Khalil Bendib (born

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) is an Algerian American

fine artist In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as p ...

and

political cartoonist An editorial cartoonist, also known as a political cartoonist, is an artist who draws editorial cartoons that contain some level of political or social commentary. Their cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or current ...

. Born during the

Algerian revolution The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) ...

, Bendib spent 3 years in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

before returning to Algeria aged 6. After receiving his bachelor's degree in Algiers, he left

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

at the age of 20. He currently resides in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

. Bendib became a professional political cartoonist and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

/ ceramicist after earning his master's degree at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1982. His early political cartoons were published in the USC

Daily Trojan The ''Daily Trojan'', or "DT," is the student newspaper of the University of Southern California. The newspaper is a forum for student expression and is written, edited, and managed by university students. The paper is intended to inform USC stu ...

newspaper. In 1995, Bendib resigned a position he had held working for

Gannett Newspapers Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as several ...

(based at the ''

San Bernardino Sun ''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County, California, headquartered in the city of San Bernardino. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inlan ...

''). Largely utilizing the internet, Bendib now distributes his

political cartoons A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

independently to alternative media outlets outside of the corporate mainstream media. By August 2007, when his first book, ''Mission Accomplished: Wicked Cartoons by America's Most Wanted Political Cartoonist,'' was published, His work has been featured by the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

on its web site. In addition to his work as a cartoonist, Bendib also co-hosts a weekly one-hour radio program called
Voices of the Middle East and North Africa
' on

Pacifica Radio Pacifica may refer to: Art * ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition Places * Pacifica, California, a city in the United States ** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier * Pacifica, a conce ...

station

KPFA KPFA (94.1 FM) is a public, listener-funded talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed o ...

(94.1 FM), in Berkeley, California. He also continues to exhibit his sculptures and ceramic

In 2008, Bendib ran a spoof campaign for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, claiming to be the first Muslim-American candidate. However, Randall A. Venson, an actual candidate, preceded him in 2000.

Bibliography

* ''Mission Accomplished: Wicked Cartoons by America's Most Wanted Political Cartoonist,'' Olive Branch Press/

Interlink Books Interlink Publishing is an independent publishing house, founded in 1987 and based in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. , it published an average of 90 books a year and had 800 titles in print. Overview The company specializes in publishing in th ...

, 2007 * ''Verax: The True History of Whistleblowers, Drone Warfare, and Mass Surveillance: A Graphic Novel,'' (with

Pratap Chatterjee Pratap Chatterjee (born Birmingham, United Kingdom) is an Indian/Sri Lankan investigative journalist and progressive author. He is a British citizen and grew up in India, although he lived in California for many years. He serves as the executive ...

) Metropolitan Books, 2017 * ''It Became Necessary to Destroy the Planet in Order to Save It!: Truly Subversive Editorial Cartoons,''

Plan 9 Publishing Plan Nine Publishing was a small press book publisher known for publishing webcomics in printed form. The first series published, and perhaps its most famous, was ''Kevin and Kell''. History Plan Nine Publishing was named after the Ed Wood film ' ...

, 2003

References

External links

Khalil Bendib's political cartoons website

Studio Bendib

Mission Accomplished

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070907170110/http://www.kpfa.org/voicesofthemiddleeast/ KPFA Voices of the Middle East {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendib, Khalil American editorial cartoonists American people of Algerian descent Algerian emigrants to the United States Muslims from California Algerian editorial cartoonists Algerian political artists Algerian ceramists 20th-century Algerian sculptors 21st-century Algerian sculptors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Southern California alumni Artists from Berkeley, California Sculptors from California 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American ceramists