Thanks, Jake!
June 7, 2018
Thanks to fellow cartoonist Jake Tapper for having me on his show yesterday. This might be the first time killed cartoons have been animated. Very cool.
News
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Ka-Blam! 2016: Cause-Play
March 25, 2016
For the second year in a row, KA-BLAM!, the ToonSeum’s annual fundraiser, returns to the Teamsters Temple Banquet Hall in Lawrenceville on Saturday, April 23.
This year’s theme is “CAUSE-PLAY” (like cosplay) and guests are invited to attend in costume as their favorite popular characters. All characters are welcome, from superheroes to Lawrencevillains, starship captains, Klingons, Tribbles, furries, stormtroopers, Ghostbusters, Jedis and more. If you love cosplay, this is your party!!! If not, costumes are NOT required…you will still have lot’s of fun!
The honorary chairs for KA-BLAM! 2016: CAUSE-PLAY are Braddock Mayor John Fetterman and his wife, Gisele. The host for the event is beloved Pittsburgh documentarian and ToonSeum Board Member Rick Sebak.
THIS SUPER FUN PARTY will feature live entertainment, celebrity pictionary, best costume contests, professional comic artists sketching, food and beverages from your favorite Lawrenceville establishments and a silent auction.
Dress up and have a blast while benefitting the ToonSeum. Costume-free guests are welcome too!
KA-BLAM! 2016: CAUSE-PLAY is Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 7-11 PM.
VIP ADMISSION: Doors open for VIP ticket holders at 7pm. VIPs get a special swag bag, custom cocktail and signed print from Post Gazette editorial cartoonist Rob Rogers.
GENERAL ADMISSION: the main event lasts from 8-11pm at the Teamsters Temple Banquet Hall in Lawrenceville. Tickets on Eventbrite are $40 for regular admission, $75 for VIP entry, and $125 for VIP couples.
To purchase tickets, go to: http://kablam2016.eventbrite.com/
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Rogers Wins Berryman Award
December 10, 2015
From a November 22nd, 2015 story in the Pittsburgh Pos-Gazette.
Rob Rogers, the Post-Gazette’s editorial cartoonist, has won this year’s Berryman Award for Editorial Cartooning. Given by the National Press Foundation, the prize is named for Clifford K. and James T. Berryman, the father-son team of editorial cartoonists for The Washington Star.
The winning portfolio included cartoons about police facing cellphone video cameras, the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris, the campaign between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, the stand of Pope Francis on climate change and the proliferation of gun sales in the United States.
The judges said, “Rogers has a vivid visual style that invites you in. He tackles really heavy issues with a light-handed visual touch. He leaves no confusion about his point of view; he knows what he wants to say.”
The Berryman award carries a $2,500 prize. Mr. Rogers will attend the NPF awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in February. The Post-Gazette cartoonist received the 2000 and 2013 Thomas Nast Award from the Overseas Press Club and the 1995 National Headliner Award. In 1999 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Mr. Rogers is president of the ToonSeum, Pittsburgh’s museum of comic and cartoon art.
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BOOK LAUNCH!
December 7, 2015
Come celebrate the release of Rob Rogers’ new book Mayoral Ink: Cartooning Pittsburgh’s Mayors on Wednesday, December 9th at the ToonSeum! This is the first collection to include Rob’s popular Brewed On Grant strip and contains over 170 cartoons featuring the exploits of Richard Caliguiri, Sophie Masloff, Tom Murphy, Bob O’Connor, Luke Ravenstahl and Bill Peduto. The book will be on sale for $20 and Rob will be on hand to sign copies. Mayoral Ink will make the perfect stocking stuffer for the local politics lover on your holiday gift list!
Light snacks and drinks will be provided. The event is FREE but space is limited so please reserve your tickets now.
WHEN
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
WHERE
ToonSeum – 945 Liberty Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15222 -
My New Book! — Mayoral Ink
December 2, 2015
I am proud to announce that my new book, “Mayoral Ink: Cartooning Pittsburgh’s Mayors”, is available now!
I have been drawing cartoons about Pittsburgh and its mayors since the mid ’80s, but I’ve only been drawing my local weekly comic strip Brewed on Grant since the ’90s. This book is my first Brewed on Grant collection.
The local comic strip is set in a fictitious diner on Grant Street in downtown Pittsburgh. Grant Street is home to the Mayor’s office, City Council Chambers, County Courthouse and the old County Jail. In other words, a lot of crazy stuff goes down on Grant Street. Brewed on Grant is by far the most popular cartoon I draw each week, especially among Pittsburgh readers.
The book contains over 170 cartoons featuring the exploits of Richard Caliguiri, Sophie Masloff, Tom Murphy, Bob O’Connor, Luke Ravenstahl and Bill Peduto. With the exception of some early cartoons in black and white, most of the book will contain full-color cartoons. If you are not familiar with Pittsburgh politics that’s OK. Each cartoon will have a line of explanatory text to help the reader with history and context.
The foreword was graciously provided by my good friend Lynn Cullen.
Get your copy now! $30 includes inscription, shipping and handling.
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Ted Rall Matters
August 15, 2015
The headline is meant to be tongue and cheek, but what happened in this story is serious.
My friend and colleague Ted Rall was fired from his freelance gig of six years by the Los Angeles Times. This is particularly disturbing because of the circumstances surrounding the decision. The LAPD, who Rall had been criticizing in his cartoons, was involved in the decision to can Rall. The firing came after the LAPD provided an audio tape that allegedly disputes Rall’s claim that he was handcuffed in 2001 for jaywalking in LA. The tape is mostly unintelligible. I don’t think it should even have been considered by the LA Times. In my opinion, the LA Times should have stood up for Rall, their contributor, instead of the police. At the very least, the LA Times should have asked Ted about the incident in more detail or given the tape to an audio expert to determine if it was authentic or if more could be gleaned. It appears they did neither.
I am a realist. If Ted Rall lied about what happened then, yes, he deserved to be fired just like Brian Williams deserved to lose his anchor job at NBC. But I have seen no proof that he lied. To me the tape is inconclusive, though both the LAPD and Rall say it proves their point. You can judge for yourselves. I have known Ted Rall for a quarter century and I have never doubted his courage or his integrity. I believe him when he says he was handcuffed. But it really isn’t about what I believe. It is about the LA Times believing the LAPD’s version of the story over Ted’s without so much as a call or an investigation into the charges.
Newspapers are fading and cartoonist jobs, even freelance jobs, are going away with them. That is why this story is important. It speaks to the integrity of journalism, satire and the word of a major newspaper. If Rall had been cut for budgetary reasons the cartooning community would have mourned the loss of another paying gig and moved on. That isn’t what happened here. Ted’s cartoons hit a nerve and the LAPD hit back and Ted paid the price.
Any cartoonist worth his or her salt has garnered criticism from the local police for their cartoons. That is part of our job description. It shouldn’t be cause for firing.
For more details or to hear the audiotape go to Ted’s blog:
http://rall.com/2015/08/14/overview-about-my-firing-by-the-la-times-as-a-favor-to-the-lapd
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Ted Rall Cartoons His Own Demise
