cover image Humor's Edge

Humor's Edge

Ann Telnaes, . . Pomegranate, $24.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-7649-2868-0

Telnaes won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001, and this fine collection of her syndicated political cartoons shows it was certainly justified. Her cartoons go beyond the usual easy labels and apples-in-a-barrel caricatures to take on issues with grace and wit. The work, which is being published in conjunction with a Library of Congress exhibition of Telnaes's work, falls on the liberal side of the fence. Telnaes's critiques of George W. Bush are scathing, but lack the shrill hysteria that can infect political cartoons on both sides of the party divide. To accentuate the plight of Afghan women, Telnaes shows a group of them chained to a bomb labeled "Taliban Regime" as they admonish readers to "Aim carefully, please." Another cartoon is silent, with only a flagpole festooned with surveillance cameras to carry its firm message. Telnaes's solid concepts are helped along by an artistic clarity: she has an unusually clean, expressive line, which harks back to her cartoon heroes Robert Osborn and Saul Steinberg. By their nature, political cartoons are dated, and collections even more so, but Telnaes's art holds up. This handsome volume also includes an in-depth interview with Telnaes and examples of her rough sketches. (July)