Cartoons — American Style
- Mario Miranda
When I visited some of the chambers of the Senators in the Senate in Washington D C, I noticed that the walls were invariably covered with original cartoons, most of them very critical of that particular politician. (Unfortunately our beloved Indian politician wouldn’t know the difference between a humourous cartoon and a Rembrandt painting). It is, I believe, almost a status symbol for the American politician to obtain (and display) the original cartoon in which he is depicted.
The cartoonists themselves are naturally quite flattered when there is such a request and rather upset when no such request is forthcoming. I was told that of late old Tricky Dick has not been asking for many originals. I don’t blame him. Nixon is a favourite target with American political cartoonists and there are no holds barred in their treatment of him. In this respect I was impressed by the freedom that the cartoonist has to wield his satirical sketch-pen and to ridicule the Establishment to his heart’s content without fear of getting the sack or being branded anti-American.
The gag cartoonists are mainly non-political and draw for magazines. They unfortunately are not having it so good right now. With the closing down of such cartoon-filled magazines as The Saturday Evening Post and many others, gag cartoonists are finding it difficult to sell their work. Today The New Yorker and Playboy are the two big magazines that pay fabulously.
In The New Yorker office I met Ed Fisher who is a regular contributor to that magazine of the elite. Soft-spoken and good-looking, he took me out for lunch to a Greek restaurant where, over red wine and succulent skewered lamb, he gave me the low-down on the cartooning trade in America. Ed is a New Yorker and has his studio in Manhattan. Most gag cartoonists, he said, are now turning towards the foreign market. Punch, the ultimate in cartoon magazines, is one of their favourites. A cartoon appearing in this magazine fetches not only good money but also does great things for one’s prestige. The Illustrated Weekly of India has regularly reproduced from Punch some of Ed Fisher’s excellent work. He did ask me about the possibility of selling in India, but our rates quite dampened his spirits.
