Kal is Out at The Sun

After 31 years of cartoons

I am disappointed to announce that after 31 years of award-winning cartoons in The Baltimore Sun, I was abruptly dismissed from the paper on Friday.

It was just a matter of time.

In February of 2024, David Smith, the conservative owner of the Sinclair Broadcasting group purchased the struggling paper. As my politics do not align with the new owners, I assumed my days were numbered.

Especially as, in years prior, I had drawn some blistering cartoons in The Sun about Sinclair Broadcasting and its owner.

During my colorful career at The Sun I created over 5000 cartoons and won many awards. These include the 2018 and 2002 Berryman award presented by the National Press Foundation, the 2015 Herblock Prize, finalist for the 2015 and 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning and the 2019 Rex Babin Award for Excellence in US local cartooning.

I also published 3 collections of my Sun cartoons: Kaltoons (1992) Kal Draws a Crowd (1997) Kal Draws The Line (2000). Two more collections of my cartoons, Kal Draws Criticism (2006) and Daggers Drawn, 35 Years of Kal Cartoons in The Economist (2013) include cartoons from The Sun and other publications.

In 1999, The World Encyclopedia of Cartoons said of me "Commanding a masterful style, Kallaugher stands among the premier caricaturists of the (twentieth) century."

It has been an incredible honor to work as an editorial cartoonist during the golden era of newspapers. I thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with the many readers of the Sun and have amassed an amazing collection of cartoon memories.

I will share more about the exciting future of my cartoon collection in future posts.

Stay tuned here, as I will be creating new topical cartoons on the important subjects of the day while also sharing fun cartoon classics.

If you enjoy the cartoons please spread the word. Now abandoned by The Sun, I am hoping to build a new community of cartoon supporters here on Substack.