WaPo's 'Next Great Cartoonist' Contest Draws Stan Lee, Other Greats as Judges

By: E&P Staff

Published: May 28, 2010

NEW YORK
Holy Hannah! When The Washington Post’s “Comic Riffs” blog by Michael Cavna set out to discover America’s “Next Great Cartoonist” in a national contest, who would have thought it would draw some of the top talent in comics as judges?

The 12 cartoonists who will review the finalists’ entries include four Pulitzer winners; multiple winners and nominees for the Reuben Award; the artist for one of the most popular Web comics; and the legend who created some of Marvel Comics’ most beloved superheroes.

The judges are (in alphabetical order): Lalo Alcaraz, creator of the Latino-themed syndicated daily comic “La Cucaracha”; Darrin Bell, creator of “Candorville,” syndicated by Washington Post Writers Group; Mike Krahulik, cartoonist for the gaming-themed Web comic “Penny Arcade”; comics legend Stan Lee, the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics, and who helped create Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, X-Men, the Hulk and many other famed costumed characters; "Pearls Before Swine” creator Stephan Pastis; Hilary Price, creator of "Rhymes With Orange”; Jerry Scott, co-creator of "Zits" and "Baby Blues”; "Cul de Sac" creator Richard Thompson; Washington Post Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist Tom Toles; “Doonesbury” creator/cartoonist Garry Trudeau; two-time Pulitzer-winning Washington Post humor columnist Gene Weingarten, whose comic strip "Barney & Clyde” launches June 7; and Pulitzer winner Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Daily News political cartoonist and creator of the comic strip "Family Tree."

Those looking to enter can submit their comic strips to the contest page by 5 p.m. on June 4. The contest is not for editorial cartoonists, but rather for strips.

Entrants are asked to upload six black-and-white cartoon examples that best represent their comic strip. They can follow one or more story lines or be completely independent of each other, and can be multi- or single-paneled — as long as they fit one of the Washington Post’s two standard comic measurements.

Include the name of your cartoon and the other information requested on the entry form here and make sure that your entry is below the file-size limit.

The winner, whom be announced on or around July 15, will receive $1,000 and have the chance to have his or her comic strip published daily for one month in the Washington Post’s Style section and on the Comic Riffs blog.

I've heard about this through the Daily Cartoonist blog for the past month. Have they worked out the creator's rights issue yet? I haven't checked in a while.