Comic Commentators: Contemporary Political Cartooning in Australia

240 Book pages APR 24(2)Conclusion?: ‘the most concentrated and cogent form of commentand just about the most skilled and the most memorable…’,Margaret Thatcher 38Even Maggie Thatcher is convinced! Political cartoons can be a synopsis of thetimes, a mirror and indicator of the kind of society which they purport to portrayand they can play the role of the canary in the mine. Editorial cartoons can also be amoral conscience, a democratic political indicator, a cultural insight or a means tosubvert an unpopular regime. They can also be an outlet to frustration or simplywhimsy to lighten it all up.The editorial cartoon is the subject of great popular interest as witness its continuedoccupation of prime press real estate right there next to the editorial of the day. Itenjoys an almost iconic place in the history and affections of modern westerndemocracies as the extensive literature (at least elsewhere), increasing exhibitionactivity and great collections committed to its preservation attest. ComicCommentators is an admirable contribution to the cartoon story in Australia andwill contribute to the political cartoon being taken more seriously as a potential toolfor political analysis and, indeed for political communication.Comic Commentators is well presented with very few typographical errors. 39 It is areal pity, though, that the volume has no index, particularly for reference todifferent cartoonists and, with its somewhat limited and insular bibliography, itmisses an opportunity to open up to the reader the broader world of scholarshipabout the political cartoon.▲38 Quoted in Timothy S Benson’s Introduction to his ‘The Cartoon Century: Modern Britainthrough the eyes of its cartoonists’, Random House Books 2007, p. 9.39 (e.g. p. 49, p. 115, 122, 139, 241, 250).