Joe Mohr’s cartoons often land in two stages: first comes the laugh, then the uneasy realization of what you just laughed at. The St. Louis-based cartoonist, illustrator and writer uses sarcasm and dark humor to tackle subjects many people would rather avoid, from politics to environmental destruction, social inequality and everyday hypocrisy.

Environmental themes run especially deep in his work. Mohr has drawn for publications such as Yes! magazine, Greenpeace and Cartoon Movement, and he created an environmental comic for kids called Hank D and the Bee, a fitting project for someone who also keeps bees. His drawings may look simple, but the dialogue is sharp and the punchlines rarely go where you expect, which is exactly why they stick. As Mohr puts it, he hopes readers will “laugh a lot, think a lot,” and, he adds with a wink, buy a few of his books too.

We’ve gathered a selection of his thought-provoking work below, proof that humor doesn’t have to be gentle to hit home.

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