[Publisher’s note: I’m happy to re-introduce the weekly Friday Cartoon! We’ll publish these every Friday and we hope you enjoy them. Thanks — Jonathan]
– Illustration by Mark Markovich
– Concept by Jonathan Maus
– Related story
– See past cartoons here.
Almost seems like the message is that cyclists are getting special rights.
I tend to agree, especially considering the recent controversy about kid trailers. That ambulance turned over is harsh.
I interpret it as a statement about about the paranoia in our culture surrounding cycling and how ostensibly dangerous it is, when driving is just as if not more so, and automobiles and the way in which our auto culture operates are what cause most transit-related danger.
Reminds me that Kidical Mass is tomorrow!
http://kidicalmasspdx.org/
Hilarious and topical!
Car-centric. WTF Johnathan?
excellent. love this feature.
40,000 automobile related deaths per year is harsh. Thank goodness our elected officials are here to save us.
Yeah, it took me awhile to get the joke here; that despite all the concern being expended on how safe bikes are to be riding around…and many of the opinion they’re not safe to be riding around in traffic, the reality is that it’s the motor vehicles that are crashing into each other…and nailing the occasional cyclist (check the cartoon closely, or enlarge it…there’s one in the pile!).
That’s how I saw it, but it took a minute or so for me to appreciate it, which I think speaks for the message of it. All this wreckage piled up and the suite is concerned about some guy towing his mini-me that was not even involved instead of addressing the real problem.
And I actually see three possible bikes so there’s plenty of carnage for everyone 😉
Thanks for the comments everyone. We initially had to stop this feature because we were unable to pay for it. We still can’t really afford to pay Mark for this but we strongly believe in the value and importance of this feature… not to mention Mark Young has been kind enough to be flexible with his compensation (thanks Mark!).
What I’m trying to say is that, please consider supporting our work with a one-time or recurring tip. I plan to increase calls for support in the coming week, but figured I’d start here.
This site survives because a handful of businesses believe in our work and pay rent to appear on these pages. We have big plans and we can’t accomplish them without support from readers. I decided to bring this feature back because I know I can count on you to help us fund it. Thank you.
I love these bikey cartoons, I’m glad they’re back.
I saw a woman pulling 2 kids on trailer behind her moped… on a small flat bed trailer with no back guard, and both kids holding giant umbrellas! I think PDX has way to many unstable parents, but more regulation… who needs it.
Lots of different ways to interpret this cartoon, depending upon one’s perspective. I like it.
I like it, too.
I see a politician telling a man on a bike towing his child that his actions are dangerous– but ignoring the elephant in the room in the form of all the vehicles that crash every year. There’s no data that shows kids in trailers/on trail-a-bikes/in bike seats are in danger of death or injury, but there’s a lot of data about the dangers of motorized vehicles. Which no one has the guts to take on.
Maybe it’s funny because the cyclist just dosen’t see the dangers in front of him, like the bike in the middle of the wreck.
Still not that funny though, wrecked school bus, dead children, no ambulance… not funny
“…because the cyclist just dosen’t see the dangers in front of him, …” jim
Ah-h-h. that’s one possibly valid way to look at what the cartoon might be saying; the cartoon reflecting how some cyclists carrying their kids around in those child carrying bike bumpers, may be blithely imagining some sort of mystical bubble of safety surrounds them and their kids in the bike trailer towed behind their bikes.