My dear friend Abbas,
we share the same thoughts, advocates, and shares the same views on cartoons.
This is a long and extensive struggle.
In recent years, there has been systemic oppression and marginalization against the art of cartooning. The capitalist and imperialist system is showing less tolerance and more pressure on a free and guiding art form like cartooning. We see this in the layoffs of cartoonists working in newspapers and magazines, especially in the US and the UK.
Unfortunate developments are also taking place in our country. The wave of humor and criticism once generated by a magazine (Gırgır), which once printed 500,000 copies, has now transformed into a deliberate systemic tsunami. I wanted to share the latest example with you.
It’s deeply disappointing to witness how the true essence of an international AD cartoon competition has faded away over the years.
What was when that day comes, history will remember who stood firm for creativity of expression now feels empty—stripped of its soul. And when that day comes, history will remember who stood firm for creativity and integrity art and those who devoted their lives to it.
Instead, it passed quietly, almost unnoticed—small, distant, and lacking the energy that once inspired generations of artists.
Events like these are meant to unite us, to remind us of why we draw, why we speak through lines and humor. But when the focus shifts away from art itself, something precious is lost.
Those who haven’t drawn a single picture of “Palestine” are now trying to design cartoons in Türkiye. These days, of course, will pass. We are patient people. But this patience should never prevent us from writing and drawing.
Still, I believe this silence will not last forever.
There will come a time when voices rise again—when passionate and honest artists stand together to reclaim the meaning of cartoon art.
And when that day comes, history will remember who stood firm for creativity and integrity.
Greetings to real cartoonists and all cartoonists who never compromise on their stance.
Weekly Single Page of Cartoonmag / No 58 / EVERYONE WEARING THE CROWN IS A KING
