NO: 35, Saturday, 25 January 2025
FOR SALE
Abbas Naaseri / I was wandering through Facebook and my artist friends’ pages when I found out that Julian PenaPai, the legendary cartoonist and owner of the renowned humorpla.net (or Best Cartoon) website, had been hospitalized for a few days. I was inquiring about his well-being.
While scrolling through his page, I came across a post titled “For Sale.” For a moment, it felt like ice water was poured over my head. I feared he was putting the website up for sale, perhaps due to his health or emotional state. I quickly sent him a message, asking about his condition, but he was offline. Growing more worried, I went to his website to investigate further. , I realized it was a misunderstanding—a new post titled For Sale was about similarities related to selling, not the website itself. After that I became calm.
Still, I couldn’t help but reflect: would an artistic website, especially one dedicated to cartoons and caricatures, even have a buyer? The audience for such a platform is limited to cartoonists and caricaturists—though they hold global recognition, their numbers aren’t vast. In today’s world, does art hold enough value for an artistic website to attract a buyer? Has managing such a platform ever yielded profit beyond love and expenses? Or has the site’s management had any income?
Even cartoons and caricatures themselves do have not any buyers. Despite being undoubtedly the most impactful art form of our time, few are willing to spend a cent or a dollar to purchase them. You’d hardly find caricatures adorning the walls of homes—except those of cartoonists themselves!
These are works that have shaken palaces yet have never touched the walls of the smallest homes.
I’ve often seen political news websites attract major buyers. During election seasons, licenses for political and news platforms are traded at high prices to serve as a base for party propaganda or candidates’ campaigns. They also enjoy a constant flow of commercial advertisements, economic sponsorships, and political funding.
We, as cartoonists, are deeply rooted in politics. Yet, since we have always highlighted the empty half of the political glass and raised awareness about it, we’ve become a thorn in politicians’ sides. Instead of receiving support, we’ve had to watch ourselves—and this is a universal truth.
No official is taking responsibility for us; or supporting us.
We must draw with love, sketch for peace and serenity, and ensure we don’t hurt erased in the process.
Were it not for the love and passion for this art, even the few existing news websites dedicated to cartoons and caricatures wouldn’t have survived, and our isolation would have been far worse than it is today.
As I finished writing this piece, Julian came online and informed me about his successful surgery. He is now on the path to recovery and will soon be discharged from the hospital, ready to return to the world of cartoons. I wish him a speedy recovery and extend my gratitude to all cartoonists who dedicate their time and resources to keeping the flame of cartoon and caricature websites alive. I warmly shake their hands in appreciation.
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