In a year where the news often felt too surreal to parody, The Guardian's editorial cartoonists have risen to the challenge, producing powerful work that captures the absurdity and brutality of 2025. From the spectacle of Donald Trump's return to office to the ongoing horrors in Gaza, the material was endless, if difficult to navigate.
A Year Bordered on the Absurd
The Guardian spoke to award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Ben Jennings about the unique challenges of the past twelve months. Jennings described the period as a "double-edged sword" for satirists, where events were so farcical they risked becoming self-satirising. "We had the return of Donald Trump 2.0h-no to keep cartoonists busy," he noted, adding that the former president's existence often felt like a satire of America itself.
The publication has compiled a list of the twelve most powerful cartoons of the year. The selection includes seven personal favourites chosen by Jennings, complete with his commentary, with the remaining five chosen by The Guardian's editorial team.
Highlights from a Surreal News Cycle
The curated list begins aptly with Martin Rowson's January illustration, which encapsulated a decade of attacks on free speech, from the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack to Jeff Bezos's acquisition of The Washington Post.
Jennings's own contributions to the list reflect the year's dominant themes. His cartoon for the 80th anniversary of VE Day was his pick for best encapsulating the political mood, juxtaposing remembrance with contemporary escalating conflicts. "Surely a big part of remembering is to try to avoid anything like that happening again," Jennings remarked, "but unfortunately it can now feel like history is beginning to repeat itself."
Other standout works address a wide range of issues. Ella Baron's poignant piece marked the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while Madeline Horwath tackled the pervasive threat of AI to human creativity. The extreme wealth of billionaires was skewered in Jennings's cartoon of Jeff Bezos's lavish Venice wedding, which he described as a moment that highlighted growing demands for effective taxation.
The Challenge of Visualising Conflict and Change
Jennings was candid about the difficulty of finding fresh ways to depict protracted crises. "What has been harder is finding new ways to approach and visualise some of the conflicts we've seen over the past year, such as the recurring horrors in Gaza," he said. His stark cartoon on starvation in Gaza is included in the dozen.
Closer to home, Labour's rocky first year in government and the national obsession with flags provided rich material. The list also features Pete Songi's work on the UK's recognition of Palestine and Ella Baron's illustration of Zohran Mamdani's historic New York City mayoral victory.
Looking ahead, Jennings revealed he is compiling a book of his cartoons from the past decade, covering momentous events from the pandemic to Brexit. As for what 2026 will bring to his drawing board? "We'll have to see what happens!" he concluded.
The full collection serves as a potent, visual chronicle of a tumultuous year, proving that even in an age of overwhelming absurdity, the sharp pen of the political cartoonist remains an essential tool for critique and comprehension.
