political cartoon des moines iowa

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Two things I try to never bring up in public

  1. Religion
  2. Politics

But for some reason, many of my favorite cartoonists are political satirists. I love the art of Berkeley Breathed and Ding Darling (yes, I know, BIG difference in styles and years). Maybe my admiration of those two is simply related to their connection with Iowa, my home state. But in any case they did have a great affect on my styles and messaging.

This particular cartoon was an effort to intentionally emulate a Ding Darling genre with Brethead’s style. The message was crafted for the volatile 2003/04 political season and openly provides a voice to “the little people.”

I like this cartoon for individual elements – the quality of the illustration and the concept, but don’t think it’s very strong as a whole…

I haven’t decided if I like the field of political satire cartooning. Its a little too polarizing – you’re either on one side or the other. Personally, I think all politics and those that choose to go into “the profession” should be thrown into a burlap bag and cast into a cold, raging river.

ABC