to contribute, through this exhibition and publication, new information about a creator whose ideas, accomplishments, and art will certainly endure." Credit Sara Day with gathering and then editing the material provided in this volume.

That said, and with all due respect to those who praise Oliphant's art, it requires no explication. It speaks for itself and does so with a visual power and eloquence which I (at least) am unable to describe. So, what would be appropriate to share in a brief commentary such as this? First, that Oliphant's best work immediately seizes one's attention (as does Picasso's Guernica and Munch's The Scream) and the viewer either "gets it" or doesn't. Also, he captures in each drawing and in each sculpture the essence of his subject (as he perceives it) and challenges those who view it to absorb and digest the implications of what he offers. Finally, he communicates his sense of rage in response to what he views as (for lack of a better term) "man's inhumanity to man." Even as he expresses anger, dismay, frustration, and impatience, he never indicates that he has lost all hope that various inhumanities can be eliminated while insisting that none should be tolerated.

Of special interest to me is Harry Katz's interview of Oliphant on pages 13-78, accompanied by relevant illustrations with brief explanations. Oliphant responses to questions which readers such as I would probably ask if given the opportunity. For example, this brief excerpt quoted verbatim:

"Katz: So you were aware pretty early on that cartooning didn't get the respect that it deserved for the quality of work that it represented.

"Oliphant: Yes, not enough anyway. David Low did more for the art than anybody in this century, I think. Of course there've been others, but his penmanship and his brushwork, and his sense of draftsmanship were just so well advanced. And of course you need to believe in something when you're doing this business.

"Katz: What did you believe in at that time? [i.e. late-1970s] What was behind the passion? Did you feel in your gut that there was a tradition you wanted to be part of?

"Oliphant: Yes. And I don't think there's such a thing as a good conservative cartoonist. I think you have to have a fire in the gut to do it, and that doesn't come from being a conservative. You have to, by necessity, be a liberal. Otherwise you don't get into cartooning. You go and be a lawyer, or a stockbroker. You're not gonna sit there complacently and let things happen around you or to you. It's a way of being able to participate and maybe influence. Any cartoonist who rates himself or herself as a conservative will inevitably turn out cartoons which look like book illustrations -- all very competent, but with no fire or heart."

Oliphant never seems to lose what Rafael Sabatini says of Andre Moreau in the novel Scaramouche: "He was born with the gift of laughter and a sense that the world is mad." One of my personal favorites portrays President Ronald Reagan as he was about to launch his campaign for a second term. Oliphant created a whimsical illustration of him ("There he goes again," page 40) wearing a top hat and tails and carrying a cane, leaping from one ice floe to another. The caption refers to a favorite Reagan putdown in presidential campaign debates as well as to his reputation as the "Teflon president."

Most of his cartoons leave no doubt whatsoever as to what his opinion is of the given subject . The cartoon for which Oliphant received a Pulitzer Prize in 1966 is an indictment of the Viet Nam War. It portrays Ho Chi Minh, carrying a dead Viet Cong in his arms, proudly announcing "They won't get us to the conference table...will they?" (page 39) Another cartoon ("Remember Tiananmen Square," page 46) expresses Oliphant's contempt for totalitarianism's suppression of individual freedom in China.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out other collections of Oliphant's editorial cartoons as well as Attack of the Political Cartoonists which provides representative selections from almost 150 of his contemporaries. They and we are in Oliphant's substantial debt, especially as frustration with government leaders throughout the world is, if anything, greater now than ever before. When it comes to (in his words) "stirring up the animals," no one has done it better.

This book explains to a young child who John F. Kennedy was, where he came from, what he did in his life, and how his life was ended. It is written in very simple prose and has lots of photographs. My mother bought this for me shortly after JFK's death. After 9/11 there were many references to the JFK assasination. I recently tried to explain who JFK was to my young son. I retrieved this book from my parents and enjoyed reading it to him as much as he enjoyed hearing the story. It is a sweet, simple, and touching account of history.

I finally got my copy of Fred Seibert's long awaited "Original Cartoons" and it was worth the wait...or shall I say the weight! There is so much in this book...postcards from Fred's days at MTV Networks to Hanna Barbera to Frederator, and everything in between. If there ever was a true definition of a coffee table book...this is it!

As Animation World Network says "If one man can be credited with resuscitating American commercial animation from a near-death experience in the 80's and 90's, the credit would have to go to Fred Seibert"

Bravo to Fred and Eric for a very enjoyable look back...and forward!

-Bill Sobel

Eduardo del Rio (Rius) never fails to please, even after more than fifty years of cartoons and "graphic novels". It's always interesting to see the opinions of someone in our neighboring country of Mexico on the foibles and silliness of ourselves and others.

How can misery be so funny? Well, it's not and somehow William Steig shows us how people can be funny when they're miserable.

Great collection of drawings, had this book about ten years now, and I still look through it with delight.

Funny, enjoyable, close to real life on the farm when I grew up. Even my grandchildren loved it. Well worth the money.

The Outline History of an Expedition to Califonia by XOX is a wonderful little book, verywelcom on the 150th anniversary of the infamous gold rush. Newspaper accounts of the times accompany the old fashioned cartoons that depict the various misadventures of a party of New Yorkers on their ways to the gold fields. Instead of instant riches, however, they find misery, difficulty and often death. The tongue in cheek humor and wonderfully scrappy art really captures the feeling of the time. It brings home the excitement and adventure of those who fled the boring east for the new wealth of the west. But descriptions of the abandoned wagons and tombstones, the epidemics and misery of the ocean journey, recall that these gold seekers were foolhardy in their optimism. Overall, a wonderful book, well worth the reading.