Cartoon Genius

Jim Borgman is a Cincinnati native who has made a career out of making fun of the world. He's an editorial cartoonist, and today we're celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of his first cartoon. Over the years, he's won several awards for his work, including the 1991 Pulitzer Prize and the 1993 Reuben Award (the editorial cartoonist equivelant to an Academy Award). I used a Borgman cartoon to illustrate my happiness over Ohio's ">right to breastfeed in public law. He's also the co-author of the cartoon strip "Zits". Oh... and he's now a blogger!

He's satired a LOT of local personalities, like Red's announcer Marty Brennaman, Mayor Bobbie Sterne, and Judge Leslie Isaiah Gaines- all of whom where interviewed for today's anniversary article. Brennaman recently bought an original cartoon featuring himself and said "I thought it was so damn good that I didn't want anyone else to have it... I want people to knwo he did me." After announcing that Gaines saw the image of Christ on a pillar in the county courthouse, Borgman published a cartoon featuring Gaines, Marge Schott (former Red's owner) and Sparky Anderson (former Red's manager). They're looking at Gaines' tie, and Sparky said "No, it's not Jesus, it's pizza sauce." Even though he was being made fun of, this is Gaines' favorite Borgman cartoon. Bobbie Sterne said that Borgman "has such a genius for zeroing in on the essence of the situation", and she's right. He is a genius.


...Jim Borgman on Korean nukes


...Jim Borgman on parental responsibility


...Jim Borgman on Bono's world peace involvement


...Jim Borgman on Dubya and his Daddy


...Jim Borgman on Cincinnati's outrage over the Maplethorpe exhibit



...Jim Borgman on the deaths of JFK Jr. and Aids victim, Ryan White

Thanks for 30 years of thought-provoking cartoons, Jim. You may be a bleeding-heart Liberal... but I love your work anyway.