Jeff Koterba, Our Rare and Popular Editorial Cartoonist, Needs Your Support!

From Jeff:

My cartooning career began at the age of five. I would draw cartoons for a newspaper I created for my parents. In fact, most my little "newspaper" was made up of cartoons. While I only had two readers of my work, I knew in my heart that I wanted to become a full-time cartoonist.

You can't really go to school to become an editorial cartoonist. Instead, you carve your own path. For me, I studied art and journalism in high school and college. Indeed, I consider myself a journalist, first, and artist second. Cartoons are ultimately all about the idea.

Night after night, I burned the midnight oil, sketching, studying cartooning. I sought out mentors. I took any freelance gig I could, even if when there was no compensation. Eventually, I landed a full-time cartooning job with my locally-owned newspaper. But after 31 years, and some 12,000 cartoons, outside owners began gutting its beloved pages, which meant I was out of a job.

But I have continued to draw. I'm still just like that five-year-old who has a calling in his heart to make cartoons.

As a journalist I steadfastly believe that my opinions must be rooted in Truth, as I see it. Which means I'll poke fun at any politician or leader who deserves it. And maybe it's the Midwesterner in me, but I also poke fun with a sense of humanity. From time to time, I even find those occasional topics on which we might agree.

That's why I'm asking you to support my work. Not only to keep the cartoon ideas coming, but ultimately, to support journalism. The world is a crazy place and now, more than ever, we need editorial cartoons to give us perspective, to make us think, and maybe even to make us laugh.

–Jeff Koterba