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Fred is a freelance cartoonist who concentrates on Louisiana subjects -- "because there's never a lack of material." The Advocate has published over 2,0000 of his cartoons. Fred's cartoons have also appeared in dozens of other Louisiana newspapers, as well as national publications such as Funny Times magazine and Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year. His cartoons have even been used to illustrate textbooks. Here are a some articles about him:
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by Danny Heitman (excerpts from article pulbished in The Advocate, December 28, 2003) From time to time, one of our readers will suggest, only half in jest, that The Advocate move its editorial page into the comics section -- an acknowledgment of the humor in our political scene, intentional or otherwise. We have no plans to merge George Will and Molly Ivins with Peanuts and Garfield just yet, relying instead on another method of recognizing the silliness of our civics. Rather than bringing the editorial page to the comics page, we have, instead, brought the comics to the editorial columns, recruiting staff artist David Norwood and contributing artist Fred Mulhearn to draw editorial cartoons as regular features in our pages of commentary. Today, in salute to the passing year, we revisit 10 of our local editorial cartoons from 2003. We won't call them the 10 best cartoons from the past 12 months, since each one is a creature unto itself, defying easy comparison or ranking. Let's think of them instead as a representative sample, a pictorial pagaent of our preoccupations in 2003. This year's cartoons extended an artistic tradition that took root in the middle of the 19th century, when editorial cartoons began appearing in the British comic magazine Punch. Weekly magazines in the United States followed suit in the 1850's, making cartoonists such as Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly and Joseph Keppler in Puck into celebrities. Nast introduced the elephant as the symbol of the Republican Party and the donkey as the symbol of the Democrats. Nast's cartoons also get credit for creating the present-day image of Santa Claus.
As commentaries on current events, editorial cartoons can have a short shelf life, their meaning lost
on subsequent viewers who have forgotten or never knew the events that inspired them.
Editorial cartoons sometimes leave us wondering if we should laugh or cry or do both. Readers might have felt that way about Mulhearn's March 29 cartoon comparing combat in Iraq with the perils faced with graduate students at LSU as a serial killer stalked the area. In the meantime, Foster continued to make what might be a farewell tour of our cartoonists' easels, as in an Oct. 15 Mulhearn panel where Foster hears his protege, gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal, complain: "I know those commercials worked well for you, Governor, but I just don't think I'd look good in a welder's helmet." Jindal's candidacy figured prominently in an election year that gave our editorial cartoonists endless fodder. A March 10 Mulhearn panel compared the crowd of gubernatorial candidates to zombies in "Night of the Living Dead," the caption reading: "Shock and 'Aw!': Invasion of the Gubernatorial Candidates."
Lt. Gov. Kathleen Blanco, the eventual winner in the governor's race, got a taste of what the next four
years will be like as a subject for the cartoonist's pen in an Oct. 24 Mulhearn panel. It features
Blance as a Halloween hostess terrified by trick-or-treater Jindal, prompting her to exclaim, "Eek! A
right-wing Republican!"
Meanwhile, 2004 looms on the horizon, bringing with it a new governor, a huge state budget shortfall, a presidential election, and continuing challenges in Iraq. In other words, it's shaping up to be a banner year for editorial cartoonists.
Cartoonists have remarkable ability to express abstract ideas
For the 30th time Pelican Pulishing Co. is offering a collection of the best newspaper editorial cartoons of the year. The 2002 edition, Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, ($14.59 softcover, 8 1/2 by 11 inches) features cartoons from 2001 selected by editor Charles Brooks (himself a longtime editorial cartoonist for the Birmingham News in Alabama).
The 2002 edition is dominated by cartoons about the Sept. 11 terrorist attack
on the World Trade Center in New York. Although months have passed since
the attack, the cartoons are as relevant now as when they ran. It seems that
feelings about the attack -- sorrow, anger, fear, frustration -- are still the
same, only a little less intense. It's amazing how editorial cartoonists can use
simple line drawings to express very abstract ideas and evoke strong reactions
in viewers.
Of course not all the cartoons in the collection are about the attack. That too reflects America's reaction. We go on. We still have our politicians to skewer and current events upon which to comment. And then there's the economy, a subject of particular delight for the sharp pens and equally pointed wits of cartoonists. Fred Mulhearn of The Advocate makes the collection with his drawing of a couple of kids playing with dice and dollars. "Oh, no! Are you boys gambling?" asks a female authority figure. "No, Ma'am. We're GAMING," one of the boys answers. "It's good for economic development," says the other little boy. A wonderfully sly dig at our constitutional end-around that magically transformed gambling (prohibited in the state constitution) into gaming (not mentioned). It's very funny and very Louisiana. All of the cartoons in this collection are good. If you're a fan of editorial cartoons -- about all newspaper readers are -- here is a motherlode of laughs and thought-provoking drawings that you can enjoy even if you don't agree with all of them.
The Lighter Side of Politics
Rebecca Rainer: The race for the next leader of East Baton Rouge Parish has been a serious one, but tonight we bring you the lighter side of politics -- from an unexpected source. Mild-mannered Fred Mulhearn ... Louisiana's Own Cartoonist, has been putting his pen and wit to work. Since 1985, The Advocate has showcased Fred's political cartoons on its Opinions page. Fred Mulhearn: I always concentrate on Louisiana politics; it's just so easy. Rebecca: Why? Fred: There's never a lack of subject matter. Rebecca: So as the candidates for Baton Rouge Mayor-President spoke out at forums, Fred let his cartoons do the talking. Fred: We cartoonists can put people in situations that they've never been in, saying things that they've never said -- and we get away with it. Rebecca (showing cartoon): Like pole-valuter Fred Dent. Fred: I got an e-mail from Fred Dent. He thanked me for de-emphasizing the size of his belly. Rebecca (showing cartoon): Or Kip Holden's crowded calling card. Fred: I drew his business card showing all he's done and what all he does. Rebecca (showing cartoon): There's Donna Mayeaux's unique qualification. Fred: She has, I think, a master's degree in urban geography. I wonder if that's a good thing? Rebecca (showing cartoon): And Rolfe McCollister's fund-raising success. Fred: He's racked up the campagin contributions! Rebecca (showing cartoon): Bobby Simpson and jokes of another pull-out. Fred: That's one of the things that he's accomplished -- or is working on -- as mayor of Baker. Rebecca (showing cartoon): And Roxson Welch's education background. Fred: It's just a joke, you know. Rebecca: And Fred Mulhearn admits the jokes have been hard to come by because this mayoral race has been so clean. Fred: They've talked about issues and qualifications. That's not normal in Louisiana. And it makes it hard on a cartoonist. Rebecca: Are you saying ... Fred (laughing): It's a pleasant change. Rebecca: Now if you have any comments or suggestions on some of Fred's work you've seen in The Advocate, visit his website at fredmulhearn.com. George Ryan: I like that last sketch he was working on. Rebecca: Yeah, looked kind of familar, didn't it? George: Sure did. Let's check in with Pat now for tonight's first forecast. Pat Shingleton: He did one of those on me one time. Rebecca: He did? Pat: Yeah, it was hilarious. I'm gonna have to bring it in. Anyway, we find an evening that's not half bad -- a little bit of cloud cover, some moon peaking through out there. Let's look at our WeatherNet 2 site ....
Fred Mulhearn never outgrew his elementary school habit of drawing silly pictures.
Fred Mulhearn draws silly pictures, better known as editorial cartoons, by night. Jay Leno and David Letterman provide the backdrop for his late night sessions of doodling editorial cartoons. "When I was in elementary school I used to draw silly pictures of my teachers all the time. Then I drew cartoons for the Winnsboro High School paper and for the Tech Talk when I was at Louisiana Tech. When I lived in Ruston, I drew for the local weekly there, the Ruston Morning Paper." Mulhearn uses his pen to poke fun at Louisiana politics. "I get my ideas from reading news headlines and listening to what people are talking about. I can stick to Louisiana subjects because there's so much out there," he said. His cartoons frequently appear in The Advocate and reprints from the paper regularly appear in several north Louisiana weeklies. His cartoons have appeared in the year's Best Editorial Cartoons, and Mulhearn has won Louisiana Press Association Awards for his efforts... Mulhearn first submitted cartoons to the Advocate when he moved to Baton Rouge... "I really never have a shortage of ideas. It's just a matter of finding the time to draw something," Mulhearn said. When asked about his favorite characters to use in the cartoons, Mulhearn laughed softly. "Well, Gov. Edwards is a whole lot of fun to draw. He makes the job easy because he always lends himself to good cartooning situations." Mulhearn includes certain familiar images with some of his more frequent characters. Roemer always has a rubber band around his wrist, Duke is drawn with a swastika lapel pen, and Edwards usually has a nearby suitcase bulging with money. The cartoonist returned to LSU during the summer to participate in a panel discussion of editorial art, ethics, and media law. The panel discussion was held in conjunction with an LSU Union Art Gallery Summer Exhibit entitled "Humor in a Jugular Vein: The Art, Artists, and Artifacts of Mad Magazine from the Collection of Mark J. Cohen." Mad Magazine was, and still is, Mulhearn's main cartooning influence. "I still read Mad. Now my son reads it, too, and we trade issues back and forth," he said. "My sons think it's perfectly normal for their dad to draw silly pictures."
Fred Mulhearn REALLY draws the line
For his job Fred Mulhearn... has to draw the line. The products of his pen poke fun at folks such as Gov. Buddy Roemer and other state officials. His cartoons turn up frequently on the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate's editorial page and in collections of the year's Best Editorial Cartoons. "As far back as I can remember I've liked to draw silly pictures of people, and I've always liked politics as a spectator sport, you might say," Mulhearn said in a recent interview... Mulhearn's father was Winnsboro mayor for many years, and the cartoonist credits that with giving him an early taste for the political realm. "I drew editorial cartoons for the high school newspaper and the Tech Talk when I went to Louisiana Tech," he said. He also drew cartoons for the Ruston Morning Paper. His relationship with the Morning Advocate began...in 1985. A former florist, Mulhearn has no formal art training. "That's why the pictures come out bad sometimes," he said. "The proportion is off a lot of times." Despite his modesty, the cartoons provide realistic likenesses of public figures. As the Advocate noted in 1988: "For a man who speaks so demeaningly of his artistic talents, he certainly hasn't been doing too badly for himself. When the Louisiana Press Association awards were announced recently, Fred took the first place plaque in the editorial category." Mulhearn studies news photos to create a likeness. He also has certain familiar images for each character. Roemer always has a rubber bank around his wrist, while Duke has a swastika lapel pen. "Edwards usually has a suitcase bulging with money nearby," Mulhearn said. Billy Tauzin is probably the easiest likeness because of his prominent facial features. "I had a hard time with Roemer at first," Mulhearn admitted. "After you do them over and over they just get easier to do." "I think Duke is hard to draw," he added. "He's got movie star looks." Sometimes feedback on his cartoons can be surprising. "On a number of occasions after I've done cartoons I thought were particularly hard-hitting, I've received calls from the politicians themselves or their aides, wanting copies or the originals. "When I think I've really jabbed them good, they're laughing about it and want a copy," he said. Sometimes politicians' supporters get more upset about the cartoons than the politicians themselves... The politicians are generally very good sports about them," Mulhearn said. He concentrates on Louisiana politics rather than national issues. "There's never a shortage of ideas in this state," he said. He just watches the headlines. He can't point to a particular favorite cartoonist as an influence, but he's always followed the cartoons in local newspapers and notes that there are many good ones. A number of good Louisiana cartoonists are coming along, he observed. "The cartoonists have a lot more freedom than anybody else associated with the newspaper," Mulhearn noted. "We can be completely biased and slanted, misquote politicians and draw them in ridiculous situations. Reporters and even columnists don't have nearly as much leeway. People understand that they're only cartoons and usually just for a laugh."
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