| Cartoon Copycats on Rise Due to Web? Not necessarily, because the Internet makes it easier to catch plagiarists. Also, cartoonists discuss how to keep work original By Dave Astor -- Editor & Publisher |
A month ago, the newspaper world was abuzz with reports that a Harvard Crimson contributor allegedly copied
several editorial cartoons posted on the Web site run by Daryl Cagle. So E&P decided to ask cartoonists
whether the Internet has caused more work to be deliberately or inadvertently mimicked today than in decades
past.
Most of those queried weren't sure, or guessed that the amount of duplication has stayed relatively constant
over the years. "I don't think there's more copying now than there was prior to the Internet," said Jimmy
Margulies, editorial cartoonist for The Record of Hackensack, N.J., and King Features Syndicate. "There were
instances in the 1980s and before."
J.P. Trostle, news editor of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists' editorialcartoonists.com site,
agreed that cartoon copying might not have increased in the digital age. He said the Web makes it easier to find
cartoons to consciously or subconsciously mimic, but the Web also makes it easier to quickly catch derivative
creators.
That's a major reason why copying "hasn't necessarily gotten worse," said AAEC President Rob Rogers. The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/United Media cartoonist added that it usually took longer for pre-Web copiers to be
exposed, meaning they could borrow from other artists' work for a longer period of time.
Several cartoonists said there are other reasons, besides potential Web swiping, for why many cartoons look
similar these days. One reason involves what newspapers are willing to publish.
Trostle, a cartoonist not currently employed by a newspaper, said many editors won't run cartoons they think
are too out-of-the-ordinary. "If it's radically different, they don't put it in," he said.
A cartoon, Trostle added, can seem "radically different" to editors simply because of the art. He said that during
the past three decades or so, papers have become so used to seeing cartoons drawn in the style of Pat
Oliphant or the late Jeff MacNelly that different visual looks threaten some editors' comfort levels.
A cartoon can also appear vaguely threatening to editors due to its content. "Editors are not as willing to
publish hard-hitting cartoons," commented Ann Telnaes of the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate/New York Times
Syndicate. The result, she said, is a number of "mushy" cartoons with a similar gag-oriented approach.
These softer cartoons can be especially prevalent in newspaper and magazine roundups. Trostle calls this
phenomenon "Newsweek-itis" ? something to which many creators often or occasionally succumb in pursuit of
high- circulation exposure.
"A lot of cartoonists have a tendency to do the Jay Leno thing," agreed Chuck Asay of The Gazette in Colorado
Springs and Creators Syndicate.
One way Asay avoids this -- and tries to keep his work unique -- is to frequently use a multi-panel format.
"Also, I don't think many cartoonists have my biblical worldview about the issues," he added. "That probably
prevents me from doing the kind of cartoons that other people do."
Several cartoonists mentioned that it's easier to do unique work if they avoid using the first idea that pops into
their heads (unless they're on deadline). Margulies reported that he might come up with six cartoon
possibilities before deciding which is the best to go with.
For instance, after civil rights icon Rosa Parks died, Margulies thought of drawing Parks sitting in the front of a
bus to heaven. But he figured -- correctly, as it turned out -- that many other cartoonists would have the same
idea. Margulies thought harder, and came up with Abraham Lincoln giving his Lincoln Memorial seat to Parks.
Only one other cartoonist, to Margulies' knowledge, drew something similar.
"When I come up with something quickly, I figure it's obvious and that other people are going to do it," added
Telnaes. "So I take a deep breath and try to think of something else."
Telnaes also tries to avoid symbols, such as the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey, that have been
around for decades. Among the symbols she prefers are sheep, which she uses to portray an American media
that often defers to power.
Practice and experience also lead to more original work. Rogers and Trostle noted that young cartoonists often
copy the styles of their favorite cartoonists as they're learning the craft. "But you have to grow as a cartoonist
and eventually get away from that," said Trostle.
Cartoonists also attempt to stay unique by avoiding the Internet -- or immersing themselves in it.
Margulies looks at cartoons on the Web as much as he can, both because he enjoys seeing what his peers are
doing and because it enables him to "steer away from" drawing a cartoon that might be similar to what's already
out there.
Bill Day takes the opposite approach. "I try not to look at Web sites," said Day, of The Commercial Appeal in
Memphis and United. "Something can subconsciously enter your mind and you might think it was your original
idea."
Rogers also tries to avoid scanning the Web for cartoons. "Not because I'll ever steal something, but because
if I see a really good idea, I can't get it out of my mind," he said. "It hurts my creative process. I just try to think
of ideas in my own head, because there's no one else in there!"
Of course, some cartoonists inadvertently come up with similar ideas no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
"When you read the same newspapers and swim in the same pop-culture soup, it happens," said Trostle.
"Everybody has probably done something that looked like something else," agreed Rogers. He said the real
problem is when a creator repeatedly draws cartoons that resemble the work of others.
"If cartoonists independently come up with the same idea at the same time, that's legitimate duplication," said
Margulies. "If a cartoonist comes up with the same idea afterward, that's a different story."
Day concluded: "We sign our names to our creations. They should be our own ideas."
several editorial cartoons posted on the Web site run by Daryl Cagle. So E&P decided to ask cartoonists
whether the Internet has caused more work to be deliberately or inadvertently mimicked today than in decades
past.
Most of those queried weren't sure, or guessed that the amount of duplication has stayed relatively constant
over the years. "I don't think there's more copying now than there was prior to the Internet," said Jimmy
Margulies, editorial cartoonist for The Record of Hackensack, N.J., and King Features Syndicate. "There were
instances in the 1980s and before."
J.P. Trostle, news editor of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists' editorialcartoonists.com site,
agreed that cartoon copying might not have increased in the digital age. He said the Web makes it easier to find
cartoons to consciously or subconsciously mimic, but the Web also makes it easier to quickly catch derivative
creators.
That's a major reason why copying "hasn't necessarily gotten worse," said AAEC President Rob Rogers. The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/United Media cartoonist added that it usually took longer for pre-Web copiers to be
exposed, meaning they could borrow from other artists' work for a longer period of time.
Several cartoonists said there are other reasons, besides potential Web swiping, for why many cartoons look
similar these days. One reason involves what newspapers are willing to publish.
Trostle, a cartoonist not currently employed by a newspaper, said many editors won't run cartoons they think
are too out-of-the-ordinary. "If it's radically different, they don't put it in," he said.
A cartoon, Trostle added, can seem "radically different" to editors simply because of the art. He said that during
the past three decades or so, papers have become so used to seeing cartoons drawn in the style of Pat
Oliphant or the late Jeff MacNelly that different visual looks threaten some editors' comfort levels.
A cartoon can also appear vaguely threatening to editors due to its content. "Editors are not as willing to
publish hard-hitting cartoons," commented Ann Telnaes of the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate/New York Times
Syndicate. The result, she said, is a number of "mushy" cartoons with a similar gag-oriented approach.
These softer cartoons can be especially prevalent in newspaper and magazine roundups. Trostle calls this
phenomenon "Newsweek-itis" ? something to which many creators often or occasionally succumb in pursuit of
high- circulation exposure.
"A lot of cartoonists have a tendency to do the Jay Leno thing," agreed Chuck Asay of The Gazette in Colorado
Springs and Creators Syndicate.
One way Asay avoids this -- and tries to keep his work unique -- is to frequently use a multi-panel format.
"Also, I don't think many cartoonists have my biblical worldview about the issues," he added. "That probably
prevents me from doing the kind of cartoons that other people do."
Several cartoonists mentioned that it's easier to do unique work if they avoid using the first idea that pops into
their heads (unless they're on deadline). Margulies reported that he might come up with six cartoon
possibilities before deciding which is the best to go with.
For instance, after civil rights icon Rosa Parks died, Margulies thought of drawing Parks sitting in the front of a
bus to heaven. But he figured -- correctly, as it turned out -- that many other cartoonists would have the same
idea. Margulies thought harder, and came up with Abraham Lincoln giving his Lincoln Memorial seat to Parks.
Only one other cartoonist, to Margulies' knowledge, drew something similar.
"When I come up with something quickly, I figure it's obvious and that other people are going to do it," added
Telnaes. "So I take a deep breath and try to think of something else."
Telnaes also tries to avoid symbols, such as the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey, that have been
around for decades. Among the symbols she prefers are sheep, which she uses to portray an American media
that often defers to power.
Practice and experience also lead to more original work. Rogers and Trostle noted that young cartoonists often
copy the styles of their favorite cartoonists as they're learning the craft. "But you have to grow as a cartoonist
and eventually get away from that," said Trostle.
Cartoonists also attempt to stay unique by avoiding the Internet -- or immersing themselves in it.
Margulies looks at cartoons on the Web as much as he can, both because he enjoys seeing what his peers are
doing and because it enables him to "steer away from" drawing a cartoon that might be similar to what's already
out there.
Bill Day takes the opposite approach. "I try not to look at Web sites," said Day, of The Commercial Appeal in
Memphis and United. "Something can subconsciously enter your mind and you might think it was your original
idea."
Rogers also tries to avoid scanning the Web for cartoons. "Not because I'll ever steal something, but because
if I see a really good idea, I can't get it out of my mind," he said. "It hurts my creative process. I just try to think
of ideas in my own head, because there's no one else in there!"
Of course, some cartoonists inadvertently come up with similar ideas no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
"When you read the same newspapers and swim in the same pop-culture soup, it happens," said Trostle.
"Everybody has probably done something that looked like something else," agreed Rogers. He said the real
problem is when a creator repeatedly draws cartoons that resemble the work of others.
"If cartoonists independently come up with the same idea at the same time, that's legitimate duplication," said
Margulies. "If a cartoonist comes up with the same idea afterward, that's a different story."
Day concluded: "We sign our names to our creations. They should be our own ideas."