Posted in: Comics | Tagged: bill mauldin, donald trump, tom hanks

Tom Hanks Encourages Press Corps To Fight For Truth, Justice, American Way W/ Espresso Machine, Bill Mauldin Comic

After a somewhat lackluster election season, the American media has been seemingly reinvigorated by the constant attacks from the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has a habit of referring to major media organizations as "fake news" and barring them from press conferences. In support of the press's efforts to present actual news as an alternative to alternative facts, superstar actor Tom Hanks has sent a highly motivational to the White House Press Corps…

… along with this note:

Keen-eyed readers will immediately notice the reference to Superman's motto of fighting for "truth, justice, and the American way." But it was history-obsessed Bleeding Cool managing editor Mark Seifert who immediately recognized the cartoon reprinted in Hanks' letter. The cartoon was singled out when awarding political cartoonist Bill Mauldin the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for his cartooning during World War 2:

Sergeant Bill Mauldin of United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

For distinguished service as a cartoonist, as exemplified by the cartoon entitled, "Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, battle-weary prisoners," in the series entitled, "Up Front With Mauldin."

Mauldin, who was 23 at the time, was awarded $500 for the prize, a sum which, today, couldn't get you an espresso machine as nice as the one Hanks sent to the press corps. Mauldin won a second Pulitzer Prize in 1959 and continued to work until his retirement in 1991, though he collaborated with Charles Schulz, a fan of Mauldin's, drawing his wartime characters, Willie and Joe, in a 1998 Peanuts comic strip for Veterans Day. Mauldin died in 2003, but his work continues to inspire journalists today, as evidenced by the photo above.

Fantagraphics publishes a collection of Mauldin's World War 2 work, which you can find on Amazon here.

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