If I told you who I thought was my favorite cartoonist, you would, probably, in turn, tell me who is yours. And it woud be different. What I'm writing about is not favorite, but most popular, most viewed worldwide. I checked some analytical sites such as Alexa and others and found some good facts. Rick London is wining the race, but not by a long-shot. He is known for his surprises, so never say never, that he might fall into second. He has many creative tricks up his sleeve.

In the last quarter of the 20th Century, i would have to say my two favorites were Gary Trudeau (Doonesbury) and Scott Adams (Dilbert). Adams is still going strong with Dilbert. He happens to have an economics degree, worked many years in corporate America, so probably has a lot of stories to tell, and does so well in his strip. Even as late as 2000, the late great Charles Schulz was drawing Peanuts (he retired that year). Many say his later work was some of his best. I tend to agree, but he took some risky chances during the Viet Nam War and ruffled some feathers. In the early 1970's his strip debated sensitive issues such as religion, war, and politics. He was never one to make excuses or take prisoners.

Scott Adams had a reputation for rendering funny pictures of his bosses and getting caught. But more importantly, he revealed to us the "new corporate America" which was pitiful at best, at least from the point of comfort and ambiance, due to the fact we were all packed in cubicles, which he, as most workers, hated. Gary Larson (The Far Side, Rick London (Londons Times Cartoons), and Dave Coverly (Speed Bump) are all three brilliant in my book. This is only my opinion and I have heard others think differently. I prefer this genre of cartoojns because of its "extreme editing". These creators tell us a full-page news story in one small panel. I understand why the Pulitzer Commitee gives awards out to cartoonists. How could they not? It is the best journalism available. It takes more than genius to do what they do. Mensa, eat your heart out.

Though Mensa offers much in the way of learning and teaching to its members, my feeling is that it is outdated as it does not take EQ Emotional IQ into account. Some of the brightest people I have ever known or been exposed to, these brilliant cartoonist for instance, might not be Mensa material, but they are just as brilliant. This new type of brilliance was discovered by author Robert Goleman in the mid-1980's and he wrote a best-seller on it called "Emotional IQ" or EQ. It is a book worth reading. The author received a PHD from an ivy league school after being told all his life he was autistic.

Cartoonists, artists, writers, etc are known to have higher EQ's than IQ's. This is not the type members Mensa is looking for, but I doubt these creators care. They are in the business to make people laugh and feel good, and they do a very good job.

When Gary Larson and Dave Coverly started, periodical and newspaper publishing were king. In fact, the Internet was in its infancy and rarely if ever used for cartooning. I wish Coverly had more books out. I am sure it would be like when Gary Larson did and I collected them and kept them near my bed. If i felt tired or bad, I simply opened a Far Side book and my mood changed for the better. That is how I feel when I go to Rick London's cartoon site today.

Rick London and designer Yves St. Laurent had similar challenges. Both were in artistic fields and neither could draw. So they formed a "team of creative illustrators to illustrate their work, and then it was manifested into products. St. Laurent retired at the top of his field, and London is still plugging away with Londons Times, creating new cartoons daily that appear on his site, over 8500 in all. It is truly amazing.

Though all these creators are great in my book, in their own way, it is impossible not to vote Rick London as the top in his field. He started with nothing and now owns the highest-ranked offbeat cartoon site. He has launched 9 niche web stores of cartoon merchaandise from aprons to clocks and they sell very well I am told. How can one not recognize this talent who only had a high school education in the Mississippi public school systems. It is almost like an Elvis story.