Todd Umbarger

TOO BIG TO DIE: The Political Cartoons of Todd Umbarger

2010-08-18T17:40:00.002-04:00

(click for large version)

Next month I will be appearing with Suzanne Benton and Florin Ion Firimita at the Silo Gallery, on the grounds of the lovely Hunt Hill Farm
in New Milford, CT. Not only is this my first exhibition as a professional artist, it is the first time my cartoons have appeared in print and a hometown event as well. The opening is on Saturday, September 18 at 3:00. The show will run until October 24. I will also be giving a gallery talk on September 26 at 2:00 with Florin Firimita and students from Rumsey Hall, who will be showing in the New Talent Gallery. Come on out- it's less than two hours from New York, and autumn in Litchfield County is a beautiful time of the year.

Click here for directions to the Henderson Cultural Center at Hunt Hill Farm.

National Concern 27

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National Concern 26

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National Concern 24

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National Concern 22

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National Concern 21

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National Concern 20

2010-06-18T19:14:00.004-04:00

UPDATE 6/19: Here are my pitches, if anyone wants to make one and give me producing credit:

- Two married couples employed by the local brewery must amend their hard-partying ways when the company leaves town and forces them into new careers.

- Three Canadian post-grads saddled with student loans discover they can still live the high life on the American dollar.

- Three Midwestern gay men and their female best friend move to the big city to start a musical theater-themed restaurant in a downtrodden neighborhood.

National Concern 19

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National Concern 18

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National Concern 17

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National Concern 15

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National Concern 13

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National Concern 12

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National Concern 11

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National Concern 10

2010-04-11T21:33:00.003-04:00

New Work: New Haven Advocate "Wintertimes" Cover

2009-12-10T18:39:00.009-05:00

New Haven Advocate, December 10-16

PREVIOUSLY: New Work: New Haven Advocate/Fairfield County Weekly Cover

New Work: "Left 4 Dead"

2009-10-30T15:08:00.000-04:00

In mere weeks, Left 4 Dead fans will be getting fully acquainted with the new cast of rescue-seeking Survivors. It probably won't be a final farewell to Louis, Francis, Bill and Zoey, however their time as the franchise stars is certainly ending. Here's my tribute to the best zombie video game EVAR.

Thank God For Lovable Puppies

2009-09-21T16:03:00.009-04:00

Today on News-Times.com:

Story #5 is barber, not axe murderer. =(

PREVIOUSLY: Thank God For The Rich & Famous

National Concern 9

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National Concern 8

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National Concern 7

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National Concern 6

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National Concern 5

2009-08-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

National Concern 4

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National Concern 3

2009-08-20T11:52:00.003-04:00

National Concern 2

2009-08-17T21:31:00.001-04:00

National Concern 1

2009-08-15T12:17:00.002-04:00

Hell Awaits

2009-08-09T22:25:00.001-04:00

From the August 7 News-Times:

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New Work: "The Fiery Furnaces"

2009-05-09T14:27:00.002-04:00

New album "I'm Going Away" drops on July 21st.

New Work: "The Vault-Dweller" (from Fallout 3)

2009-04-17T20:33:00.006-04:00

Hunting Super Mutants with Dogmeat in the Capital Wasteland.

VOTE FOR TODD: Don't Panic Street Fighter IV Competition

2009-03-03T16:10:00.012-05:00

Design magazine Don't Panic is currently running an art competition to celebrate the long-awaited release of Street Fighter IV. My entry is this portrait of my favorite character, the Brazilian mutant Blanka. The winner of the Don't Panic contest receives a PlayStation 3, a copy of SFIV and will have their design printed to 100,000 posters. Voting ends on March 22, so please help a brother out!

New Work: "Dr. Rockso, The Rock n' Roll Clown"

2009-01-31T17:37:00.003-05:00

"His name is Dr. Rockso. He's the Rock n' Roll Clown. He does cocaine. I'm afraid that's all we know."

The Wisdom of Bush 350

2008-12-31T18:13:00.000-05:00

This cartoon marks the final installment of "The Wisdom of Bush." It is not the end of this blog, much less the end of my career in political satire. However, "TWOB" was a labor of love rather than profit and now is the time to retire the "Bush" mantle. My aim for 2009 is to concentrate on illustration, conclude a ten-year painting hiatus, and perhaps experiment with animation.

Ideally, my next political series would be seen in the pages of a weekly parody tabloid or local news-and-culture glossy; unfortunately, "TWOB" was not the success I hoped it would be. I want to express my gratitude to all those who have supported the cartoon over the past three years. I would've stopped long ago had nobody been reading these things. Please do continue to visit the blog to see what I'm doing in the New Year. Thank you!

- Todd

The Wisdom of Bush 349

2008-12-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

PREVIOUSLY: The Wisdom of Bush 185

The Wisdom of Bush 348

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The Wisdom of Bush 345

2008-12-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

A Genius Among Douches

2008-12-13T21:54:00.001-05:00

Green Man makes an appearance at today's (new-to-me) SantaCon.

Photo by Christopher Kim/Gothamist

The Wisdom of Bush 344

2008-12-07T22:55:00.004-05:00

The Wisdom of Bush 343

2008-12-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

Eighteen Days of Zappadan

2008-12-04T19:55:00.011-05:00

The New York Times, December 7, 1993: Frank Zappa, Musical Iconoclast, Guitarist and Restless Innovator, Dies at 52

The Origin of Zappadan (The Aristocrats)

Photo via LIFE/Google Images

The Wisdom of Bush 342

2008-12-02T23:26:00.004-05:00

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Greatest Love of All

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The Wisdom of Bush 327

2008-11-02T22:40:00.001-05:00

Not Adopted

2008-10-31T19:15:00.001-04:00

From the hometown rag, The New Milford Times:

Unlike Ms. Pratt and her colleagues, New Milford Republican and former mayoral candidate Jay Umbarger, who first offered his services to the McCain team in the summer of 2007, will not campaign out of state for the Republican senator and presidential candidate in the waning days of the campaign.

"I am not going to go to New Hampshire to campaign because New Milford and Connecticut are where I live. I'm not going to go somewhere else and inject my local viewpoint onto someone else," the Republican said.

He expressed his disillusion with a campaign that, he said, has seemed to proceed in fits and starts. "I was a bit taken back in the summer of 2007 that they really weren't that organized," he said, noting that the campaign seemed to hit its stride early this year but then, as he put it, the wheels came off.

"I am a Republican and proud of it. I'm not one for party dogma. I'm not a dogmatic person. There seems to be too much dogma in both parties. If you want to help a candidate out, it seems you have to help the entire party. I'm candidate-focused," he said, explaining why he will not be among those making telephone calls from a New Milford phone bank this weekend. "Can they win here? I don't know, but you have to try."

Mr. Umbarger's convictions on the national race, however, seem less buoyant than those of his wife, Lynn. Earlier this year, the couple made reservations in the nation's capitol for an inauguration they had hoped would celebrate a Republican victory in the presidential race. "I'm in the cancel mode right now," said Mr. Umbarger at mid-week, acknowledging that his wife had not yet called to cancel the hotel reservations near Washington, D.C. presently held in the couple's name.

The Wisdom of Bush 326

2008-10-29T23:59:00.004-04:00

The Wisdom of Bush 325

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The Wisdom of Bush 321

2008-10-22T22:47:00.000-04:00

New Work: New Haven Advocate/Fairfield County Weekly Cover

2008-10-22T11:25:00.004-04:00

Hitting the newstands across southern Connecticut today are the New Haven Adovcate and Fairfield County Weekly alt-weekly newspapers, featuring my "Wizard of Oz" election cover. This is without a doubt the most exposure I've had in my 5+ years as an illustrator and hopefully also a stepping stone to even bigger clients. Thanks in advance to everyone from my home state picking up a copy!

The Wisdom of Bush 320

2008-10-17T23:29:00.004-04:00

The Wisdom of Bush 319

2008-10-15T21:07:00.003-04:00

LC Shave

2008-10-15T15:36:00.003-04:00

Did anyone else see this? I caught LC & Brody's commercial for the AT&T LG Shine cell phone the other night and was amazed by the clarity of its mirrored front:

PREVIOUSLY: The Wisdom of Bush 217

New Work: "Dethklok"

2008-10-14T11:25:00.006-04:00

Metalocalypse has quickly become one of my favorite shows of all time. My teenage self would've had a better life knowing that the future included a hilarious gore-filled cartoon about a death metal band. The second season finale's Adult Swim intro featured a call for Dethklok fan art and I'm sending this portrait to the brilliant Brendon Small in hope of some brief airtime. Or a job at Mordhaus, at the very least.

PREVIOUSLY: Facebones Wallpaper

The Wisdom of Bush 318

2008-10-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

The Wisdom of Bush 317

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The Wisdom of Bush 312

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The Wisdom of Bush 311

2008-10-01T23:56:00.002-04:00

Reunited And It Feels So Good

2008-10-01T12:31:00.007-04:00

From Phish.com:

The Wisdom of Bush 310

2008-09-30T19:35:00.003-04:00

Can't Make This Up

2008-09-29T15:18:00.001-04:00

Especially when it comes from my hometown:

"Timothy Riendeau, of Eden Lane, New Milford, was arrested at his home after leaving the scene of an assault at the Hit & Run Deli on Kent Road."

New Work: "The Simple Life", Nashville Scene

2008-09-29T11:30:00.002-04:00

The recent week-long absence of TWOB was due to the countless hours I spent on this new piece, the cover of Tennessee's biggest alt-weekly, the Nashville Scene (owned by Village Voice media.) The art director asked me to illustrate the celebrity exodus to Nashville using a famous Music Row landmark, Alan LeQuire's giant "Musica" sculpture. This cover is arguably the biggest exposure I've had in my career and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. You can read Tracy Moore's cover article here and also see the illustration in its original state, without the pastoral background.

UPDATE: There's also a story about this on theispot.com's Art News board.

The Wisdom of Bush 309

2008-09-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

The Wisdom of Bush 308

2008-09-27T13:27:00.000-04:00

Facebones

2008-09-26T09:35:00.000-04:00

Here's a desktop wallpaper of your old pal Facebones!

The Wisdom of Bush 307

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The Wisdom of Bush 298

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