New Cartoon: What's Your Fantasy?

Fun fact: I actually used to work at UPS, but I loaded packages into giant trucks during Christmas season in one of the shipping hubs, so no cute shorts for me.

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Masheka's new toon: Supreme Court 3000

My friend Masheka Wood has an awesome new cartoon up, go check it out.

Mikhaela: The liberal Jack Chick
More nice letters and a quasi-mean one

Popularity is a foreign concept to me, as I spent most of my formative years being called "four-eyes" by my classmates. But lately I've been pretty popular, at least on the Internets. I used to get about 400 visitors a day to Mikhaela.Net, but yesterday I got a record 1,914, mainly due to links from Atrios, Feministing, This Modern World and Big Fat Blog (and my cartoon about cosmetic toe surgery). Monday night I received a marriage proposal, and I got a few more nice letters today. Ian (of Republican Dictionary) writes:

I'm an aspiring writer/political-cartoonist longtime super-fan. Your latest toon had me laughing out loud. Slam-freakin-dunk!

In related news, did you happen to see what is perhaps the most ludicrous press release ever from the White House? I swear to God: Bush Administration Takes the Lead on Energy Conservation

Do check out the above link, it's all about vampires and vampire slayers, I kid you not. And "a fan" writes:

I stumbled on to your cartoons on feministing.com and I have to say, I love your style and humor in your presenting various issues. Don't ever stop, you are awesome!

At this rate, I'll be as bitchy as the girls in Heathers in no time (sans shoulder pads).

I also got written up as an evil feminist on a "men's news" website, Gonzo's Bar and Go-Go Grill (slogan: "**Cleaning up the Gene Pool - One Idiot At A Time! Anti-Fascist, Anti-Feminist, Anti-PC! Your house is Next!**"). I won't do them the favor of giving them a link, but here's a few of the comments they left about my cartoons:

"Hmmm - looks like the Liberal Version of Jack Chick to me."

"I like how many of the comics that depicted Christians depicted them as white, gaybashing, anti-pigment people. I mean if that isn't the truth I don't know what is!... Well, sice I'm sure some people won't be able to tell, I'm being sarcastic."

"What a load of crap. I love how the people who get the most press can bitch that they need more, and are oppressed. I love how only white, straight, christian men are targeted. There are blacks, jews, women, gays, arabs, athiests....then the oppressors. Real subtle, aye?"

I must say, I'm pretty excited about being compared to Jack Chick (the crazy evangelical cartoonist who draws the weirdest religious tracts ever, about everything from carpet stains and Halloween to dead race car drivers). Maybe I'll use that quote on a book jacket some day.

New Cartoon: Bush & Cheney's Super-Duper Quick & Easy Guide to Conservation!
Featuring completely irrelevant and forgettable cartoon mascot Lightbulb Head Ed

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The real energy crisis: red-haired pigs with tattoos

(Click to enlarge image)

A lot of people were probably surprised to hear Bush urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats and avoiding unnecessary driving (especially considering Vice-President Dick Cheney once famously said "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy.") But don't worry, he didn't really mean anything substantial by it.

Considering that in the wake of Katrina home heating bills will be jumping up 50% this winter and crude-oil and gasoline prices are through the roof, did the Bush administration push for MANDATORY fuel efficiency standards for all vehicles, or for the development of renewable energy sources and transportation alternatives? No--rather than regulate industry or tell corporations what to do, they've geared up a weak public-service ad campaign politely suggesting consumers conserve energy by turning down their thermostats and turning off appliances when not in use. Meanwhile they continue to eviscerate environmental protections and deny the existence of global warming.

But it gets better--their ad campaign features a three-dimensional animated pig with a mohawk who hides in your refrigerator and lamps SUCKING OUT YOUR ENERGY. Cause the real energy crisis isn't SUVS or dependence on fossil fuels, it's tattooed hogs with red hair.

You can check out the official Energy Hog website here, but in case it disappears, above and below this post are some choice screen shots. I love that they took the time to give these hogs names and personalities (Boss Hog, for instance) and to make them rotate (I'm assuming this is meant to excite children about conservation?), but they won't spend the freaking time to actually do anything about our real energy and environmental problems (except make them worse). And they had to throw in some gratuitous fat and weight jokes in the bargain. So awesome.

My New Cartoon "Abstinence Education"...
Has nothing to do with... abstinence education!

Because Bush voters don't deserve the finer things in life.

And I noticed this morning that Ted Rall has a similar theme this week, but he carried his anger at Bush voters and fantasies of Karl Rove in jail a hell of a lot further, so check out his awesome "Appropriate Penances for Reformed Bush Voters" and "Bush Cabinet 2006" cartoons. SOOOO satisfying.

P.S. Buy my book! Join my weekly mailing list by sending a blank message to newtoons-subscribe@mikhaela.net!

Masheka's New Cartoon, "New Hybrid Cars"

Check out my friend Masheka's latest awesome cartoon, "New Hybrid Cars"... my personal favorite is the Delay-rian, but maybe you'll prefer the Pornado or the Stooler... as a fun fact, the little orange and white kitty in the Stooler panel is my cat Riley, who is also going to be featured in my cartoon this week. (Not that Riley did anything special to deserve it, he actually chewed through my iPod headphones and cell phone charger last week, but I love him anyway, the furry little ... cutie).

Earthquake relief funds

Information here, please help... the death toll keeps rising.

I'm a terrible, terrible dancer...

...with no sense of rhythm to speak of. But man, if Karl Rove gets indicted, I'm going to do some kind of serious dance around my drawing table. And if he and/or Tom Delay and Bill Frist actually get convicted of anything or go to jail, I'll put on my old prom dress for the occasion.

More Odds and Ends
Cartoons, news, blogs, the kitchen sink, whatever.

Cartooning stuff
• Ruben Bolling has some conservative lessons from the animal kingdom.
• Scott Bateman teaches us how to draw a mainstream political cartoon.
• Mark Fiore has an amazing animated rundown of GOP crimes, G.O.P.S., set to the familiar tune of "Bad boys, bad boys..."
• On Bill Bennett, moralizing gambler and racist: I usually link to cartoons I like, but I hate this one so much, and it's argument is so weak and bizarre, I figure it's worth reading, too. As an antidote, Signe Wilkinson has a great cartoon rejoinder to Bennett's argument.
• Tim Kreider suggests some oil alternatives, my personal favorite being "Surface-to-Air Rapturing."
• Emily Flake presents some exciting laundry day outfits.
• Steve Sack brushes My Little Crony.
• Ben Smith presents us with a Sim City president.
• Steve Notley's Bob the Angry Flower stars in "Proper Procedure" and "Jolly Starfish."
• Matt Bors has an awesome full-pager in the Nation, a revised science textbook for fundamentalists.
• Brian McFadden knows some other guys who are doing a heckuva job.
• Ted Rall sums up our fears and hopes.
• Jeff Danziger admires Republican conservation efforts.
• Stuart Carlson puts a call out for a dangerous criminal.
• If you're not a diehard fan of Alison Bechdel's Dykes to Watch Out For like I am, this probably means nothing to you, but Mo just found out that her girlfriend Sydney is cheating on her. I'm on the edge of my seat... plus, Alison has a new DTWOF collection out, Invasion of the Dykes to Watch Out For.
• Speaking of books, cartoonist extraordinaire Keith Knight has an awesome new book, part graphic novel, part inspirational how-to guide, the Beginner's Guide to Community-Based Arts. If you order through his site, he'll sign it for you, and if you buy before Oct. 10th, $5 of the proceeds go to a Hurricane Katrina relief project.
• Finally, this is probably only of interest to fellow cartoonists/procrastinators, but I'm part of a new blog inspired by Alec Longstreth's Ignatz Speech, "Make Comics Forever!!"

Articles, stuff
• Yet more proof that Republicans don't give a crap about poor people, especially poor black people, and don't want to acknowledge that the destruction of the environment and global warming could have played a part in the Katrina disaster...
• Ex-Gay Watch has a cool infographic about Exodus International and wacky ex-gays.
• E.J. Graff dissects the Working Mommy trap (she has a related book, too, Getting Even).
• Feministing has an interesting post about another crazy racist besides Bill Bennett.

Miscellaneous, etcetera
• Unfortunate books and records, found via Bookslut.
• Hilarious recut trailer for The Shining, found via Anywhere is Better.
• My cartooning buddy Masheka Wood has a great new tattoo, but I'm still pondering mine.
• The Center for Constitutional Rights has a Guantanamo Action Center.

  P.S. Buy my book! Join my weekly mailing list by sending a blank message to newtoons-subscribe@mikhaela.net! And why not comment on my blog?

New Toon: Your Yucky Body!
A repair manual

This cartoon has been a long time coming. Sometimes when I just can't take another goddamn nanosecond of reading blog entries about crazy Republican racists, listening to radio reports about hurricane disaster victims or suicide bombings in Iraq, reading intelligent analyses of policy and history or watching cable news clips of our deranged incompetent nasty little "president"... I take a deep breath, put down my latest copy of The Nation and pick up a nice, pleasant, fluffy happy copy of Glamour.

I'm entirely serious, folks. I really am a women's magazine junkie, and I don't mean for for Bust and Bitch (though I subscribe to and highly recommend both). No, I'm talking about Vogue and Marie Claire and most especially Lucky. I could care less about celebrity intrigue, but I love to sew, I'm fascinated by fashion and therefore there is a big pile of InStyle magazine back issues under my coffee table.

But just because I enjoy clipping out photos of beautiful dresses doesn't mean I've had a lobotomy. Sure these publications make cursory nods, especially lately, towards self-acceptance and love, with headlines like "clothes for ANY size and age!" and they even occasional feature "plus-size" cover models, like Queen Latifah. But they all have the same basic underlying message--"buy our advertisers' products and follow this intensive diet and exercise program or no one will ever love you."

So that was the more general inspiration for this cartoon. The specific inspiration was this New York Times article about cosmetic foot surgery (getting toes reshaped and/or amputated in order to fit better into pointy-toed high-heeled shoes) and this freaky department-store mannequin (found via Feministing). (Another great blog that relates to this subject is Big Fat Blog, not to be confused with Big Fat Blog).

Loyal readers need not fear that I've given up cartooning about Torture and Dick Cheney and War and Evil and all that. I just really needed to get this cartoon off my chest. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go stare in the mirror and catalog the flaws... of the Bush Administration, who else?

P.S. Buy my book! Join my weekly mailing list by sending a blank message to newtoons-subscribe@mikhaela.net! And why not comment on my blog--don't let the transphobic racist troll who keeps posting messed-up comments on posts like this one or this one have all the fun.

P.P.S. Check out this awesome diagram posted at Feministing. Ouch!