Best Australian Political Cartoons 2004

Edited by Russ Radcliffe

As Mencken realised, the contents of the black box to the right of the editorial often have a more profound impact on public perceptions of people and events than do many column inches of considered argument.

Australia has had a long and proud tradition of political cartoonists, but we have never needed them more than we do today. Displaying more than 180 examples of the cartoonist’s art, Best Australian Political Cartoons 2004 is a superb survey of the past political year.

As they move from irony to anger, these sharp-witted iconoclasts practitioners of our most democratic and levelling art form revel in the freedom of expression denied to other commentators. No print journalist has the same exhilarating ability to skewer the pomposity, the glib rhetoric, and the deliberate lies of our political elites.

With a witty and perceptive introduction from Phillip Adams, Best Australian Political Cartoons 2004 is an unforgettable portrait of the past year and a tribute to the art, power, vitality, and wit of our finest cartoonists.