Alexa Ratings: Who Do They Choose For Top Indie Cartoonist?
If I told you who I thought was my favorite cartoonist, you would, probably, in turn, tell me who is yours. And it woud be different. What I’m writing about is not favorite, but most popular, most viewed worldwide. I checked some analytical sites such as Alexa and others and found some good facts. Rick London is wining the race, but not by a long-shot. He is known for his surprises, so never say never, that he might fall into second. He has many creative tricks up his sleeve.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s it could be debated that perhaps Gary Trudeau was the most popular with Doonesbury. But Scott Adam’s Dilbert was no slouch, and remains popular until this day. Even Charles Schulz worked all the way up to the year 2000. And many critics say some of his most brilliant work manifested at that time.
Charles Adams was a corporate stiff at Pacific Bell in 1995 but drawing “Dilbert” at home every day. he revealed to us the “new corporate America” which was confusing at best. Workers were all packed in cubicles, like sardines. Gary Larson (The Far Side, Rick London (Londons Times Cartoons), and Dave Coverly (Speed Bump) go down as my all-time favorites. Of course cartooning like any art is subjective. I like this kind of cartooning because of what I call “extreme editing”. All three of these talents know how to tell a story, a big story in just a few words. Rick London strikes me as one of the most creative with his Londons Times Cartoons. I visit the site daily, and often order products from his many gift shops. I love having humorous things that truly give me belly-laughs around the house. It is why I purchased all of Gary Larson’s books and calendars (not to mention some mugs) and London has even a bigger selection of licensed products and I try to buy as many of them as I can, but usually end up giving them as gifts.
Mensa, to me, is a bit outdated in that it does not take EQ Emotional IQ into account. Some of the brightest people I have ever known or been exposed to, these brilliant cartoonist for instance, might not be Mensa material, but they are just as brilliant. This new type of brilliance was discovered by author Robert Goleman in the mid-1980’s and he wrote a best-seller on it called “Emotional IQ” which I have read and is excellent.
So Mensans can’t do what these cartoonists can do, and vice versa. I am sure they can all accept that.
When Gary Larson and Dave Coverly started, periodical and newspaper publishing were king. In fact, the Internet was in its infancy and rarely if ever used for cartooning. I wish Coverly had more books out. I am sure it would be like when Gary Larson did and I collected them and kept them near my bed. If i felt tired or bad, I simply opened a Far Side book and my mood changed for the better. That is how I feel when I go to Rick London’s cartoon site today.
Like Yves St. Laurent in the fashion world, who was not a very good artist, and hired others, Rick London had a similar challenge. He too had tor recruit a “team of artists to draw his creations” But it worked and he surprised a lot of people, as he started with nothing, not even an education, and ended up being the top-ranked indepdendent cartoonist on the Internet. That says something about the work.
Choosing best in working cartoonist today is no easy task. But when one views Rick London’s collection, many of them well-known classics, published worldwide and highly critically-acclaimed, one has to wonder how he did it starting with nothing. but he did. My vote is for Rick London as the greatest cartoonist and humorist in our lifetime.
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