Podcast Appearance

I appear on the latest Podcast for the Humanst News Network discussing the whole Muhammad controversy along with fellow cartoonists Jeff Swenson and Mikhaela Reid.

Here's the podcast homepage and a link to it on iTunes. Go Listen!

Village Voice update

Following up on my previous post, it has been relayed to me that the Village Voice will not be shifting away from political cartoons altogether, just shaking up their comic selection a bit.

BREAKING NEWS: newly unearthed comic reveals Matt Bors to be a Right Winger at age 9

A school project from 1992 recently unearthed from my attic reveals I wasn't always a liberal and that I drew my first political cartoon about about nine years earlier than I originally thought. A scrapbook I had to make for school about the news contained one of my earliest stabs against the Big Government totalitarianism of Bill Clinton. In it I expressed my staunch opposition to the five-day waiting period in the Brady Bill.

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New Toon: The Vast Homosexual Conspiracy

I mentioned a few weeks ago I may be doing a full page Brokeback Mountain comic. It fell through at the last minute so I cut it down for an Idiot Box.

If Capote sweeps the Oscars, conservatives may be upset upset for boycotting the wrong movie over the past four months.

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Don't forget, you can buy the latest collection of Idiot Box!

New illustration

This was to be a cover for the Boston Weekly Dig, but was killed at the last minute by the Publisher who wanted to go with something different.

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Here is a shot of the real bridge in Boston and a sketch drawn by the Art Director Tak Toyoshima (who draws the strip Secret Asian Man). Not really too much to talk about here. Tak did all the brainstorming and I just drew it. Thought I'd post though so at least some people would see it.

Village Voice to drop political cartoons?

Cagle's blog reported a few days ago that the Village Voice would be dropping its political cartoons and moving away from politics:

Recently, it is rumored that the Voice is switching gears and steering away from politics. Even with the editors objection to the corporate office decision, the Village Voice is slated to erase cartoonists Ted Rall, Ruben Bolling and Matt Groening from its pages. The editors cannot win. New York City doesn't need another free listing manual. New York City needs the raw political coverage, both national and local, that The Voice currently provides. This is a sad time for cartooning and also a sad time for alternative weeklies.

The Voice also runs Ward Sutton and Tom Tomorrow. This would coincide with the recent cancellation of the Bush Beat column. Hopefully the other papers in the merger don't follow suit.

So what is it with NYC and comics? The New York Times hates editorial cartoons, the New York Press doesn't run any political ones and switches its editors every few months, and now the Voice. The alternative weeklies are the last vestige of cutting edge comics in America (besides the internet), the most prominent one in the country isn't supposed to be cutting them. Make sure your paper doesn't cut any comics by organizing a riot outside their offices -- whoops, I mean writing them a letter!

Because for us cartoonists, the website doesn't pay the bills (well, except for a few morons).

Buffalo BEAST: Blasphemy issue

The BEAST reminds us that in these troubled times the best thing to do is to make fun of it all.

Depending on your point of view the BEAST is either genius, disrespectful, offensive, hilarious, worthy of death, or some combination of all of those. They've printed a whole slew of Muhammad related craziness along with my Toles/Muhammad parody and Iranian Gothic Illustration. Hopefully Warner Bros. does not raid their offices with AK-47s.

They've become one of the only American papers to reprint any of the Muhammad comics, printing the notorious "Bomb Turban Muhammad" as the BEAST page 3 Armageddon-Inciting Doodle. I don't know if there is a large population of militant Islamists in Buffalo so their lives may be spared. Check it out!

• The lead editorial Laugh Riot
  
• X-treme Religion
  
• Faith Based Comics
• Color Me Tolerant coloring contest

Fan Mail

I knew I would get at least one e-mail like this regarding my new strip. Caleb Freeman writes:

There is a HUGE difference between having a cartoon drawn versus thousands of people dead from suicide boming missions. The only Idiot in Idiot Box is your dumb Un-american Ass. Why don't you go live in those fucking islamic countries since you love them so much.

First off, this thing about writing me and telling me 'Idiot Box' is a fitting name because I'm an Idiot....I double over with laughter every time I hear it. Truly original.

Second, no disrespect to the 9/11 victims was intended. Anyone with a fourth grade reading comprehension level and a minimal grasp of sarcasm can see I was mocking the overblown reaction to these comics and the repercussion they will have on the West's relationship with the Middle East. When I write "no doubt this incident will be used for years to justify all types of violence and insane repressive policies for years to come" it isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of my wanting to move to "those fucking islamic countries" since I obviously "love them so much".

Help support Idiot Box!

In addition to my post last week about picking up papers, it's also important to stay in the papers I am currently in. Most people don't feel the need to write an editor about something unless they're are mad, so if you read my comics in any of the publications I'm in and enjoy them (and are also reading this post for some reason) take a minute to write the editor and tell them you like idiot Box.

The Free Press - truth@freepress.org
The Front - feedback@thefrontweekly.com
Seven Days - letters@sevendaysvt.com
The Buffalo Beast - aluthman@buffalobeast.com
campusprogress.org - campus@campusprogress.org

And if your local newsweekly doesn't run Idiot Box, kindly notify them that they are missing out on the most bodacious weekly political/social commentary comic drawn in North Eastern Ohio! (no disrespect to Derf, of course).

New Toon: Remember 9-30

The bounty I refer to in the comic as 1 million dollars is already up to 10. The current death toll is 43.

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Don't forget, you can buy a print of this comic. Or even the original.

I ran out of names for my posts about Muhammad

I had a fun time last night on the Humanist Network News Podcast talking with Jeff Swenson and Mikhaela about the Muhammad comics. That will be available to download in about a week and a half. On the podcast Jeff informed us that the Vatican has come out against the cartoons because free expression "cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers"(the Vatican's words, not Jeff's). Where does one draw the line on that one? Almost any religious commentary is bound to offend someone.

On the comic front Steve Notely comes through with a good one called Clownin' Islam.

And via Cagle's blog:

Remember "Freedom Fries"? AlJazeera reports that Danish bakeries throughout Iran have stricken the "Danish" moniker to protest the Danish Muhammad cartoons. Now Danish pastries are called, "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad," by order of the Iranian confectioners union.

I feel a comic coming.....

UPDATE:

Holy shit (no pun intended)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A Pakistani cleric announced Friday a $1 million bounty for killing a cartoonist who drew Prophet Muhammad, as thousands joined street protests and Denmark temporarily closed its embassy and advised its citizens to leave the country.
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"This is a unanimous decision by all imams (prayer leaders) of Islam that whoever insults the prophet deserves to be killed and whoever will take this insulting man to his end, will get this prize," Qureshi said.

Qureshi did not name any cartoonist in his announcement. He did not appear aware that 12 different people had drawn the pictures.

Of course he didn't. Like most of these protesters, indeed most of the world, they haven't even seen the comics they are mad about!

Portfolio Update

I updated the portfolio with a new row of illustrations. Most have appeared here on the blog over the past few months.

Iranian Gothic

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A Plea To Fans

Doing this strip is great and rewarding in and of itself. I don't plan on stopping until I'm old and gray. But being on the web isn't the be all end all for me. I'm a print guy. I offer the strip free online because I want as many people to see it as possible, but the only way I can make money at this is by newsweeklies running it in print. Most editors these days need shock therapy to realize that more than two or three comics can (and should) appear in their paper. Readers like comics!

If you show up here every week there must be something I'm doing right. So please, if you enjoy the strip, take a moment to write an e-mail to the Editor of your local newsweekly telling them about it. Send them a link to your favorite comic. You can find contact info to most papers at the AAN Directory. Consider doing this even if you don't pick the paper up and wouldn't even if I was in it. Because people that rely on these papers for their comic fix instead of the net will never find out about me until people let their Editors know.

Or just look for the e-mail to the editor on the masthead of your local newsweekly.

New Toon: The Hubbard Controversy

One thing Muslims, Christians, and Jews can all find common ground on is making fun of Scientology as a ridiculous religion. I don't think anyone is worried about offending them.

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Don't forget, you can buy a print of this comic. Or even the original.

Let's Roll!!!!!!!!

WTF?!

CBN Weather with Pat Robertson

I have a new comic up at campusprogress.org, which was written by David Halperin, the Director over there.

Mo' Muhammad Mo' Problems

I am set to appear on the podcast of the Humansit News Network soon for a roundtable discussion about the controversy. I'll keep you posted.

The Seattle Stranger, one of the handful of U.S. papers that decided to let their readers see the comics, has a good editorial about it.

Meanwhile protests are still raging:

The Palestinian group Hamas has joined calls for calm amid international furore sparked by cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, as a Taliban commander in Afghanistan said 100 suicide bombers had volunteered.

Hamas "is prepared to play a role in calming the situation between the Islamic world and Western countries on condition that these countries commit themselves to putting an end to attacks against the feelings of Muslims," the organisation's leader Khaled Meshaal told a news conference Thursday.

Global War On Feelings? The Humanist News Network sums it up good:

It may seem like a paradoxical statement, but in a civilized society you do not have a right against being offended.

Or the right to respond with violence if you don't like what someone says. In a humanist world there would be no such thing as blasphemy. But I would be willing to settle for a secular world where people have the right to blaspheme and no harm would come to them.

Divine Secrets Of the Ben Wa Sisterhood

This is a cover illustration for the current issue of the Sacramento News and Review. The topic is "Passion Parties", where women throw houseparties where sex toys and whatnot are sold. The Art Director wanted a woman looking in a box, presumably containing these sex toys, and having a shocked titillating expression.



The Art Director went with the lower right sketch, but wanted a girl behind each of her shoulders; one giggling, one shocked. The proportions of my sketch were off from the sizes of the cover so I had to add more of the woman's body in than I originally planned.





The Art Director thought it looked better with a tighter crop like in the sketch and I agree that it looks better. Although the cool pattern I made on the one woman's clothes doesn't get seen.

Matt Bors' 115th Dream

I was out on a lake floating in an inner tube. There was a big party on the shore for Chief Justice John Roberts, but he wanted to catch up with me out on the lake. We floated around on rafts and talked politics while sharing a box of Wheat Thins. He was wearing a suit on his raft and was very nervous about being splashed by passing swimmers.

I voiced my concern that he was a facist. He smiled and told me the way to get through a Supreme Court confirmation hearing was making outrageous statements.

"Whites have the benefit of being able to act more vociferous," he said.

Then we were sucked down a giant water slide into a water park. When it dumped us out I hit my arm on a ladder and broke it.

Then I woke up.

Attitude 3

Pre-Orders for Attitude 3 are now available at Amazon.....or just wait till I get some books and buy them from here. The official release date is June 1, 2006.

The featured cartoonists are:

1. Rob Balder: "Partially Clips"
2. Dale Beran and David Hellman: "A Lesson is Learned But the Damage is Irreversible"
3. Matt Bors: "Idiot Box"
4. Steven L. Cloud: "Boy on a Stick and Slither"
5. M.e. Cohen: "HumorInk"
6. Chris Dlugosz: "Pixel"
7. Thomas K. Dye: "Newshounds"
8. Mark Fiore: "Fiore Animated Cartoons"
9. Dorothy Gambrell : "Cat and Girl"
10. Nicholas Gurewitch: "The Perry Bible Fellowship"
11. Brian McFadden: "Big Fat Whale"
12. Eric Millikin: "Fetus-X"
13. Ryan North: "Daily Dinosaur Comics"
14. August J. Pollak: "XQUZYPHYR" & "Overboard"
15. Mark Poutenis: "Thinking Ape Blues"
16. Jason Pultz: "Comic Strip" 17. Adam Rust: "Adam's Rust"
18. D.C. Simpson: "I Drew This" & "Ozy and Millie"
19. Ben Smith: "Fighting Words"
20. Richard Stevens: "Diesel Sweeties"
21. Michael Zole: "Death to the Extremist"

From Amazon'e description:

ATTITUDE 3: THE NEW SUBVERSIVE ONLINE CARTOONISTS features the work of 21 cartoonists who are moving from the world of print into the Internet to produce some of the funniest, outrageous and innovative comics around.

In keeping with the format of the first two volumes in the ATTITUDE series of comics anthologies, ATTITUDE 3 includes cartoons by, interviews with and personal ephemera (like childhood photos) of each creator. Featured are innovative artists who focus on politics, others on social commentary and still more who are out to make you laugh. Find out why webcomics are the hottest new comics around through this primer to some of the medium's brightest talents!

Outraged at the Outrage at the Outrage...or something like that.

Why aren't American papers reprinting the Muhammad comics? I'm not talking about printing them to provoke intolerant muslims or even as some statement of free speech, but this has certainly reached a level beyond the initial event and is worthwhile topic of discussion. When no American is able to see these comics in a paper or on a television how are we supposed to have a debate about them? Of course they are all over the net, but many people never log on. How in the world of instant information and 24 hour news can the majority of Americans be ignorant on an important issue of free speech, censorship, and religion?

Ted Rall has a good column out: The Nanny Press and the Cartoon Controversy. As to why they haven't shown the comics:

"The cartoons didn't meet our long-held standards for not moving offensive content," said the Associated Press.

Bull----.

If these cowards were worried about offending the faithful, they wouldn't cover or quote such Muslim-bashers as Ann Coulter, Christopher Hitchens or George W. Bush. The truth is, our national nanny media is managed by cowards so terrified by the prospect of their offices being firebombed that they wallow in self-censorship.

And offers a great point here:

While the Muslim world was raging over the Danish Mohammed cartoons, Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles received a chilling letter from the Joints Chief of Staff in reaction to his single-panel rendition of a quadriplegic veteran; if not for the nanny media's slavish refusal to run photos of the real thing, would that abstract image have shocked anyone?

Ted also mentions the European Muslim website that printed a comic of Anne Frank and Hitler in bed. They said "If it is the time to break taboos and cross all the red lines, we certainly do not want to fall behind." Hardly the same. The Muhammad cartoons broke a taboo that was set in place by religious laws of another country, the Anne Frank comic seeks to just be as offensive as possible and makes about as much sense as these depictions of Muhammad, which are truly racist. (although I admit to laughing at the Bob Ross one).

But legitimate commentary on the state of Islam (thus breaking the irrational sharia laws) is a very worthwhile goal. Ibn Warraq is their foremost critic. An apostate who prints under a pseudonym so his family won't be murdered, he has written books harshly criticizing islam and promotes secular humanism. He has a new column in Der Spiegel:

The cartoons in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten raise the most important question of our times: freedom of expression. Are we in the west going to cave into pressure from societies with a medieval mindset, or are we going to defend our most precious freedom -- freedom of expression, a freedom for which thousands of people sacrificed their lives?

A democracy cannot survive long without freedom of expression, the freedom to argue, to dissent, even to insult and offend. It is a freedom sorely lacking in the Islamic world, and without it Islam will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. Without this fundamental freedom, Islam will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth.

New Toon: A Million Little Lies

I find the shock of the James Frey controversy funny. Isn't most of everything we hear, see, and read a complete and utter lie?

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Matt Bors' Shit Filled Death

Yes, you read that right. Cagle posted my Tom Toles/Muhammad parody comic earlier today on his blog. shareenah78@hotmail.com wrote me a loving e-mail on the subject:

You bastard, son of a bitch, how dare you ridicule Allah's messenger? You will rot in hell, that's for sure. Your going to die with your face burried in your own shit. You are a coward, shameless pig.Hell is waiting for you.

If you ever get the time, read about Islam, read the Holy Quran and then assess the loss that you have done to yourself.But i doubt Allah will give you that oppurtunity for what you have done, deserves nothing but a ridiculous death and a life in hell, foreever.

Waiting for the glorious moment of mattbors's shit-filled death! May it be soon.Amen

SHAREENAH MAHREEN

letters from the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fatwas, and death threats can be sent to me here.

Muhammad Comics

Michelle Malkin and other right-wingers are leading the charge in support of the Danish cartoonists. I wonder why they are the first to lose their minds over a Ted Rall or Tom Toles cartoon? Because they are also religious fundamentalists and do not believe in free speech any more than the muslims who would like to murder the Danish cartoonists.

Many leftist cartoonists and bloggers in public and private have taken a position of "Sure, I support the right to make bigoted cartoons, but I'm not going to get behind them when they set out to offend muslims."

I strongly disagree. First, what would be the reaction if the tables were turned? How would Michelle Malkin and liberals react to comics that were drawn deliberately to offend christians? I'm sure there have been plenty of offensive things done to Christ, but lets make it really nasty. Let's say comics depicting Jesus sodomizing his mother and having sex with another man and animals. Pat Robertson would immediately call for God to strike them down, Fred Phelps would go picket something, and Michelle Malkin would talk of the religious intolerance in this country.

But imagine it went further; buildings being burned down, death threats, cartoonists in hiding. All the left would be talking about was the christian fascists running this country and how these people are in-fucking-sane and need to learn to accept free speech even if it is offensive. They wouldn't care if the original intention was to piss off christians or not because the proper reaction is not to burn down buildings and threaten people's lives.

Secondly, I don't think many of the cartoons were that offensive or bigoted at all. The cartoon below, for example, seems like a simple reference to the challenge itself (given by a children's book author stating that no artist would illustrate a book on Muhammad unless it was anonymous.)

And this is a comment on the author's challenge itself, making fun of him for the publicity stunt.


The rest, to me, seem to criticize fundamentalist Islam. A new article in the London Times confirms they are not racist right wingers:

In an interview with a Swedish newspaper this week, some of the cartoonists expressed their doubts about the entire episode. “It felt a little like a lose-lose situation. If I said no, I was a coward who contributes to self-censorship. If I said yes, I became an irresponsible hate monger against Islam,” one of the cartoonists said.

Another said: “I was actually angry when I first received the letter [from Jyllands-Posten]. I thought it was a really bad idea. At first I didn’t want to participate, but then I talked it over with some friends from the Middle East, and they thought I should do it.”

The cartoonists come from a variety of different political backgrounds, which is reflected in their work. While some of the pictures satirise Muhammad, others attack populist right-wing politicians and even Jyllands-Posten itself, which is rightwing.

All the cartoonists are now in hiding, with 24 hour police protection. They were paid $128.67 for the comics.




How about just sending an angry letter to their Editor? Maybe a boycott if it's that important.



....or burning down their foreign embassy, I guess that works too. Maybe tie the cartoonists to a post inside. Roast 'em up nice.

Even More on Muhammad

ICagle's blog has extensive coverage on the issue as well as some cartoons commenting on it.

And a good view on this whole thing (and great pictures) from The Talent Show (via Tom Tomorrow).

UPDATE:

A comic by Kal Kallaugher about the whole mess (via Mikhaela).

The Pen Is Mightier Than A Bunch Of Nutcases

Right Wingers who applaud the Muhammad cartoons as valuable free speech spent the day smearing Tom Toles for his, with segments on O'Reilly, Hannity, and Scarborough dedicated to it. Meanwhile, in the blogosphere right wingers post the Muhammad comics to make some sort of defiant statement against muslims, whom they hate, and masquerade it as standing up for freedom.

If only they had an inkling of what free speech is. Like the Muslims who want to attack an entire nation over some comics, they are the enemy of free speech and seek to squash out any dissent. Such is the case with the Tom Toles cartoon.



Clay Bennett, President of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, said:

"It appears they [the Joint Chiefs] interpret cartoons as accurately as they do pre-war intelligence," Bennett said. The Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Christian Science Monitor added: "It was a tough cartoon on [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, but he certainly deserves tough cartoons."

Ted Rall, Cagle, and Shannon Wheeler all chime in on the Muhammad controversy.

War On Cartooning

Lots of outrage these days over editorial cartoons. This Tom Toles cartoon prompted a letter from all six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

...you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds. ... As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered."

Reprehensible?! Are they trying to be ironic? Do they understand the reason people have life altering wounds is because they sent them into a war based on lies? Tom Toles is one of the most brilliant cartoonists working today. Sadly, he is already the target of a right wing smear campaign.

Read the E&P article here.

In other news the Muhammad comic crisis has redefined ridiculous. If you aren't aware, a few comics printed in a Danish paper depicted Muhammad in a not so positive light. One of the drawings had him with a bomb in his Turban. They have sparked outrage in the Muslim world, boycotts, withdrawing of Ambassadors, etc.....read the Wikipedia entry here (currently it is being "vandalized", presumably by these same muslims).

Unfortunately, these people can't be reasoned with...because their entire belief system is not based on reason, but fear and control. The very act of depicting Muhammad is a sin. An invisible man in the sky will send you to hell if you do. What is it with Muslim countries and not being able to even enter the 18th century? Every country's leader is like a damn Pat Robertson.

It's OK to draw shit! Allah doesn't care because he doesn't exist! It's OK to think. Try it sometime. Read a book about evolution, it's fascinating. Really. You may find out that chopping people's heads off, killing homosexuals, oppressing woman, then setting them on fire after they are raped by some sexually repressed fanatic are the real problems in your culture NOT SOME FUCKING COMIC!

Fuck The Democratic Party

I'm done with them. They are an ineffective bunch of pompous ass, whining, enabling, Piss Ants. They should have filibustered Alito. They keep saving their political amunition for some mythical battle in the distant future. It's over! The battle's lost!! And it will be even worse if they run Clinton or Biden (whom I will NEVER vote for!) for president and lose (or have stolen from) and the Supreme Court is stacked with more Right-Wing Lunatics.

Tim Kaine's response was typical for Democrats: condescending sloganeering. "There's A Better Way" must have been repeated 30 times. The better way was never specified other than to apparently not be what Bush wants.

There is a better way. Not enabling this dilapidated party again. Liberal Democrats need to give up fighting from within this party and form a new one. I suggest naming it The Progressive Party. They could fight for real social change and break up the two power duopoly.

Here's some good toons about the Democrats lack of testicular/ovarian fortitude:

Ward Sutton asks "Dude, Where's My Party?"

Bad Reporter observes the Endagered Political Species.

And Jen Sorensen observes Democrat's strange strategy for success.