Welcome back. The problem with draining swamps is you never know what you're going to find lurking down there.

That's the subject of this week's state of the cartoonian.

Swamps have been part of American pop culture for decades.

From the popular comic strip, Pogo the possum of the Oky Finoke swamp

to the creature from the black lagoon.

To the enemies of the Super Friends, the Legion of Doom, with their headquarters in Slaughter Swamp.

But perhaps the most potent image of the swamp is when it's used as a symbol of the corruption of Washington DC as when Ronald Reagan

promised to drain the swan. Hard when you're up to your arm bits and alligators

to remember you came here to drain the swamp. It's a slogan that President Trump has fully embraced.

We ought to change it from the word swamp to the word cesspool.

Though actually ridding DC of its swampy critters, that's proven elusive.

Take the swamp thing.

Trump ally and Congressman Chris Collins arrested this week for alleged insider trading

in the president's own backyard.

Of course, also this week the trial of former Trump campaign

chair Paul Manafort, with key testimony

from his former deputy campaign chair, Rick Gates. Not to mention the law enforcement investigation into

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and that's to say nothing of ethics concerns about Jared Kushner

or Tom Price or Scott Pruitt.

The president initially did not want to use the slogan at first.

They had this expression,

drain the swamp.

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