I've featured a lot of great cartoons on The English Blog over the past 12 months, so it was always going to be difficult to come up with a Top Ten. In the end, I've managed to whittle it down to 13.
The best editorial cartoons tend to be based on a simple idea and have a striking visual impact—the fewer words, the better. They also make you think. According to Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell: "Ambiguity is one of the essential elements of a cartoon. There's not always a clear message and there's always more giong on than meets the eye." When using cartoons in the classroom, teachers can use ambiguity as a basis for discussion.
My Cartoon of the Year by the aforementioned Steve Bell has all of these qualities. The starting point was a tragic incident during the G20 demonstrations in London. Newspaper vendor Ian Tomlinson, who was not part of the protests, collapsed and died from a heart attack, shortly after being assaulted from behind by a policeman (see original post). The cartoon brilliantly combines this story with the official G20 summit poster.
Copenhagen Tsunami (Chris Riddel, The Observer) — see post
Crazy Golf (Morten Morland, The Times) — see post
Dubai Debt Crisis (Peter Brookes, The Times) — see post
Poppy Day (Gerald Scarfe, The Sunday Times) — see post
Happy 60th Birthday China (Peter Brookes, The Times) — see post
Ted Kennedy's Destiny (Peter Brookes, The Times) — see post
Michael Jackson in the Spotlight (Morten Morland, The Times) — see post
Cowboy Kim (Andy Davey, The Sun) — see post
Relax, I'm Not Obese (Nick Newman, The Times) — see post
Labour Isn't Working (Schrank, Independent on Sunday) — see post
Final Crisis Of Capitalism (Martin Rowson, The Guardian) — see post
America Quits The Habit (Dave Brown, The Independent) — see post
