Comrades: Political cartoonists are the OG memesmiths.
Gary Varvel is a Christian, conservative, cartoonist and speaker in that order. He was The Indianapolis Star cartoonist for 24 years. His work is syndicated through Creators Syndicate. In 2015, he was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. Varvel has won the National Headliners Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Best Editorial Cartoonist Division, and dozens more. He wrote and illustrated The Good Shepherd children's book, plus co-wrote and produced Christian films: The Board (2009) and The War Within (2014).
In our conversation, we discuss:
How Gary became a cartoonist
How the Bible guides his work and where he gets his humor and ideas from
The differences between cartoons and memes
The best ways to use humor to take subvert the regime’s subversion
How far back the subversion goes with “Seven Men Who Rule the World From the Grave”
Where he sees the future of media headed
Gary’s Substack features his cartoons, conservative commentary, and essays on current events from Biblical worldview:
