A tip of The Scrapbook homburg to Michael Ramirez, whose cartoons have graced these pages for many years now. Last week, he was awarded the most prestigous honor in cartooning, the Reuben Award. As Michael explained in a Facebook post, “The Reuben is the equivalent to the Oscar for Best Picture in the cartooning world. It is voted on by the members of, and given out by, the National Cartoonists Society. I was honored just to have been nominated by such an incredibly talented and exceptional group of people who I admire, love and respect. I am thrilled to have won and I am humbled to have a place among the outstanding and extraordinary cartoonists and legends of cartooning that have won before me. I am glad to stand in the shadows of the greats.”
The award, named for the society’s first president, Rube Goldberg, has indeed gone to any number of greats, including Charles Schulz (Peanuts), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), Johnny Hart (B.C. and The Wizard of Id), Jeff MacNelly, Arnold Roth, and Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), to name a few of The Scrapbook’s favorites. Congratulations, Michael!
