Images can say so much more than words - but words can help frame the images, if they’re chosen carefully. Still, words rarely change the meaning - and the meaning of the above image should be fairly clear - though there will be a few more cartoons added here that haven’t been published yet.
Paul Fell has been a master of communicating through images, specifically cartoons, for most of his nearly 80 years on this Earth. And I was lucky enough to have worked closely with him for most of the past 26 years, helping him to get his cartoons from the page to the computer to the world.
Growing up, I’d enjoyed reading Paul’s cartoons in the local papers, seeing his Husker football prediction cartoons, and later, his HuskerNutz toons. But it was his political cartoons that I really loved, where his perspective was so often the same as many Nebraskans - straightforward, honest, with humor to soften the blow of whatever ridiculous thing had just happened. Little did I know then that we’d end up working together & being friends for almost half of my life.
In 2000, I was the “Chief Technology Consultant” working for the Nebraska Press Association, and Paul was the cartoonist for the weekly “Capitol News Toon,” a feature he provided to the newspapers of Nebraska, through the Press Association, for more than 30 years. We struck up a friendship, helping each other in our business ventures, and working together on his website, and later on several versions of his Daily Felltoon newsletter, including this one.
Through all of that time, Paul was always teaching and helping others, to see the world differently, to laugh, to think, and to stay engaged in politics, at the local, state, federal, and even international levels. The number of people he helped, through his teaching career, and through his cartooning career are far too numerous to count. As Dennis DeRossett, Executive Director of the Nebraska Press Association, said to me this week, “[Paul] certainly has served well the community newspapers of Nebraska and their thousands of readers for many years -- an amazing talent and perspective that will be missed.”
If he were reading this, Paul might chuckle and humbly accept the praise - and then he’d likely say something like, “Don’t make a big deal of it. Everybody dies. This has been a fun life.” Or as Paul put it in his final email to me, “It’s been a fun ride.” As has been so often the case, I can’t really argue with Paul on that.
Is There Anything We Can Do To Help?
You might see a simple obituary in the newspaper, and some posthumous honors, but Paul’s wife Arlene, and his friends like me have been instructed not to do anything big at this point. That said, we’ve opened up comments on this post, so if you’d like to leave your comments about what Paul’s cartoons have meant to you, those would be greatly appreciated.
What Paul would want you to do is simple: Stay active in the politics of your community, your state, and your nation. Support media you believe in, including and especially independent media & freelancers. And of course support independent cartoonists like Ann Telnaes, Jeff Koterba, & Tom Tomorrow, outlets like Counterpoint & Mike Peterson’s Daily Cartoonist, and even the few remaining newspaper cartoonists like Clay Bennett.
He’d also advise you subscribe to the other media venture I, Shawn, am part of: ThePoliticsBar - a weekday evening radio show & podcast that includes a weekday newsletter called the “News On Tap.” If you’re familiar with the Daily Felltoon newsletter from about a decade ago, where Paul & I provided links to news stories of the day, along with Paul’s inimitable cartooning, you’ll note the similarities - sadly minus the brilliance of Paul’s work. If there’s anything Paul has always tried to do, it’s to take care of the people he’s loved, and try to help them succeed at what they’re doing. And as Paul has been a subscriber & listener, he’d tell you The Politics Bar is worth a look & a listen.
Will These Cartoons Disappear?
Not anytime soon. Paul & I, along with his wife Arlene, have already taken steps to make sure to keep Paul’s cartoons online for the foreseeable future. The next step is to transfer everything digital that I (Shawn) & Paul have to the University of Nebraska, and add all of this digital content to Paul’s printed archives, which are already housed there.
We highly recommend you go back through Paul’s cartoons, and share them on your social media and with your friends, especially those cartoons that remain valid today. Whether it’s a cartoon about Trump’s Iran nuclear deal, our ravenous-yet-empty corporate media, Donald Trump leading the Republican Party to its end, or America being torn apart by the past decade-plus of our politics, Paul has so many cartoons that remain evergreen.
There are also still some cartoons that Paul had finished, yet never got published here, so we’ll be rolling those out soon too. We’ll also be taking down the paywall, and suspending subscription billing, as part of the finalization of his work.
One Last Thing…
Having been friends with & worked with Paul as long as I have, I know that he’d want me to say “Thank you” to all of you who’ve been part of his life.
Paul always considered himself just another guy who liked to cartoon, and had some opinions. He was lucky enough to come to Nebraska, meet an amazing, smart, beautiful woman, be able to teach people about art and cartooning at great schools like Peru State and the University of Nebraska, and make his living doing something he loved and was great at - cartooning. He got to travel the world with his bride, make friends from everywhere, enjoy football, volleyball, baseball, and other sports, as well as enjoying art, history, literature, and music. In the end, he also got to make a positive difference in the lives of millions, through his cartooning, and through the actions of the people who read and shared those cartoons.
Not bad for a guy who grew up in Massachusetts and headed west to Nebraska to play college football and study art.
As Paul said, “It’s been a fun ride.”
Indeed, my friend. Thanks for letting all of us come along for it.
– Shawn “Smith” Peirce, June 27, 2026
I was a member of the National Cartoonists Society for several years.Paul was the volunteer head of our chapter. I am grateful for the hard work he put in to make sure our ramshackle group of cartoonists always had a great time at our annual gatherings. I will miss him and his big smile.
I am so, so sorry to hear this. Paul was the definition of an editorial cartoonist- passionate about the issues and always true to his beliefs. It showed in his work.
On a personal level, Paul was a lovely man. Kind and courteous. I'd bump into him at conventions and usually he'd be in an animated conversation with a bunch of cartoonists about the news. Plus he had a great smile. I will miss him.
My heartfelt condolences to Arlene and his family.
Ann Telnaes