Political cartoon showing "The Times" building with speech bubbles that say "Scandal after scandal, All I can Say is Four more Years" followed by "Why is he so happy" and then "He's the cartoonist."

Close-to-Home Cartoons: The Mike Smith Collection in UNLV Special Collections

Longtime newspaper cartoonist offers a unique view on local and national politics.

Political cartoons provide a brief sense of levity, especially in the heat of election season. Mike Smith has been the cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun since 1983. An exhibition on Smith’s work and coverage of the Oval Office over the decades is currently available on the first floor of Lied Library. Illustration by Mike Smith.

Political cartoons provide a brief sense of levity, especially in the heat of election season. Often critiquing both sides of the political aisle, caricatures of candidates and their follies help to push us through from one Election Day to the next.

Mike Smith has been the cartoonist for the Las Vegas Sun since 1983. He’s critiqued the candidates of 10 presidential elections throughout his career and is currently creating caricatures of an 11th set of candidates. An exhibition on Smith’s work and coverage of the Oval Office over the decades is currently available on the first floor of Lied Library. However, as a Nevadan, the cartoons included throughout his collection – available for research in UNLV Special Collections & Archives – often hit closer to home.  Here are just a few of Mike Smith’s cartoons covering topics other than those in federal office. 

Nevada

An illustration titled "The Definition of 'Safe' by the U.S. Energy Department." It shows the Titanic labelled as unsinkable, a Pinto car labelled as unburnable, and the Nevada Test Site labelled as unleakable.

Despite its long standing history in the state, Nevadans haven’t always been a fan of nuclear testing. This cartoon dates back to 1984 when Smith was only just starting out as the Sun’s cartoonist, even though it remains relevant to Nevada politics today. 

Las Vegas

Illustration of Las Vegas reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic showing two people in a swimming pool with speech bubbles "I've never seen pool water so clear." The responding bubble says "It's Purell."

 

An illustration of Las Vegas reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic. The drawing is of a person on a slot machine wearing a mask with a waitress asking "Cocktails? Masks? Hand sanitizer?"

As a Las Vegas resident for over forty years, Mike Smith hasn’t hesitated to joke about the town’s antics. When COVID-19 broke out in 2020, no one knew exactly what that meant for Las Vegas’s tourist economy, but Smith certainly had a few ideas for how we’d reopen.

UNLV

An illustration of a NCAA representative pointing at a large pair of feet wearing sneakers and UNLV socks. The NCAA representative's speech bubble says "Shoelaces untied! That's a rule violation! You're suspended!"

At the top of their game in the 90s, it was hard for anyone to ignore the Runnin’ Rebels, including Smith. While his cartoons often critique the happenings of the university, everyone could share in his frustration with the referee calls against our team.

Smith’s collection of cartoons features thousands more jests on topics ranging from Washington D.C. to our campus community. The collection can be viewed during normal operating hours at UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Topics:

campus life, our campus

Campus Units:

University Libraries,  Special Collections and Archives

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