Are you a cartoonist? Cartoonists draw advertising, political, social, and sports cartoons. Some cartoonists work with artists who create the idea or story and write captions, and sometimes the cartoonist will write captions themselves. Most cartoonists have critical, comic, or dramatic talents in addition to drawing skills. Share your work with the world. Give a shout-out to your favorite cartoonist. Enjoy your favorite cartoon and use #NationalCartoonistsDay to post on social media.

Observed on May 5th each year, National Cartoonists Day honors all those creative ink-stained artists, past and present, and the fascinating pieces they have created. Throughout the years, their talents make you laugh and/or think with their fun, thoughtful, or provocative drawings.

In 1990, the National Cartoonists Society proclaimed May 5th as National Cartoonists Day. American comic strip writer and artist, Richard Outcault (January 14, 1863 – September 25, 1928) is considered the inventor of the modern comic strip. At 15 years of age, he studied for three years at the McMicken University’s School of Design in Cincinnati. Outcault created the comic strips The Yellow Kid and Buster Brown. On Sunday, May 5, 1895, the readers of the New York World discovered an exciting new addition in their morning paper. On the pages, they found Outcault’s full-color drawings featuring a big-eared, barefoot little boy with a mischievous grin. The first color installment of the cartoon called Hogan’s Alley would later become known as The Yellow Kid and was the first commercially successful cartoon icon. Outcault was a 2008 Judges’ Choice inductee into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.