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The Patron Saint of Superheroes

“Chris Gavaler Explores the Multiverse of Comics, Pop Culture, and Politics”

June 5, 2023 A Brief Cartoon History of the 2023 Debt Ceiling Crisis

I’m not a fan of political cartoons. Like journalistic op-eds and cable news commentary, they’re a form of political entertainment designed to please partisan audiences with simplified and exaggerated interpretations of complex issues. Simplified and exaggerated also defines cartoons, so adding politics blurs style and content.

I’ve been watching how national cartoonists have visually depicted the debt ceiling debate for the past several months. Early coverage was a kind of primer, since apparently not everyone knew about the issue:

Visual metaphors came early, with a clear favorite repeated:

The metaphorical bombs tended to be wielded by Republicans:

Though trucks and guns worked too:

This one was my favorite though, not just for its visual metaphors, but for the atypical detail of its black and white rendering:

Democrats received plenty of criticism too:

But as Biden and McCarthy got down to serious talks, McCarthy was the one most lampooned:

Once the deal was struck, McCarthy and the GOP drew even more criticism:

Republicans traded in their suicide bomber vests for red polka-dotted boxers:

Other cartoonists dolled out criticism equally:

And I even found one moment of faint praise:

So based on the cartoon polling, Biden came out well ahead. Will actual polling start to reflect that this week? We’ll see.

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