Scott Stantis is widely viewed as one of the best — if not the best — editorial cartoonists in the country. At one point he was the staff cartoonist for The Birmingham News. And although he’s now at The Chicago Tribune, which is one of the most high profile jobs in his field, Stantis still flies back to Alabama to get his driver’s license renewed. As long as he keeps coming back home, we’ll keep claiming him. As far as I and a lot of us in the Yellowhammer State are concerned, Stantis is and always will be one of us.

There’s something special that separates good artists from great artists. Regardless of the format, the great artists touch us in a deeper way than even the most beautiful melodies or colors on a page ever could.

But it takes a lot of courage to bear your soul for the world to see, to be vulnerable and allow others to take solace in your pain and find hope in the assurance that they’re not alone.

Stantis is a great artist.

Today, The Chicago Tribune is devoting an entire page of its newspaper to his autobiographical cartoon essay, which can be viewed below.

It is full of chilling insights into the pain of domestic violence that lasts long after the physical beatings are over, and it may change your perspective on the rash of NFL domestic violence incidents that continue to play day after day on our television and computer screens.

(If you’re on a mobile device and the image is not showing up, click the blank space below to view)

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