Reminiscing over the history of cartoons

Cartooning is far from a new art form. Cartoons

go back a lot earlier than Charlie Brown, or even

the earliest cartoon newspaper strips.

The word cartoon comes from the Italian word

cartone, which means “large paper.” The earli-

est cartoons can be traced back to some very

large canvases — prehistoric cave drawings

discovered in the late 19th century. These

images were painted on the side of a cave and

reflected the daily life of early humans.

Centuries after people drew all over their cave

walls to tell a story, cartoon-style drawing

continued to evolve, and by the early 1300s,

Egyptians were creating large murals with a

series of images that told a story. These images

were simple and easy for the observer to com-

prehend. This form of communication proved to

be very popular and has continued in one form

or another up to the present day.

However, it was the 20th century and the inven-

tion of the modern newspaper that brought most

forms of modern cartooning into existence.

Although newspapers today are struggling,

the art of cartooning isn’t about to die with the

death of newsprint; like the news media, car-

toonists have found a new outlet for their work

on the Internet.