The world’s best coronavirus cartoons

Cartoonists all over the world, including Australia, have responded to the coronavirus crisis with spectacular savagery, lacerating the pretensions of the powerful. These are the very best we’ve seen.

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A MONTH before his death in 2017, celebrated Australian cartoonist Bill Leak revealed that if he sensed a cartoon he was working on would offend nobody, he would throw it away.

His words strike at the robust heart of the cartoonist’s art: to puncture pomposity, reveal the truth behind the facade, and give us all a damn good laugh in the process.

Cartoonists the world over have responded to the coronavirus crisis with spectacular savagery, lacerating the pretensions of the powerful.

Adam Zyglis’s take on Donald Trump for the Buffalo News is a classic of the genre, presenting the US president as someone with arrogance and a startling lack of ability.

Niels Bo Bojesen pulled no punches with his effort for the Dutch publication Jyllands-Posten, his re-rendering of the Chinese flag causing such fury that Beijing’s embassy in Copenhagen reportedly demanded an apology.

The paper did not back down, providing reassurance that even in such virulent times, the art of the satirical cartoon remains in rude good health.

Cartoonist Steve Bright had a cartoon recently published in The Sun newspaper in London. One showed how the virus has infected the airlines industry from the inside.

The Times UK newspaper’s cartoonist Peter Brookes captured the impact of the virus on frontline workers who are part of the NHS.

In Australia, News Corp cartoonists Mark Knight and Warren Brown have taken their own satirical look at many moments of the pandemic, including Tom Hanks’ hospitalisation on the Gold Coast and Qantas’ call to ground its flights.

SEE THE BEST OF THEM BELOW:

Image: Jyllands-Posten/Niels Bo Bojesen

Image: The Independent/Dave Brown

Image: Buffalo News/Adam Zyglis

Image: Khaleej Times/Paresh Nath

Image: Boston Globe/Dan Wasserman

Image: USA Today/Andy Marlette

Image: The Observer/Chris Riddell

Image: New York Daily News/Bill Bramhall

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Image: The Washington Times/Alexander Hunter

Image: The Telegraph UK/Blower

Image: The Sun/Steve Bright

Image: The Times/Peter Brookes

Image: The Guardian/Andrzej Krauze

Image: Daily Telegraph/Warren Brown

Image: Daily Telegraph/Warren Brown

Image: Daily Telegraph/Warren Brown

Image: Herald Sun/Mark Knight

Image: Herald Sun/Mark Knight

Image: Herald Sun/Mark Knight

Originally published as The world’s best coronavirus cartoons