Mike Thompson has been editorial cartoonist for the Detroit Free Press since 1998. A four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Thompson is winner of the 2017 Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartooning. Thompson is a two-time winner of the Society of Professional Journalists’ national award for cartooning, the Overseas Press Club Award, the National Press Foundation Award, the National Headliner Award, the Scripps Howard Award, and the national Women in Communications Clarion Award.

Political cartoons have been popular for hundreds of years. A blend of caricature and allusion, the political cartoon is a succinct medium to convey a message. What are the elements of a political cartoon? How are they created? What effect has the Trump presidency had on political cartoons? Join political cartoonist Mike Thompson for the answers.

This is the third in a six-lecture series. The subject is Humor, Comedy, and Laughter in Everyday Life and Beyond. The next lecture will be March 14, 2019. The subject is: From Mad to Memes: The History of Humor in Sequential Art.