Hello, my little bunnies. I drew 14 roughs the week before last. Check ’em out.

This one isn’t a rough. It’s an almost finished cartoon. What happened was, it was almost finished and then I saw another cartoon online kinda sorta similar. I could have gone ahead and published it but I just wasn’t comfortable with it. I know it’s a point that more than one other cartoonist has made, but still….and then I thought of my Alamo idea. So around 9:00 A.M. that morning, I started over.

A few years ago, another cartoonist who posted a cartoon just like mine (and had even commented on it on social media) claimed he didn’t steal it but was in the middle of his cartoon when he saw mine, and he thought since he didn’t steal it that it’d be OK to go ahead and publish his version (that he claims he didn’t steal). Giving him the benefit of the doubt that he didn’t steal it, I thought it was still a very unethical and shitty thing for him to do. Then, The Washington Post reprinted his. I don’t talk to him anymore.

This is what was chosen for the CNN Opinion newsletter. I really liked this one. I actually roughed it out twice but I’m just going to show you the first one.

I later turned this rough into a completed cartoon.

I know a few cartoonists who have drawn more than one Texas Taliban cartoon. Admittedly, I was planning on it and drew several roughs with the concept, but I got over it. However, I did NOT do any Handmaid Tales or coat hanger cartoons. OK, there is one, OK, two coat hanger roughs in here but in my defense, they really suck.

I liked this one. I should have drawn it. Maybe I will. And, yes. I’m getting tired of drawing cowboys.

See? Texas Taliban. I’m glad I didn’t draw this one because I think the Taliban helicopter story, that was debunked later, has expired beyond its shelf life. I do like this image. OK, it has a cowboy helicopter pilot…maybe I’m not tired of drawing cowboys.

I think I told you in the last batch of roughs that the next one (this one) would include a delivery truck cartoon. It’s not good, it has coat hangers, but no cowboys. Yee-haw.

My editor at CNN liked this one while I didn’t. I talked her out of it and you can’t go with everything. I just now noticed I didn’t finish spelling “Taliban.” What distracted me? I’m blaming COVID.

I think she liked this one too. I don’t remember for sure. I liked it well enough. For me, it’s one of those ideas that I’m not in love with that I can live with.

Sometimes you gotta try something that doesn’t work. This is one of those results. And yes, the horns are coat hangers. But…no cowboys. Just a cow.

This was actually my very first Texas/Taliban idea and then I saw Matt Davies do something similar…and then a few others did it too. Years ago, I did an Atticus Finch with a Trump sign cartoon (if you don’t know what book that’s from, get off my blog), and Matt messaged me that he had the same thing on his drawing table when he saw mine, so he threw his away (it probably wasn’t that much of a sacrifice because Matt’s brilliant and probably had six other great ideas to choose from). Matt has ethics and that was the right thing to do. I’ll never forget he did that. Him, I still talk to (maybe to his chagrin).

I don’t remember when I sketched this one out but I did something else on the Texas abortion ban and Uber. I like drawing people in stocks. It’s such a funny pose…in a horrible way.

Oh, yeah. This is the thing I did with an Uber driver in Texas. If you’re an Uber driver in Texas…or anyone in Texas, I’m so sorry. Look! A cowboy, a cow, and a Dallas Cowboy.

My editor also liked this one and I liked the image, but I thought the message was a bit too easy-going. I like being more brutal.

Do you have a favorite? Which cartoons should I have drawn? Should I draw more cowboys?

Signed prints: The signed prints are just $40.00 each. Every cartoon on this site is available. You can pay through PayPal. If you don’t like PayPal, you can snail mail it to Clay Jones, P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403. I can mail the prints directly to you or if you’re purchasing as a gift, directly to the person you’re gifting.

Notes on my book, Tales From The Trumpster Fire: There are FIVE copies of my book in stock, which go for $45.00 each, signed. Also, I have copies of my first book from 1997, Knee-Deep in Mississippi available for $20.00.

Tip Jar: if you want to support the cartoonist, please send a donation through PayPal to clayjonz@gmail.com. You can also snail it to P.O. Box 9103, Fredericksburg, VA 22403.

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