SF Chronicle Cartoonist Jack Ohman Wins 2026 Herblock Prize

Jack Ohman, the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial cartoonist and contributing opinion columnist, has won the 2026 Herblock Prize, the field's most prestigious recognition, awarded annually by the Herb Block Foundation to honor excellence in editorial cartooning. The Herb Block Foundation announced the award on March 12, and Ohman will formally accept it alongside a $20,000 cash prize at a ceremony on May 26 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The winning portfolio included "Greetings from Dogesemite!," one of Ohman's cartoons produced for the Chronicle. Three judges offered assessments of his work that ranged from the historically comparative to the blunt. Rob Rogers described Ohman as the offspring of Mad Magazine and Thomas Nast, writing: "Ohman creates cartoons that balance whimsical wackiness and incisive political criticism brilliantly." Steve Brodner called the portfolio "strong and wide-ranging in concept, moral force, graphic solution and humor." Marty Two Bulls, Sr. focused on Ohman's draftsmanship: "Jack's loose drawing style says more with a few strokes then any long winded editorial. His work comes from a vast understanding of the inane nature of geopolitical history."

Chronicle Editorial Page Editor Matt Fleischer called the recognition overdue in everything but name. "I'm thrilled Herblock has chosen to recognize the tremendous work Jack does day in and day out for the Chronicle," Fleischer said. Ohman, writing on his Substack, where he has 9,500 subscribers, was more measured about the weight of the honor: "I am honored beyond belief, and will continue to try to rise to the level that Herb established in his stellar career."

Ohman had been a Herblock Prize finalist once before, in 2013. The win caps a career that began improbably early: at 19, Ohman became the youngest-ever syndicated editorial cartoonist in the United States, starting continuous syndication in 1980 that has run through the Tribune Company, The Washington Post Writers Group, and now Tribune Content Agency. His cartoons currently appear in 200 newspapers across the country.

His path to the Chronicle ran through several major newsrooms: the Minnesota Daily, The Columbus Dispatch, the Detroit Free Press, and nearly three decades at The Oregonian, followed by a decade at The Sacramento Bee, where he also served as Deputy California Opinion Editor and Associate Editor. He joined the Chronicle in 2023. His awards include the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning, the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and the Harrison E. Salisbury Award from the University of Minnesota.

The Herblock Prize was established in 2004 to recognize "editorial cartooning as an essential tool for preserving the rights of the American people through freedom of speech and the right of expression." It honors Herb Block, the Washington Post political cartoonist known as Herblock, who won three Pulitzer Prizes over his career and died in 2001 at age 91.

Pedro X. Molina, a syndicated cartoonist whose work is also published by Counterpoint and Tinyview, was named the 2026 finalist. Judge Steve Brodner called Molina "one of most powerful voices in cartooning today," adding that "his work is an inspiration in courage at a time when media is running for cover.