As we close 2023, we bring you the good, the bad, the ugly, the unique, and the most- and least-popular Counterpoints from the past year.
And we offer our grateful praise of you, our supporters, along with our wishes for a happy 2024. Cheers!
January 6: “Definition of Insanity” Edition
“The Republican party, sadly, has become the party of omnipresent grievance and antagonism. Donald Trump added his own brand of narcissism and grift. Is it any wonder that these toxic impulses have now turned inward? You can't court the worst in people and expect to remain unscathed.” -NA
Cartoon by Nick Anderson for Counterpoint
“The same GOP faction responsible for turning the red wave into a red ripple are once again, leading the party to disaster. Making concessions to this group will only embolden them to be unmanageable in the future.” -MR
Cartoon by Michael Ramirez for Counterpoint
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February 13: “Whack to the Future” Edition
Can you spot the robot cartoon?
On a weird whim, one of our cartoonists drew one of today’s toons with the aid of artificial intelligence. No joke. Look below and see if you can figure out which cartoon has robot in its DNA.
We’re not sure whether this is funny, scary or a little of both. Our gang seriously debated the ethics of using AI in editorial cartooning. We’d like to know what you think, too. Shoot us an email and tell us: Is it right or wrong for editorial cartoonists to use artificial intelligence?
Danger, Will Robinson. Here’s Counterpoint.
Cartoon by Pedro X. Molina for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Tim Campbell for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Eric Allie for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Rick McKee for Counterpoint
Can you tell? Rick McKee used AI to help create the Pandora’s box cartoon. Afterward, he showed it to our other cartoonists, prompting this debate:
Rick McKee Looking for feedback and your thoughts in general here. This not posted as a potential cartoon for Counterpoint. I also have not submitted it to my syndicate yet, because I’m really torn. I did this cartoon mainly just to see if I could pull it off, kind of proof of concept. As some of you know, I’ve been fooling around with AI lately. I think it’s amazing and terrifying at the same time. The bulk of this cartoon was generated by AI from text prompts by me. It took lots of tries and finagling to get an image that represented what I wanted and looked passable in my style. (I did not specify my style or anyone else’s style in the prompt.) Then, I took that image and added a background and the guy reading the paper and word balloon. Is it ethical? Is it cheating? It obviously feels like cheating, but is it any different than when a cartoonist inserts a photo? Is it just a new tool? I credited MidJourney, but should I? MidJourney has no copyright claim. I generated the image, I just didn’t do it using traditional methods. FWIW, I have no plans to use AI in future work, but I feel like we’ll be seeing much more of this from others. Thoughts?
Ted Rall If it’s cheating, so is coloring in Photoshop and shading in Duoshade. Was Bob Dylan cheating when he went electric?
Eric Allie Agree with Ted
Scott Stantis If I read you correctly, the images in this cartoon are not your own? Then that is a problem. You you worked with AI to create a new image then there is no reason to treat this as anything other than, as @Ted Rall points out, a new tool.1:42It’s a good cartoon, btw.
Rick McKee @Scott Stantis yes, I worked with AI. This is not someone else’s image.
Scott Stantis @Rick McKee I am like you, I view AI with both awe and terror.
Nick Anderson I knew it was only a matter of time before someone created an editorial cartoon with AI. I didn't expect it to be a cartoonist! But it was going to happen sooner or later, so why not. I think you should do it @Rick McKee, and write about it in your blurb.
Ted Rall I wouldn’t credit Midjourney. Did we credit Ohio Graphic Arts?
Mike Lester Running your tune thru an electric guitar isn't cheating. Running somebody else's tune is.
Eric Allie Agree with Ted again
Nick Anderson Great toon btw @Rick McKee, although at this point, maybe you've been entirely replaced by AI and we are just talking to ChatGPT
Rick McKee Lol, could be @Nick Anderson, thanks. I’m slated for Monday, no blurb.
Nick Anderson @Doug Miller please reference this in your introduction. What do you think.
Gary Varvel I agree with the previous comments. Nice finagling @Rick McKee
Rick McKee @Mike Lester you won’t get an argument from me, which is why I asked. I’m interested in this point of view. I tend to agree with you, but no specific artist was referenced to get this image. Thanks @Gary Varvel
Rob Rogers @Rick McKee I think it is a gray area in terms of authenticity but worth the cartoon. Great cartoon btw. I also think you should leave the mention of the AI you used since that's what the cartoon is about. Adds interest.
Rick McKee Thanks @Rob Rogers
Nick Anderson I disagree with most of you. This isn't like coloring or an electric guitar. This is more like a player piano. Soon, you won't need any artistic ability to create a cartoon (maybe some of us had little to none to begin with). People who are creating memes will be creating cartoons, and the real ones will be difficult to differentiate from the AI ones. It's one more nail in our coffin.
Rick McKee @Nick Anderson I’m with you. Which is why I’m hesitant to do it. But I wanted to see if I could.
Ted Rall You can’t fight technology. I wish toons were black and white only, but that’s in the past. The future belongs to those who adapt.
Nick Anderson I agree, you can't fight this technology @Ted Rall. It's coming, like it or not. It's one of many reasons I don't stake my financial future on cartooning.
Mike Lester Boston/NCS I listened to presentation by XKCD cartoonist who said he drew sketches and often erased before he drew his final art. The strip is stick figures. I knew this job had nothing to do w art back then.@Rick McKee good cartoon, message and image. And I would definitely credit MidJourney/AI
Chris Britt Ultimately, I think AI is cheating.For instance, if you gave a prompt which said, “Create a dragon like the ones in Harry Potter,” and then you post that image and claim that you created it; that’s a lie. It involves zero artistic skill. But coloring in Photoshop, does involve a degree of artistic skill because you still have to have an understanding of color pallet, shadow and shading.That’s just my take. And it’s not a reflection on whether Rick should run his cartoon or not. I think it might be good. Perhaps it might encourage a wider debate.
Rick McKee @Chris you have a point
Ted Rall All I’m saying is, these things are impossible to define. A pen and ink on papyrus probably looked like cheating to people trained to write in cuneiform.
Eric Allie (Googling cuneiform)
Ted Rall Googling is cheating. Use a card catalog
Rob Rogers As far as using it to produce work, I think that in the end it is not just a tool, it's cheating. Writing programs are considered cheating in college and high school. This is no different.
Ted Rall There were debates about using calculators in math class too. At engineering school, first year we had to use slide rules. Sophomore year, calculator was allowed.
Pedro Molina Hello, about AI and @Rick McKee cartoon. I think is valid take because you are using it to actually give an opinion about it.Now, about AI “art” My problem with it is that at this point at least, is just piracy. They are taking other artist’s work (without their consent) to feed a machine that produces these collages. This is not the same as using your own talent and skills to paint in photoshop or sculpt a caricature on 3d, or drawing a parody of a movie poster or painting a character over an existing classic painting to make a joke. All those things are valid because you are adding something on your own. AI “artists” are stealing the work of actual artists without giving them any credit or payment to them and selling it. Maybe things will change in the future but right now is like if you cut a paragraph of every big novel of the last 20 years, paste them all together into a new document and then call yourself a “writer”.
Nick Anderson (posts sketch) Sketch for tomorrow, drawn by NickAI
Rick McKee Good. If you need an AIssist, I know a guy.
Nick Anderson Whatever you say, RickGPT
March 6: “Let’s Make a Steal” Edition
Counterpoint admires Amazon’s chutzpah.
As a result, we’re launching a nationwide competition for the privilege of becoming home to Counterpoint’s second world headquarters. Qualifying CPHQ-2 communities for must agree to larcenous economic development incentives, including but not limited to hundreds of millions of dollars in tax concessions, as well as rapacious relocation enticements for each of our cartoonists. We also want a private jet with a fully stocked wet bar and a fleet of limousines that get lousy gas mileage.
Oh, and when our business turns sour, we reserve the right to tell the winning city to go jump in the Potomac.
Here’s Counterpoint Prime.
Cartoon by Eric Allie for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Scott Stantis for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Pedro Molina for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Chris Britt for Counterpoint
April 10: “Bull Duration” Edition
Counterpoint is flabberclobbered that it’s taken Major League Baseball this long to impose time limits on pitchers and batters so that meaningless games between lousy teams won’t drag on longer than a “Lord of the Rings” movie.
Come to think of it, we propose a political version of the pitch clock. We’ll call it the bitch clock. Under the bitch clock, partisan cable news pundits would face strict limits on how long they can shriek about their latest manufactured outrage du jour. It’s one, two, three minutes -- they’re out of the whole ballgame.
And there’s no crying in Counterpoint.
Cartoon by Chris Britt for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Eric Allie for Counterpoint
May 18: “Time Warp” Edition
“Most Democrats wish Biden wasn’t running for reelection. Only a small majority of Republicans are OK with Trump running for election again. Yet the vast majority of both are going to go cast a ballot in 2024 for a candidate they don’t approve of.”-TR
Cartoon by Ted Rall for Counterpoint
“Janet Yellen warned ‘Every single day that Congress does not act, we are experiencing increased economic costs that could slow down the U.S. economy.’”-LB
Cartoon by Lisa Benson for Counterpoint
June 23: “Unbearable Lightness” Edition (tipping the scales)
“At the House Judiciary Committee meeting, some Republicans were outraged with special counsel John Durham for not charging the people who started the Russian Hoax.”-GV
Cartoon by Gary Varvel for Counterpoint
“Republicans don’t care about espionage, insurrection, graft, bribery, or pretty much any crime if a Republican commits it. But they just can’t stand that the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Delaware didn’t bury Hunter Biden under a prison for misdemeanor tax offenses and a gun charge.”-DB
Cartoon by Darrin Bell for Counterpoint
August 9: "We Don't Need No Education" Edition
“Many parents and politicians complain that education has a liberal agenda, namely, learning new things. “-KA
Cartoon by Kirk Anderson for Counterpoint
“Packing the Supreme Court is out. Forced recusals are in. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act would force Justices to recuse themselves from some cases. It’s sort of addition by subtraction, creating court majorities more to the liking of the U.S. Senate majority. The Wall Street Journal calls it ‘a different means than packing the Court by adding Justices, but the purpose is similar’”-CB
Cartoon by Chip Bok for Counterpoint
August 22: “Rock You Like a Hurricane” Edition
“Donald Trump announced that he was bypassing the Republican Presidential debate to natter with Tucker Carlson. Gee, I wonder what Trump will want to talk about?”-KAL
Cartoon by Kevin KAL Kallaugher for Counterpoint
“Last week President Biden bragged, ‘Name me a single objective we’ve ever set out to accomplish that we’ve failed on.’ I thought of more than one.”-GV
Cartoon by Gary Varvel for Counterpoint
September 22: “Burn, Baby, Burn” Edition
“Fox News’ Rupert Murdoch retires after a long career poisoning the political culture of some of the world’s (formerly) greatest democracies.”-DB
Cartoon by Darrin Bell for Counterpoint
“Can a country that sponsors terrorism and aspires to eliminate another country from the earth really claim to do anything for ‘humanitarian’ reasons? I mean, they ‘can’ — but how do they do it with a straight face?”-MB
Cartoon by Mike Beckom for Counterpoint
October 25: “Standin’ on the Corner” Edition (… watchin’ all the GOPs go bye-bye)
“After several misfires, the GOP is left scrambling for a candidate for Speaker of the House who can muster the votes needed to be seated. The conflict between the RINOs and MAGAs has left Congress in disarray and chaos. At some point these two warring factions must put aside their differences and settle on a Speaker. This is called ‘compromise.’”-DW
Cartoon by Dick Wright for Counterpoint
“Tempted by political ambition, the Republican Party drank the brew of extremism and now finds it difficult to shake off the consequences. His creation has ended up controlling him. Will there still be enough consciousness and courage left to prevail or will the GOP be consumed by it? We will know the answer sooner rather than later.”-PM
Cartoon by Pedro X. Molina for Counterpoint
November 6: “Strike While the Irony Is Hot” Edition
NEW YORK (CP) – Organized labor strikes across the nation came to a standstill Monday after tens of thousands of employees represented by the United Picket Workers voted to walk off their picket lines.
“Union leaders are calling for so many strikes against so many industries, America’s picket line protesters are forced to staff intolerably long shifts under oppressive working conditions,” said a UPW statement. “Americans serving on the front lines of the nation’s picket lines deserve better.
“And never mind the threats posed by artificial intelligence,” the UPW said. “We also need protection from those obnoxious cartoonists at Counterpoint.”
Cartoon by Rob Rogers for Counterpoint
Cartoon by Eric Allie for Counterpoint
November 14: “Elmer Fudd” Edition (… a Manchin and a shot)
“If you had to pick between Joe Manchin, Joe Biden, Donald Trump and RFK Jr. for president, I could make a strong case that Manchin would be the best out of the four.”-SB
Cartoon by Steve Breen for Counterpoint
“The infinite selfie. ‘Simulacra and simulation.... our current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that human experience is a simulation of reality.’” -- SB
Cartoon by Sparaboom for Counterpoint
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