Comments on: Expert Advice

By: Matt Davies

Matt Davies — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:19:20 +0000

That’s correct, Mike. Thomas Nast (another “foreign born” cartoonist) is widely credited with adopting them as symbols for the Democrat and Republican parties over a hundred years ago. Hence the “stale” charge. I don’t really care how old they are though, I personally use the symbols only because the parties still use them, and they are fun to draw.

By: MikeinAlbany

MikeinAlbany — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:48:53 +0000

The metaphoric icons of the elephant and donkey originally came from political cartoons.

By: Matt Davies

Matt Davies — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:58:41 +0000

Uncaffeinated guy,
Funny you mention it. The elephant in the suit is a source of rabid discussion among certain sectors of the political cartoon world. In this case, I chose to use it ironically (as the GOP talking about stale brands) in full consideration of the practitioners of self-described “alternative” cartooning, who consider the image of the elephant as GOP to be stale itself. Which is fair enough. But I am a practitioner of the “retro post-stale” era of political cartooning in which the ironic use of a stale image (y’know an elephant or, even more hilariously, a donkey) in a suit is both permissible and potentially humorous, so long as this is successfully offset by decent writing and that elusive creature, an original idea.

By: havn't had my coffee yet

havn't had my coffee yet — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:15:15 +0000

maybe it’s just me, but you all sound like your speaking a different language. I can tell by your big words that you are clearly all very smart. I just think that an elephant in a suit is funny!!

By: MikeinAlbany

MikeinAlbany — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:41:35 +0000

Hey, Kettle! C’mover here—I want you to meet my friend, Pot. Pot, this is Kettle. You two have a lot in common.

By: Purity

Purity — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:12:09 +0000

And also…”Globalization”
It’s what happens when everybody in the world shares a marketplace.
They all catch a cold at the same time, but not before laughing at the stall selling the rubbish cars.

Also RIP “competition”...it’s what you tear up when it’s your stall.

By: Matt Davies

Matt Davies — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:35:11 +0000

Feo,
I ran out of room…So “Culture war” was sort of a parenthetical device to cover those and many others.

By: Feo Amante

Feo Amante — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:13:32 +0000

You forgot the “Evangelical” and “Creationism Is Science” buttons.

By: Lalas

Lalas — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:28:31 +0000

Funny (well… not really) but Sean InHannity keeps using the same talking points even though the election is over. Even if (big IF) the Party took the hint that their crap is stale, the friends of the Party (Faux News, Michael Savage [Weiner], Mann Coulter etc…) may well never get it. Then again, why would they choose to be unemployed?