Cartoons

Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction. Some see this as a positive thing, arguing that made-up stories cultivate our mental and moral development. But others have argued that fiction is mentally and ethically corrosive. It's an ancient question: Does fiction build the morality of individuals and societies, or does it break it down? This controversy has been flaring up — sometimes literally, in the form of book burnings — ever since Plato tried to ban fiction from his ideal republic.

Jack Ohman of the Portland Oregonian offers a perspective on the debt crisis occurring in Greece.

PARIS -- French and German newspapers republished caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed yesterday in what they called a defense of freedom of expression, sparking fresh anger from Muslims. The drawings have divided opinion within Europe and the Middle East since a Danish newspaper first printed them in September. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet to prevent idolatry. The cartoons include an image of Mohammed wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse and another portraying him holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle.

Jack Ohman, cartoonist for the Portland Oregonian, offers a take on the Facebook IPO.

Long known for its Sunday night cartoons headlined by "The Simpsons," Fox is planning to offer new animated material late on Saturday nights and on an experimental new digital channel. The network said Sunday that the new effort will be led by Nick Weidenfeld, the former head of program development for the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim series. The cable network has run a popular series of late-night cartoons on weekdays that has successfully reached a young male audience that TV executives consider valuable and elusive.

Pediatricians say that children under age 2 should not watch television. But age is not the only factor parents should be concerned about. A new study suggests that fast-paced programming can harm executive functioning, including memory and self-regulation, at least in the short term. Researchers from the University of Virginia randomly assigned 60 4-year-olds to spend nine minutes drawing or watching either an educational cartoon or a fast-moving cartoon. The fast cartoons were characterized by near-constant motion and a scene change averaging every 11...

COPENHAGEN - Danish newspapers reprinted cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a gesture of solidarity yesterday after police revealed a plot to kill the creator of the caricature that sparked deadly riots in the Muslim world. Danish Muslims said they would seek to avoid a repeat of the violence two years ago - but with a right-wing Dutch lawmaker planning to air a movie that condemns Islam as fascist, Europe pondered the possibility of a new cycle of turmoil. "I just don't want go through this again," said Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim educational...

Pedro León Zapata sits at a restaurant table and talks. "My work is done intimately," the Venezuelan artist explains. "It is not like the theater, where they need a set, and a stage. At home, I can close the doors and paint. " Some paintings that are sold to hang in private homes can earn Zapata thousands of dollars. But when political times get tense, Zapata pours his energy into newspaper cartoons that pierce many sides of the cultural debate. For those, he seeks little payment.

NEW YORK - Al Ross, whose droll cartoons featuring married couples, bar habitues, anthropomorphic animals, philosophizing prisoners, art and publishing world denizens, anachronistic mythological figures, and loyal Mets fans appeared in The New Yorker for more than 60 years, died Thursday in the Bronx. His death was confirmed by his son David. Mr. Ross, 100, who was born Abraham Roth, was one of four cartooning brothers who began publishing in the 1930s in magazines such as Collier's, Esquire, and The Saturday Evening Post.

COPENHAGEN -- Ahmed Abu Laban, Denmark's most prominent Muslim leader and a central figure in last year's uproar over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, has died from cancer, his organization said Friday. He was 60. Mr. Abu Laban died late Thursday at the Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen after battling lung cancer, said a spokesman for the Islamic Faith Community. A Palestinian immigrant who became Denmark's leading imam, Mr. Abu Laban entered the international spotlight during the firestorm over the prophet cartoons, when he accused Denmark of being disrespectful of Islam and of...

Chinese cartoonist Carol Liu Hong built her studio from scratch, doing post-production work for TV commercials and then, once she broke even, realizing her dream of creating cartoons for Chinese kids. Breaking into a market dominated by state media companies has been tough — even more so now that Kungfu Panda creator DreamWorks Animation SKG and other big cartoon giants are launching their own local studios in China. Liu has gotten some help. Seeking to nurture creative industries, the Shanghai government gave her studio, Shanghai Cartoon Communication Group, a choice location.

Editorial cartoonist Matt Davies on our smartphone dependency.

Globe editorial cartoonist Dan Wasserman gives his take on the recent financial troubles experienced by Curt Schilling's video-game company, 38 Studios.

Globe cartoonist Dan Wasserman speculates on how Senator Scott Brown might use the flap over challenger Elizabeth Warren's Native American heritage to his advantage.

Prohibition (1920-1933) was a period of American history during which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was illegal. The 18th Amendment (which created Prohibition) was ratified on Jan. 16, 1919, and was the first amendment to address a social issue. It later became the first and only amendment to be repealed, when the 21st Amendment ended "The Noble Experiment" on Dec. 6, 1933. Library Company: Ardent Spirits www.librarycompany.org/ArdentSpirits The Library Company of Philadelphia is an independent research library specializing in early American history and founded in 1731...

CHICAGO -- Robert "Buck" Brown, who created Playboy magazine's infamously naughty "Granny" character, died July 2 after suffering a stroke. He was 71. Mr. Brown became a leading black artist whose work was filled with social commentary about the civil rights movement of the 1960s. While he was most famous for his cartoons, Mr. Brown also was known for what he called "soul genre paintings," humorous slice-of-life images. His first cartoon, a black-and-white drawing of a boy holding a trumpet, appeared in Playboy in 1962, according to a 1981 biography.