Cartoonist For Baltimore Sun Gets A 'Kickstart' On New Project
GLYNDON, Md. (WJZ) -- You may know Kal as the political cartoonist for the Baltimore Sun, but as Mike Schuh reports, his drawings are known around the world.
Thanks to a unique website, he's well on his way to getting a major retrospective into print.
It's the sound heard round the world--the scratching of Kal's pen.
"When you have something like I do, where every day you are drawing in this room trying to connect to millions of people," Kal said.
Kal the cartoonist shapes opinion and frames political discussion. Examples of his intellect and imagination flood his studio, all as abundant and colorful as the morning light.
Schooled at Harvard, made wise on the streets of London, sketching truth to power has frosted leaders near and far. And while we think of him as Baltimore's cartoonist, 35 years ago he started in the big leagues at The Economist in London.
"But for the first 10 years of my career with the Economist I was in a tower in London overlooking the houses of Parliament and Big Ben," he said.
He moved to the Baltimore Sun. His sharpness of his pen kept London calling.
"So the entire time, my time with the Baltimore Sun, I'm also known by a whole other audience as the cartoonist for The Economist," said Kal.
Some of his 7,000--yes, 7,000--cartoons for The Economist will now go into his sixth book.
"When it came to doing this project I wanted to do something extra special," he said.
But special takes money Kal doesn't have. He turned to Kickstarter. Backers send him money for rewards, like original cartoons and signed copies of his book.
"I was going to have think small, but now with Kickstarter I can think big," he said.
He needed $20,000, and is now over $78,000.
Schuh: "That's got to make you feel good."
Kal: "It makes me feel enormously good."
Mayor Schmoke told him the only thing worse than being in a Kal cartoon, is not being in a Kal cartoon.
Kal's book should be available in April to coincide with the 35th anniversary of his first Economist cartoon. He's added a Super Bowl cartoon reprint to his list of rewards for backers.
