Eyes on Two Prizes for N.Y. Cartoonist

By: Dave Astor Every 10 years, something major happens in Matt Davies' life. In 1983, his family moved from London, England, to the United States. In 1993, Davies became a full-time staff editorial cartoonist for The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y. In 2003, he was chosen as president-elect of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC).

But Davies, 37, won't have to wait another decade for more big milestones. Last month, he was named the first recipient of the

$10,000 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning. And Davies is reportedly a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

If Davies gets a Pulitzer (winners are announced April 5), he might consider including George W. Bush on his list of people to thank. Like many other liberal cartoonists, Davies has found the president to be a very meaty target when it comes to things like the Iraq quagmire, high unemployment, relaxing of environmental regulations, and other topics.

"I'm not a shill for the Democrats," said the Tribune Media Services-syndicated creator. "As soon as John Kerry does something stupid, I'll go after him. But I'm so appalled at the complete ramrodding of a right-wing agenda. I feel Bush is president of the Republican Party, not the rest of us."

Davies sat at the same table as Bush at last year's Gridiron dinner, for which the cartoonist illustrated the menu. The drawings weren't flattering to the president and his policies, but Bush wrote "fine job" on a menu inscribed to Davies. Beneath the cordiality, said Davies, "I'm sure he was really unhappy" with the art.

Outside the U.S., he added, many people are unhappy with the president. "The perception of Bush is astonishingly low," said Davies, who's personally attuned to this from talking and visiting with family and friends in England and France.

Growing up in England helped give Davies a different sensibility ? including a drier, subtler sense of humor ? than some of his American counterparts. "Cultural differences abound from nation to nation," he said. "But politicians are all the same!"

Cartoons about politicians and other topics are something a dwindling number of papers (fewer than 100) now pay a full-time staffer for. The Journal News ? a Gannett-owned paper based in the suburbs north of New York City ? has been an exception to that rule. "The publisher, Gary Sherlock, created the position of editorial cartoonist out of thin air," said Davies, who had previously freelanced for The Village Voice and other publications. "That turned out to be a very good thing for me and the newspaper."

He added that money shouldn't be an issue for most papers without staff cartoonists. "There are so many young cartoonists out there who could be hired for what it would cost to get a cub reporter," Davies said. "Readers love cartoons, even if they disagree with them. Many people say to me that they really admire my work but totally disagree with it. That's the ultimate compliment."

Davies, who receives an average of 20 e-mails a day, said he can't think of any significant negatives to working for a suburban daily rather than a big-city one. "It doesn't matter what size the paper is as long as the editor is sympathetic, you're allowed to comment on what you want to comment on, and they pay you a decent living wage," he said.

Readers following Davies' work in the Journal News and elsewhere see an interesting style that results from a very large original drawing and lots of cross-hatching. "When the image is reduced for publication, it brings the lines closer together and softens everything up," he noted.

This September, Davies is scheduled to become AAEC president. He intends to continue the organization's efforts to fight job losses in the profession, to stress the importance of editorial cartooning to newspapers, to include editorial cartooning in Newspaper in Education lesson plans, and to cement a relationship with the Herb Block Foundation that will bring needed funds to the AAEC.

That foundation awarded Davies the Herblock Prize last month from a field of 64 entrants. What will he do with the $10,000? "Half of it will pay for preschool for my 3 -year-old," said Davies, whose other child is seven months old.

And there's one more milestone in the not-too-distant future: Davies' 10th anniversary of syndication.