Political or editorial cartoons were once the primary source for visual political satire, humor and commentary. There are fewer outlets for the traditional form … but life still breathes in many venues—like The Boston Globe, where award winner Ward Sutton publishes biting cartoons on a regular basis. On this day after the election deluge, he has a lot to make funny. Sutton has also just received the Berryman Cartoonist Award for 2022—and here, he takes a victory lap.
At The Daily Heller Steven interviews cartoonist Ward Sutton about all editooning things.
Has your sense of political humor changed since the 2016 election?
I think it’s gotten tighter, sharper, better. The Obama era was not as easy as a satirist, although I’d gladly go back to that time in a heartbeat. The Tea Party was infuriating, but the level of discourse in the country post-Trump is so discouraging.The world has gotten so crazy that when news breaks, people often have to qualify that a certain headline is NOT from The Onion. It’s like that for cartoonists, too: Reality has gone beyond parody.