It’s a scary scary Halloween

These are scary times people! The tricksters have been at it for the past couple of years and everybody’s scared…Scared of the U.S. economy, scared of the future of Euro, scared of Greece and the Latin European countries going down in flames and scared of the horrifying islamists! Do we really need more ghouls and demons?

There are no trick or treaters in Paris but I can’t help thinking about Halloweens in United States; I love this fun holiday and the whole tradition of choosing the pumpkins, carving them and waiting for little kids to come begging for candies.

The best halloween I’ve had was years ago in Salem Massachusetts; it was raining and the whole neighborhood was covered with gorgeous foliage (on the trees and on the ground). I am getting a bit nostalgic here so here is the last pumpkin I actually carved in California a couple of years ago:

I am getting used to Halloween in europe though—this year I actually bought some pumpkins whereas last year in Zurich I just made a poster for the occasion!

My very frightening but prescient Holloween post of 3 years ago:

Trick-or-Treat, a blood red Halloween

Halloween in Darfur

On a happier note, watch the great Peanuts Pumpkin story here.

 

The best cartoons I’ve seen lately

A great cartoon can make you want to laugh, cry, and think all at once. These are the best cartoons I’ve seen lately:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani law and order

Massoud Ziaei’s works are little gems:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani moon

 

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani red carpet airplane

and for the bibliophile:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani books

The following are from this young cartoonist:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani signs

his humor is getting darker:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani soldiers

and darker:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani fish

I laughed a lot seeing this one from Hamid Bahrami right after the batman movie:

hamid bahrami cartoon batman loverboy

hamid bahrami cartoon batmanand family

I love his light/bright sense of humor:

hamid bahrami cartoon fig leaf michele roohani

There are some very sad cartoons:

razor heads

 the quiet gnawing pain of children of divorce.

divorce javad alizadeh michele roohani

After the great masters, Ardeshir Mohassess,

ardeshir mohassess michele roohani

and Kambiz Derambakhsh,

kambiz derambakhsh michele roohani cartoon

these young artists— mentioned earlier—bring in a sense of freshness. This is a very funny one called frustration from Randall Munroe:

randall munroe frustration

and one from the late Roger Blachon:

roger blachon sports michele roohani

and this from Roger Tetsu (passed away in 2008 like Blachon—bad year for cartoonists named Roger):

roger testsu michele roohani museum

and  last but not least, one from the great Sempé

sempé petites ballerines michele roohani

I found this fabulous Russian site that archives many cartoonists’ work; once you’re in, there is no coming out soon…