Cartoons that Sergio Aragonés wrote and illustrated for MAD Magazine concerning police brutality -- one from as far back as 50 years ago -- are gaining new attention on social media in light of the Black Lives Matter protests that have erupted across the nation.
The panels are excerpted from larger spreads Aragonés created as part of the running "A MAD Look at..." series. On Twitter, writer Sean Kleefeld posted four panels from "Sergio Aragonés Takes a MAD Look at ... Protest Demonstrations" from MAD #132, published in January 1970.
They depict a hippie finding a "DOWN WITH COPS" protest sign lying on the ground. When the puzzled man picks it up, a quartet of helmeted police officers wielding batons swarm over him from around the corner. One places the sign back on the ground before the cops lie in wait for the next person to come along.
Other comic strips have surfaced across social media. On Facebook, such as "Sergio Aragonés on police brutality" from 1997. Taken from the feature "A MAD Look at Racism" in MAD #356, from April 1997, the four panels tell a quick, silent story. A young White man runs around a corner and leans against a wall next to two young Black men. Moments later, a police officer turns the corner and arrests the pair as the man he was chasing ambles away, whistling.
Other cartoons from those features seem to resonate with readers, reflecting key issues in today's current events concerning racial tensions, confrontations with police, protesters and civilians. Readers also note that Aragonés' comic strips demonstrate that these issues have not improved in the last century.