Michael Jackson Goes Where Angels Fear to Tread

Sizing up the spate of Michael Jackson cartoons...

In the wake of Michael Jackson's death, more than a couple of political cartoonists struck upon the same essential idea: "Cherubim beware!"

Some cartoonists, as I've noted here, chose to honor the Gloved One's talent, from the music to the moonwalking. From Sgt. Pepper sequins to his being "the Jackie Robinson of MTV," the image and accomplishments of Michael the Pop Artist are painted in glowing terms. (And more than one cartoonist literally placed Michael on the moon.)

Then there are those cartoonists who decided that his child-molest cases shouldn't be swept under the rug of the funeral parlor. How to combine both Jackson's death and the seamier side of his story? Turns out: You just literally merge the two. That same formula for gaggery was arrived at by these four -- count 'em, four -- cartoonists (and perhaps since, we'll see others). Coincidental but not surprising, really, how that "artistic algebra" works:

ON THE FLIP SIDE: Singapore-based political cartoonist Deng Coy Miel (real name: Miel Prudencio Ma) of the Straits Times drew this image, which hits home in his emotional simplicity. Only surprised that soon after Jackson's death Thursday, I still hadn't seen anyone else draw anything similar.

NOTE: If you have a favorite Michael Jackson cartoon, feel free to share the link in the Comments field.