Watch where you point that pen, Molton

Posted on by Jamie Cameron

I'll admit to the occasional forced chuckle when I read the weekly “Molton” cartoon. Usually I'm laughing because the artist has attacked a social or political demographic with which I disagree with an awkward, amateurish version of middle school humor.

How different it felt when I opened the Jan. 30 Mountain Xpress to find, this time, Molton was attacking me. The panel, seemingly depicting two gun-toting, obese, gap-toothed simpletons, may indeed be how Molton views America's estimated 13.7 million hunters (2011 U.S. Fish and Wildlife survey), but it exemplifies the dangers we so frequently repeat regarding broad generalizations and stereotypes.

I'll remember that the next time he has a go at the conservatives, the religious faithful, members of law enforcement or whoever else he casts his broad and indiscriminate pen stroke against.

In the meantime, I'm working on a cartoon of my own; it's about a dude in a basement, wearing stained pajama bottoms and a T-shirt, working on a cartoon only his mom will think is funny (because he still lives with her), as he tries once again to find a publisher who will syndicate his tragically lame life's work. Whadda ya think, Xpress? Have I got a winner?

— Jamie Cameron
Black Mountain

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3 thoughts on “Watch where you point that pen, Molton”

  1. Loyd Mehaffey

    I have to admit to having much the same reaction to most of Molton’s work. I try to excuse it as the “work-in-progress” of a young liberal who has yet to learn to see beyond stereotypes and labels in order to focus on issues or ideologies which can be treated through satirical cartooning.

  2. brebro

    Wait, will this cartoon you are making be a statement about lazy cartooning by having your retributive cartoon be as unoriginal a stereotype as possible?

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=parent's basement

    If so, I suggest drawing a cartoon of you drawing that cartoon (maybe with a maniacal grin and a thought bubble of the complainant/artist saying “this will show that hack how it feels!”), so as to make it plain that you MEANT for it to be an unoriginal insult merely as an illustration of how NOT to rely on broad stereotypes of groups in the pursuit of satiric observations, rather than just unknowingly being hypocritical instead of merely plain old critical.

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