A good, solid, well-rounded political cartoonist needs three things: a sense of humor, a set of convictions, and a modicum of artistic talent. Prolific, controversial artist Ted Rall highlights the first two elements and lets the third prove itself in Attitude, an anthology of interviews with 20 independent cartoonists who fall into the gray area between the mainstream and the underground. Rall includes himself as the book's 21st subject, in a bit of arrogance ameliorated by two factors: If anyone else had edited an anthology of outré political cartoonists, he would have been included in the ranks anyway, and he enlists the hilarious Ruben Bolling, of Tom The Dancing Bug fame, as his interviewer. Among the subjects: Bolling (who is far more serious when interviewing Rall than when their roles are reversed), Tom Tomorrow (of This Modern World), Derf (The City), Lloyd Dangle (Troubletown), Andy Singer (No Exit), Peter Kuper (Eye Of The Beholder), Tim Eagan (Deep Cover/Subconscious Comics), and Stephanie McMillan (Minimum Security). The topics covered include the role of anger in political cartoons, the similarities and differences between America's two chief political parties, the dearth of female and minority cartoonists, and whether Rall should be allowed to forbid his wife to bring a small tree into their small apartment. That final question is part of an occasionally off-putting trend whereby Rall devotes as much as half of each interview to such trivial questions as "Name your least-favorite board game," or "Generally, are fruits or vegetables the more satisfying gastronomic experience?" At times, Rall seems to consciously shoot for a flippant attitude that has more to do with his image than his subjects' work. But at least he rarely asks the same question twice. Attitude does cover a wide range of topics in its generally lively and entertaining interviews, and it's packed with samples of its subjects' work, which makes it a perfect primer on their individual flavors and uniformly impressive skills. There's no filler here, and the book's only weak spots come when Rall seems to be indulging himself at his interviewees' expense, as when he asks Schlock 'N' Roll's Ward Sutton to describe the worst sexual experience of his life. For the most part, the cartoons are intricate, challenging, well-conceived, unique, and politically charged, and their creators come across as similarly thoughtful and distinctive. In bringing them together and pushing them toward the higher visibility they deserve, Attitude serves almost as critical a function as they do themselves.