Political cartoonists from India and around the world received some well-deserved recognition last week with the announcement of the winners in this year’s Maya Kamath Memorial Awards from the Indian Institute of Cartooning. While all of the designees reflect a…
Category: International
Zunar Charged with Nine Counts of Sedition
The latest round of the Malaysian government’s harassment against political cartoonist Zunar came to a head last week when he was charged with nine counts of sedition, which could carry a total sentence of up to 43 years in prison.…
Bonil: “The Role of a Cartoonist Is to Be a Dissident”
Ecuadorian cartoonist Bonil — a frequent target of governmental censors and recently threatened by ISIS — spoke with free speech advocacy group and watchdog organization Freedom House about the dire state of free expression in his home country. When Rafael…
Turkish Cartoonists Narrowly Avoid Prison
In an attempt to comment upon the repeated violations of free speech and the rise in governmental prosecution of journalists in Turkey, two Turkish cartoonists themselves narrowly avoided a prison sentence this past week for their cartoon on the cover…
Women Who Changed Free Expression Special: 24 Nengumi
To wind up our Women Who Changed Free Expression series that ran throughout March, CBLDF Advisory Board member and Mechademia co-founder Frenchy Lunning provided this compendium of the female creators who transformed the manga landscape in the late 1960s. All…
Iranian Cartoonist Overcomes Censorship with Savvy Style
From government imposed to self censorship, CBLDF has reported on the significant number of artists and cartoonists who face a variety of challenges when it comes to having their works published and shown. One Iranian cartoonist, though, seems to have…
Cartooning Flourishes in Myanmar’s New Independent Media
The nation of Myanmar has only had an independent press for three years, since the longtime military junta began transitioning to a civilian government. In that short time, though, a new generation of cartoonists has arisen to document and respond…
Documentary Captures Cartoonists’ Struggle Against Censorship
A small independent film team in France is making a big statement for freedom of expression with their 2014 documentary Cartoonists — Foot Soldiers of Democracy, which was recently released on DVD as a tribute to the victims of the…
Tintin in America Removed from Winnipeg Library Pending Review
The 1932 Belgian comic Tintin in America has run into trouble in Winnipeg, Canada, this past week, first when it was temporarily pulled from the sales floor of a Chapters bookstore and then when it was removed from the city’s…
Asterix Cartoon Raises More Than $150,000 for Families of Charlie Hebdo Attack Victims
Support for those most impacted by the Charlie Hebdo attack continue to comes in all forms. Recently, a piece of original artwork from the popular French cartoon Asterix brought in £106,782 (approx. $157,000) at a Christie’s auction — proceeds of…