Political Cartoon: They Think They Own The Road!

This is my September political cartoon for Barry.

In recent years, I’ve become involved with local organizing efforts around safer streets. I’ve had some galvanizing experiences, like witnessing a hit and run during a group bike ride on the way to a memorial for victims of traffic violence. Another time, a driver in front of me stopped at a stop sign, signaled a left turn, and drove directly into a cyclist who had the right of way. The cyclist was okay, just bruised. I stuck around, and the driver a) exclaimed that the cyclist had come out of nowhere and b) asked if the cyclist and I had been riding together. I was like “…No? He was across the street from you, and I’ve been right behind you for a minute or so?!?!” Drawing panel 2 was very cathartic for me.

This comic was a beast to lay out. It was tough to decide on the placement of characters and vehicles so that the conversation flowed naturally. Which direction is the reader looking? How could the driver of the car be on the reader’s left (and therefore speaking first) in panel 1? If they’re leaning out the driver’s side window, the truck that’s pulled over will be on the passenger side of the car, and there will be a ton of wasted space between the two drivers. If we’re viewing the vehicles from the front, the truck will be on our left. But then the truck driver’s word balloon would be read first. And so on.

This cartoon languished in our unfinished folder for months because I couldn’t figure out the layout for the life of me. The answer came to me on my commute. 

Looking south from the Hawthorne Bridge over SE 3rd Ave

There’s a spot on the Hawthorne bridge where drivers have to cross the eastbound bike lane to get to an exit ramp. The bureau of transit has been adding green paint, white flex-posts, and yellow signs for the past few years. They’re still considering other ways to make that crossing less dicey. The real-life placement of the warning signs and lights was perfect for framing the driver’s face in panel 2.

Sadly, this cartoon still received comments like "The bike rider probably ran a stop sign" and "They should've been in the bike lane"

Once I had that location in mind, I went on google street view and took a bunch of screenshots looking in all directions. I dropped different views of the intersection into each panel, looking for the best way to convey what was going on. In retrospect, the staging I went with seems obvious, but I only found it after much experimentation. That’s how it works sometimes.

Thanks, as always, for supporting me on Patreon. And Happy belated Halloweeeeen!

Steal this look! First, help organize the costume storage at the children's theater where you work. Then ask to borrow Naomi's horns.