A strong tradition of editorial cartooning can be found throughout the world, in all political environments, including Cuba, Australia, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, Iran, France, Denmark, Canada and the United States.

R. K. Laxman, Sudhir Dar, Mario Miranda, E. P. Unny, Shekhar Gurera, Ajit Ninan are some of the popular editorial cartoonists, through their daily pocket cartoons.

Historically, the political cartoon has roots in ancient art forms such as prehistoric cave paintings or the hieroglyphs of Egypt, in terms of their role in informing society.

[2] Historically, political cartoons were quick, hand-drawn ink drawings, scanned and reproduced in black and white, and published in print newspapers.

The introduction of color came later, and more recently the use of digital drawing tools is a popular and efficient way to produce work quickly for newspaper deadlines.

In 2005, Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who participated in the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, received numerous death threats and was attacked in his home by a man with an axe.