Thatch,' 'Frank and Earnest' and numerous editorial page cartoonists have been observing nuances and ironies of the investment world. Even those little wax paper comics that come with Bazooka bubble gum featured a stock-market joke. On the surface, it might not be immediately clear that the market's arrival in the comics is a bearish development because many of these portraits focus on losses. But a survey of several cartoonists has led us to conclude that when the market makes it to the funny papers, the message is bearish regardless of the cartoonists' theme. Cartoonists say they never mentioned the stock market much before because not enough people would get the joke.
Successful cartoonists make their living crystallizing the everyday experiences of life.
As for the loss-oriented nature of many cartoons, Tom Toles of the Buffalo News suggests that cartoonists are contrarian by nature. Profits aren't funny, but losses are. It is worth noting that whatever their natures, all four of the cartoonists surveyed said they were in the market.