Going Hollywood

When the summer big-story doldrums hit cartoonists, thank God for the summer big-screen blockbusters. Signe Wilkinson’s “Wall-E” street rubble wasn’t exactly the perfect Hollywood ending for her leading man. Talk about a smash hit. And is there a news topic that can’t be worked into a Gotham City gag by comic crusaders? Nate Beeler’s re-engineered Batmobile may have been something of a lightweight parody vehicle, but he pulled it off like a superhero. Finally, Steve Breen paid lip service to an especially villainous economic indicator. Cartoonists can be such dark jokers.

-- Joel Pett