Equipped with a pen and an abundance of ideas, Mike Luckovich has been an editorial cartoonist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1989.
Luckovich began drawing in elementary school. He moved a lot growing up, so he would draw his teachers when he started at new schools.
“Even as a little kid, I was able to capture the likeness and make it look like the teachers, but it was like a caricature,” Luckovich said.
He used caricatures to connect with his classmates and make friends. Later, he made a career out of his ability to reach others through art.
His drawing process has shifted as he’s currently working from home. Luckovich starts his work days around noon by reading The AJC and going online for inspiration.
Even after three decades of drawing for The AJC, Luckovich loves his job and looks forward to coming up with new cartoons.
“I can’t wait to start coming up with ideas and drawing them out,” he said. “When I do a crappy cartoon that I’m not happy with, it just motivates me for the next day to try to do my very best. I have a desire to do the best I can, and it hasn’t gone away [through the years].”
Luckovich has gained national recognition for his editorial cartoons. He is the 2005 winner of the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, the National Cartoonists Society’s top award for cartoonist of the year and the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes.
Luckovich’s cartoons gained admiration from influential figures like the late civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis. Lewis and Luckovich were great friends, and it is his most significant accomplishment to know that Lewis appreciated his work.
His cartoons are relatively controversial and politically driven. His current work focuses on his disapproval of Donald Trump’s presidency and administration.
“I’ve always got people emailing me or posting stuff on Facebook about being pissed off at me or my cartoons, but that’s what an editorial cartoonist should do,” Luckovich said. “You should try and take a stand on things that you think are important, and that’s what I try and do.”
His favorite cartoons are usually the last one he creates. His most recent favorite shows an undecided American asking for voting advice from a caged child in an ICE facility, referencing President Trump’s immigration policy and the current mistreatment of immigrants in ICE containment.
This cartoon has made its way onto billboards around Atlanta and made rounds as a point of political discourse. Many people share his work online and use this cartoon to express their beliefs. Luckovich hopes his cartoons make a difference and give a voice to the people visually.
“I feel like [my comics] hopefully contribute [to social justice activism] and are a voice to those folks that are out marching and protesting,” he said.
In uncertain times, Luckovich believes it’s crucial to do what one can to create change, whether through art or voting.
“I think that if you can put that anger and hope for change in a cartoon, I think it’s just a positive way to make a difference and spread a message,” Luckovich said.
