Barry Deutsch has some great political cartoons. Deutsch is a Portland based cartoonist who studied under Will Eisner and is based at leftycartoons and other places. He’s done some bona fide comic projects (including Hereville, a comic book about an 11 year old troll-fighting Orthodox Jewish girl). Ok. that’s a little off the beaten track…. Below is one of his political cartoons (pretty typical for Deutsch). His political comics are longer and more whimsical than Tom Tomorrow. With Tom Tomorrow, you know you are getting agitprop, but Deutsch you know you are going to have some fun (even if you don’t agree with every aspect of the political argument).
An acquaintance suggested two more categories: the Privateer, characterized by the ludicrous assertion that the private sector would supply better toll roads than the highways that the government wastes so much building now and Somedayists who want to make sure that once they get rich, the government won’t be able to take it away from them. The former can’t read history, and the latter live a sad life of delusion. I’ve written about the follies of libertarianism here and here (near the bottom).
Other comics by Deutsch: 10 Reasons why Americans like Cars so Big , Recession Funnies and Star Wars Muppets health care mashup.
By the way, unlike political commentary, political comics tend to stay interesting and relevant for a long time…well beyond its duration as a hot button political topic. A year ago I read one of Tom Tomorrow’s compilation of 90s comics and was struck by two things: 1)how gorgeous and visually dynamic his drawings are, 2)how his satire seems only funnier and more right on with the passing of time. In a way, political cartooning is a thankless task, but it’s also a way to inject your sense of absurd humor into contemporary topics. I mean, regardless of politics, everybody will enjoy reading a satirical cartoon about health care or climate change.
Now, we have another comic artist to follow. Yippee!
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