A word of homage to Chris Muir
It’s been some time since I have mentioned the cartoonist Chris Muir. The Florida-based dispenser of drollerie and savvy social commentary, now in his early 50s, is a politically mature version of Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonsbury. Muir’s family of characters is as yet smaller than Trudeau’s. He does not have the extravagant silliness of the 60s drug and protest culture as a prop and inspiration for absurd (yet somehow lovable) characters. But whereas Doonsbury ran out of gas in the Clinton years — if only, Trudeau seems to have felt, Monica Lewinski had interned during a Republican administration! — Chris Muir is just now hitting his stride.
If you’re a cartoonist, American politics — American culture generally — is a gift that just keeps on giving. With the ascent of Barack Obama, it is the return of Santa Claus about once a week. So much material, so little time! Chris Muir makes the most of it, delighting his growing circle of readers in the process.
Quite apart from his notable graphic abilities, what sets Muir apart from most of his fellow entertainers is his allergy to the poison of political correctness. He has a clear grasp of the dangers of what Tocqueville called “democratic despotism,” what conservatives today are likely to congregate under the rubric of “big government.” Muir pokes fun at pomposity and excess wherever he finds it, but he is perhaps at his best and most trenchant when exposing the sinister underside of the illiberal liberalism that has come to define the Democratic party of the early twenty-first century. This recent strip is a case in point:
Muir’s column should be syndicated in hundreds of newspapers. But most newspapers are too timid to offer him a home. Do not despair, though. You can find his pointed reflections on The Way We Live Now every day at daybydaycartoon.com. Make it part of your morning ritual. It will help prepare you for the slings and arrows of mendacious rubbish that the MSM will be sending your way the rest of the day.
Chris Muir has “notable graphic abilities?” Well, sure, he can virtual-paint over clip art, as he does above for most of the panels depicting Obama and Emmanuel. But his free-hand stuff? The women with the howitzer-grade busts and the scoliosis? Boy, that is BAD drawing.
Some might argue that you should be commended for your willingness to burn whatever credibility you might have had as an art critic at the stake of ideology. And others might argue that your commendation of Muir proves you never had such credibility in the first place. Either way, it’s all comedy gold.
Chris Muir’s graphics are fine. At the very least he is as as good as Gary Trudeau.
Muir’s “drollerie and savvy social commentary” are just too subtle for popular taste.
Gracious Glenn – since you commenteth not on the stinging barbs Muir casts toward the liberal/socialist agenda, might we assume that you are on board with his antipathy toward the smothering left…
…or are you one of those that disparages anything and anyone that dares to fall out of step with the left’s agenda, but do not have the chops to debate the premise?
So if Muir draws intelligent women as sexy and self-confident (and not size 0) he’s a sexist exploiter.
Yet if he drew them as all buttoned up… he’d be an uptight sexist conservative.
Chris Muir provides a daily dose of virtual soft-core porn in the guise of political commentary. His strips don’t run in newspapers because they are not remotely appropriate drawings for anything that will end up laying around the house. He occasionally demonstrates a politically savvy wit and rarely elicits a laugh (while always providing a drool). Someone once said that any statement is more compelling if delivered by a half-naked woman, and Chris apparently found that to be his mission in life. It must work for lots of folks, but it doesn’t work for me.
There may be some great new conservative cartoonists out there. Chris is, unfortunately, not one of them. (By the way, I concur with the “scoliosis” comment from the previous commenter. It hurts my back to see some of the poses Chris forces his women into.)
Enjoyed the article–Muir puts his finger on the political pulse every day. Love this cartoon you showed as example. His best to date. The House of Cards. Sadly, it may be ours, too.
newscaper, it may have escaped your notice, but “half-naked” or “buttoned up” are not the only two ways to draw women, self-confident and sexy or not.
Glenn, I am sorry that the intelligent, opinionated and beautiful women of Day By Day are not to your liking. That you only noticed that they have busts, and then imagined that they have scoliosis, is odd, to say the least. Is it immaterial that the liberal woman, the conservative woman, and the oh-so-very contemporary sister are all represented as having powerful voices for their personal and political positions? I find them interesting and refreshing, compared to many politically oriented cartoon characters.
Gooollleeee Kenny, you musta been a critic in your former life….the one you had before becoming both stupid and clueless!
Chris Muir is to conservative cartoons what Trudeau tried to be for LIBs, and failed. At the least Chris brings fresh view, and his drawings are quite nice thank you very much. If the Uber-Liberal media ever decide to bring two sides to their coverage, Muir will be the poster child for the Conservatives!
Go Chris!
“But his free-hand stuff?”
how’s your free hand stuff? i hope you’re pleasuring your credibility.
it’s a political cartoon fool.
Chiris’s art is fun to look at and his women lavicious.
The R on the king of clubs probably stands for regent, or does the king look like a bearded McCain?
And Glen, what talents do you have, other than criticizing? Tell us where your comics are available…..we want to see how it’s supposed to be done.
Roger, I’ll admit it. I love Muir’s cartoons and, as I wrote to him, I’d run ‘em on our editorial page gladly, except his characters are … hmmm, … lovingly drawn to show his admiration for the human body and a number of our readers raise hell when department store ads run too much skin.
I wouldn’t have him change a stroke of the art, and at least I enjoy them online. Someday I’ll start running them anyway. His rapier is as sharp as Ramirez’ is.
Glenkenny, did you write that Fred Astaire review, “Dances a little”? Heh.
If you ever again get the urge to praise a particular cartoon, or a particular cartoonist, don’t.
Merry Christmas.
Hmmm,I think the thing that is burning is behind Glenn Kenny.
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Glenn voted for someone mentioned in Muir’s cartoon.
Call it a hunch.
Does it matter what technique he uses to get his message across? Charles Shulz drew all his comics in freehand, and for 40 years (or however long his strip went)we had the same primitive and boringly drawn characters who never changed, or brought anything new to please the eye. You could say the same thing about Blondie, Beetle
Bailey,B.C, or any other comic strip that goes on for decades and never changes. I like Muir’s images, background scenes in shadow, and the deft lines that portray his characters, and I don’t particularly care how they got down on paper (computer screen).
You’ll have to pardon Glenn Kennedy. He’s still recovering from the CRU fraud. Being an Obama Flicher is dirty work.
I am a fan of Day By Day, and not just because of Muir’s artistic abilities, which I do admire.
Sorry, Glenn Kenny, but your comments belie your beliefs — you might as well have just simply stated, “I think Muir is a bad artist because I don’t like his ideology.”
I love Roger’s description of Muir as a “politically mature version of Garry Trudeau.” That is insightful, on many levels.
First, (and to Mr. Kenny, specifically) it must be acknowledged that Trudeau was a really bad artist in his early years. Any fan of his work, myself included, is intimately aware of the efforts Trudeau made over his career to improve his talents as an artist. Eventually abandoning the effort, Trudeau resorted to hiring an assistant, Don Carlton, to produce the actual art we see each week. Being a liberal, he is immune to criticism about such minor details such as who actually draws his strip.
Second, and to me, much more importantly, both Trudeau and Muir spend tremendous energy on researching the subjects of their strip. Muir, in particular, has continuously impressed me with the depth of his commentary on politics, and the ease with which he simplifies complex discussions into simple facts that are at once informing and humorous.
Finally, Muir is, to me, the consummate conservative. Like Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, he serves as a touchstone to my core beliefs.
Count me among Chris Muir’s legions of fans.
I agree, Roger, and you should have said more; the dogs aren’t barking loud enough.
Glenn, my friend, and you are my friend. I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
Best.
“Comedy Gold” is right. I love Day-by-Day. Glenn Kenny… go pick your nits elsewhere.
Glenn Kenney: Oh, pish-tush!
Well, Glenn, I know that there are tens of readers that are sorrowful that they can no longer read you in Primere. I guess you think Frazetta sucks too with his weapons grade breasts.
The thing they have in common is that they prosper with what they consider their art.
And really, that’s all that matters. Frankly, if the public isn’t buying it then it sucks…the rest is literati self gratification; because while there are still people who hold tightly to 60′s era comic books there are few who dig out from the trash some of the critically acclaimed painters of the time. No one watches critically praised Scandinavian noir movie makers but many regularly watch Corman and the rest. And so on.
As a lifelong designer and cartoonist, I regard Muir’s work with awe. It doesn’t matter what sources might lie beneath the concise, evocative lines, the whole strip hangs together and provides elegant punch to the narrative point of the piece. That narrative, by the way, is the real value of the strip; ideas far outweigh draftsmanship but when they’re both top-notch, the package stands head and shoulders above the pack.
And, he does this DAILY with content that puts this site at the top of my “must read” list.
Lastly, I find his renderings of his female characters very appealing and not deformed at all. It’s called Style, and Day By Day defines it.
“…it’s all comedy gold”.
As our first commenter has so wonderfully demonstrated…
I have been reading Muir since almost the start. I love his admixture of T&A, careers and now kids against a political backdrop. Every day I anticipate the fresh hell he delivers to Obama & Co and all liberals.
Chris, if you read this. Keep it up!
Speaking of burning whatever credibility you might have at the stake ideology, see Glenn Kenny above.
Howitzer-grade busts and scoliosis aside ( really , scoliosis?) Perhaps the biggest criticisim of Muirs art is that it may not quite keep up with his social commentary which is razor sharp. Which is, I think, the point here.
@ 1 Glenn Kenny:
howitzer-grade busts and scoliosis
Not so much:
Aubrey Beardsley exaggerated parts
Goya’s Naked Maja, now…and that other
one, with more vertebrae than humanly
possible.
‘fess up; It is the socio-political
commentary that offends your progressive
sensibilities; The one shown above is so
non-PC it should be illegal – and might
be, if The One had his way.
Sorry, Glenn, but “graphic abilities” consist of how you handle the medium. What he does with his medium puts him in the top ranks of today’s political cartoonists – and right up there with many comic-strip cartoonists. The subject matter puts him miles ahead of Trudeau (who’s still mired in 60′s progressivism).
The only thing that worries me is that pretty soon he’s going to run out of skin-tone paint.
[PS: Your cinematic website is most excellent. I look forward to reading more.]
1. Glenn Kenny
Nonsense. They’re cartoons. Did Gary Larsen’s characters’ large noses put you off as well? Sheesh.
I think Chris Muir does some of the best political cartoons going. It’s no wonder the papers shy away. This latest is hard hitting and right on target. Can’t have that, now can we?
The mark of any great cartoonist is the ability to both inform and entertain, sometimes with as little as a single character in a single pose. Artistic ability seems to be optional, as the spectrum goes from simple line drawings (xkcd, Order of the Stick) to the complex cartoons (PS238, Nodwick) up to the OMG how did he manage to get all that crammed into one frame (Phil Foglio), all of which are fantastic, in their own way.
I like Chris, he’s on my “Check every day” list.
Some might argue that Glenn Kenny is a troll. Others might argue that he simply dislikes conservatives because he is threatened by their superior values. Either way, he’s boring to read.
Chris Muir, however, has combined political insight and artistic ability to correctly ridicule liberal hypocrites.
Howitzer grade busts are graphical abilities. Somebody please change Mr. Kenny.
Sorry, Glen. Wrong. Muir possesses a visual sophistication, no matter what tools he uses to produce it, that the shriveled and dying newspaper syndicates would be, should be, crawling all over themselves pursuing and competing to showcase. Fat chance. Maybe it’s because his scalpel cuts to the right, not the left. Muir possesses what few other cartoonists possess, the ability to capture a figure’s anatomical attitude through a few ‘telling’ lines, with grace and precision. He knows what he’s doing.
For you to speak of a “willingness to burn whatever credibility you might have had as an art critic at the stake of ideology” certainly is comedy gold.
“Muir’s column should be syndicated in hundreds of newspapers.”
No it shouldn’t! No way!!! DAY BY DAY is far too sexy and adult for your typical “family” newspaper. I don’t want to see the ladies toned down to fit the Family Circus.
I don’t want anything about DBD to change, except for Chris Muir to become a multi-millionaire with a yearly Christmas special, one of which becomes a classic holiday season staple. “A Very Jan Christmas…”
Re: “Someone once said that any statement is more compelling if delivered by a half-naked woman …”
Well, I said that.
Because it’s true.
I love Muir’s statements. I’m wild about his women.
And, hey … what’s wrong with showing beautiful women, anyway? I like beautiful women. Duh.
At least he depicts inter-racial couples. What has Gary given us? Stick-figure “Clyde”?
Thanks for the kind words! (I mean ZZ Mike.) If it makes any difference, I’m not crazy about Trudeau either, and I think the funnies’ last great draftsman was Bill Watterston. You know what’s a really great strip? “Terry And The Pirates.” And “DIck Tracy,” particularly from the ’40s to the early ’60s.
We have been subscribed to the online daily for years. Thanks for giving Chris an atta boy.
Muir’s atrocious drawing is matched by his inability to create a workable punch line, and in many cases his complete failure to make any sense at all. Some choice examples here. “Funny” and “conservative” seem to be two properties unable to exist in the same place, in this era.
One complaint about the old Lefty cartoonist Herblock was that “he took too long to read”. He had an excuse — he was a poor caricaturist, so you couldn’t tell his Kruschev from his Ike unless he labelled them.
This particular Muir strip makes Herblock look terse. The text runs onandonandon, covering the art, and the punchline isn’t worth it. Better you had shown “Surrogates” (http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/2009/10/04/).
The comment by …
(as self described from his blog)is just nonsense! Hey, Gleen, don’t like DayByDay? Don’t go there or here. And check out the picture of a half naked woman on his blog page! G-string, or are they called thongs now, is all she wears? Well, ‘nuf said there!
What a Maroon!
Much as I enjoy Day By Day, I gotta agree with some readers here. When it comes to line-art, Muir ain’t no Watterson. Hell, he ain’t even an Amend! But he is good, and his art has gotten better over the years even as his females show less and less (the Japanese girl is actually starting to look Japanese, though the Argentinian girl still kinda looks like a female Nick Fury).
And while it is mostly cut and paste clip-art (hell, name one comic artist that doesn’t do that these days), he does update his characters pretty regularly.
But no, Day By Day isn’t meant for the dailies. To think that Mr. Kimball would even suggest such a thing! Muir publishes this strip exactly where it belongs and he has the creative freedom to do his absolute best. I think Muir is gonna have many, many good years to look forward to.
I think Mr Muir is a rather good cartoonist; his refrigerator magnets are also very useful.
Cheers
Glenn Kenny obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about. As with a few others here, I’ve been following DBD since the beginning, and anyone having done so will acknowledge that Chris’s early work employed few “poses” for each character repeated over varying backgrounds. On the other hand, those same observers will point out that Mr. Muir’s work has gained quite a bit in visual sophistication over the years.
I note that Mr. Kenny doesn’t provide examples of what he considers “notable graphic abilities.” I suspect that Ted Rall heads the list…
I also also note that Mr. Kenny objects to the female form. Apparently cleavage is just too racy for him. As for “scoliosis,” I direct him to the works of comic greats such as Jack Kirby or Walt Simonson. Mr. Kenny seems unaware that dramatic/”unrealistic” poses have been a staple of graphic art since the early 1960s.
We also see “CosmicConservative” (AKA Mrs. Grundy) weighing in against “virtual soft-core porn.” Man some people need to get a life; that’s the first time I’ve seen ample cleavage described that way. I’d hate to hear what he thinks of Christina Hendricks.
BTW, Two thumbs up for Jackson’s Far Side reference. Yep, Gary Larsen was a truly sophisticated artist, wasn’t he? {/snerk}
Glenn Kenny,
Please allow me to offer my sincerest condolences for the horrible head injury you must have suffered as a child.
You can, at least, take comfort in the fact that medical science is progressing pretty rapidly, and my eventually find a treatment for your condition. Until that time, may I suggest that you lay down and take a nap, and allow the adults here to comment on these subjects?
Thank you.
Chris Muir produces insightful and humorous political cartoons on a daily basis. If you don’t find his work funny or his women beautiful – you need to get a life!
Well said.
I have donated to Day by Day since the beginning and begin every day reading it with my first sip of coffee.
Chris Muir is undoubtedly a better artist than Gary Trudeau. In fact he probably has the best women since Al Capp. Unfotunately he’s not as funny as either Capp or Trudeau. He lacks Trudeau’s imaginatiion and ability to create truly funny characters, such as Duke. We can argue if and when Doonesbury jumped the shark. I definitely think it lost a lot of its edge a long time ago, but I still occasionally laugh when reading it. Any comparison with Capp would definitetly be to Muir’s disadvantage.
Chris is a treasure. His political compass is on point without fail. Limbaugh, Kimball, Breitbart, Reynolds and Muir.
Muir’s characters look alive in a way Trudeau’s did not. His political outlook is biting and on point, and he spares no one. That makes his cartoons worth a daily look.
Btw, I found the offhand crack about scoliosis offensive. My daughter suffered from scoliosis and spent more than three years, 23 hours a day every day (from age 10 to age 14) in a back brace. Even today she still suffers back problems. Take your ideological snarkiness, troll, and stuff it.
Chris Muir’s “humor” is embarrassing. The essence of Trudeau’s art is to create dialogue that is true to the characters — or a generally accepted interpretation of the characters. What Muir does (at least in the example provided) is put conservative rants into the mouths of liberal characters. The result: illustrated conservative rants.
I too have thought of Muir and Trudeau together, but, if I may say so, my reaction differs from Roger Kimball’s.
I never agreed with Trudeau’s politics. However, in the early years, Doonesbury had a whimsical acceptance of human imperfection that won my appreciation. Sometime during the late Reagan or Bush 41 years, the whimsy changed to axe-grinding tendentiousness and I stopped reading.
IMO Muir became tendentious faster than Trudeau did. I no longer seek out Day by Day even though, on the occasions when the strip crosses my screen, I usually agree with the political attitudes therein.
Heh.. Mrs. Grundy indeed. I have nothing against half-naked women. I just don’t need to see them on my screen when I’m at work where other people might very well lodge a sexual harassment complaint against me if they came by my computer when Chris has decided to have his commentary occur between two naked characters standing in the shower with the woman barely covering the imaginary nipples on her howitzer-sized breasts.
I’m no prude, but there’s a time and place for everything, and gratuitous naked chicks don’t add much to the political debate and just make it awkward when trying to discuss it rationally with, for example, my good friend who happens to be a female fundamentalist Christian who finds such drawings quite offensive.
Oh, another thing. Chris may or may not be a “talented artist.” I’m not an art critic. His style of work doesn’t greatly appeal to me, but he can draw a hot naked chick pretty well. Even if he does seem to use a lot of clip art, has a lot of panels with identical posed characters and obviously scans photos and traces over them frequently.
Other than his NSFW toon in general, his characters are laughable caricatures of actual liberal or conservative positions. He puts absurd words into his political opponents mouths and creates an alternate world where, for example, Barack Obama is (as in the linked toon on this post) an evil, America-destroying monster.
I don’t find such characterizations to add to the political discussion whether it’s Garry Trudeau talking about Reagan’s lack of a brain, or Chris Muir’s talking about Obama’s lack of a conscience. It’s lame. It’s childish. It’s red, raw meat for the customers, and the fact that its served with a heaping side dish of boobies and butts just drives home the whole picture.
In a nutshell, he’s about as subtle as a Britney Spears up-skirt shot. What people find admirable in that is beyond me.
also, he’s a really nice guy in real life.
I’ve enjoyed Day by Day ever since I discovered it. If you don’t like it, you probably lean left, are thin skinned and don’t want to be told you lean left…