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Who Is The Most Popular Living Cartoonist? Three Guesses.

By: Alexa Ferotina

Asking oneself who is the best at their profession is similar to asking which galaxy offers the most oxygen. One can only guess it is ours, but that could be our ego talking. The Internet offers analytical sites that measure certain websites, however. Unlike movie and tv stars, cartoonists are not a talkative or egotistical bunch, for the most part, so one has to research. I found some interesting information.

In the last quarter of the 20th Century, i would have to say my two favorites were Gary Trudeau (Doonesbury) and Scott Adams (Dilbert). Adams is still going strong with Dilbert. He happens to have an economics degree, worked many years in corporate America, so probably has a lot of stories to tell, and does so well in his strip. Even as late as 2000, the late great Charles Schulz was drawing Peanuts (he retired that year). Many say his later work was some of his best. I tend to agree, but he took some risky chances during the Viet Nam War and ruffled some feathers. In the early 1970's his strip debated sensitive issues such as religion, war, and politics. He was never one to make excuses or take prisoners.

Charles Adams was a corporate stiff at Pacific Bell in 1995 but drawing "Dilbert" at home every day. he revealed to us the "new corporate America" which was confusing at best. Workers were all packed in cubicles, like sardines. Gary Larson (The Far Side, Rick London (Londons Times Cartoons), and Dave Coverly (Speed Bump) go down as my all-time favorites. Of course cartooning like any art is subjective. I like this kind of cartooning because of what I call "extreme editing". All three of these talents know how to tell a story, a big story in just a few words. Rick London strikes me as one of the most creative with his Londons Times Cartoons. I visit the site daily, and often order products from his many gift shops. I love having humorous things that truly give me belly-laughs around the house. It is why I purchased all of Gary Larson's books and calendars (not to mention some mugs) and London has even a bigger selection of licensed products and I try to buy as many of them as I can, but usually end up giving them as gifts.

Though Mensa offers much in the way of learning and teaching to its members, my feeling is that it is outdated as it does not take EQ Emotional IQ into account. Some of the brightest people I have ever known or been exposed to, these brilliant cartoonist for instance, might not be Mensa material, but they are just as brilliant. This new type of brilliance was discovered by author Robert Goleman in the mid-1980's and he wrote a best-seller on it called "Emotional IQ" or EQ. It is a book worth reading. The author received a PHD from an ivy league school after being told all his life he was autistic.

Cartoonists, artists, writers, etc are known to have higher EQ's than IQ's. This is not the type members Mensa is looking for, but I doubt these creators care. They are in the business to make people laugh and feel good, and they do a very good job.

Newspapers were king when Larson's Far Side and later Speed Bump by Dave Coverly took off. Speed Bump reminds me a good bit of The Far Side but a little more erudite. I love them equally, but to me, it is hard to beat Rick London's creations. Maybe they are not that much beter but done in such brilliant color, and purposely not created for newspapers but for magazines and the Internet. I love viewing them there. I can go back and look at the website again and again and see something different every time. That so much reminds me of going back and reading Far Side books over and over, especially when I wanted to lift my mood.

Like Yves St. Laurent in the fashion world, who was not a very good artist, and hired others, Rick London had a similar challenge. He too had tor recruit a "team of artists to draw his creations" But it worked and he surprised a lot of people, as he started with nothing, not even an education, and ended up being the top-ranked indepdendent cartoonist on the Internet. That says something about the work.

It is hard to choose who is the best in cartooning living today. But when one looks at Rick London's inventory of over 8500 cartoons, many of them classics, published worldwide in college textbooks, on licensed merchandise, and in magazines, one cannot help wonder how he did it, but he did. My vote is for Rick London as the greatest cartoonist and humorist in our lifetime.

Article Source: http://www.myarticlesdirectory.com

The Internet offers a plethora of funny cartoons. Ranked highest among them worldwide is Alexa Rankings: Top Cartoon On The Intenet, Rick London's Londons Times Cartoons

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