Cartoonist, troupe join forces for political satire

At first, political cartoonist Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher and The Second City comedy troupe might not seem like a natural fit for a double-bill.

After all, Kallaugher, who draws cartoons for The Economist, works primarily solo, and his work appears in a highbrow publication. Second City, the Chicago-based improv troupe, depends in part on a rowdy audience for its comedy ideas.

But last fall Kallaugher and Second City got together for a night of improv skits, mixed with what the artist calls his "stand-up cartoonist routine." It was such a hit that they've taken it on the road. "The Art of Political Satire" comes to Duke University on Thursday night.

"We thought we'd carry it on in this crazy election year," said Kallaugher, who just celebrated his 30th anniversary at The Economist.

A lot has changed in cartooning during the last three decades. Kallaugher, who is 53 and lives outside Baltimore, has seen digital media alter the definition of political cartooning. Instead of ducking it, Kallaugher formed his own animation company.

Thursday's performance will feature a digital debate that he created between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. "To me, this is the political cartoon of the 21st century," he said.

"The traditional political cartoonist is a huge one-man band. You're the scriptwriter, you cast the characters. You design the sets. You do the lighting, you do everything."

With movies, "you become a CEO on top of everything else." The key, Kallaugher said, was surrounding himself with talented people who uphold the same high comedy standards that he does.

This November, the cartoonist will be back on the Duke campus as a visiting artist, creating a sculpture to commemorate the election.

The 2008 election will cap the George W. Bush years, which were a "bit of a roller-coaster ride in the realm of satire," Kallaugher said. "The 2000 election was itself one giant cartoon."

Remember hanging chads?

Then came Sept. 11, and for awhile, funny was verboten. Criticizing the administration was held to be unpatriotic, which didn't set well with Kallaugher.

"I've always held the belief that you could judge the maturity of a democracy by the amount of satire it can endure," he said.

"We went through some testy times there. But I'm happy to say some years later, that we've shown our mettle. Because we now have pretty vibrant satire, I think, on the left and the right."