FAQ

Q: This guy got paid for this?

A: Maybe! Political Cartoonists are generally paid in two ways--as a staff position or on a per-cartoon basis by a syndicate.

If a cartoonist is a staff cartoonist, they'll list their employer by their name. These cartoonists are paid a living wage and just about all of their cartoons are actually approved by an editor, printed, and seen by human beings.

If a cartoonist is a member of a syndicate, they'll list their syndicate by their name, usually Cagle or U-Click. These syndicates act as a market for editors. We have no idea whether a particular cartoon posted by a syndicate is actually sold. Reportedly, they are sold for around $10 a cartoon, which is then split by the cartoonist and the syndicate. As you can imagine, this means a cartoonist can make very little or very much in syndication.

There's also the rare exception of cartoonists who are paid by donation, but this is becoming more common through sites such as Patreon and Kickstarter.

Q: How obscure is this guy? Is anyone ever actually going to see this?

A: For most, there's no way to tell. Unless they're a staff cartoonist (check the Index), the cartoon may never be printed or seen by anyone. Most of the cartoonists here are published to a fairly large audience but, as the internet offers easier ways to get your work out there, this thread has seen an increasing amount of obscure or fringe cartoonists. Just assume they're read by a non-trivial amount of people unless there's proof otherwise.

Q: Is everyone posted here an evil, stupid, conservative asshole?

A: No, we post all kinds. Sometimes a cartoon will present an evil idea sarcastically, sometimes they're just evil. If you can't tell just by looking at it, just look them up in the index for a very general idea.

Q: Did this cartoonist get a Pulitzer for one cartoon or what?

A: Apparently Pulitzers many decades ago were given out for a particular cartoon or two, but as time goes on it seems to have shifted to the artist's work for the year. So while we make mock someone like Ramirez for obvious "Pulitzer Bait", technically all of his cartoons are judged for the award. Yeah...we don't hold the Pulitzer in high regard.

Q: Is this just for American/Canadian cartoonists, or...?

A: We allow cartoons of all stripes, and we adore stuff from foreign cartoonists as a break from the usual suspects. There is a thread for UK cartoons, but we've felt that there haven't been enough UK cartoons posted in this thread and would encourage people to start posting them in here again. However it would be nice, if you have the time, to explain some of the stuff that harder to decipher.

Q: What about funny page cartoons? Webcomics?

A: A cartoon with regular political content, such as Doonesbury or Prickly City, can be posted here no problem. Your Garfield and Family Circus stuff should go to the Comic Strip Megathread in BSS, although feel free to share the rare individual strips that are political in nature. Webcomics follow the same procedure: it's fair game if there's overt contemporary political themes, otherwise take it elsewhere. Remember that Day by Day, a political webcomic, is banned from this thread. Take it to the Bad Webcomic Thread or whatever place allows such garbage.

Q: Can I share this crazy email from my mom? How about this image macro I saw on Facebook?

A: This thread is strictly for political cartoons. There is a thread for sharing political emails from your family, and another for political pictures. If you wish to further go down the rabbit hole, check out the Right Wing Media and Freep threads.

Q: Can I see more from X?

A: We'd really like to see more people consistently posting the same cartoonist(s) so they don't get missed. If you want to step up to the plate for a particular person, then by all means. You can post them as they come, or do weekly dumps if that's easier on you.