Building caricature

Developing a new caricature requires some serious face time. You don’t just capture the presidential essence of, say, Dennis Kucinich or Sam Brownback in one sitting. And with nearly two dozen 2008 candidates taxing our creativity, cartoonists welcome a blast from the past. So Paul Combs’ Ronald Reagan-under-glass and Tony Auth’s over-the-shoulder Richard Nixon float off their pens as comfortably as … well, as Chip Bok’s Jimmy Carter slipping into his vintage cardigan. Three jeers for the news cycle, recycled.

— Joel Pett