Battle lines: political cartoonists take on Iraq

0 Comments | Current Events, Sept 30, 2005 | by Laura McClure

Gary Markstein

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee, Wis.

Gary Markstein isn't a tortured artist, but like most political cartoonists, he takes a lot of flak for his work. Even in elementary school, his teachers scolded him for doodling on his assignments. Today, Markstein frequently gets e-mail from people who disagree with his cartoons. "You have to be somewhat thick-skinned to be an editorial cartoonist because not everyone's going to agree with your opinion," he says.

CE: What inspired this cartoon?

Markstein: There was a poll [that showed American] support [for the war was] dwindling.... So I thought of just a simple image of [something] eroding and slowly washing away.

CE: Why does this cartoon work?

Markstein: It makes the point simply of ... how [President George W.] Bush is not completely invulnerable ... that the American people are starling to squirm with this Iraq war, and flag waving is starting to wear a little thin.

Steve Breen

San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego, Calif.

Steve Breen likes to feature a certain type of person in his political cartoons--"anyone who is being cruel or thoughtless or greedy," he says. "Whenever I can put someone in [his or her] place, I feel like I've earned my keep." Breen's done more than just earn his keep. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his insightful work in 1998. "The best cartoons come from inspiration ... from passion about a particular issue," he says.

CE: What was going on in the news when you drew this cartoon?

Breen: I think what prompted it was just an ongoing series of things. [There were] more allegations of prisoner abuse [against Iraqi soldiers], and I just thought that all these things had to have a cumulative effect on our [country's] image. At first I was going to draw the eagle with a couple of feathers plucked out; then I thought, well, it's almost like he's lost them all in the eyes of the world, in terms of his credibility or his image. It just kind of works nicely with the phrase bald eagle.

CE: What techniques did you use?

Breen: There's definite symbolism because I'm taking a well-known symbol [the bald eagle], and I'm using it in an unflattering, irreverent manner.

CE: Why does this cartoon work?

Breen: Because it takes something that everyone's familiar with and puts a slight tweak on it, but you still recognize what it is immediately.