Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year #1978

The 1978 edition of this long-running annual, edited by Charles Brooks, brings together the sharpest political cartooning from a year packed with controversy. The cover illustration — printed in striking red and black — shows a single caricatured figure tumbling and sprawling repeatedly across labeled panels: "Lance Downfall," "Tax Reform," "Energy Plan," "Panama Canal," and a wry caption reading "And They Said Ford Was Clumsy!" capturing the pratfall-prone political climate of the Carter era in one brilliantly economical image. It's a warm and witty snapshot of American editorial cartooning at its most pointed, making this anthology an entertaining record of 1978's big debates and stumbles.