#161: Courtroom Drama
I OBJECT!!!
Last year, Billie Eilish informed us that "Everyone's gone wild / watching movie stars on trial" and I have to admit that I am in that demographic. I am the type of person who keeps live feeds of trials on my TV while I'm working in my lil office. All types of trials. Ridiculous celebrity ones (I watched the entire Depp-Heard Trial from my phone), infuriating political ones, and horrifying almost-always-based-in-Idaho ones. Am I sick in the head? Am I just bored? Is this a cry for help? This is
by the way, which has to be obvious by now. If any of the other cartoonist became a True Crime Junkie I'd have to sue them for stealing my schtick. (I'm still mad at John Mulaney for writing such a good bit on Law & Order. Why did he do that to ME???)The courtroom is a fascinating place to me. We know from Chicago that it is simply a circus, filled with performances, trickery and deception. (Starting to wonder if Trump would have hired Billy Flynn if he could?) But we also know from To Kill a Mockingbird that it's a very serious and poetic space to help a community believe in a little think called justice (if that exists anymore). Which version is true? I guess it depends on the day, the hour, the trial, the victim, the defendant, the jury, the prosecutor, the county, the state, the governor, the temperature in the room, and how many rumors have been spread on Twitter. Oh sorry, I mean... "X."
I do continually find myself having hope in the American justice system, which potentially makes me a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, but alas here I am. Always waiting for a verdict that will matter.
Ok, here's a completely ridiculous cartoon about bar tabs.
Ellis Rosen
Ellis Rosen is on vacation but his lawyer sent us this cartoon.
Kendra Allenby
When I was little, my friend and I would play receptionists for HOURS, for a made-up hotel that specialized in accommodating people and their pets. I think we just wanted to say "kitty cat" at least 1000 times a day and also her mom had stacks of carbon copy paper we could use for all the accounting. Also key to this game was an unplugged rotary phone. It was a very exciting job. I didn't play a ton of cops and robbers, but I remember being very good at "yell a lot and run at/away from other kids/objects/people/animals."
Asher Perlman
I am charged with including this cartoon from my new book, Well, This Is Me (available now at Barnes and Noble dot com) as a shameless act of self promotion. How do I plead? Guilty.
Navied Mahdavian
Personally, if I found myself on the wrong end of the law, I wouldn't want a jury of my peers. My peers are cartoonists, and cartoonists are always looking for material. "Is this funny?" No, Ellis, there's nothing funny about breaking into your neighbor's house after taking too much melatonin and proceeding to put up their Christmas decorations in July.
Actually, I'd love to be in one of your cartoons. Whose house does a guy need to break into to make this happen?
Jason Chatfield
My favourite part of any legal drama is when the lawyer bends the rules and pushes the judge to say this line. It’s the “follow that car” equivalent of action movies.
Jason Adam Katzenstein
Objection, your honor! Leading the witness. And if you lead the witness, he's going to want to answer the question. And if he answers the question, you're going to want to ask him another question. And if you ask him another question...
But wait, there’s more!
Hilary releases
every Friday! And she and Jason will be at Picture This! on August 17th!Asher's debut book is already a best-seller, get your copy of Well, This Is Me
Amy Kurzweil’s graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, was named a best book of 2023 by The New Yorker, NPR, and Kirkus!
Check out Navied’s critically acclaimed graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America.
Amy Kurzweil teaches cartoon classes on Patreon! Sign up now to get the recording of every past class!
Jason Chatfield has a new Substack about making art called
and Subscribe to Jason’s regular weekly Substack atSofia Warren's got an advice column titled
!Ellis has lots of cartoons to scroll through at Gocomics!
Your piece is a delightful blend of humour and insight. It captures the quirky fascination with courtroom dramas in a way that's both relatable and entertaining. I especially liked your witty reflections on the American justice system and the playful self-awareness throughout. Great writing, thank you for this.