Utah Cartoonist Resigns After Plagiarism Allegation

By: E&P Staff Cartoonist John Kilbourn of The Record in Park City, Utah, was asked to resign after he allegedly did a cartoon similar to an old Mad Magazine drawing by Mort Drucker.

The Record stated in a Wednesday story that Kilbourn "believed he had made enough changes in the original to warrant rerunning it with a different caption." But Publisher Andy Bernhard said the resignation was necessary because Kilbourn's alleged action "cuts to the credibility of the editorial page."

Editor Nan Chalat-Noaker added that The Record "will miss his work tremendously but I think John understood that whether it pertains to the written word or artwork, we have to maintain strict standards for originality."

The award-winning Kilbourn had been drawing cartoons for The Record since 1997.