PCO member Alex Matthews has been declared the first winner of the Free Expression Cartoon Contest by the Council for Secular Humanism.
The theme for the competition was Religion, and Alex’s prize-winning entry (above) netted him $2500 (£1650). Pulitzer-prize winning judge Steve Benson said of the cartoon:
Wickedly humorous, brutally direct, effectively and simply rendered. A stinging indictment of the Catholic Church’s pedophilic priest scandal that allows absolutely no room for the predictable apologetic defense. Left me laughing and wincing at the same time!
Alex, who originally sold the cartoon to Private Eye, where it provoked a couple of angry letters, told the Bloghorn:
I thought it was a pretty strong and controversial cartoon but this was a massive surprise for me, particularly as I had forgotten I entered this competition!
Religion, seen from my atheist perspective, is a favourite of subject of mine, so it is great to get some kind of recognition for a cartoon I am genuinely proud of.
Our congratulations to Alex on his win.