Annual Convention

Annual Convention September 11-14, 2025

The AAEC will be joining the line-up at this year’s Small Press Expo as part of our annual convention in September 2025. Registration is now open.

Registration page

SPX website



 

Steve Benson 1954-2025

Steve Benson, whose career as an editorial cartoonist spanned over four decades, passed away Tuesday, July 8, 2025. He was 71. Best known for his lengthy career at The Arizona Republic, followed by five years at The Arizona Mirror, Benson won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1993. His sharp, poignant cartoons often stirred […]

Remembering Jules Feiffer

The great Jules Feiffer‘s pen has finally stopped moving. The Pulitzer Prize and Oscar-winning cartoonist, author and playwright died last Friday at age 95. Considered one of the best editorial cartoonists (and children’s book writer!) of the 20th Century, Feiffer got his start working for Will Eisner, literally invented the alt-weekly cartoon at The Village […]

Ann Telnaes Quits the WaPo in Protest Over Killed Cartoon

We’re used to hearing about cartoonists getting fired, but it is exceedingly rare for one to quit on principle. On Friday, Jan. 3, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes announced she was quitting The Washington Post in protest after editors killed a cartoon criticizing Jeff Bezos and other news media owners for kowtowing to Trump. Telnaes, […]

Remembering Two Long-Time AAEC Members

Word came recently of the passing of two cartoonists who had been involved with the AAEC over the decades: Jerry Fearing and Tim Jackson. Jackson, 66, died in November. The artist and historian was the long-time cartoonist for the Chicago Defender, and his work appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Cincinnati Herald, Dayton Defender and other […]

Recalling Ed Hall

Condolences and remembrances poured in for cartoonist Ed Hall after news broke of his untimely death on May 19. His wife Emmy posted: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I share that Ed passed away on Sunday. He bravely battled cancer over the last 8 years, never letting it slow his […]

Remembering Don Wright

Above: Don Wright and wife Carolyn host the AAEC Convention in Miami in 1969. The news recently broke that Don Wright, the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, has died at age 90. He drew some 11,000 cartoons during a 45-year career, and while Wright only ever worked for two Florida papers, The Miami News and The […]

Remembering Elena Steier

Above, Elena Steier and comics historian R.C Harvey at the AAEC convention in San Francisco in 2014.  Cartoonist Elena Steier died earlier this month after engaging in hand-to-hand combat with cancer for the past two years. She was 66. Elena was an outspoken, self-taught artist whose comic strips and editorial cartoons appeared in newspapers across […]

Condolences on the loss of NCS Executive Director Latisha Moore

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists expresses its profound sadness at the news of the passing of Latisha Moore, the executive director of the National Cartoonists Society. Latisha was “the soul of the NCS,” said former NCS President Jason Chatfield. Scott Burns, the parliamentarian for both AAEC and NCS, noted that Latisha was absolutely dedicated […]

The Nib Bids Adieu

After an epic decade, The Nib is shutting down at the end of this month. Publisher and cartoonist Matt Bors explained why: “After ten years of publication, thousands of comics, and fifteen issues of the magazine, we are shutting down. I am choosing to give it a death with dignity rather than make painful cuts […]

“Are you daft?” — McClatchy Firings Draw Nationwide Attention to Bad Management

On Tuesday, July 11, McClatchy unceremoniously fired their three most prominent staff editorial cartoonists with no warning. Kevin Siers, of The Charlotte Observer, Joel Pett of the Lexington Herald-Leader, and Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee — all three Pulitzer Prizing-winning cartoonists — we’re the only three employees targeted in the latest round of layoffs […]

Keeping R.C. Harvey’s Legacy Alive

Cartoonist and comics historian R.C. Harvey was a prolific writer, and left behind a treasure trove of material. The following was posted by Bob’s friend Jeremy Lambros over on facebook, and we’re passing along his requests: “We have lost one of the most unique and lively voices in comics and cartooning. R.C. Harvey passed away […]

Remembering RC Harvey

Word broke last week of the untimely passing of Robert C. Harvey. Bob was a prolific cartoon historian and critic who understood cartoonists because he had worked as one early in his career — drawing gag cartoons for girly magazines — before turning his passion and knowledge of the industry into a 40+ career as […]

Daily Cartoon Update

Some of you may have noticed the “Today’s Cartoon” feed has disappeared from our website. Unfortunately, the old software that handled our member’s cartoon gallery recently developed a fatal bout of bad coding, and the cartoon slideshow was a casualty. Our web manager thought they could patch it, but it turns out a recent security […]

Remembering Stuart Carlson

Some sad news out of Wisconsin: Cartoonist Stuart Carlson has died at 66. The editorial cartoonist spent most of his career on the staff of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, drawing for the paper for 25 years. After being laid off in 2008, he continued to be syndicated through Universal/Andrews McMeel. The Journal Sentinel remembered Carlson […]

Shorter WaPo: Are newspaper editors cowards?

Michael Cavna sums up a rough fortnight for political cartoonists and newspaper editors, and asks an important question: What if publishers decide it’s too much trouble to do their damn job?   https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/06/23/political-cartoons-racist-small-newspapers/ “In my mind, editorial cartoons are expendable. None of them are produced by our staff, and rarely do they depict a local […]

Remembering Sandy Huffaker

Sad news—cartoonist Sandy Huffaker has died at age 73. A prolific artist with a signature style, Sandy got his start at newspapers like the the News & Observer before jumping to doing covers for TIME and dozens of national magazines.   Huffaker returned to editorial cartooning after 9/11. A long-time AAEC member, he was syndicated […]

Cartoonist Bil Canfield dies at 99

NJ.com has reported that cartoonist Bil Canfield has died. Canfield was the staff cartoonist for The Star-Ledger until retiring in 1995, and he continued to draw for a local papers in Arizona until a year before his death. Amazingly enough, Canfield got his start drawing for The Racing Form, and worked in an now-extinct field: […]

Remembering Charlie Hebdo 5 years later

This week saw the 5th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack on the Parisian weekly satirical Charlie Hebdo. France and cartoonists worldwide remember. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/france-remembers-charlie-hebdo-victims-anniversary-200107164754227.html ~ The cartoonists and satirists of #CharlieHebdo never wanted to be martyrs for #freespeech. This Washington Post piece from 2018 looks at the uneasy fit. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/a-terrorist-attack-turned-charlie-hebdo-into-a-revered-institution-it-never-sought-to-be/2018/05/25/c5a392d8-4e11-11e8-85c1-9326c4511033_story.html ~ Five years after the massacre, […]

Start the year off supporting a good cause

Per his last wishes, donations of funds in Tom Spurgeon’s name can now be made to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum in support of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC) programming. This annual festival has become a key destination for cartoonists in just 5 short years. The AAEC and its members have been a supporters […]

Remembering Tom Spurgeon

For those who couldn’t make Tom Spurgeon’s memorial service yesterday, here’s a lovely remembrance of @comicsreporter by the local paper. We love that his ashes will be interred at the Billy Ireland @CartoonLibrary, meaning Tom will still be at every show & museum exhibit going forward. https://www.columbusalive.com/entertainment/20191212/final-dispatch-from-comics-reporter-tom-spurgeon-1968-2019

Remembering Tom Spurgeon

Friends of Tom Spurgeon collect their memories of the influential comics reporter and critic, who died suddenly this month at age 50: https://www.tcj.com/memories-of-tom-spurgeon/. Spurgeon was a unique and ubiquitous presence in the industry, and his website The Comics Reporter was required daily reading. His friend Douglas Wolk recently posted the last entry on the site: Tom’s […]

RiP cartoonist Mike Lane

Word comes that long-time Baltimore cartoonist Mike Lane has passed away. Lane was at the Evening Sun for decades, and later joined Daryl Cagle’s online venture. Lane’s loose easy style had a Mad Magazine flair but hid a sharp, stinging wit. His long-time friend and coworker Dan Rodricks remembers the cartoonist. The editorial board he worked […]

BloodBath at GateHouse

GateHouse Media, a chain that owns some 156 newspapers, continued its apparent quest to run them all into the ground. Just before Memorial Day weekend, GateHouse announced the purging of reporters and personnel at two dozen or more papers across the country, including laying off what may be the last three staff cartoonists on their […]

Dwane Powell fondly remembered

Condolences poured in from across North America after word broke that cartoonist Dwane Powell finally succumbed to the cancer he's been battling for years. Dwane died peacefully at home on Sunday, April 14. He and his wife Jan had just celebrated their 48th anniversary a few days before. Close family friend Ann Telnaes posted, "Dwane […]

Chappatte wins OPC award

A big congratulation to Patrick Chappatte on winning this year's Overseas Press Club of America prize for Cartooning! The [until recently named] Thomas Nast Award  is for "Best print, digital or graphic journalism on international affairs." The judges noted: "Patrick Chappatte’s cartoons … were a model of the form." Chappatte draws for the international edition of The New […]

Cartoonist Pat Bagley lambasts Gannett for short-sighted and cruel staff cut 

by Pat Bagley, Immediate Past President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists   Bullet, meet metatarsal.  The Gannett newspaper chain just shot itself in the foot. Steve Benson, a 37-year veteran of The Arizona Republic and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, was let go yesterday. He was swept up in a company-wide […]

Overseas Press Club renames cartoon award

OPC Renames Cartoon Award by Patricia Kranz NEW YORK, December 17, 2018—The OPC Board of Governors has decided to make a change to the OPC’s award for best cartoons on international affairs. Since 1978, the award has been named for Thomas Nast, an influential American cartoonist in the 19th century. However, Nast’s legacy includes cartoons […]

Remembering Wayne Stayskal

Just before Thanksgiving, word came that cartoonist Wayne Stayskal had died. A prolific scribbler, Stayskal was an editorial cartoonist with the Chicago Tribune from 1972 to 1984, and then moved south to Tampa Tribune from 1984 to 2004. He worked on several strips and continued to be syndicated worldwide until he retired in 2010. Conservative commentator […]

Hey everybody — editorial cartooning is dead! AGAIN!

Or so says the National Review: https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/09/editorial-cartooning-decline-serena-williams-controversy/ This is, what, the 11th or 12th time since 1954 that editorial cartooning has been declared dead? We're like the Doctor Who of cartooning or something.   So… if we're dead — LET'S HAVE A WAKE!!!   Tonight the 62nd Annual Convention of the Association of American Editorial […]

Matt Davies remembers John McCain

Cartoonist Matt Davies recalls his first encounter with John McCain. The Senator's short but memorable visit to the AAEC's 2002 convention in Washington DC left a deep impression. John McCain had an eye for detailBy Matt Davies  Anyone who has followed my cartoons over the years knows John McCain’s policy positions and mine weren’t harmonious, and […]

Rex Babin Award nominee #11 & #12 — Mark Fiore and Steve Greenberg

Mark Fiore is best known for being the first editorial cartoonist to fully switch to animation for his political commentary, and, in 2010, for being the first animator to win the Pulitzer Prize. A few years ago, he returned to doing daily static cartoons for the website of KQED News in San Francisco — all while continuing […]

Sunday reading

Sometime you just gotta take a break from politics — especially if you're a political cartoonist. So kick back and enjoy this wide-ranging interview with award-winning political cartoonist Jack Ohman about his one true love — fly fishing. A river runs through it starting here.  Then head over to The New York Times for a look […]

A statement of solidarity with the Capital Gazette

"We stand with our brothers & sisters at the Capital Gazette. Journalism is the only profession specifically protected in the Constitution, yet our lives are under daily threat these days from those who would silence inconvenient facts & informed opinions." — Pat Bagley, President AAEC

Remembering Nick Meglin

Some sad news: Long-time MAD magazine editor (and friend of the AAEC) Nick Meglin died suddenly yesterday of a heart attack. Nick was a key component of MAD's success over the years before retiring in 2004, and a friend to many editorial cartoonists.    He lived in North Carolina and held court during occasional lunches […]

When an obit cartoon transcends the form

 The obit cartoon is not held in high regard by many, including many cartoonists. Often treacly, overtly sentimental, and frequently mocked, they are just as quickly forgotten. Then there's this cartoon by Marshall Ramsey — which quickly went viral after being shared by the Bush family — and touched millions.https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/nation-now/2018/04/19/barbara-bush-cartoon-marshall-ramsey-column/532844002/     Ramsey talks about what […]

On obit cartoons & obstructions

Michael Peterson delivers another thoughtful look at editorial cartooning in the time of Trump, focusing on the love/hate relationship cartoonists have with the obligatory obituary cartoon. Peterson also announces he'll be reporting from this weekend's "The State of Satire" symposium in Minneapolis. Check back here for updates https://www.weeklystorybook.com/comic_strip_of_the_daycom/2018/04/pearls-metaphorical-and-otherwise.html

Farewell to Joe Szabo

Joe Szabo, the founder of “WittyWorld” and friend of cartoonists across the globe, died suddenly while working at his desk at home in North Wales, PA, on February 2, two days shy of his 66th birthday.

Farewell to a former AAEC president

The AAEC expresses its condolences to the family of Jack Jurden, the longtime editorial cartoonist for The Wilmington News-Journal. Jack died March 19, at age 88. Jack was the president of the AAEC from 1976-77, and was a popular figure for years at the conventions.

Farewell, Jon Kennedy

The AAEC expresses condolences to the family of former Arkansas Democrat cartoonist
Jon Kennedy, a charter member of the AAEC at its founding in 1957. Jon passed away
at 96 on Oct. 10, during the 57th AAEC convention in San Francisco. Jon Kennedy was
a hugely talented and thoughtful cartoonist who mentored many young cartoonists,
notably Dwane Powell and countless others. His strong and capable artwork was
beautiful and compelling. The AAEC would not have been possible without Jon’s
efforts.

Farewell, Tony Auth

Tony Auth’s colleagues and friends in the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists are profoundly saddened by his death. Tony was one of a small handful of that magnificent generation of 1960s and 1970s cartoonists who re-created what we do today. A brilliant, original editorial cartooning voice is gone. Tony’s drawing style was unique. The fluidity, […]

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists remembers Etta Hulme

Etta Hulme, cartoonist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, died June 25th at the age of 90.  A longtime member and former president, Etta was a widely respected and beloved member of the AAEC.  Although her drawing style has been described as soft, the messages behind the images were powerful and clear.  Etta was exactly what an editorial […]

Roy Peterson, Fearless Cartoonist

Vancouver Sun sketcher, and my mentor, was almost as great a journalist as he was a human being.
By Bob Krieger, 2 Oct 2013, TheTyee.ca

Aside from being an incredibly kind, humble, hilarious, brilliant and elegant gentleman, Roy Peterson happened to be a world class editorial cartoonist. He won more National Newspaper Awards than any other journalist, the Order of Canada, and more awards and honours than he or a mathematician could count.
Roy Peterson was born in Winnipeg in 1936. He died Monday, Sept. 30, joining the love of his life, Margaret, and leaving two sons, three daughters, nine grandchildren and a massive hole in journalism business.

Roy Peterson: Memorial and Memories

The celebration of the life of Roy Peterson will be held Friday Oct 11th from 2-4 at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver.
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Remembrances from Colleagues…

Cartoonist Roy Peterson’s precise aim was piercing

Longtime Sun artist picked up seven National Newspaper Awards in a career that established him among the greats of Canadian journalism
By Pete McMartin and John Mackie, Vancouver Sun October 2, 2013
There was that about him that, physically, was pen-like — the sharp line of his nose and profile, the quiet manner hiding a pointed intelligence, a humour that could be as black as ink. Roy Peterson drew more than editorial cartoons with his pen. He took aim.
He died Sunday. He was 77. He was on his living-room couch in his West Vancouver home.
“I went into the kitchen to fill up a glass of water he needed for his medications,” son Laurie said, “and when I came back a few seconds later he was gone.”
He leaves behind five children, nine grandchildren and a body of work that for the honours it received was unmatched in the history of Canadian journalism.
Read more: https://www.vancouversun.com/news/Cartoonist+Peterson+precise+piercing/8979624/story.html#ixzz2h07cuWPF

Farewell to a dear friend and colleague

The AAEC is profoundly saddened to hear of the death of Roy Peterson, an extraordinary editorial cartoonist and longtime friend to many in our organization. We extend our condolences to Roy’s family and friends and will be posting a memorial remembrance shortly.
In addition to being a wonderful human being, Roy Peterson was the only Canadian journalist to win seven National Newspaper Awards. Please visit: https://www.vancouversun.com/news/Acclaimed+editorial+cartoonist+Peterson+dies/8978763/story.html

Farewell to Rex Babin

The death of Rex Babin has hit our now-miniscule cartooning family very hard, harder than anything we thought we might be prepared for. This magnificent man, this vital athlete, this superb artist and thinker, has left an intellectual and emotional void in the community we love.

EDWARD J. ASHLEY, 1922-2010

“He was a great guy and one of the best cartoonists,” said Kirk Walters, who succeeded Mr. Ashley in 1985 and remains in that position. “He was one of those cartoonists whose work stood out because it was so original.”

R.I.P. Robert “Dreb” Drebelbis

In the AAEC, Bob “Dreb” Drebelbis is famous for throwing Doug Marlette out of the building. But he was also a cartoonist and a heck of an Air Force pilot.

Founding Member Jim Lange, 82

Jim Lange, who for 58 years contributed cartoons to the editorial page of The Oklahoman, and was one of the founding members of the AAEC, died on April 16. Lange, 82, retired in October after a prodigious career for the daily newspaper in his adopted hometown. From 1950, when he joined The Oklahoman at the […]

Draper Hill, Dead at 73

Draper Hill, the long-time Detroit News cartoonist and eminent cartoon historian, passed away on May 13. In addition to his decades of work as a staff cartoonist, he published biographies of Thomas Nast and James Gillray, and was long considered the “institutional memory” of the AAEC. “He wanted to increase the awareness of people and […]

OUR MISSION

The mission of the AAEC is to champion and defend editorial cartooning and free speech as essential to liberty in the United States and throughout the world.

The AAEC aims to be an international leader in support of the human, civil, and artistic rights of editorial cartoonists around the world, and to stand with other international groups in support of the profession.


The Daily Cartoonist

CSotD: Media Literacy and Political Cartoons
CSotD: Media Literacy and Political Cartoons

Call it media illiteracy. It’s the pervasive lack of knowledge about what a political cartoon is supposed to be, and what it’s supposed to do...


LOCHER FELLOWSHIP

The AAEC John Locher Memorial Fellowship is awarded each year to one early-career cartoonist whose work demonstrates clear opinions and strong artistry on political and social topics. Deadline to be considered is the end of March.

The Locher Fellow will receive a one-year Regular membership in the AAEC, be a guest of the CXC Festival — held every fall in Columbus, Ohio —  and have the opportunity to meet with editorial cartoonists during the year of the Fellowship for portfolio reviews and career advice.


CARTOONS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Cartoons in Education

Every two weeks throughout the year, The Learning Forum and the AAEC offers CARTOONS FOR THE CLASSROOM, a free lesson resource for teachers discussing current events.  Visit NIEonline.com for more lesson plans.