Cox and Forkum If They Can't Take a Joke

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Ascerbic Web Cartoonists Bare All for Dean Esmay

If you ever wonder whether or not there's a liberal slant to the newspapers of the country, reflect that the editorial cartoons of John Cox and Allen Forkum appear in none of them. Their work is, as of this writing, unsyndicaed. Easily the equal of any editorial cartoonists found in newpapers, and superior to most, this duo remains, along with Chris Muir, one of the crown jewels of the Web; proof that this medium's ability to deliver high-quality content and a wide rage of views is now unexcelled.

Since March, Cox and Forkum have been delivering gags daily that both illuminate and eviscerate the cant, hypocrisy, and stupidity in our political life. Their collaboration, however, reaches back more than 13 years. In Dean's World: Interview With Cox & Forkum, Dean Esmay does us all a service by getting to the bottom of the Cox and Forkum mind-meld:

Q: Many of your cartoons take a firmly pro-Israel stance. Why is that?

FORKUM: Our stance is that Israel, as a free country, has the right to militarily defend itself against terrorists, just as America does. Israel is hated by its enemies -- both in the Middle East and in the West -- for a number of reasons, not the least of which is anti-Semitism. But I think the primary reason is something Ayn Rand called "the hatred of the good for being the good." For those who want Islamic fundamentalism to reign supreme, who despise individualism and capitalism yet envy its wealth and power, and who evade the blatant failure of their own socialistic ideals, Israel is a constant reminder of the truth -- that a small, poor, newly-formed nation can grow into a prosperous, mighty nation by valuing freedom. That is also why America is hated.

COX: Yeah, what he said.

Q: Are either of you Jewish?

COX: I'm not.

FORKUM: Me neither. But I might be if it weren't for the funny hats.

Posted by Vanderleun at July 31, 2003 8:29 PM