Introducing Cartoonists With Attitude!
Alternative cartoonists joining forces, conquering world, making T-shirts. Etc.

Ever want to read the blogs of a bunch of your favorite altie cartoonists all in one place? Well, now you can. Members of the group include Ted Rall, Keith Knight (he's not on the site yet but will be), Matt Bors, Stephanie McMillan, Jen Sorensen, Brian McFadden, August Pollak, Masheka Wood, and me. Our brand-new website just went live Monday, and we have plans to do a group book signing in DC this October (right before the Small Press Expo).

We're also making T-shirts. Would you wear this shirt? If so, let me know--I have to figure out how many to order.

New Cartoon: Roving Reporter, Katrina Losses Edition
Plus: Bush still misses Trent Lott's porch (See also my original Katrina cartoons: "Questions," "The Brighter Side of Hurricane Katrina", and "Let Them Eat Toxic Sludge!")

So say you're a crapbag excuse for a president who was playing air guitar and eating birthday cake while thousands of people drowned and lost their homes and livelihoods and loved ones. And say many of the people thus affected were black and poor. And say you didn't really do a heckuva job getting them housing or jobs or rebuilding their city. And say it's a year later, and you want to reach out to them and show them you care, that you understand, you really understand? How do you express your loss to all these (largely black and poor) survivors?

By talking about how much you miss Senator Trent Lott's porch, of course. You know, the Senator who had to step down as Senate Majority Leader because he longed for the days of Strom Thurmond, segregation and lynching? And I quote:

"It's hard to describe the devastation down here," he said. "It was massive in its destruction, and it spared nobody. U.S. Sen. Trent Lott had a fantastic house overlooking the bay. I know because I sat in it with he and his wife. And now it's completely obliterated. There's nothing...."

Because nothing says "I feel your pain" like longing for racist lemonade and fancy real estate. Meanwhile Lott is sitting pretty in the Senate and living in one of his other homes, and Katrina's real victims are stuck in trailers.

P.S. This isn't the first time Bush was only able to conceptualize Katrina losses in the context of Trent Lott's porch. A year ago he made the following infamous remark:

Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch.

P.P.S. Spike Lee's HBO documentary When the Levees Broke made me sob like a baby. I highly recommend it, just be sure to have tissues at hand.

P.P.P.S. Get your Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela T-shirts and/or tank tops while they're hot!

Cartoon reading quick hits

In no particular order:
• Stephanie advocates devolution.
• Jen has the goods on George Allen, decorative noose and all.

Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela T-shirts!

Attack of the 50-Foot Mikhaela T-shirts!

A whole bunch of new products in the shop, get them while they're hot!

Why I keep drawing

Why I keep drawing...

It's not for the pay, that's for sure. It's more for letters like this one, from an anonymous young woman in Utah:

Hello, I'm a 15 year-old lesbian girl in a (utah) mormon family. I'm scared to come out, but I liked reading your comics a lot. This isn't even my e-mail address I use for family because I'm so damn scared of what might happen.

But anyway, I really liked your comics. Can you put me on the mailing list? Thanks.

And this one, from The National Advocates for Pregnant Women:

Dear Mikhaela:

Many people have sent us your fabulous cartoon What to Expect When You are Pre-Expecting. You and our organization, National Advocates for Pregnant Women are definitely thinking along the same lines! For example, in a booklet we prepared about pregnancy and employment discrimination we point out that one of the things too many pregnant women can expect is this kind of discrimination. Among the many things we do at NAPW is challenge the arrests of pregnant women and new mothers and other punitive actions that you touch upon in your cartoon. I hope you will have a chance to look at our website -- www.advocatesforpregnantwomen.org and a sample commentary below the signature line.

Thank you again for expressing the horror of what is happening in such a wonderful way

Yours Truly,
Lynn M. Paltrow

Here's another, from a gentleman named Kevin C.:

Dear Mikhaela,

I just wanted to let you know I love your cartoons. I am a 40-year old caucasian male, middle-class, midwesterner, budget analyst for an industrial coatings company and yes, I actually have brown paneling in my office (are you still awake?). I know many people who are, like me, middle-class accounting nerds who share your views on the environment, social policy, war, and everything else that appears in your cartoons. Thanks for all of the good work that you do. Also, congratulations on your wedding!

Aw, I'm blushing. Keep the letters coming, folks!

New Cartoon: "Joe Jokes"

I've been looking for a totally gratuitous reason to make a nonsensical Project Runway reference, and I finally found it in the conservative hawkish bundle of obnoxiousness that is Joe "Independent Democrat" Lieberman.

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

Monday cartoon reading

In no particular order...
• Matt doesn't ask or tell, baby.
• For all those of delicate sensibility, Brian presents The Classy Dozens.
• Stephanie is like, totally embarassed.
• Ted watches the clock.
• Scott finishes his Bateman 365 animation a day project--watch 'em now before they're off-line and only available on DVD.
• Jeff Danziger makes a very simple point.
• Masheka likes fire.
• Keef celebrates Life's Little Victories, New Orleans style, and gets in a dark mood.
• David Rees earns his wages.

New Cartoon: " Bride vs. Bride"

I wanted to do something a little more light-hearted after all the doom and gloom cartoons I've drawn recently. And Masheka and I are getting married next year, so this cartoon is about two things:
• 1. The debate going on in the LGBT community over the recent controversial Beyond Same-Sex Marriage manifesto/statement
• 2. My slight ambivalence towards my own wedding-crazedness and my total horror and disdain at the wedding industry (yes, I read IndieBride.com and the Anti-Bride Guide and all that). But I swear I'm not obsessing over place cards... just over the dress, which I am making myself. And the cartoon invitations. And the vegan chocolate wedding cake. Er... Yeah...

The Real Hot 100 party was awesome...
See for yourself.

Me and my dad at the Real Hot 100 art opening (click photo for whole set). If you're wondering why our hair is wet, we got caught in a thunderstorm walking to the gallery.

Me and Masheka at the Real Hot 100 party (click photo for whole set)

New Cartoon: "What Global Warming?"
Plus: Masheka rides the heat wave This is my response to the ridiculous conservative talking point that liberals are so dumb they confuse "global warming" with "summer", especially as expressed in this deliberately ignorant cartoon.

Also, Masheka is really sweaty.

And Stephanie has another good global warming toon.

Real Hot 100 fundraising art show Thursday night in NYC!
(And this one has no cover charge)

What: Real Hot 100 Art Exhibit Opening
When: Thursday August 10, 7-10 p.m.
Where: KFMK galleries, 515A West 29th Street (at 10th Ave, so take the A/C/E to 34th St.)

I donated seven large limited-edition prints to sell in the show and I'll be at the opening in person for a bit. Here's the flier:

Welcome new readers!
Please help support The Boiling Point!

My latest few cartoons turned out to be pretty popular, so a big hello to all you new readers!

And for readers old and new, remember that you can buy books, prints and originals. If you're interested in a high-quality signed archival color limited-edition print of any of my cartoons, prices range from $15 for an 8 1/2 x 11" print to $35 for a 13" x 19" print.

I also still have the originals of many of my cartoons for sale (here are some examples of what the originals look like), most for $160, but some single-panel cartoons are just $120. Just email me letting me know which one you'd like to buy (list an alternate or two just in case) and I'll let you know the price and details. All originals come with free color prints.

And of course, if you know any editors... encourage them to pick up my cartoon. I lost quite a few clients recently due to various unfortunate circumstances (changing editors, changing design, etc.) and I really need to expand my audience (and my paycheck--I lost the majority of my cartooning income when I lost the Boston Phoenix as a client).

New Cartoons: "Condi Looks at the... Brighter Side of Middle East Violence" and ">"Car Confessions (Mitt Romney Makes Like Mel Gibson"
Plus: Masheka has Bush's tips for dealing with black people

I drew two cartoons this week, something I'm trying to do more often. The first was inspired by a strong desire to shake or slap Condi Rice after watching her smirk and smarm about the wonderful progress and conversations she'd been having in Lebanon and Israel--meanwhile, missiles continued to be fired all over the damn place. But hey, I guess if they claim to see wonderful progress in Iraq (100+ civilian deaths per day and counting), they can claim to see it anywhere. (For something more focused on civilian deaths, see Big Fat Whale's "The Price of Life".)

It's been pretty obvious for about, I don't know, FOREVER, that Mel Gibson is a hateful right-wing anti-Jewish Holocaust denier, but I guess for some people it took him letting his true colors show in a drunk driving incident to make it totally clear. So I thought... what if all kinds of other politicians ruined their careers by revealing their all-too-obvious-but-apparently-not-obvious-enough bigotry in drunk driving incidents?

Also, Masheka has Dubya's Tips for Dealing With Black People, inpsired by Bush's sad little appearance at the NAACP a bit back:

Go and Get These Books

Field Guide to the U.S. Economy: A Compact and Irreverent Guide to Economic Life in America, Revised and Updated Edition. I must say I'm biased, since I have several cartoons in this book. But it's a great guide that makes complicated economic concepts easy to understand with some help from cartoons by Tom Tomorrow, Jen Sorensen, Stephanie McMillan, yours truly, and more. Available now.

Ted Rall's latest book, Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? is a must-read, especially now. It's not in stores yet, but I had the privelege of reading the proofs, and it's a gem: part graphic novel, part travelogue, with indepth guides to each of the countries in this volatile, crucial, yet often overlooked part of the world.