For years, it’s been generally recognized that Tom “Swiftee” Swift- auteur\u00a0 <\/em>of “Life In The Dumpster” -has been the dean of Twin Cities blog cartoonists. “LITD” has long combined trenchant satiric observation with the sort of gritty anti-style that only the best cartoonists can master.<\/p>\n But much has changed since “Dumpster” earned its first accolades.\u00a0 Ken “Avidor” Weiner continues his prolific output under various names, some not even made public.\u00a0 Tiger Lilly, from the Night Writer<\/em> blog, has driven minimalism to its far edge.\u00a0 Joe “Learned Foot’ Tucci from Kool Aid Report<\/em> made “Fleen” – a story of a loveable family of prickly cyphers – into a local tradition before perversely pulling it from circulation.\u00a0 And I gotta say, I think my twin bro is an up-and-comer.\u00a0 (We’ll leave Dan Lacey from Faithmouse<\/em> out of it for now; in contrast with the rest of the list, he’s an actual professional and recognized artist).<\/p>\n So who’s the best?<\/p>\n We’ll let you decide!<\/p>\n First – the nominees: Few artists make “crudity” – in style, technique and content – a tool in and of itself like Tom “Swiftee” Swift. The cartoons – done in Microsoft Paint, usually with no more than a thumb and index finger – and intended <\/em>tolook crude, slapdash and half-finished, as if Swift is commenting on the overproduced, over-colored, over-stylized, self-consciously “Retro” stylings of too many underground cartoons.<\/p>\n Nomination 2:\u00a0 Fleen<\/strong><\/p>\n Joe “Learned Foot” Tucci’s “Fleen”, set in a fictional void amidst a larger void, is an ironic commentary on the overly-structured pointillism of most “post-modern” cartoons. Tucci’s been praised for his style – deftly suggesting dynamism and motion even though his characters remain superficially motionless, as if daring one to keep up.\u00a0 It reminds one of the great Danish neo-structuralist cartoons from the sixties through the early eighties.<\/p>\n It’s edgy stuff; some wondered if it didn’t take too much out of Tucci for it to continue, when he pulled his Bill Watterson-like retirement from cartooning last year. This strip is drawn by my twin brother Jed, who says “my aim is to convey everything – love, hate, rage, sex, laughter – with as little effort as possible”. Some criticize his work as derivative and excessively inky.\u00a0 You be the judge. The sine qua non <\/em>of minmalism, AI – drawn by “Tiger Lily” from Night Writer<\/em> – is a deft commentary on life in the 21st century.
\nNomination 1:\u00a0 Tom Swift<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n![](\"http:\/\/i26.tinypic.com\/b7madx.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![](\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_kGuHu3hw4gs\/SNPpj5rwokI\/AAAAAAAAA4g\/qskdq01pQVI\/s400\/fleenhate.bmp\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNomination 3:\u00a0 Planet Terry<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n![](\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3471\/3699448312_1e8887de57.jpg\")
e
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNominee 4: Anorexics Inaneymous<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n![](\"http:\/\/thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com\/files\/thenightwriterblog-Anorexsticks_Inaneymous_010-small.bmp\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/i123.photobucket.com\/albums\/o306\/Bicyclopolis\/Ken_Avidor_1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2499\/3708350502_e6c3c8ca15.jpg?v=0\")
<\/p>\n