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A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images intended for satire, caricature, or humor; or a motion picture that relies on a sequence of illustrations for its animation. Someone who creates cartoons in the first sense is called a cartoonist, and in the second sense they are usually called an animator.

The concept originated in the Middle Ages, and first described a preparatory drawing for a piece of art, such as a painting, fresco, tapestry, or stained glass window. In the 19th century, beginning in Punch magazine in 1843, cartoon came to refer – ironically at first – to humorous artworks in magazines and newspapers. Then it also was used for political cartoons and comic strips. When the medium developed, in the early 20th century, it began to refer to animated films that resembled print cartoons. (Full article...)

John Leech, *Substance and Shadow* (1843), published as *Cartoon, No. 1* in *Punch*, the first use of the word cartoon to refer to a satirical drawing

In print media, a cartoon is a drawing or series of drawings, usually humorous in intent. This usage dates from 1843, when Punch magazine applied the term to satirical drawings in its pages,^[1] particularly sketches by John Leech.^[2] The first of these parodied the preparatory cartoons for grand historical frescoes in the then-new Palace of Westminster in London.^[3]

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Sam & Max is a media franchise focusing on the fictional characters of Sam and Max, the Freelance Police. The characters, who occupy a universe that parodies American popular culture, were created by Steve Purcell in his youth, and later debuted in a 1987 comic book series. The characters have since been the subject of a graphic adventure video game developed by LucasArts, a television series produced for Fox in cooperation with Nelvana Limited, and a series of episodic adventure games developed by Telltale Games. In addition, a variety of machinima and a webcomic have been produced for the series. The characters are a pair of anthropomorphic, vigilante private investigators based in a dilapidated office block in New York City. Sam is a calculative six-foot dog wearing a suit and a fedora, while Max is a short and aggressive "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". Both enjoy solving problems and cases as maniacally as possible, often with complete disregard for the law. Driving a seemingly indestructible black-and-white 1960 DeSoto Adventurer, the pair travel to many contemporary and historical locations to fight crime, including the Moon, Ancient Egypt, the White House and the Philippines, as well as several fictitious locations. The series has been very successful despite its relatively limited amount of media and has gathered a significant fan base. However, the franchise did not gain more widespread recognition until after the 1993 release of LucasArts' Sam & Max Hit the Road, which cultivated interest in Purcell's original comics. Sam & Max Hit the Road is regarded as an exceptional adventure game and an iconic classic of computer gaming in the 1990s. Subsequent video games and the television series have also fared well with both critics and fans; critics consider the episodic video games to be the first successful application of the episodic distribution model.

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Homer Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. Homer is the boorish father of the Simpson family and as the family's provider, he works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. With his wife, Marge, he has three children: Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, lazy and ignorant; however, he is also fiercely devoted to his family. Homer was created and designed by cartoonist Matt Groening. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for three years, the Simpson family got their own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Homer is one of the most influential fictional characters on television and has inspired an entire line of merchandise. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "d'oh!", has been included in several dictionaries. Castellaneta has won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and a special achievement Annie Award for voicing Homer.

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...that publication of comics in Hungary largely stopped during World War II due to Nazi pressure?

...that the Fire Nation, from the Universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender, was inspired by photos of volcanic islands of Iceland and the Pacific Ocean?

...that the Sam Sheepdog and Ralph Wolf cartoons Sheep Ahoy, A Sheep in the Deep, and Don't Give Up the Sheep were censored by ABC to remove a dynamite stick, a smoke break scene, and a spanking scene respectively?

...that the manhwa Recast was published not just in Korean, but also in German, French, and American English?

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The episodes of The Simpsons, an American animated sitcom, created by Matt Groening (pictured) for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society and television, and many aspects of the human condition. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. Since its debut on December 17, 1989, The Simpsons has broadcast 764 episodes. The Simpsons holds several American television longevity records. It is the longest-running prime time animated series and longest-running sitcom in the United States. The series has surpassed Gunsmoke in seasons to claim the spot as the longest-running American prime-time scripted television series.

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Image 1Davy Jones' Locker, 1892 Punch cartoon by Sir John Tenniel (from Cartoon)
Image 21942 political cartoon by Dr. Seuss (from Political cartoon)
Image 3Benjamin Franklin's Join, or Die (May 9, 1754), credited as the first cartoon published in an American newspaper (from Cartoonist)
Image 4Cecil Rhodes, as The Rhodes Colossus, wishes for a railway stretching across Africa from the Cape of Good Hope to Egypt. (from Political cartoon)
Image 5A cartoon map of Europe in 1914, at the beginning of World War I. (from Political cartoon)
Image 61903 political cartoon. The U.S.'s intentions to influence the area (especially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of Panama from Colombia. (from Political cartoon)
Image 7A Rake's Progress, Plate 8, 1735, and retouched by William Hogarth in 1763 by adding the Britannia emblem. (from Political cartoon)
Image 8Example of a modern cartoon. The text was excerpted by cartoonist Greg Williams from the Wikipedia article on Dr. Seuss.
Image 9John Leech, Substance and Shadow (1843), published as Cartoon, No. 1 in Punch, the first use of the word cartoon to refer to a satirical drawing (from Cartoon)
Image 10U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt introduces Taft as his crown prince: Puck magazine cover, 1906. (from Political cartoon)
Image 111899 cartoon showing Uncle Sam lecturing four children labeled Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The caption reads: "School Begins. Uncle Sam (to his new class in Civilization)!" (from Political cartoon)
Image 12An editorial cartoon of Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln, 1865, entitled The Rail Splitter at Work Repairing the Union. The caption reads: (Johnson): "Take it quietly Uncle Abe and I will draw it closer than ever." (Lincoln): "A few more stitches Andy and the good old Union will be mended." (from Political cartoon)
Image 13Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole the people's money?" / "'Twas him."
Image 14Stop-motion animated character from 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957). (from Animator)
Image 15An animated cartoon horse, drawn by rotoscoping from Eadweard Muybridge's 19th-century photos
Image 16James Gillray's The Plumb-pudding in Danger (1805). The world being carved up into spheres of influence between Pitt and Napoleon. According to Martin Rowson, it is "probably the most famous political cartoon of all time—it has been stolen over and over and over again by cartoonists ever since." (from Political cartoon)
Image 17Thomas Nast depicts the Tweed Ring: "Who stole the people's money?" / "'Twas him." (from Political cartoon)

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Alfonso "Al" Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in Bogotá, Colombia before moving back to the United States at the age of 12. In his youth, Williamson developed an interest in comic strips, particularly Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon. He took art classes at Burne Hogarth's Cartoonists and Illustrators School, there befriending future cartoonists Wally Wood and Roy Krenkel, who introduced him to the work of illustrators who had influenced adventure strips. Before long, he was working professionally in the comics industry. His most notable works include his science-fiction/heroic fantasy art for EC Comics in the 1950s, on titles including Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. In the 1960s, he gained recognition for continuing Raymond's illustrative tradition with his work on the Flash Gordon comic-book series, and was a seminal contributor to the Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazines Creepy and Eerie. Williamson spent most of the 1970s working on his own credited strip, another Raymond creation, Secret Agent X-9. The following decade, he became known for his work adapting Star Wars films to comic books and newspaper strips. From the mid-1980s to 2003, he was primarily active as an inker, mainly on Marvel Comics superhero titles starring such characters as Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Spider-Girl.

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Main projects: Arts • Animation • Comics • Entertainment • Visual arts

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Related Projects: Anime and manga • Biography • Film • Fictional characters • Media franchises • Music • Television • Video games

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A good film is one that requires the viewer to create, through an orchestration of impressions, the meaning of its events. It is, in the end, our ability to create meaning out of the raw experience of life that makes us human. It is the exercise of our faculty to discover meaning which is the purpose of art. The didactic imparting of moral or political messages is emphatically not the purpose of art -- that is what we call propaganda.

— Peter Chung, Korean animator, series creator of Æon Flux

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