Ohio State alumnus reflects on Russia-Ukraine war with political cartoons

Nick Anderson, an Ohio State alumnus and political cartoonist, has been using cartoons to depict his takes on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Credit: Courtesy of Nick Anderson

Nick Anderson is using his platform as a political cartoonist to depict his takes on Russian forces invading Ukraine. 

Anderson, a 1990 Ohio State alumnus and former Lantern cartoonist from 1985 to 1990, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who has drawn for publications such as The Washington Post and the Houston Chronicle. He is currently the managing editor for the nonprofit publication Reform Austin News and manages a newsletter called Counterpoint, which aims to showcase political cartoons from artists on all points of the political spectrum. 

Anderson said he believes it is important to draw attention to significant global events such as the war in Ukraine, and one way he has found himself able to do that is through political cartoons. 

“I’ve always taken the attitude that an editorial cartoonist is just supposed to get people thinking, to provoke thought through either it makes you angry, or it makes you laugh,” Anderson said. “One way or another, I hope that it gets you thinking.”

Anderson, who has previously drawn comics on topics such as the apocalyptic nature of 2020 and the Iraq War, said he wants to shed light on the conflict in Ukraine through his cartoons because he believes Ukraine represents Western and democratic values against totalitarianism. 

“If this is allowed to succeed, I don’t know where it ends,” he said. “We have this larger context in which authoritarianism is again on the rise and is becoming more popular around the world.”

Striking the right balance of humor and seriousness in political cartoons can be challenging, Anderson said. However, when dealing with situations such as the war in Ukraine, he tends to focus less on humor and more on the gravity of the situation. 

He said this can also be tricky because his cartoons do not always sit well with everyone. Anderson said one of his more recent cartoons, which depicted Russian president Vladimir Putin’s evacuation corridors — routes meant to temporarily allow Ukrainians to flee during a cease-fire — received quite a bit of negative attention. 

Anderson’s cartoon titled “The Meat Grinder” depicts Anderson’s interpretation of what Putin’s evacuation corridors are like for Ukrainians. Credit: Courtesy of Nick Anderson

“Obviously, this one was not funny at all, and it was more poignant, and I like cartoons like that in a situation like this,” Anderson said. 

Jenny Robb, head curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, said striking the balance between humor and the gravity of a subject is something each cartoonist deals with in their own way. 

“I think there are times when serious subjects don’t lend themselves well to certain types of humor and cartoons,” Robb said. “But I do think it is important for cartoonists to strike that balance, and no topic should necessarily be off-limits.”

Robb said political cartoonists have a unique way of making people think about issues differently than a news article or op-ed might. Although Anderson said he received criticism from his Patreon and newsletter readers about the cartoon, he stands by it. 

“I did have a few readers say, ‘That’s way too much for this, that’s way too graphic and upsetting,’ and I have no problem upsetting people,” Anderson said. “I don’t think it was over the top. I felt like it was a good depiction of what’s going on and not funny at all, but that — in this circumstance — I think it was called for.” 

A lot of the success of political cartoons stems from cartoonists being able to communicate a message using tools such as satire, symbols and caricature, which can sometimes be a far cry from humor but make people think deeply about a particular issue or event, Robb said.

“One thing that makes them different is the striking visual commentary that they can provide,” Robb said. “And even though cartoons do simplify reality or distort reality, I believe that they can make us see things, in some ways, more clearly.”