Ted Rall

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A Ted Rall cartoon depicting John Kerry and George W. Bush. Bush is always portrayed as Generalissimo El Busho - a vicious military dictator - in Rall's comics.

Ted Rall, born 1963 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and raised near Dayton, Ohio, is a liberal columnist and syndicated editorial cartoonist whose political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format.

From 1981 to 1984, Rall attended Columbia University's engineering school where he contributed cartoons to the campus newspapers, including the Columbia Daily Spectator and the Jester. He failed to complete his studies in the engineering school, where he majored in applied physics and nuclear engineering, but returned to graduate several years later from Columbia's School of General Studies in 1991 with a bachelor of arts, with honors, in history. Rall says meeting Keith Haring in 1986, at a subway station, inspired him to pursue cartooning as a full-time profession.

Rall writes a weekly syndicated column and edits the Attitude series of alternative cartooning anthologies and spin-off collections by up-and-coming cartoonists. He also travels to and writes about Central Asia, a region he believes to be pivotal to U.S. foreign policy concerns. In November 2001 he went to Afghanistan as a war correspondent for The Village Voice and KFI Radio in Los Angeles.

Style

Rall is one of a new breed of editorial cartoonists who began in the alternative weeklies during the 1980s and early 1990s with wordy, abstractly drawn strips about politics and social issues. His abstract drawing style reflects a distinct break from the cross-hatched style developed by Jeff MacNelly during the 1960s, a house style that had become virtually synonymous with American editorial cartooning. Syndicated since 1991, he enjoyed success in mainstream newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post. Unexpected attacks on sacred cows led to a reputation for unorthodox politics. He was, for example, one of the few liberal cartoonists to call for Bill Clinton's impeachment for lying under oath. He is also opposed to gun control legislation. His cartoons have appeared regularly in Rolling Stone, Time, Fortune and Men's Health magazines, and were for several years the most reproduced cartoons in the New York Times.

Generation X

Rall's 1990s work focused on the issues and concerns surrounding Generation X, Americans born between 1961 and 1981. While living in San Francisco Rall met Dave Eggers, who hired him as a contributing editor and writer for Might magazine, a publication Eggers edited and co-founded. Among other essays, Rall authored two seminal essays for Might, "Confessions of an Investment Banker" and "College is for Suckers." He wrote Op/Ed columns for The New York Times, including "Why I Will Not Vote" (1994), which justified apathy among Generation Xers who saw neither the Democrats or Republicans responding to their concerns. In 1998 Rall published "Revenge of the Latchkey Kids," a compendium of essays and cartoons that criticized the Baby Boomer-dominated media for ignoring and ridiculing young adults and their achievements.

Radio

Rall had a Saturday and Sunday radio talk show on KFI radio in Los Angeles from August 1998 to August 2000, when he was fired for, among other reasons, devoting too much time to discussions of Asia and the Middle East. After 9/11 KFI brought him back to travel to Afghanistan and file live on-air reports from the battle of Kunduz and elsewhere in northern Afghanistan. Rall's show was also broadcast live from Havana as well as Pakistani-held Kashmir. Rall has been a frequent guest on National Public Radio, the BBC and Fox Radio.

Central and South Asia

Rall began frequent travels to Central Asia in 1997, when he attempted to drive the Silk Road from Beijing to Istanbul via China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan as a staff writer for P.O.V. magazine. P.O.V. published his adventures as "Silk Road to Ruin," a title he used for his 2006 collection of essays and cartoons about Central Asia. Rall returned to the region for P.O.V. in 1999 to travel the Karakoram Highway from Kashgar, in western China, to Islamabad. Subsequent trips included two trips in 2000, "Stan Trek 2000"--in which Rall brought along 23 listeners to his radio show for a bus journey from Turkmenistan to Kyrgyzstan via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan--and a U.S. State Department-sponsored visit to Turkmenistan, where he met with Turkmen college students and dissidents to explain the nature of free press in a democracy. A 2002 assignment for Gear magazine to cover the world championships of buzkashi in Tajikistan was not published due to the magazine's going out of business, but turned up in an edited form in "Silk Road to Ruin."

Editor

The Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists series of books is an series of anthologies of alternative comics edited by Rall. Frustrated that cartoons prevalent in alternative weekly newspapers were being ignored in favor of mainstream and art comics, Rall edited the first "Attitude" anthology, Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists, in 2002, with its mission to bring together cartoonists who were "too alternative for the mainstream and too mainstream for the alternative." Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists followed in 2004, and in 2006 Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists appeared. Each volume contains interviews with, cartoons by and personal ephemera related to 21 different cartoon creators. The first and second volumes emphasized political and humor cartoons; the third volume exclusively features webcartoonists.

Rall also edited three cartoons collections by Andy Singer, Neil Swaab and Stephanie McMillan under the name "Attitude Presents:". The "Attitude" series has become influential among alternative cartoonists.

Controversies

Rall's work can polarize readers. While his supporters consider him audacious and brilliant, his detractors call him cruel and talentless. In 1999, Rall created a controversy, especially among fellow cartoonists, when he wrote an article in the Village Voice [1] accusing Maus creator Art Spiegelman of lacking talent and controlling who gets high-profile assignments from magazines like The New Yorker through personal connections, including his wife, a New Yorker editor. As a self-described prank, New York Press illustrator Danny Hellman sent two sets of e-mails under Rall's name to at least 35 cartoonists and editors. After Hellman ignored his cease-and-desist notices, Rall filed a $1.5-million lawsuit for libel per se, libel per quod, injurious falsehood, violation of civil rights, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Rall's suit stated that Hellman was attempting to sabotage his career. Eventually four of Rall's five claims were dismissed, leaving only libel per se.[2] The lawsuit is awaiting trial.

In a 1999 article entitled "School's out Forever" Rall criticized the manner in which the school was reopened following the Columbine High School massacre, while showing understanding for the murderers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, claiming "the killers saved their bullets for bullies while telling other kids to leave before they got hurt". He also denounced the re-opening ceremony for the school as a "Nuremberg-style rally" and stated "leaving a few bullet holes or bloodstains behind (perhaps with an explanatory plaque) might have served as a cautionary tale for future bullies and their victims".[3]

Rall has also caused considerable controversy with post-9/11 cartoons. The "Terror Widows" cartoon [4] suggested some of the widows of men murdered in the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks were motivated by greed; it was called offensive by some and "perceptive" by others. After a concerted e-mail campaign by outraged conservative bloggers, Times online dropped the piece. [5] Rall's response to the criticism: "I've done a few lousy cartoons in my time that I'd love to take back, but this isn't one of them." Interestingly, right-wing pundit and Rall critic Ann Coulter made an almost identical argument regarding the women widowed by the 9/11 attacks nearly a year later in her book Godless.

Rall raised hackles with his May 4 2004 Op/Ed "An Army of Scum: Or, We're Looking For a Few Good Homosexual Rapists,"[6] in which he wrote about the Abu Ghraib scandal, "American troops occupying Iraq have become virtually indistinguishable from the SS." The headline referred to news reports that American troops had systematically sodomized Iraqi prisoners with flashlights and other objects.

Three characters in another strip described Pat Tillman as an "idiot" a "sap" and a "hero", respectively, for abandoning his NFL career to enlist in the armed forces. Consistent with concurrent writings concerning possible motivations of soldiers who kill people having nothing to do with 9-11, Tillman is depicted saying "Sign me up, as long as I get to kill Arabs." [7]. Later, after revelations of Tillman's privately held anti-Iraq-war sentiments became public, Rall wrote that he regretted making such sweeping assumptions about Tillman's motives, describing Tillman as "one hell of an interesting human being." [8]

In a June 8 2004, blog entry published shortly after the death of Ronald Reagan, Rall said the former President is "turning crispy brown right about now," implying that he is burning in Hell because of his policies. The post was followed by a comic depicting the President being tormented by the devil, informing him that he has arrived at a heaven that looks like hell because of Reagan-style budget cuts.

His July 5 2004, cartoon[9] mocked Condoleezza Rice, depicting her character being sent to a "racial re-education camp" where she refers to herself as a "house nigga" and George W. Bush's "beard". Rall, a white man, was accused of racism by Project 21, a conservative organization with some black members.

A November 8 2004, cartoon[10]) depicted mentally disabled children as classroom teachers in an attempt to make an analogy to American voters who reelected Bush, drawing complaints from advocates for the disabled and led to his cartoons being dropped from The Washington Post's website. Rall responded in his blog saying: "I regret hurting people who I have nothing against. I do want to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and I think I failed in that with this cartoon. Not to mention that the cartoon failed--too many people got bogged down in the analogy and the main point got lost."

A July 4 2005, Op/Ed piece[11] accused George W. Bush's chief political strategist Karl Rove of being "more morally repugnant and more anti-American" than 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden because of his alleged role in outting CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Ted Rall is a frequent guest on "Hannity and Colmes," the BBC and NPR. He contributes a cartoon called "Left Coast" to the Los Angeles CityBeat. In February 2005, BBC Television broadcast a 30-minute profile of Rall as part of their series Cartoonists on the Front Line.

Rall is listed at #15 in Bernard Goldberg's book 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America described by the author as a "vicious, conspiracy-minded, hate-filled jerk. Rall perceived the listing as an honor, replying, "Not only am I grouped with many people whom I admire for their achievements and patriotism, I'm being demonized by McCarthyite thugs I despise." [12].

He coined the term "theftinomics" to describe economic policies that he says are based on theft or fraud.

Rall solicited funds from readers and left-wing bloggers in an attempt to sue Ann Coulter for libel and slander for her (self-described as "joking") statement that, "Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and The New York Times have made submissions." Coulter first made the remark at the 2006 Conservative Political Action Committee meeting in Washington D.C. on February 10, and then printed it in her syndicated column the following week. By 18 days later, pledges totalled over $21,000.[13] [14] However, pledges are no longer being solicited, and in a December 27, 2006 blog entry, Rall posted an email that was sent to pledged contributors to the lawsuit, stating that his attorneys had determined that "the road ahead is too uncertain to justify spending thousands of dollars of pledges, not to mention my own money".[15]

In his May 16 2006 column, Rall claimed he had confirmation from unnamed Verizon employees that the Bush administration has tapped his phone. [16]

Awards

Rall's cartoons have won the 1995 and 2000 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and the Society of Professional Journalists Deadline Club Award. He won the 2002 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Graphics. His book Real Americans Admit: The Worst Thing I've Ever Done! won first prize from the Firecracker Alternative Press Awards, his Orwell parody "2024" was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com, and his graphic travelogue To Afghanistan and Back was named as one of the American Library Association's Best Books of the Year. Rall was a 1996 Pulitzer Prize finalist. He is Vice President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists.

Rall won Second Prize in the Cartoon category of the 2007 Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards.[17] Also in 2007, his book "Silk Road to Ruin" picked up First Prize in the New York Book Festival Competition in the Comics/Zines category.[18] He took Second Prize in Lambda Legal's "Life Without Fair Courts" cartoon contest.[19]]

Publications

Cartoon Collections

• Waking Up In America (St. Martin's Press, 1992), ISBN 0312085184
• All The Rules Have Changed (Rip Off Press, 1995), ISBN 0896201198
• Search and Destroy (Andrews McMeel 2001), ISBN 0740713965
• America Gone Wild (Andrews McMeel, 2006), ISBN 0740760459

Graphic Novels

• Real Americans Admit: The Worst Thing I've Ever Done! (NBM Publishing, 1996), ISBN 1561631574
• My War With Brian (NBM, 1998), ISBN 1561632155
• 2024: A Graphic Novel (NBM, 2001), ISBN 1561632902

Non-Fiction/Prose

• Revenge of the Latchkey Kids: An Illustrated Guide to Surviving the '90s and Beyond (Workman, 1998), essays and cartoons, ISBN 0761107452
• Gas War: The Truth Behind the American Occupation of Afghanistan (NBM, 2002), prose non-fiction, ISBN 0740713965
• To Afghanistan and Back (NBM, 2002), graphic travelogue, ISBN 1561633259
• Wake Up, You're Liberal!: How We Can Take America Back from the Right (Soft Skull Press, 2004), prose non-fiction, ISBN 1-932360-22-0
• Generalissimo El Busho: Essays and Cartoons on the Bush Years (NBM, 2004), essays and cartoons, ISBN 1561633844
• Silk Road to Ruin: Is Central Asia the New Middle East? (NBM, 2006), graphic novellas and essays, ISBN 1561634549

Attitude: The New Subversive Cartoonists Anthologies

• Attitude: The New Subversive Political Cartoonists (NBM, 2002), ISBN 1561633178
• Attitude 2: The New Subversive Alternative Cartoonists (NBM, 2004), ISBN 156163381X
• Attitude 3: The New Subversive Online Cartoonists (NBM, 2006), ISBN 1561634654

Other

• Shiny Adidas Track Suits and the Death of Camp (1998), contains essays from Might Magazine, ISBN 0-425-16477-2
• 9-11: Emergency Relief (2001) 9/11 benefit anthology; contributor, ISBN 1891867121
• Working For the Man (2003) William Messner-Loebs benefit anthology; contributor
• Masters of War: Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire (2003), cartoon foreword, ISBN 0415944996
• Talk to Her: Interviews with Kristine McKenna (2004), illustration of Joe Stummer, ISBN 1-56097-570-9
• Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot to Print (2004), edited by David Wallis, contains "Money Changes Everything" essay, ISBN 1-56025-581-1
• The Disposable Male: Sex, Love, and Money (2006), by Michael Gilbert, includes cartoon, ISBN 0-9776552-3-7
• Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression (2007), edited by David Wallis, contains "Ronald Reagan airport" and "Gulf War Beach" cartoons, ISBN 0-393-32924-0

Blog

Ted Rall is also the author of "Search and Destroy: Ted Rall is America's BS detector" (see external links)

External links

• Ted Rall Homepage
• Concurrent mirror of the Ted Rall Homepage This and rall.com are often down, but seldom simultaneously
• Ted Rall's MySpace page
• Extensive review of Generalissimo el Busho
• Angry response to Rall
• Interview with Rall in Satya magazine from 2003
• Editorial Cartoons by Ted Rall from Yahoo! news.

Editorials

• Anti-Reagan op/ed
• AN ARMY OF SCUM
• Ted Rall defence of op/ed
• OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE HAS JUST BEGUN, Yahoo News Op-Ed, November 9 2006 (Link dead as of 01:38, 15 January 2007 (UTC))

News articles

• Review of BBC TV profile of Rall
• Morton, Paul Interview with Econoculture, June 28 2006

Transcripts from Hannity & Colmes

• June 8 2004
• May 7 2004

Blog

• Search and Destroy: Ted Rall is America's BS detector