If...



Steve Bell's If... is a daily cartoon strip which has run in the Guardian since early 1982. Born as an intentionally subversive comment on The Falklands War and initially starring a mutinous sailor called Kipling and the Falklands penguin he befriends during the war, the strip has gone from strength to strength over its very nearly thirty years and shows no sign of flagging.

Left-wing in concept and intention, the If strip has consistently and regularly provided cheer to those despairing that Thatcherism would ever end, and has provided satirical ammunition against every British prime minister ever since. Thatcher herself, the "iron lady", became a soul-less robot with very obvious riveting. Her sucessor John Major became a barely functioning wimp wearing his underpants on the outside, Tony Blair is depicted as a bulging-eyed lunatic with control freakery issues, and the current prime minister David Cameron is a giant inflated condom full of hot air.

And through it all, there are penguins...

Tropes featured include:

 * British Frozen Rocks with Penguins and Landmines: The source of the penguins.
 * Toothy Bird: The penguins have teeth.