Herblock Prize Goes to Editorial Cartoonist John Sherffius

By: Dave Astor John Sherffius has won the 2008 Herblock Prize for editorial cartooning, the Herb Block Foundation (HBF) announced this afternoon.

Sherffius -- who'll get a $10,000 tax-free award -- does his cartoons for the Boulder, Col., Daily Camera and Copley News Service. He'll receive the prize during a March 18 ceremony at the Library of Congress, where NBC-TV's Tim Russert will deliver the 2008 Herblock Lecture.

The prize went to Sherffius for a package of cartoons that chronicled the Bush Administration over the past year. Included were drawings about subjects such as torture, wiretapping, the escalation of the war in Iraq, and the administration's approach to global warming.

"John's work exemplifies the best the art of editorial cartooning has to offer," said Jim Morin, one of this year's judges, in a statement. "Through a potent combination of excellent drawing technique, striking original imagery, and passionate conviction, his cartoons kick you in the gut."

Morin -- of The Miami Herald and the Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate/New York Times Syndicate -- won the 2007 Herblock Prize.

Other judges included HBF curator Harry Katz and professor/"Drawn to Extremes: The Use and Abuse of Editorial Cartoons" author Chris Lamb.

Sherffius formerly worked for The Ventura County (Calif.) Star and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He left the latter paper in late 2003 over editorial differences.

The Herblock Prize is named after the legendary Washington Post editorial cartoonist, whose work was distributed by Creators Syndicate at the time of his 2001 death.