New Zealand shootings: How cartoonists have reacted to Christchurch mosque attack

Today's horrific attack on a mosque in New Zealand is a sobering reminder of the perils and dangers that the modern world still faces thanks to archaic rhetoric and the actions of a few.

49 people lost their lives and 20 others were seriously injured after a gunman opened fire on the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch, in an act that has been labelled as a terrorist attack by the New Zealand prime minister.

It's a truly shocking moment for New Zealand and the rest of the world as we once again have to confront the unfortunate fact that Islamophobia, racism and extremism are still very prevalent within societies all around the world.

At times like this, it's easy to turn to social media to seek reassurances that everything will be ok and although that can work, a simple picture can convey much more than words or videos.

Political cartoonist have an uncanny knack of capturing the sadness and emotion of such occasions and a handful of artists have already produced artwork about today's news that does exactly that.

Carlos Latuff.

Arcadio Esquivel.

Satish Acharya.

Bas Palsrok.

Emad Hajjaj.

Yeo Cartoons.

Benjamin Slyngstad.

Leahy Cartoons.

More: New Zealand shootings: Powerful Twitter thread explains how the attack affects us all​