Cameron MagariMrs. NelsonASH5.4.17Herblock ResponseTitledMr. Atomic- Island Footprint, this political cartoon tackles the issue of the ensuingarm race following World War Two, and in turn the non exclusivity of atomic weapons. Thecartoon was first published on August 29, 1949, when, just four years after America’s denotationof atomic weapons over Japan at the conclusion of the second world war, the Soviet Union testedits first atom bomb. While the detonation of the bomb itself was not of any particular surprise,the impact and symbolism in another country acquiring this technology of unimaginabledestructive power was just as significant. This was especially true as it was Russia who then hadnuclear weapons, and the growing Cold War pitted them against the United States. The cartoon,Mr. Atomic, was a recurring character in Herblock's political cartoons so his use in this comiccarried the context of past cartoons for many readers.
