 Spiegelman 's influence and connections in New York cartooning circles drew the ire of political cartoonist Ted Rall in 1999 . In an article titled " The King of Comix " in The Village Voice , Rall accused Spiegelman of the power to " make or break " a cartoonist 's career in New York , while denigrating Spiegelman as " a guy with one great book in him " . Cartoonist Danny Hellman responded by sending a forged email under Rall 's name to thirty professionals ; the prank escalated until Rall launched a defamation suit against Hellman for $ 1 @.@ 5 million . Hellman published a " Legal Action Comics " benefit book to cover his legal costs , to which Spiegelman contributed a back @-@ cover cartoon in which he relieves himself on a Rall @-@ shaped urinal . 
