Late August brings the familiar end-of-summer realization that warm weather and leisure time feel fleeting. The cartoon depicts an amusement park enforcing a one-ride-per-year policy on a coaster shaped like the word summer. The editorial position highlights how quickly the season passes and how little time remains for enjoyment.
Joe Heller's cartoon depicts summer amusement park visitors losing personal items on rides while a final panel shows a wallet being consumed by a gas pump. The July 2026 image highlights the financial strain of high gas prices during peak vacation season. Riders on a roller coaster, water slide and log flume each shout about missing belongings. The visual ties everyday summer activities to broader economic pressures from energy costs.
A four-panel illustration titled Big Wide Open Spaces places Death Valley, Utah Salt Flats, and the Grand Canyon next to the Great American State Fair. Each panel shows wide horizons in the natural settings while the fair panel includes a Ferris wheel, entrance gate, and tents. The comparison highlights scale differences between remote landscapes and a populated event ground. The piece appeared online on July 2, 2026.
The cartoon shows a rollercoaster car marked 'Market Madness' diving steeply, carrying two human figures with wild hair and open mouths, a black bull with horns looking concerned, and a brown bear clutching red tickets. This setup captures stock market volatility, with the bull and bear as classic symbols of rising and falling markets. Tags such as tariff, economy, Dow Jones, rollercoaster, and turbulence underscore the wild ride of financial ups and downs. The image keeps it simple, focusing on the immediate thrill and fear without deeper layers. Artistic style is bold and cartoonish, emphasizing the chaos in a clear, unambiguous way. No hidden meanings jump out; it's all about that market madness feel.
Jeff Koterba's cartoon shows a massive, angry dragon emblazoned with 'China' hovering threateningly over a chaotic roller coaster track. Below, a wide-eyed figure resembling Biden, topped with a stars-and-stripes hat, grips a cart labeled 'China Policy' as it dives steeply downward. The image captures the ups and downs of US foreign relations, with loops and drops symbolizing unpredictable diplomacy. Tags like Taiwan, Pelosi, and White House underscore the context of recent events, while the dragon represents Xi Jinping's influence. This straightforward satire nails the thrill-ride nature of Biden's approach, blending humor with pointed commentary on international tensions.
Jeff Koterba captures the chaos of 2018 politics in this roller coaster cartoon, where riders plummet down red tracks, their faces twisted in alarm. The speech bubble from one passenger confuses the 'govern by crisis' ride with the 'Wall Street' ride, tying into tags like government shutdown, Congress, and stock market. Amusement park elements underscore the wild ups and downs of economy and immigration issues. The illustration, dated December 18, 2018, uses bold lines and exaggerated expressions to satirize how political instability mirrors Wall Street volatility. This piece from the Omaha World-Herald blends humor with commentary on governing amid constant crises.
