History Main / PoliticalCartoons

* Thomas Nast, who created the [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/Tannhaeuser/Nast_AssInALionSkin.jpg Republican elephant and popularized the Democratic donkey]] (and created the modern image of Santa Claus). Also famous for leading a revolt against the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Tweed Tweed Ring]].

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Left-wing cartoons often depict stereotypical Republicans (especially conservative white men from rural areas) as heavily-armed, trigger-happy, gun-toting extremists.

* BombThrowingAnarchist: If the classic DirtyCommunist archetype doesn't work for a right-wing cartoonist, then left-wing activist groups (especially Antifa) will be stereotyped as such.

%%* FoxNewsLiberal

%%* MotivationOnAStick

%%* PoliticallyCorrectHistory

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Left-wing cartoons often depict stereotypical Republicans (especially conservative white men from rural areas) as heavily-armed, gun-toting extremists.

* BombThrowingAnarchist: If DirtyCommunist doesn't work for Right-leaning artist, then left-leaning group(especially ANTIFA) will be stereotyped as such.

* [[FoxNewsLiberal Fox News Liberal, Daily Kos Conservative]]

* MotivationOnAStick

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory

* RightWingMilitiaFanatic: Left-leaning cartoon will usually portray any conservatives or people who are living in a rural area (usually located in South) as nothing but a whiny PsychopathicManchild who holds gun all the time.

** Cartoonists, usually right-wing ones, but sometimes [[{{Hypocrite}} left-wing ones too]], will portray women they dislike as old and unattractive. This can get very ridiculous.

* AuthorTract: The whole purpose is to promote the cartoonist's ideology after all.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: An anti-corporation cartoon is likely to portray the heads of businesses as being bad people.
* CorruptPolitician: Any government official or electoral candidate that the cartoonist dislikes will be depicted as one of these.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Harvey Weinstein is portrayed by the left as a symbol of male supremacy. By the right he is often representative of the problems surrounding the Democratic Party or Hollywood.

* TheKlan: Left-wing cartoons will likely portray Republicans as KKK sympathizers and white supremacists.

* PropagandaMachine: Right-wing cartoonists ''always'' love to go after pro-Democratic news media. Creator/FoxNews is a popular left-wing target, especially whenever Republicans are in power.
* PropagandaPiece: Most political cartoons come with their own pre-packaged political message, though it is technically possible to make a cartoon about current events from a more objective perspective.

* AnvilOfTheStory[[invoked]] / AuthorTract: The whole purpose is to promote the cartoonist's ideology after all.

* CorruptPolitician

* HeManWomanHater / StrawMisogynist: A common caricature of right-wing politicians.
* HypocriticalHumor: A politician accusing the other side of doing something immoral while doing that same thing as well. Or a politician denying a claim about him [[BlatantLies while demonstrating otherwise]].

* PropagandaMachine: Right-wing cartoonists ''always'' love to go after the media. Fox News is a popular left-wing target but appears less often, although this has started to change after 2016.

* SoapboxSadie: Feminists are often portrayed like this in right-wing cartoons. In left-wing cartoons they are depicted as just ordinary people.
* StrawCharacter: Regardless of the cartoonist's political bent, the opposition will always be exaggerated.

* {{Anvilicious}}[[invoked]] / AuthorTract: The whole purpose is to promote the cartoonist's ideology after all.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive

* StrawmanPolitical: Regardless of the cartoonist's political bent, the opposition will always be exaggerated.

The UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for Editorial Cartooning is the top prize for these kinds of cartoons in the United States. Although it is mostly awarded to political cartoons, it has also been given to editorial cartoons with no political content, as well as two [[NewspaperComics daily comic strips]]: ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' in 1975 and ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' in 1987, both of feature topical political humor.

The UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for Editorial Cartooning is the top prize for these kinds of comics in the United States. Although it is mostly awarded to political cartoons, it has also been given to editorial cartoons with no political content, as well as two [[NewspaperComics daily comic strips]]: ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' in 1975 and ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' in 1987, both of feature topical political humor.

The UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for Editorial Cartooning is the top prize for these kinds of comics in the United States. Although it is mostly awarded to political cartoons, it has also been given to editorial cartoons with no political content, as well as two [[NewspaperComics comic strips]]: ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' in 1975 and ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' in 1987, both of which have political humor.

The UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize for Editorial Cartooning is the top prize for these kinds of comics in the United States. Although it is mostly awarded to political cartoons, it has also been given to editorial cartoons with no political content as well as two [[NewspaperComics comic strips]]: ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' in 1975 and ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' in 1987, both of which have political humor.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_plumb_pudding_in_danger.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_plumb_pudding_in_danger.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plumb-pudding_in_danger https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_plumb_pudding_in_danger.png]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20080702.gif]]]]

-->-- [[WesternAnimation/{{Family Guy}} Stewie Griffin to Brian]], in the ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers Washington Post]]'' Political Cartoon Universe

* George Cruikshank, otherwise most known as an illustrator for Charles Dickens' novels.

* Thomas Nast, who created the [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v518/Tannhaeuser/Nast_AssInALionSkin.jpg Republican elephant and popularized the Democratic donkey]] (and created the modern image of Santa Claus). Also famous for leading a revolt against the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Tweed Tweed Ring.]]

* Creator/BillMauldin, who is remembered more for his wartime strips than for his Pulitzer-winning postwar political cartoons. The most famous is a picture of the Lincoln Memorial sobbing after JFK's assassination.

Most British newspapers still have political cartoonists on the strength. A typical example would be Steve Bell, who draws both editorial cartoons and a long-running daily political strip called ''ComicStrip/{{If}}'' for the [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Guardian]]. Cartoonists of other political hues are also available.

!! Common tropes:

* DependingOnTheWriter:
** Harvey Weinstein is portrayed by the left as a symbol of male supremacy. By the right he is often representative of the problems surrounding the Democratic Party or Hollywood.

** Cartoonists, usually right-wing ones, but sometimes [[HypoCrite left-wing ones too]], will portray women they dislike as old and unattractive. This can get very ridiculous.

->''"Oh god, let's go, quick. Here comes an overweight cat with [[{{Wingding Eyes}} dollar signs for eyes]] and a hat that says "Social Security" pouring a bucket that says 'Alternative Minimum Tax' over a sad Statue of Liberty holding a 'Democracy' umbrella."''

** Cartoonists that oppose Donald Trump tend to depict him as very fat with an unrealistically orange face and tiny hands. Pro-Trump cartoonists are more realistic in his portrayal.

** Cartoons they criticize lenient policies towards Islamic terrorism portray the terrorists as angry Arab men with beards and bombs. Anti-Islamophobia cartoons usually use women and children to represent innocent Muslims; the cartoonists who make the latter usually use the flag of ISIS rather than a caricature of the terrorist to symbolize the group.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Virtually every major story is going to be covered, from every political turn in an election, to major legislation passed, to deadly tragedies, to deaths of well known figures (political or not) to even flash-in-the-pan fads (e.g. there were dozens of Ice Bucket Challenge cartoons when it was popular).