The Daily Cartoonist | The Sacramento Bee
Rex Babin, a 2003 Pulitzer finalist for editorial cartooning, died Friday morning at the age of 49 “after a long struggle with stomach cancer,” reports the Bee’s Anita Creamer. She recalls his work:
In Rex Babin’s perhaps most beloved editorial cartoon, huge hands reached down from on high to steady US Airways Flight 1549 as it floated on the Hudson River, passengers standing on its wings. …
“That cartoon resonated with people on the flight,” said his wife, Kathleen. “He heard from many of the passengers and crew, and he presented it to Captain Sullenberger when he was in Sacramento. The reaction was amazing.
“But he liked the ones that stirred up controversy. He was proud of doing that.”
Babin’s last cartoon, notes the Daily Cartoonist’s Alan Gardner, was published March 4. Gardner has posted a video of Babin talking about his work in 2011.
J.D. Crowe, cartoonist at the Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., noted Babin’s passing:
I lost a brother in arms today. Rex Babin, Sac Bee cartoonist, was a passionate and creative voice that will be sorely missed. RIP #rexbabin
— JDCrowe2 (@Crowetoons) March 30, 2012
Related: Babin’s favorite cartoons (The Sacramento Bee)
Correction: This post originally stated that Babin had requested a two-week leave of absence in 2011 due to his health issues, which wasn’t true.
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