How did World War I affect the subjects and audiences of cartoons?

World War I significantly altered the landscape of caricature and cartoon, shifting the tenor of pictorial comedy and expanding the reach of comic publications.

Impact on Subjects and Tone

The war introduced a shift in admissible subject matter, making previously forbidden topics fair game for artists. Cartoons produced during the conflict often served as a psychological mechanism to alleviate the pain of the struggle; for instance, British artist Bruce Bairnsfather’s "Old Bill" and his colleagues navigated the hardships of the war through humor.

Political caricature became excessively partisan during and after the war. While some artists, such as the Dutch caricaturist Louis Raemaekers, utilized a bitter and biting style to comment on the conflict, others maintained a more detached or satirical approach. This era also saw the emergence of the "cartoon of situation" or predicament, which focused on the frustrations of modern life—a theme that persisted as a way to dissolve tension through laughter.12

Changes in Audience

Following the war, the public for comic publications grew substantially. A new class of readers emerged, and even the "newly rich" became both a common subject for satire and a significant consumer base for comic weeklies. This period also saw the rise of sophisticated, theater-connected cartoonists who catered to an increasingly highbrow and upper-middle-brow audience, particularly through publications like The New Yorker.1