John Kovalic, the celebrated illustrator for Munchkin and creator of the long-running Dork Tower webcomic, has once again demonstrated his talent for sharp social commentary with a satirical advert posted to his social media.
The post, a mock-advert for “DRAGON-HOARD ECONOMICS,” showcases Kovalic‘s signature style. It features a dragon resting on its massive pile of gold with the caption, “IT’LL TRICKLE DOWN! EVENTUALLY. What’s good for the dragon is good for the village!”
The image is a clear and biting parody of “trickle-down” economics, a controversial real-world political theory which posits that tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations will ultimately benefit the entire economy.
While the post was met with praise from thousands of fans who recognised the sharp wit, it also predictably drew some online criticism. In a classic case of satire being misinterpreted on social media, some commenters appeared to have missed the target of the joke, with a few mistakenly perceiving it as a political statement rather than a parody of a flawed concept.
This style of commentary is, of course, entirely in character for Kovalic. His work in Dork Tower has a long and celebrated history of using the lens of tabletop roleplaying culture to satirise real-world behaviour. Past strips have often poked fun at the misuse of complex political or economic terms at the gaming table, highlighting the characters’ own confusion over labels like “socialist” and “commie.”
Kovalic‘s satire is also firmly grounded in economic reality. The “trickle-down” theory has been a subject of academic debate for decades and has been widely challenged by economists. A high-profile 2020 study from the London School of Economics (LSE) provided strong evidence supporting the satirical claims of Kovalic‘s dragon.
The LSE paper, authored by David Hope and Julian Limberg, analysed 50 years of data from 18 developed countries. The researchers found that major tax cuts for the rich did not lead to any significant effect on economic growth or unemployment, but did lead to a significant increase in income inequality. Their paper concluded, “Our results show that… major tax cuts for the rich increase the top 1% share of pre-tax national income… [but] do not have any significant effect on economic growth and unemployment.”
The minor online stir only underscores the effectiveness of Kovalic‘s satire. For fans of his work, the “dragon-hoard” post is another excellent example of the Dork Tower humour that has made the comic a beloved staple of the roleplaying community for decades.
Fans can find collections of Dork Tower comics on sites like DriveThruComics or Noble Knight.
