Opposable Thumbs
May 7, 2026 at 04:30PMAlan Michael Parker was a poet and teacher for four decades. Alan Michael Parker still teaches. But Alan Michael Parker is no longer a poet. Now, he’s a cartoonist. A single-panel cartoonist, to be specific—and in this piece for VQR, he turns the critic’s eye on himself in order to explain what makes the form so joyous and multilayered. Red cowboy boots and sparkly nail polish never signified so much.
Color is the most affective aspect of the single-panel cartoon, and thus where we find our feelings. Color also has cultural power, symbolism, and a profound relationship to dreams. Thinking about color in a cartoon provides a fertile site for exploring who we are and, in turn, for learning about cartoons in the digital age.
What are the feelings and thoughts evoked by a cartoon? What are the feelings and thoughts invested in making them? A close study of color might offer some clues. At the very least, it allows us to pause and spend some time with art.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2026/05/07/opposable-thumbs/
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