This cartoon is by me and new guest artist Mike Lawrence. Mike Lawrence is a cartoonist in Milwaukie, OR who mostly makes middle grade graphic novels. He’s the creator of the Star Scouts series for First Second and his next book, The Lionharts, is being published this spring from Abrams.
I’ve known Mike for many years, but this is the first time we worked together. It was a pleasure – and Mike took to doing chicken fat with wonderful enthusiasm, so chicken fat fans have a lot to enjoy in this one.
Hey, I had a big Wings of Fire script deadline coming up when this cartoon came out. And there were a lot more guest artists for my political cartoons around that time. I wonder if those two things are somehow related? Hmm.
—
I named the character “Carol” after Carol Hui, the subject of the New York Times story “A Missouri Town Was Solidly Behind Trump. Then Carol Hui Was Detained.” Despite the title of the story, I don’t think anyone in the article said they’d change their future votes as a result of Hui’s detention.
(Since that NYT story, Hui was released from custody, but her immigration case goes on.)
Of course, some Trump supporters have changed their mind. But many haven’t. A few sample headlines:
Husband Refuses To Take Trump Flags Down After Wife Detained by ICE – Newsweek
He lost his wife to Trump’s immigration crackdown — here’s why he still backs Trump
Illegal Immigrant Says He’ll Still Support Trump Even If He’s Deported – Newsweek
In a way, it’s laudably non-hypocritical of them; even when their own faces are eaten, they still support the face-eating leopard party as a matter of principal.
From the New York Times story about Carol Hui:
“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” said Vanessa Cowart, a friend of Ms. Hui from church. “But no one voted to deport moms. We were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs, the people who came here in droves.”
But there aren’t even remotely enough immigrant gang members in the U.S. for Trump to achieve his deportation goals. There are only about a million gang members in the U.S. total.
In fact, there aren’t enough undocumented immigrants, period:
…during his campaign, Trump spoke of deporting 15 million or even up to 20 million people, despite estimates from the Pew Research Center indicating that between 11 and 12 million undocumented immigrants reside in the US.
It was obvious all along that Carol and people like her would be targeted – that Trump’s voters were, in fact, voting to deport moms.
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels. Each panel shows a frizzy-haired guy, and in each panel he’s in a different setting talking to a different person.
PANEL 1
Frizzy and a woman in a green shirt are on a downtown sidewalk.
WOMAN: I voted for Trump, but I didn’t know he’d deport good moms like Carol.
FRIZZY: And now that you know, you’ll vote for someone who’ll fix it, right?
WOMAN: Eh.
PANEL 2
Frizzy and a sad-looking man in a blue baseball cap and American flag t-shirt are sitting at a bar.
MAN: We all love Carol. She’s so honest and hard working. What they did to her is just awful.
FRIZZY: Exactly! So next time you’ll vote for someone for giving people like Carol legal ways to stay?
MAN: Well…
PANEL 3
Frizzy is standing in front of a church, talking to an anxious woman wearing a nice dress.
WOMAN: Carol’s a regular at church! And such a big heart! She doesn’t belong in a detention center.
FRIZZY: Um… So now you’ll vote differently?
WOMAN: I didn’t say that.
PANEL 4
In a park, a man in a plaid shirt looks a little downcast; Frizzy is yelling and in a panic.
MAN: I can’t believe they’re doing this to Carol. Poor Carol.
FRIZZY: SO NOW YOU’LL VOTE DIFFERENTLY RIGHT?!?
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is an archaic cartoonists’ term for unimportant but fun details in the art.
PANEL 1 – The bus sign says “14 to the cool people.” (Mike used to live near, and I still live near, the number 14 bus line).
The sign in the store window says “50% OFF! All 50% off signs now 50% off.”
A child in the store window is holding up a handmade sign saying “trapped plees call mommy.” An ad on the bus stop bench shows a grinning man, and says “LAWYER ready to sue your pants off since 2019.” Small print on the bench says “blah blah blah Bob Loblaws law blog blah money money gimmie gimmie (503) 867-5309.”
Poster on wall says “That Old Band From Your Youth – Surprisingly Still Alive Tour,” with a picture of a walker in a spotlight.
Another poster says “WANTED For Crimes Against Inking,” with a picture of a badly-drawn face surrounded by ink splatters.
A coffee cup on the ground says “Cap’n Boomer,” a Moby Dick reference.
PANEL 2 – A poster on the wall says “Putz Blue Ribbon swill.”
The mustache man has a tattoo of Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony. His hat has the logo of the UCI (University of California Irvine) Anteaters, except it says UTI. His beer is called “Lowlife.”
A man in the background is wearing a “KPop Demon Hunter.”
There’s gum stuck under the counter.
Under the counter are three rats. The first rat has a mustache and is holding a tiny beer bottle, like the mustache man above him. The second is playing darts. The third is exploring the inside of a mug.
PANEL 3 – The church has a “Church of Christian Love” sign with room for three notices to be pinned to it. The first notice: “Liberals, homos and trans stay out!” The second: “Monday Rapture.” The third: “Tuesday Potluck.”
PANEL 4 – There’s a person sitting high in a tree in the background. In the other tree, Beaker from the Muppets is peeking out of a hollow.
This reminds me of Orlando Figes’ “Whisperers”. Even interviewing survivors of Stalin’s purges in the 2000s, people who had lost husbands, wives, lovers, children, colleagues, etc etc, many of them nonetheless still took the line that “They made some mistakes, but the purges were a good thing and Stalin was a great leader”.
And you’re right Barry, in a way it does show principles to stick with your convictions even when you’re personally confronted with the downside.
It’s just a shame those principles weren’t deployed for something more worthwhile.