Cartoonists react to Hebdo horror

CARTOONISTS and artists around the world reacted to the murders at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in the only way they know - by posting powerful and satirical images in defiance of the gunmen and in defence of freedom of speech.

Within hours of the deadliest terror attack on French soil for 50 years, in which 12 people were killed - including four of the satirical weekly’s cartoonists - and another 11 injured, drawings condemning the assault began appearing on social media sites such as Twitter, accompanied by the hashtags #JeSuisCharlie and #CharlieHebdo.

American cartoonist Randy Bish told his newspaper the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: “I figure we have a lot more pens than they have guns. They might have taken out a few cartoonists, but there are thousands more around the world who are ready to pick up the pen and pick up where they left off.”

One of the most widely shared drawings was posted by The Canberra Times's cartoonist David Pope.

Can't sleep tonight, thoughts with my French cartooning colleagues, their families and loved ones #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/LqIMRCHPgK— David Pope (@davpope) January 7, 2015

The front page of British newspaper The Independent today was given over to a defiant image by Dave Brown.

Here's The @Independent cartoonist's response to the #CharlieHebdo attack: pic.twitter.com/4H4VWDS4qN— amol rajan (@amolrajan) January 7, 2015

French illustrator Martin Vidberg posted this image.

Comment dessiner aujourd'hui ?Comment ne pas dessiner aujourd'hui ? pic.twitter.com/cNtJY6e7MK— Martin Vidberg (@Vidberg) January 7, 2015

Countryman Gilles Roussel was rather more blunt in his opinion, in which he played on the use of the word "canard", which is a slang term in French for a newspaper.

#CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/ay6ugiyvnd— -Boulet- (@Bouletcorp) January 7, 2015

Graphic designer Jean Jullien’s simple but effective image also proved popular online.

I am devastated by what just happened in France. #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/IxEbScqYFh— jean jullien (@jean_jullien) January 7, 2015

Ss did cartoonist Loïc Sécheresse’s defiant cartoon.

7 janvier 2015 / January 7, 2015 #CharlieHebdo pic.twitter.com/Bs6LpzeZGl— Loïc Sécheresse (@loicsecheresse) January 7, 2015

Indian illustrator Satish Acharya took a similar angle to his artistic colleague Dave Pope.

The little weapon! #CharlieHebdo #cartoon pic.twitter.com/VFFZD2f8Rz— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) January 7, 2015

The Charlie Hebdo website features the stark Je Suis Charlie message in white on a black background and a link to a PDF that repeats the message in several languages.

Many commentators also posted a New Yorker cartoon by Robert Mankoff , which was first published in September 2012.

A world without satire would look like this. Cartoon from the New Yorker 2012. pic.twitter.com/a6NmgyGF3H— Noreena Hertz (@noreenahertz) January 7, 2015

Charlie Hebdo is well known for its controversial front pages which have regularly satirised religion, including Islam. The magazine’s final tweet before the horror that unfolded on Wednesday morning featured a cartoon of leader of Islamic State Abu Baghdadi.

Today is a day of national mourning in France.

Image: The front page of the Charlie Hebdo website