Are computers displacing people? Are they more capable than us?... mor
e efficient? These questions have discomfited many people since the em
ergence of ENIAC in the 1940s. Cartoonists, with their long tradition
of poking fun at our foibles, soon pounced on this new phenomenon, lam
pooning and satirizing our responses to ''intelligent machines.'' The
''computoon'' was born. An examination of computoons published from 19
40 to the present reveals several continuing themes: computer pretensi
ons, a concern for computer accuracy, and the evolving nature of robot
s. Cartoonists have used many situations to ponder the question of whe
ther computers- and especially robots-are similar enough to humans tha
t we should view them as competitors for what we see as our exalted po
sition in the scheme of things. And machines as pretenders to the thro
ne can be portrayed whimsically or with varying degrees of paranoia. O
f course, computoon themes have numerous subthemes. Around 1970, these
subthemes began to change, with some fading and others becoming domin
ant. As more people-cartoonists included-started interacting with comp
uters, the concerns in computoons became more specific, and technical
jargon made its way into the mainstream. Gradually, the computer becam
e part of the landscape, a common fixture in cartoons and not necessar
ily essential to the joke. Although intelligent machines have now beco
me indispensable partners in many facets of our lives, for many people
the relationship is uneasy. As long as technology continues to run ah
ead of our ability to adapt, cartoonists will find humor, absurdity, a
nd pathos in our efforts to keep pace.