Relatable frustrations have been important narrative devices for the Donald Duck character.
Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo
Within a few years of his debut appearance in 1934, Donald Duck had already achieved a celebrity status comparable to Shirley Temple or Greta Garbo.
Illustration of crescent moons representing murdered Palestinians by Palestinian artist Mohammad Sabaaneh.
(Sabaaneh's Instagram account, @sabaaneh)
Webcomics are functioning as emotional outlets for artists, as well as intentional acts of solidarity and resistance against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Grumpy Santa in Raymond Briggs’s classic Father Christmas.
Raymond Briggs / Leigh Simpson
This beautifully realised exhibition reveals the wit, warmth and artistic skill that made Raymond Briggs so beloved by children and adults alike.
The playful Heeler family has amassed fans of all ages.
Ian Kitt/BBC Studios
The seven-minute episodes show characters dealing with difficult emotions like fear and grief through play.
A character from ‘The Boondocks’ is depicted in street art in Los Angeles during the time of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Chelsea Guglielmino via Getty Images
A sociology professor uses the popular ‘Boondocks’ cartoon to explore contemporary issues of race in American society.
Pikachu as depicted in Pokemon Master Journeys (2021).
The Pokémon Company
Ash Ketchum is retiring from the Pokémon franchise, but this doesn’t spell the end of Pikachu.
What Adams writes and draws rarely attracts scrutiny – it’s what he says that has gotten him in hot water.
Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images
Cartoonists throughout the nation’s history have been jailed, beaten, sued and censored. But Scott Adams’ work is being rejected for what he expressed off the page.
© Cross family trust
These disappearances demonstrate deep flaws in the way Australia maintains our rich cartoon heritage.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Toxic , pictured right, is inspired by the American cartoon and denounces the violence of American society.
(MMFA)
In the age of the Black Lives Matter movement, Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequality and violence against racialized people.
Warren Brown in The Daily Telegraph.
Best Australian Political Cartoons, 2022
It’s the 20th anniversary of Best Australian Political Cartoons – and it has been quite a year. From Putin to Dutton to Albanese, our cartoonists have been hard at work skewering the powerful.
Francis Carruthers Gould, ‘The Mourner’, Fun, February 2, 1901.
A cartoon commemorating the death of King William IV in 1837 would have been unthinkable; by the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, newspapers had changed.
Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy
Much of his work was imbued with a sense of the end, so it is fitting to look back at three of his best works to mark the illustrator’s passing
Anthony Albanese, as depicted by cartoonist David Pope.
Canberra Times
Political cartoonists have found their own ways of coping with a new government
You never know where Uncle Sam will make an appearance.
David McNew/Getty Images
The iconic image may have originated with a meat supplier named Samuel Wilson. Or not.
Mick Sinclair / Alamy Stock Photo
Cartoon character Dennis the Menace has had more influence on British society than you might think.
Still : Andrew Glouberman, a character in the Netflix's animated comedy Big Mouth watches a condom demonstration from mother.
Growing up is never easy, but visualising complex ideas can help. Animation and character design allow us to put a metaphorical mirror up to society.
HBO Max.
Royal satire has softened over the last 300 years, but audiences are more sensitive to barbs against the institution.
Julia Wertz’ The Infinite Wait and Other Stories looks at the author’s diagnosis with lupus.
© Julia Wertz
From the blog ‘Mom’s Cancer’ to novellas about lupus to moving Instagram posts, comic artists are humanising illnesses.
Glen Keane at work.
Google ATAP
The condition challenges the centuries-old idea that all great artists are able to envision what they’re drawing.
Unsplash/Joe Ciciarelli
When we read comics, we ‘hear’ sound on the page. Creators are experts at this cross-sensory form of storytelling - indeed one database lists over 2500 comic book sounds.