Mr. Craig S. Yoe—

Just a note of support to let you know that I share your pain and outrage over the South African incident. Not only did these former oppressors steal your good name, but they added insult to injury by caricaturing you with uncharacteristically large teeth. In fact, I would say that I am shocked and saddened that this Zapiro person focused on your teeth, when any trained professional caricaturist would logically zero in on your insane haircut.

For this reason and this reason alone, Zapiro MUST be sued, and he must be sued by you, the awesome Craig S. Yoe. Some New Wave artists in the past have sung the lyric “Free Nelson Mandela,” but today I am singing “Free Zapiro’s money and allow it to freely transit into the aggrieved Mr. Craig S. Yoe’s bank account.”

Best wishes,
Danny Hellman

P.S.—Insist on payment in conflict diamonds; they’re easier to move than Krugerrands.

Thanks Danny,
BTW I’m diggin’ your new blog with your incredible art. I am glad that you agree, Danny, that cartoonists should sue other cartoonists at every available opportunity. Over on the Comics Journal Message Board Jackie Estrada has also commented that I should sue the Kelly Freas estate because the carticature Kelly did for me that is at the top of the blog is even uglier than Zapiro’s. I ‘m on it , Jackie!

South African cartoonist Zapiro is being sued by former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma for 2.1 million dollars for embarrassing him in Zapiro’s cartoons according to Tom Spurgeon’s The Comics Reporter. I am emboldened by Zuma’s just, brave and classy move and myself am suing Zapiro for 4.2 million.

A Zapiro anti-Zuma cartoon.

When I told my wife about my lawsuit this morning I showed her the below photo of Zapiro. She breathlessly sighed, “Wow-he’s handsome!” This adds insult to the injury Zapiro cause me back in 1999. Let me explain…

I was in South Africa promoting this issue of YOE! Mag, the largest circulated South African kid’s magazine. I had done the first ever interview with Britney Spears in a magazine YOE! Studio produced in the U.S. and a grateful young Britney also gave us an interview in our South African magazine and I was touring South Africa to tout that.

In the course of the promotion I met up with Zapiro and spent the afternoon with him and a handful of other South African cartoonists telling them about our work. Here’s the horrible part and why I’m suing: Zapiro, IN FRONT OF MY PEERS, viciously took a pen in hand and proceeded to draw this horrible caricature of me and showed it to everyone including the sweet young impressionable Britney. I can’t tell you of the hurt it caused me (and the public is well aware of the change this has caused poor, sweet Britney).

I am in no way swayed by the obviously sarcastic “in awe” part. The drawing itself makes me look like a fool with an overbite, a scraggly beard and a ridiculous haircut. This so-called drawing is pure slander, libelous, and has caused me great emotional distress and irrepairable harm. And like Danny Hellman’s pranks against fellow cartoonist Ted Rall this has caused me diverted business. So, sue I must, to the tune of 4.2 million (plus attorney fees).

Mark Evanier, on his justly popular political/entertainment/comics blog, News From Me, recently talked about the first two Arf books. I reprint his comments below for your edification. Mark, incidently, has been radically dropping the pounds via what is known as the “Al Roker operation”. (Al, BTW, besides being a skinny weatherman, is a sometimes cartoonist). I didn’t have a recent photo of Mark, so to help you recognise him on one of his many interesting upcoming San Diego ComiCon panels, I’ve done a little Photoshop magic…

Before.	After.

Mark’s thoughts, which he titled “Craig’s List”:

I had a very good time last evening reading the first two volumes in what I hope will be a long series from Craig Yoe — Arf Museum and Modern Arf. These are nice books from Fantagraphics in which Craig has picked out interesting items of comic art from his, and I suppose some other folks’ collections. There are panel cartoons, stories, illos…diverse material that is somehow united by Craig’s mere celebratory selection of it. It’s hard to explain why. It may be no deeper than that Mr. Yoe likes the same kind of stuff I do. Anyway, I suggest either ordering them or at least paging through them at a store or convention, which will lead to you wanting to buy them. Great stuff.

Above and beyond the fascinating contents, there’s something else very nice about these books: They’re beautifully designed and totally legible. Lately, those two virtues have seemed mutually exclusive in the book world. I’ve gotten a lot of books that were quite lovely to page through but at some point, I found myself unable to actually read some extended section of text. Somehow, it was more important that the designer put a busy color pattern behind a flimsy type font or something…and you can almost hear someone say to someone else, “It’s okay. There’s plenty of other text here they can read if that’s what they want.” The other day, I received a printed copy of a book for which I wrote an article and I cannot read my own text. I have 20/20 vision and I kinda already know what it says…but I still can’t make out what I said in some paragraphs. This is not a trivial complaint, nor is it particularly arguable.

The last time this happened to me, the company’s art director had all sorts of defenses. Apparently, the aesthetics of unified thematic composition required a certain page layout and the fact that it rendered some of those pages unreadable was just nitpicking on my part. I felt so foolish. Anyway, that’s not a problem with Craig’s books. Just one of the reasons you’ll enjoy them.

Thanks to M.E. from Yoe!

P.S. Two other Big Time Comics Bloggers have told me they’re gonna review Arf Museum. LQQK for a review by Tom Spurgeon on Comics Reporter and one by Heidi MacDonald on The Beat. Will The Reporter beat The Beat or will The Beat out report The Reporter? I have to report that it beats me, but stay tooned to their blogs, Arf Lovers!

Yeah, I like Uncle Sam, but I LOVE the symbol used by the French cartoonists of Marianne based, in part, on the Delecroix painting below , “Liberty Leading the Parade”.

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Marianne was brought to life recently by a cute-as-a-bug French fille protesting a proposed labor law. The law was scrapped. Duh! Pics for the edification of Arf Lovers below…

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(BTW, links to these protest photos were found on one of my fave blogs boingoing.net)

French mayors recently voted that super model Laetitia Casta should be the official representation of Marianne. But then she posed in the nude and had the gaul (pun intended) to move from France causing a scandal. She, really does nothing for me so che sará sará, whatever will be will be.

Letitia Casta

Catherine Deneuve was the official Marianne before Laetitia Casta. Again, she doesn’t float my boat, though I guess I wouldn’t kick her out of bed as I would Laetitia. Susan Sarandon didn’t a couple of years ago in a movie called Hunger.

Now before Laetitia and before Catherine, France had deemed Bridget Bardot as the official representation of Marianne. Why they would ever drop B. B. I absolutely don’t have a clue. Bring the sex kitten back, that’s a cause that should be rallied for! Maybe our little French protestor should hit the streets again !

What do I say about this latest entry in the WWWW pagent?

Yo, Craig!

Guess what happens when I try to access your blog from work? Our filter blocks it with the message that "sex" catagories are off-limits.

-c.s.w.

Yo, c.s.w. !

I honestly don’t know WHAT they’re talking about! Arf Lovers is all about education, cartoon and comics history and enlightenment about contemporary cartoonists. "Sex" is the furthest thing from my mind.