by Bob Al-Greene
AL-GREENE: “This was my second cartoon in the DN, about the SCHIP healthcare bill, another topic which kind of went over my head until I sat down to draw and realized 4 million children would be a powerful image. This is my first overt criticism of George Bush (in a cartoon), and I figured he would be an easy face to draw because he’s such an easy caricature, but I wanted him to be more than a pair of ridiculous ears and eyebrows. It took several tries to get it right with my style. I wish I could’ve made his clutching the podium more obvious – he always does that when he’s giving a speech but it’s tough to convey. I also never want to have to draw this many children again.” Go to themonstercycle.com to learn more interesting posts.
“Themes I seem to touch often are self-delusion and its consequences. This cartoon is the result of all the ‘life’ conversations I’ve ever had with people older than me. Older readers seemed to like this one. But I still hope I’m wrong.” I like this cartoon, except for the ambiguous pronoun reference. ‘They’ should read ‘The Iraqis.’ Other than that, I think it’s an example of my artwork on a good day. This is also a good example of a tactic I like to use — starkly contrasting the banal with the horrific.