David Squires' New Comic Revisits 1976, Rock Against Racism and 'Old Maggie Thatch'

British cartoonist David Squires published a new satirical comic strip for Far Out Magazine on August 19, 2026, turning his attention to Britain in 1976. The strip weaves together a rock musician's racist remarks, Margaret Thatcher, and the anti-racist music movement Rock Against Racism, which formed that year out of the wreckage of the period.

What's in the comic

The cast includes Eric Clapton and a caricature of Margaret Thatcher, dubbed "ould bag Maggie Thatch" in Squires' telling. Far Out described the strip as showing "1976 as you've never seen it drawn before."

The piece argues that the real turning point of that year wasn't the Sex Pistols' provocative television performance, but a scrappier crew Squires calls the "Kartoon Klowns" — with Rock Against Racism taking shape out of the year's fallout. The full comic and artwork are available at Far Out Magazine.

Why 1976, and why now

In its introduction, Far Out ran through the density of events packed into 1976: a rock star's racist comments, a heatwave that gripped Britain, the birth of punk, a string of murders in New York City, an economic crash, the founding of Apple, the United States' bicentennial celebrations, and a claim from Iran's air force of a UFO encounter. The outlet framed 2026, by comparison, as looking almost pastoral and calm. Squires has long worked in single- and multi-panel comics addressing music and politics, and this strip continues his focus on the intersection of British postwar pop culture and social conflict.