I was pleased to see a positive profile of the cartoonist Rob Tornoe in the Wilmington News Journal today. Mr. Tornoe draws for a New Jersey political web site (politicker.com) but was raised partly in Delaware and lives in Newark. He may draw New Jersey, but he's one of ours. And, I am a fan. His RSS feed has been a part of the "art" category in my Google Reader set-up for a while now.The profile, 'Equal opportunity offender', traces the 30-year old's young career and his slow migration into the center of the political spectrum, where he has developed a skill at skewering politicians on the left and right with a balanced, if jaundiced, eye.
The News Journal includes Mr. Tornoe's take on the Obama-Can't-Bowl flap, for example. I am a left-leaning cynic, so this cartoon's critical look at GW Bush's war and tactics, and the foolishness of the press, appeals to me. But I note that the cartoon also pokes fun, if gently, at Mr. Obama himself.
I grew up politically on the cartoons of the great editorialists like Oliphant. Theirs was a form of encapsulated commentary that included humor and an understanding of the absurdity of life and politics. Mr. Tornoe is a part of a new generation that is carrying that tradition forward but adding new tricks and twists.
It is good to see. And fun to read.
