{"id":27378,"date":"2024-07-09T12:15:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-09T19:15:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=27378"},"modified":"2025-10-15T12:49:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:49:38","slug":"comic-new-solutions-to-the-trolley-car-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/?p=27378","title":{"rendered":"Comic: New Solutions To The Trolley Car Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

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This cartoon is by me and Becky Hawkins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Becky writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had way too much fun with the details in this cartoon! In panel 4, the script said:<\/p>\n

Nearby, either on the ground or on the other end of the park bench, or on a branch in the background, are two pigeons, one posing and the other taking the first one’s photo.<\/p>\n

My brain translated that to: “Pigeon selfie. Pigeon selfie with food. Pigeon selfie with takeout food. PIGEON SELFIE WITH TAKEOUT POUTINE THAT FELL ON THE GROUND!”<\/p>\n

This is my favorite result from searching pigeon-photos:<\/p>\n

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I just realized the selfie pigeon and the libertarian have similar beanies. I too own a green beanie. The libertarian’s lamp, chair, records in crates, and whiskey\/reading nook aren’t mine, but I’ve lived under the same roof as them.<\/p>\n

I asked Barry over gChat: Can you think of anything funny for the not-presidential seal, other than the eagle\/olive branch\/arrows?<\/p>\n

Barry<\/em>: How about putting a different famous cartoon bird in each one? Daffy Duck, Tweety, Woodstock, Foghorn Leghorn, Opus the Penguin, Big Bird and Sam the Eagle are all possibilities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I chose Big Bird and Sam the Eagle because they contrast with each other and double as a commentary on the Democratic and Republican parties. I’m so happy with how the drawings came out!<\/p>\n

The Muppets were drawn free-hand, but I traced the trolley from this 1940s photo:<\/p>\n

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(I may have wasted some time trying to figure out which intersection in Portland that is. W Burnside around NW 19th, I believe.)<\/p>\n

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Gory isn’t really my thing. I didn’t consciously put off drawing the body pile and splatters until the last minute. But I had already drawn, colored, and shaded the entire rest of the comic before I started doodling body parts under the trolley.<\/p>\n

The trolleys were originally red like the ones in the photo. I changed them to light orange so the blood splatters would stand out more. I picked light orange after the famously cute trams in Lisbon, which are on my travel bucket list.<\/p>\n

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TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON<\/strong><\/p>\n

This cartoon has four panels. Each panel shows a different scene with one character in it. And each panel has a caption, in large letters, at the top. A large caption over the top of the entire strip says NEW SOLUTIONS TO THE TROLLEY CAR PROBLEM.<\/p>\n

PANEL ONE<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAPTION: REPUBLICANS<\/p>\n

A smiling, well-dressed woman with long hair stands behind a podium, gesturing to indicate a trolley car parked behind her. The trolley car is gory with blood spattered all over the front, and we can see bodies in a pile under the car.<\/p>\n

WOMAN: Cleaning blood off a trolley car is expensive! That’s why we’re proposing tax breaks for trolley car companies!<\/p>\n

PANEL TWO<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAPTION: LIBERTARIANS<\/p>\n

A man with a very thick orange beard, wearing a green knit cap and a plaid shirt, is sitting in his armchair at home and speaking directly to us, with an intense expression. He’s holding a joint in one hand and raising his I’m-making-an-important-point-now-forefinger with the other. Next to him one one side are a bunch of LP records stored in milk cartons; on the other side is a side table with a bottle of whisky, a whisky glass, and a thick book.<\/p>\n

MAN: Trolley car companies need freedom to choose who to run over without bureaucrats getting in the way! Deregulate now!<\/p>\n

PANEL THREE<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAPTION: DEMOCRATS<\/p>\n

This is the same scene as panel one, but now a frightened looking old man, wearing huge glasses, a jacket and a bow tie, is behind the podium. He is shaking and sweating a bit as he talks to us. His dialogue is split into three balloons.<\/p>\n

MAN: Something must be done!\u00a0Er, someday. Maybe. If no one disagrees. Gotta stay bipartisan!<\/p>\n

PANEL FOUR<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAPTION: TERFs<\/p>\n

A woman wearing a blue pantsuit, and with nicely-done short white hair, is sitting on a park bench, looking thoughtful.<\/p>\n

WOMAN (thought): One person’s life versus six people’s lives… Hmmm. Which choice hurts more trans people?<\/p>\n

CHICKEN FAT WATCH<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Chicken fat” is an old-timey cartoonists’ expression for fun but irrelevant details the cartoonist puts in.<\/p>\n

PANEL 1: The seal on the front of the Republican’s podium shows a stern Sam the Eagle from the Muppets, and the words going around the seal say “Resistance is Futile.”<\/p>\n

PANEL 2: There’s the classic kitten hanging from a branch poster in the background, but instead of “hang in there” it says “just fall already.” The book on the side table has the title “The Featherhead.”<\/p>\n

PANEL 3: The seal on the front of the Democrat’s podium shows a friendly Big Bird from the Muppets, and the words going around the seal say “Pretty Please Re-Elect Us.”<\/p>\n

PANEL 4: A takeout container of poutine has spilled on the ground; two pigeons are posing by it and taking a selfie using a tiny phone on a tiny selfie stick.<\/p>\n

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New Solutions To The Trolley Car Problem! | Patreon<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This cartoon is by me and Becky Hawkins. Becky writes: I had way too much fun with the details in this cartoon! In panel 4, the script said: Nearby, either on the ground or on the other end of the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,102,49,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cartooning-comics","category-conservative-zaniness-right-wingers-etc","category-lesbian-gay-bi-trans-and-queer-issues","category-transsexual-and-transgender-related-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27378"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27707,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27378\/revisions\/27707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amptoons.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}