benlansing.com blog

"Get a Real Cartoonist!"

2010-04-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Looks like my cartoon about the passage of national healthcare has stirred up a great deal of discussion in Northern Virginia. For three weeks after the publication of the cartoon to the left, The Purcellville Gazette has featured discussion about my little drawing. An opponent of the cartoon even went so far as to demand that I be removed from publication because, apparently, my opinions don't match up with what he sees as the opinions of 'modern Virginia' (i.e. I need to shut up because I don't agree with him).

Expressing any sort of political opinion these days seems to result in a greater-than-usual backlash of anger from those that might disagree. I suppose that's just a sign of our turbulent political times. I certainly have received my fair share of 'hate mail' in the past several years for my opinions expressed through my cartoons. I count these letters as a positive. Disagreement and discussion is, hopefully, an indicator that substantive ideas are being analyzed. In a free society, it is absolutely essential that all opinions and points of view have the freedom to be expressed and discussed. That's one of the most sacred duties of the public forum that is available on the editorial pages of our many small-town newspapers. Many thanks to all of our local newspapers for fulfilling this function.

And many thanks to the Purcellville Gazette for publishing their kind editorial in the exchange posted below. Let the discussion continue!

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6 - April - "Get A Real Cartoonist"

I hate to be the one to tell you this but you really need to replace your cartoonist. His drafting skills are pathetic. A case in point is the cartoon in the March 26th edition of the Gazette. While he did a passable job of illustrating the thugs, morons and bullies that hurled racial epithets at members of the Congressional Black Caucus and bricks at the windows of other congressmen. He failed miserably to show us the millions of jubilant Virginians who gave President Barack Obama all of our electoral votes so that he could deliver on the century old promise of health care reform.

Find yourself a new cartoonist, someone who represents modern Virginia.

David Sheckler Round Hill
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13 - April - "Don’t Pick on our Cartoonist!"

Regarding David Sheckler’s letter of April 2. May I suggest to Mr. Sheckler that he consult the cartoon pages of the Washington Post if he likes the views of the “millions of jubilant Virginians who voted for President Barack Obama ....”.

Mr. Sheckler is like most liberals---not content to allow another point of view to be expressed without going berserk.

I, along with most other modern Virginians who read the Purcellville Gazette, LOVE your cartoonist. Keep up the good work, Mr. Lansing!

Virginia Trapp Leesburg

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20 - April - Editorial - "A Cartoonist for the Masses"

With all the concern over our cartoonist, Ben Lansing, in recent weeks, we thought we would share with you a little information about Lansing and his talents. While some will say he may be one sided or perhaps “too harsh”, that is not what other professionals and the general public are saying. In fact, support for Lansing is growing.

Ben Lansing’s work is currently featured at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. and his cartoon related to the Virginia Tech massacre went viral just days after being published in the Purcellville Gazette. T-Shirts, books, and blog sites around the world now feature his work.

Just recently, the Virginia Press Association awarded Lansing with a 2009 First Place for Illustrations in a Non-Daily Newspaper....his fourth consecutive win. Are we happy with Ben Lansing as our cartoonist, you bet! In fact, he also was nominated in 2008 for a Pulitzer Prize by the Freedom Forum. Based on their review process, his peers believe that he is not only a great artist, but his cartoons contain deep thought provoking issues, issues that need to be talked about, discussed and openly debated. Lansing is now releasing a book of all his drawings from 2005-2009. All of these cartoons were featured in the Purcellville Gazette and can be found online in our archives.

So next time you see our editorial cartoon of the week and get upset or laugh, remember, he is doing his job and that is to make you think about the subject matter.

Congratulations Ben and keep’em coming!

1st Place VPA Award

2010-03-22T18:38:00.000-07:00

For the 4th consecutive year, the Virginia Press Association has given my work the 1st place award. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and readership! Below is the cartoon that helped earn the award (strange ... this cartoon seems to become only more relevant).

“The Mysterious Islands” Premiere

2009-11-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege last night of attending the Durham, NC premiere of “The Mysterious Islands”, a fantastic documentary/adventure film that looks at the Galapagos Islands and the work of Charles Darwin through the lens of Creationism. I have been honored to work with Doug Phillips, the film’s executive producer, and his son Joshua by contributing my cartoon talents toward promoting the film (Visit “Doug’s Blog” to see my cartoon promotions and other news related to the film http://tiny.cc/rrXOd).

“The Mysterious Islands” is a wonderful work, demonstrating both the beauty and genius of creation and the importance of appreciating this creation through a God-honoring perspective. The photography, music, and production quality of this film are breath-taking. Visit the film’s website at http://www.themysteriousislands.com/ to find out more.

Joining the Twitterpation Nation

2009-07-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

I said I would never do it. But I am forced to announce that several weeks ago I finally joined the Twitter bandwagon and got a Twitter account. You can follow me now at http://www.twitter.com/benlansing

Find out the instant new cartoons are uploaded to benlansing.com… get my running commentary on current events… subject yourself to my random bablings about movies, music, history, books, and more. I have to admit I found Twitter to be kind of creepy initially. I mean, seriously, do I really want people to be ‘following’ my thoughts and actions on a moment by moment basis? But now, after several weeks of ‘tweeting’ (a word I will always find stupid and repugnant) I must say there are many benefits to Twitter……… and it’s kinda fun. So join in! I’m now part of the Twitter cult. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be either.

Now Available: The First "Out of Order" Cartoon Book

2009-06-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

It’s official: the first printed collection of Out of Order cartoons is now available. Compiling the greatest moments from the past three years and a half years of cartooning, “Out of Order: Cartoons 2005-2009″ is a great retrospective of all of the cultural, social, political, and just plain crazy topics addressed by Out of Order over the years. Click the button below to learn more and get your copy today!

VPA Awards

2009-03-17T18:26:00.001-07:00

Many thanks again this year to the Virginia Press Association and my friends at the Southside Messenger and the Central Virginian. This year my art received a total of four awards from the Virginia Press Association, including: - 1st Place in Informational Graphics (Southside Messenger)- 1st Place in Illustrations (Southside Messenger)- 1st Place in Editorial Cartoons (Southside Messenger)- 2nd Place in Editorial Cartoons (The Central Virginian)God has blessed me so much with this incredible opportunity to share my drawings with readers on a regular basis. Thanks to all my readers for another great year as a cartoonist/illustrator!

Inauguration Cartoon

2009-01-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Some have said that my 1/19 cartoon about Obama’s inauguration was a bit… harsh. A bit insensitive to the historic day that Obama’s inauguration represented. I just can’t see how, with all that Obama has said about the Constitution, he can swear an oath to uphold it. The words that I inserted into Obama’s oath are his actual words. Watch this clip to hear Obama’s words for yourself.I sincerely hope that Obama turns out to be a great president, and I’m praying that the Lord gives him wisdom. But if Mr. Obama is consistent with the policies and beliefs he has expressed in the past, I’m afraid he’s going to be about as friendly to the constitution as… well… George W. Bush.

My Thoughts on the Election

2008-10-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

With election day only a few short days away, I thought I would give a final wrap-up of my thoughts about the decision Americans must make. In February 2007, I expressed my concern that Americans were clinging to labels, foolishly accepting words and symbols, rather than taking the time to truly analyze ideas and beliefs (click here to read this post). In the following months, I let my cartoons express my opinion about the election and, as you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of either Obama or McCain. Both candidates have demonstrated an unwillingness to uphold the constitution and protect liberty. In my opinion, the decision about the direction of our country will not be made on election day. It has already been made by the two main political parties. May God have mercy on our nation. …But on a brighter side, mind-boggingly frustrating national and world events generate some great cartoon ideas. The scarier, more frustrating things get, the more I feel inspired as a cartoonist. Sure, Obama and McCain may both want to end our nation as we know it and take it to some scary places… But who says we can’t laugh along the way? So be sure to read benlansing.com regularly… Because it looks like the joke fodder is only going to get better from here on out.

Newseum News

2008-04-11T18:30:00.000-07:00

My thanks to John Seigenthaler, Sr. for nominating my work for the Pulitzer this year. I was proud to see that one of my favorite editorial cartoonists, Mike Ramirez, received the award this year. Ramirez is, without a doubt, one of the most talented cartoonists in his field.

In other news, The Newseum, the national museum of the news in Washington D.C., opens today. Featured among the archives in this amazing new Pennsylvania Ave. building will be my Pulitzer-nominated “Today, We Are All Hokies” cartoon along with some of my original sketches.

Back in the Collegian

2008-04-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

The University of Richmond’s Collegian, my alma mater’s student newspaper, did a front page article this week about my Pulitzer nomination (click here to read the online version). I really enjoyed drawing regular weekly cartoons for the Collegian from 2003 - 2005. This article marked the first time since 2005 that I had a cartoon appear in the Collegian, and it was great to be back.

I remember one of my first concerns after being accepted by UR was to make sure that I could become the campus cartoonist. Finding time to draw cartoons between term papers and final exams wasn’t always easy, and some of my cartoons drawn during this period are hopefully long forgotten. Fortunately, the great folks on the Collegian staff put up with my cartoons over the years. With that said, I was pretty proud of some of the cartoons printed while I was at school. Here are some cartoons published in the Collegian back between 2004-2005:

Nomination News

2008-04-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

As if the new benlansing.com website wasn’t exciting enough, even more good news: “Today We Are All Hokies”, my cartoon tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy, has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for cartoons by John Seigenthaler of the Freedom Forum.

The Great 'i'

2008-03-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did it. I left all that was familiar and comfortable, abandoned my upbringing, and plunged myself into the black abyss of the unknown. I finally said goodbye to PC’s and purchased my first Mac (a 24″ iMac). I have to say that after several weeks of being a member of the Mac world, I’m already a huge fan. The navigation, the customer service, the simplicity of design and functionality… it’s all great.

And yet, there is one issue about which I am not at peace… My iCamera. This iMac is the first computer I’ve ever owned to have a built-in camera in the screen. This troubles me a little. How can I be sure that it is off? How can I be at peace that Steve Jobs, or Apple tech people, or those tattooed, lip-pierced ‘hip people’ in the Apple store aren’t monitoring my every move? I really can’t be. I’m just expected to blindly throw myself to the mercy of Apple, having faith that my software is secure enough for outsiders to not see me without my knowing it.

I know, I know. I sound paranoid. But I’ve read 1984. I’ve read the Lord of the Rings. The great eye is always watching; never blinking, never sleeping. Unless, of course, I cover it with one of those handy apple stickers that came with the computer.

Virginia Press Association Awards

2008-03-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure this evening of attending the Virginia Press Association’s Awards banquet at the Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke, Virginia. Great to see so many folks that I’ve been able to know through illustrating and publishing at the reception. My illustration work for the Southside Messenger received first and second place for artwork and one of my illustrations (see above image) was named ‘Best In Show’. Very exciting. Congrats to the staffs of the Southside Messenger, the Culpeper Star-Exponent, the South Hill Enterprise, the Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond Magazine, and all of the folks that received awards this evening!

A New Way to Buy "Bigwigs of Classical Music"

2008-03-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

Here’s yet another example of the mainstream media’s inability to focus on the truly momentous news stories of our day. Right now, most news networks and websites are focusing on the resurgence of the Clinton campaign, or the gloomy economic situation, or the coming apocalypse of global warming that can only be prevented by Al Gore and friends. But one story has been completely ignored. I’m speaking, of course, about the latest on my book, Bigwigs of Classical Music. I discovered classical music when I was twelve and loved it so much I wrote and illustrated a music history guide during my teens. For the past two years, it has been available through Rainbow Resource Center, Amazon.com, and lulu.com. Today (big news) it can now also be purchased through the Music in Motion catalogue. As the great, respected, esteemed musicologist Frank Zappa once said, “All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.” So why not take the time to learn more about the music, the people, and the ‘wigs and stuff’.? Even if you’re not a huge classical music fan you should get yourself a copy just to find out what happens when a teenage cartoonist tries to explain history’s greatest musical masterpieces. …In other news: Strange report out of Austria… The sounds of a body rolling over appear to be coming from the tomb of Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart.

Southside Messenger Announcement

2008-02-20T18:45:00.000-08:00

I owe a lot of thanks to the Southside Messenger in Keysville, VA for all they’ve done for me and my ‘toons over the past couple years. The Messenger was one of the first local papers to take on my editorial cartoons and it was with the Messenger that I received my Virginia Press Association award last year. So I was proud for them to make the official ‘in-print’ announcement of my Pulitzer nomination in this past week’s paper. Check out the article at http://www.southsidemessenger.com/articles/2008/02/18/news/top_story/ts1.txt.

(You probably should also get yourself a copy of Snoozing in a Hurricane written by the Southside Messenger’s editor, Averett Jones, and masterfully illustrated by - ahem - yours truly… Find out more about the book at http://www.southsidemessenger.com/our_columnists/rural_legends/).