Chris Madden Cartoons

A searchable archive for licensing

Covid-19 coronavirus cartoon – lockdown enforcement

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coronavirus covid-19 lockdown enforcement cartoon

Covid-19 coronavirus cartoon – enforcing the lockdown.

As part of the coronavirus lockdown people are allowed outside only for limited reasons, one being taking exercise.
In city parks the police have been moving people on who they see sitting on park benches, as this is not exercise.

A cartoon about policing the lockdown, social isolating.
Drawn: April 2020
Cartoon reference number: a772
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Coronavirus cartoon – conspiracy theories and myths about how covid-19 started

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coronavirus myth cartoon

Covid-19 coronavirus cartoon – a myth about how it started.

A cartoon about the myth that the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic started because the virus was released from a lab in China.

The person in the cartoon is saying “Here’s a REALLY worrying virus-myth statistic – an incredible 75% of the population don’t believe it started in a lab!”
The point of the cartoon is that people who believe that the virus started in a lab are just as certain that they are right as the people who believe that it wasn’t. The believers in the theory think that they are clear-sighted enough to see round the official obfuscation about the matter.
A cartoon about conspiracy theories, gullibility, psychological delusion.
Drawn: April 2020
Cartoon reference number: a773

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Covid-19 coronavirus cartoon – pandemic face mask message

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coronavirus cartoon

Covid-19 coronavirus cartoon.

The cartoon showing a person wearing a face mask because of the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic.

The face mask displays the slogan “Keep Calm and Carry on”.
The cartoon is intended to be a positive cartoon about how to deal with the psychological consequences of the pandemic.
Drawn: 6 March 2020
Cartoon reference number: a771

 

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Health and safety in the creative arts – cartoon

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Health and safety in the creative arts cartoon

Health and safety in the creative arts cartoon.

A cartoon showing a sculptor (in classical Greece?) at the top of a very precarious ladder carving a gigantic sculpture from a block of stone.
An official from Health and Safety wants a word with him about his working practice.
Health and safety is of course an issue in the creative arts, with issues such as the use of dangerous equipment (such as long ladders, sharp chisels etc) and toxic materials (such as some paints, glues and other chemicals).

Cartoon drawn: 2019
Cartoon reference number: art109

See my book of cartoons about art here.

Cartoon – the medicalisation of personality disorders (and of normal personality traits)

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medicalisation of deviant behaviour cartoon

Medicalisation of deviant behaviour cartoon
The nature v nurture debate on human personality
Neurological origins of behavioural traits

A cartoon about the tendency to invoke medical reasons for deviant personality traits, for abnormal personality traits or even for normal aspects of personality.
It shows one aspect of the nature v nurture debate

An illustration about the medicalization of behaviour. This may include behavioural syndromes ranging from psychopathic tendencies and deviance to conditions such as hyperactivity, ADHD (attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder), rebelliousness or non-conformity.
In this cartoon I’ve invented a medical condition that is being used by a parent to justify her child’s aberrant or antisocial behavior

The cartoon reflects the tendency to claim, for instance, that particular parts of dna are responsible for criminal behaviour – thus removing responsibility from the person and placing it on the dna
The image is not meant to imply that there is no neurological basis for behaviour, just that it can sometimes be used as an excuse for bad behaviour
The subject of neurological origins for criminal behaviour is dealt with in the book The Anatomy of Violence by Adrian Raine

The cartoon was first published in Prospect magazine in May 2013

Ref a591
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League tables cartoon

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league table cartoon

League tables cartoon
A government department creating a league table of league tables

A cartoon about society’s obsession with league tables.

League tables exist in education, with school league tables, hospitals and more
Cartoon reference number: a532
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Anti-vax cartoon

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vaccination cartoon anti-vax

Anti-vax cartoon

A cartoon about anti-vaxxers and anti-vax conspiracy theories.
Anti-vax conspiracy theories are common at the time of writing (2020).
This cartoon however was drawn in 2007 (I think) for a BBC science magazine for an article about vaccine scare hysteria created by media driven hysteria over health issues. I think that was traditional media in those days, not social media as it would be now.
The cartoon shows a doctor looking at a hyperdermic syringe and thinking “One of the side effects of this vaccine will be a hysterical reaction in the media.”

A joke about medicine, doctors, hypodermic syringes, vaccinations, anti-vax, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories.

Cartoon drawn: 2007

Cartoon reference number: a530
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Safeguarding against litigation in the health service

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health service litigation cartoon

Safeguarding against litigation in the health service – cartoon

An illustration depicting excessive health tests being done on a patient in order to guard against the possibility of later litigation against negligent health care

A cartoon about litigation culture, lawsuits against health services, doctors, hospitals.
This cartoon was originally drawn to illustrate an article in the BBC magazine Knowledge
Cartoon reference number: a527
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Health statistics cartoon

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dentist drilling down to statistics cartoon

Health statistics cartoon
A cartoon showing a dentist ‘drilling down’ to find health statistics

The cartoon shows a man in a dentist’s surgery

The joke is in the pun on the term ‘drilling down’
Cartoon reference number: a525
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Government health advice – cartoon

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government health advice cartoon

Government health advice cartoon
A cartoon about official health advice

A cartoon showing a man standing on weighing scales, with the scales breaking due to the great weight of the book of health guidelines that the man is holding.

A cartoon about excessive health guidelines, the nanny state, health and safety guidelines
Cartoon reference number: a524
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Norovirus cartoon – winter vomiting virus cartoon

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norovirus cartoon

Norovirus cartoon
Winter vomiting virus cartoon

A cartoon about the annual recurrence of epidemics of the winter vomiting virus or norovirus

The cartoon is about the way that the press or media report the spread of the illness. The press has a tendency to distort statistics and to inflate risks for the sake of a good story, so it’s sometimes hard to know what the real risks from epidemics such as the norovirus (or bird flu, etc) really are.
Cartoon reference number: a503

Dieting cartoon

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dieting - stamping on diet book - cartoon

Dieting cartoon – a dieter stamping on a diet book in which the diets don’t work

A cartoon about dieting and diets

A cartoon showing a dieter stamping on a diet book.
Cartoon about weight, weight watchers, obesity, overweight people, bathroom scales
Cartoon reference number: a435
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Health and safety gone mad – cartoon

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Health and safety gone mad cartoon

Cartoon. Health and safety gone mad.

A cartoon about the petty rules and over-zealous implementation of laws concerning health and safety regulations.

A humorous illustration showing an officious official making a judgement on a health and safety issue. A child wrapped in cottonwool to protect it from danger – but the cotton wool leaves the child’s face exposed to danger.

Cartoon reference number: a423

Optician cartoon. A cartoon about people’s worlds being limited to their phone

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eye test phone cartoon

Cartoon about people’s lives being limited to their cell phones or mobile phones

A cartoon about people’s over-reliance on phones and obsession with phones

Cartoon showing someone having their eyes tested at an opticians.
The person is looking at an eye chart and is saying “Why would I need to be able to see something so far away from my phone?”

A cartoon about people’s worlds being limited to their phones, opticians, eye tests, optometry cartoon, optometrist cartoon, ophthalmic opticians, ophthalmology, mobile phones, iPhones, tunnel vision, eyesight, shortsightedness, phone addiction, soart phones.

Cartoon reference number: a374
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Dalek cartoons. Daleks and stairs cartoon – using a wheelchair access ramp

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dalek cartoon - stairs and disabled access

Dalek cartoon
Daleks using a wheelchair access ramp instead of stairs

This dalek cartoon is based on a well known dalek cartoon by cartoonist Birkett that appeared in Punch in 1981.
In the original cartoon the daleks were thwarted in their ambition to conquer the universe by a flight of steps or stairs, as daleks are famously of limited or restricted mobility (as they are basically motorised wheelchairs).
In my updated version there is a wheelchair access ramp alongside the stairs, allowing them to now conquer the universe.
When the original Birkett cartoon was drawn there weren’t as many wheelchair ramps or as much awareness of disabled access. Part of the joke in this cartoon is that the daleks can now conquer the universe because of the well intentioned increase in handicapped or disabled access (an example of unintentional consequences).

Cartoon drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: a371
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Dalek cartoons. Dalek limited mobility

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daleks restricted mobility cartoon

Dalek cartoon
For daleks restricted mobility is no obstacle to trying to conquer the universe

This week on tv the daleks were in Dr Who and the paralympics were taking place.
The daleks famously have restricted mobility, as they are basically motorised wheelchairs.
The paralympics show a positive approach to disability, so it seems right to point out that the daleks are a positive role model for the disabled too, as their limited mobility is no impediment to their attempts to conquer the universe.

Cartoon reference number: a370

Deafness cartoon or hard of hearing cartoon

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deafness cartoon

Deafness or hard of hearing cartoon

A cartoon about the way that for deaf people or people with hearing difficulties it can be hard to hear what other people are saying, especially in social situations where several people are talking at once or where there’s a lot of background noise.

A cartoon about hearing impairment, impaired hearing, hearing aids, social disadvantage.
Cartoon reference number: a348
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Medical budget increases – cost of medicine cartoon

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health spending increasing graph cartoon

Health spending increasing – cartoon.
Increases in health spending caused by increased use of prescription drugs

Cartoon showing doctors and medical staff rolling a pill or tablet up a graph

A cartoon about the cost of medicine, the burden on the health services of the cost of medical treatment
Cartoon drawn: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a331b

Health budget – health spending increases cartoon

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health spending rolling pill up graph cartoon

Health spending increasing – cartoon.
Increases in health spending caused by increased use of prescription drugs

Cartoon showing doctors and medical staff rolling a pill up a graph

A cartoon about the cost of medicine, the burden on the health services of the cost of medical treatment
Cartoon reference number: a331
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Health and Safety cartoon – Health and Safety gone mad cartoon

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health and safety manual - cartoon

Health and Safety cartoon
Health and Safety gone mad cartoon

Cartoon showing a health and safety manual that is so full of petty health and safety regulations that it is too heavy to pick up without violating health and safety rules

Cartoon about the health and safety society, manuals, litigation society.
Cartoon reference number: a327
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How to deal with the impact of an aging population

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aging population encourage smoking - cartoon

Aging population cartoon.

How to deal with the problem of an aging population

The comic suggests that a way to reduce the impact of an aging population is to encourage people to smoke more cigarettes, thus reducing the number of people who live to an old age.

The joke is that while these campaigns are normally about trying to improve people’s health, such as by campaigning to stop them smoking, the one depicted here is to encourage a method of shortening people’s lives by taking up smoking.
A cartoon about increasing numbers of pensioners, demographics, health policy, health education, anti-smoking campaigns, the tobacco industry.

Cartoon reference number: a317
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Gene doping cartoon or illustration. Will gene doping occur in the 2012 Olympics?

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dna gene doping syringe illustration

Gene doping cartoon or illustration

A cartoon about gene doping in sport, Olympics gene doping. Genetic manipulation in competitive sport.

The illustration shows a hypodermic syringe with a double helix strand of dna inside it

Gene doping is defined by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as the non-therapeutic use of cells, genes, or genetic elements to improve athletic performance.
Gene manipulation for muscle enhancement in athletics and other sport has bioethical implications similar to those involved in chemical doping and other methods of gaining an unfair advantage over sporting competitors.
Genetic manipulation in athletics and other sport may include ways of increasing muscle growth, altering blood characteristics, increasing endurance, enhancing oxygen dispersal and reducing pain perception.
A cartoon or illustration about gene therapy, genetic manipulation, ethics of gene doping.

Cartoon reference number: a232
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Joke about the arrival of summer – the first swallow and first hay fever sneeze

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first swallow and first hay fever sneeze joke

Cartoon about the arrival of summer – the first swallow arriving at the same time as the first hay fever sneeze

Showing gardeners in a garden seeing the first swallow of summer and hearing the first hay fever sneeze at the same time.

Traditionally it’s the sound of the first cuckoo that heralds the summer, however cuckoos are now becoming rarer. Meanwhile, hay fever is becoming more common, so the sound of a hay fever sneeze is replacing the call of the cuckoo as the harbinger of summer.
A cartoon about allergies, seasons.
Cartoon reference number: a207

See my book of gardening cartoons here.

Hospital garden cartoon – a sickly plant put on a drip

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hospital garden cartoon

Hospital garden cartoon – plant on a drip

Hospital garden cartoon – showing a sickly plant that has been put on a drip

A cartoon showing a doctor in the garden of a hospital. He has noticed that one plant looks sickly, so he’s put it on a drip.
A cartoon about ways of supplying nutrients to garden plants. Drip mechanisms are a common method of irrigating crops or of watering garden plants, so the drip joke isn’t actually very far fetched.
Drawn: Oct 2007

Cartoon reference number: a171
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Psychiatry and therapy cartoon

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Cartoon -mind your head - therapist

Therapy cartoon.

Cartoon about the sometimes unnecessary use of therapy and psychiatry.
This isn’t a criticism of all therapy and psychiatry by the way, despite appearances. It’s more a questioning of some of the characteristics of some of the practices – their philosophies, policies, politics and so on.

A cartoon about counselling, therapy, psychiatrists.
Cartoon reference number: a093
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Cartoon about death. The grim reaper approaching

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Cartoon. The figure of death approaching

Cartoon about death and the grim reaper.

Cartoon about death and the grim reaper. The grim reaper approaching some people who are trying to avoid him – but they are getting older and slower and won’t be able to outrun him for long.

A cartoon about mortality, death, time running out, intimations of mortality, old age.
Cartoon reference number: a088

There’s another version of this cartoon here.

Therapy cartoon. If you’re too happy perhaps you need therapy

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Cartoon - you're too contented - you need therapy

Psychotherapy (or just plain therapy) Cartoon. Happiness cartoon.

Therapy cartoon – showing a woman saying to her partner “I’m worried about how contented you seem – I think you need therapy”
She is over analysing people’s moods and even diagnosing happiness or being happy as a mental condition that requires treatment.

Happiness cartoon. A cartoon about the potential over use of therapy, analysis, counselling, psychology, psychiatry, psychotic states.
Cartoon reference number: a086

Anti-smoking cartoon parody of 1980s John Player Special cigarette advertising campaign

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Cigarette advert parody illustration

An anti smoking cartoon that parodies cigarette advertising.

This is an anti-smoking cartoon parody of a cigarette advertising campaign for John Player Special cigarettes in the early 1980s.

The cigarette packets were black, and the advertising campaign relied on a number of visual puns and word plays on the word black (using the similarity between the words ‘black’ and ‘back’) – word plays such as “Black chat” (with a photo of two packs of cigarettes looking as though they were talking to each other) and “Flash black” (with a photograph of a cigarette packet surrounded by flashes of lightning).
My parody or spoof advert used similar plays on the word black, but giving it a negative spin such as by using the term “Black death” (with a skull made out of cigarette packets), “Black to the land” (i.e. being in a grave, with a cigarette packet as a gravestone) “Blackstabber” (being stabbed in the back with a cigarette) and “Black against the wall” (being against a wall with a firing squad – the bullets being cigarettes).
This is an anti-smoking cartoon or illustration that was drawn when cigarettes were still advertised on bill boards or advertising hoardings in Britain.
An extra touch in the illustration is the figure who is walking out of the cartoon to the left. It is a figure who is wheeling a shopping basket in the form of a John Player Special cigarette packet. The hand clutching the basket is a skeleton, because the figure is death.
A cartoon against the tobacco industry.

 

Cartoon reference number: a064

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