The Yellow Peril

Maybe it's just my abysmal understanding of the nuances of fine comic art or, even more, conservative humor, but I really didn't know quite what to make of this:



See, this is the depiction of Chinese Premier Hu Jintao in Monday's Mallard Fillmore strip.

Note the buck teeth and thick coke-bottle glasses and slanted eyes?

Now, here's what Hu Jintao looks like in real life:



See much resemblance there? Nope, not much, is there?

But I did find someone else who it actually more closely resembles:



This was a caricature of a Japanese man named "Mr. Moto" in a Texaco ad that ran in newspapers the spring of 1942. It was a typical Asian caricature of the time. Nowadays, we call these caricatures "racist."

Unless, of course, you happen to peddle "conservative humor."

[Via The Scope and Crooks and Liars.]