Editorial cartoons of the day captured the public fear and focus on the 1918 influenza pandemic well into the 1920s. The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic demonstrated that the threat of a novel strain can occur at any time. Excluding pandemics, the 2017-2018 flu season was the deadliest on record for children with 172 associated deaths.

The works of three prominent Iowa cartoonists and their spin on the flu are featured. The Pulitzer Prize-winning Ding Darling worked for the Des Moines Register for more than 40 years and was also a nationally known conservationist.

Fellow Pulitzer winner Frank Miller drew editorial cartoons for the Des Moines Register for 30 years.

Like his colleagues, Brian Duffy worked 25 years for the Des Moines Register before joining the Des Moines CITYVIEW and becoming a syndicated cartoonist.

“Among the holiday guests being widely entertained in our midst,” Ding Darling, 1932“We have met the enemy and we are theirs.” Ding Darling, 1928“The seven stages of flu,” Ding Darling, 1923“Flu 1,” Brian Duffy, 1991. “The swine flu,” Frank Miller, 1976 “Flu,” Brian Duffy, 1991