The New Cartoonist Nov/Dec 2024

NUMBER 2

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

NOV/DEC 2024 £2.50

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH COVER STAR DAVE BROWN

POLITICALLY SPEAKING...

WITH TIM SHIPMAN

SIX PAGE SPECIAL

BORN TO DRAW

SUCCESS CARTOONS A THEMED SELECTION

EXCLUSIVE AARDMAN PRINT OFFER

186 CARTOONS INSIDE!

PLUS: N THE RADICAL EMBROIDERER N MARK WINTER ON STEADMAN N PROCREATE vs PAINT N ST JUST EXHIBITION N ENTER THE YOUNG CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR 2024

CONTENTS PAGE 4

GOD MOVING IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

POLITICALLY SPEAKING WITH TIM SHIPMAN

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HEAD LINES DAVE BROWN PROFILE

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GALWAY CARTOON FESTIVAL

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CARTOONIST PROFILE WITH THE RADICAL EMBROIDERER

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THE THREE S’s MARK WINTER ON STEADMAN

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TECH PROCREATE V PAINT

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SUCCESS A CARTOON THEME

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ST JUST FESTIVAL IN FRANCE WITH DES BUCKLEY

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CARTOONING AT CONFERENCE WITH TOM JOHNSTON

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MY NEW BOSS WITH THEO MARTIN

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PENS DOWN BOOK REVIEWS

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EXCLUSIVE AARDMAN PRINT OFFER p49

SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW OPEN FIND OUT MORE DETAILS ON P56

YOUNG CARTOONIST AWARDS ENTRY DETAILS

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EXCLUSIVE AARDMAN OFFER

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EVENTS

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SPECIAL REPORT CARTOONISTS RIGHTS

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SUBSCRIPTIONS

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THE DIRECTORY CONTRIBUTORS LISTING

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HORISCOPES & CAPTION COMP

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PARTING SHOT WITH DEAN PATTERSON

WANNA BE IN IT? GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS AND CARTOONS AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO PUBLISH THEM!

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Ed’s WELCOME Sometimes in life you find your calling. You discover that thing that you were meant to do for a living, either by luck or by fate. A raison d’etre.

I thought for me that that was a career in publishing; but rediscovering my love for political cartooning a few years back left me wondering if I should have done things differently. I wondered if I’d pursued that path instead I could have become as talented as a Steadman or a Martin Rowson. But a quick check on the trusty ‘talentometer’ and my working class background put paid to that notion. Then I wondered if I could pursue both. What if I could combine the two?

THE FIRST ONE The launch issue of this brand new concept didn’t come without its pitfalls and steep learning curves, some of which I’m still grappling with.

But overall the welcome it received amongst the cartoon community and beyond has been overwhelmingly positive and warm. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who got in contact and contributed. Without that kind and unconditional support, this wonderful thing wouldn’t be happening!

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The Radical Embroiderer checks in to give TNC an insight into her artistic career, and Mark Winter starts a series of articles on the 3 S’s; first up Steadman.

There’s also an experiment by yours truly exploring the pros and cons of Procreate v Paint, Tom Johnston takes TNC on a trip to a political conference, and Des Buckley reminisces about the St Just Festival in France. We have a new up and coming star cartoonist, NUMBER TWO Theo Martin, in ‘My New Boss’, and an exclusive So what’s in the second one Pete?

Aardman print offer for TNC readers.

Well by now you would have stopped in shock Throw in over 180 cartoons including themes and awe at the beautiful artwork of our cartoonof ‘Success’ (and ‘Christmas’ of course, you have ist cover star Dave Brown. TNC catches up with to really don’t you?!), book reviews, him to talk about his influences and hear his views on the state ofpolitical cartooning in 2024. The Young Cartoonist of The Year Awards, new subscription offers and a final little ditty from With elections in the US and UK, domestic Dean Patterson and you have the next issue of issues including budgets and leadership TNC all wrapped up with a bow attached! contests, TNC talks to The Sunday Times politNow, where’s my bed? ical Editor Tim Shipman to discuss all that plus the big question; will you draw TNC a cartoon Tim? A trip to the Galway Cartoon Festival takes EMAIL PETE you inside and out of this wonderful cartoons, THE EDITOR Guinness and food-filled event.

A couple of bits to clear up from the first issue.

Apologies for the initial resolution faux pas! In my anxious state I used the wrong PDF. Grimace emoji. Big cheers to Ed Naylor (NAY cartoons), for bringing it to my attention! Secondly I have been asked a few times why you can’t find TNC in WHSmith’s or ‘down the local shop’? As much as I love print, unfortunately I don’t have that kind of resource, and I wanted the TNC to be less throwaway and to have more digital elements to it, including links to individual websites et al.

However if somebody wants to get in touch with a big investment, then I’m all ears! (Seriouslyjust check the mugshot!)

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POLITICALLY SPEAKING

SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW? THE NEW CARTOONIST CAUGHT UP WITH THE SUNDAY TIMES’ CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR PETE SONGI poking and probing Now the dust has settled on the US Election, The Budget and the Tory leadership race; What can we expect next?

TNC grabbed a few moments between the deadlines with The Sunday Times’ Chief Political Commentator Tim Shipman to try and make sense of it all - and to ask all the big questions, including ‘Can you draw us a cartoon Tim?’

You have been in journalism for over 27 years working for The Daily Express, The Daily Mail and The Telegraph as well as your current role at The Sunday Times. Do you see print surviving in an ever increasing ‘digital first’ age?

In a sense we already have. The main media brands have survived and are continuing to provide quality content, but the way people consume is not just changing, it has long since changed. The Times and Sunday Times have been a “digital first” brand for three years. My weekly long reads, lifting the lid on what’s really going on in Westminster, usually go up at 6pm on a Saturday, which has become a bit of a moment in SW1. I’m judged now on the volume and engagement of the online readership and have learned to care more about this than whether my copy is on the front page of the paper. We have a digital dashboard where I can see the number of subscribers and guests reading my stuff, whether they get to the end (usually yes, fortunately), and whether they subscribed off my work. I also think the Sunday Times has more chance than most to survive in hard copy since Sunday is the one day of the week when casual newspaper sales are holding up quite well. But Sunday is the only day I buy a paper these days. I consume the rest on my phone or on the websites.

ANALYZING THE POLITICAL FALLOUT Tim on Times Radio

live for these moments or kind of dread the whole thing?

Any political journalist who tells you they dread it is either lying or has become jaded and should leave the game to younger people. There were moments during 2018 and 2019 when everyone was exhausted and mentally damaged by the Brexit process. A lot of our politics is incompetent and unedifying and the demands of covering it aren’t always good for family life. But when big moments arrive, I get as much of a buzz out of breaking stories and finding out things people don’t want you to know as I have done for two decades. Normal people might be repulsed by what goes on, but in my fourth book I quote Alistair Cooke, of Letter From America fame, on being present seconds after the assassination of Bobby Kennedy. “It would be quite false to say, as I should truly like to say, that I’m sorry I was there,” he wrote. That’s basically how I feel about politics when it’s a shitshow.

I THINK THE LOCAL ELECTIONS WILL BE THE PIVOTAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR

It’s been a crazy political year with elections wherever you look. Do you 04

back together again?

I think she’s a livewire, clever, with high upside but a manner which can grate and a propensity to shoot from the hip, which makes life easier for journalists than her supporters sometimes. The challenge she has is that the Tory fate is not just in her hands. Nigel Farage and Reform could be a waking nightmare for even a high-functioning Conservative leader.

How do you think Labour square the circle between fixing public services and not hitting the so called ‘working people’ now the budget is done?

They have to hope they can get growth into the economy and form a virtuous political circle where prosperity and improved services go hand in hand. The second challenge is to convert national prosperity into personal prosperity for those voters. Politics is hard.

The US has sneezed which generally means the rest of us catch a cold.

You’ve covered elections in the US; The Tories are going through the have you ever seen such a bizarre, same sort of identity crisis as Labour celebrity endorsed and divided did after the Corbyn years. Do you see campaign? What do you make of the Kemi being able to bring the party outcome?

WITH TIM SHIPMAN Kamala Harris’s defeat is a salutary lesson for Labour about what happens if they don’t make significant progress on both of the tasks I just mentioned. The Democrats failed to deliver in a way that was felt in the pockets of the workers.

They also obsessed about issues which concerned them, and peddled vacuities from influencers, rather than tackling what was of greatest concern to the electorate. Morgan McSweeney knows all this and fought those in his party who wanted him to run a Harris-style campaign. But they will have to tread carefully if issues like net zero are perceived to be more important than people’s pay packets.

As for America, it’s always been more extreme than Britain, in both directions. The next four years are going to be very bumpy indeed because Trump is so unpredictable, but I’m sceptical that Trumpism is anything like such a potent force without Trump, so the chances of a shift after he has gone could be profound.

What do you think will be the big political story of 2025? Lib-Dems & Farage in the local elections, or maybe the Tories looking for yet another leader?

I think the local elections will be the pivotal moment of the year. I would not be at all surprised if Labour, the Tories and Reform are all polling in the 20s when we get there. I would expect Reform, who are putting in place a more professional machine than anything Ukip or the Brexit party ever had, to win hundreds of seats. If they repeat the trick at the Welsh elections in 2026, that’s when the calls for a new Tory leader will start. This will also cause nervousness in Labour.

Farage is in second place in 97 seats, 89 of which are Labour-held I think.

Political cartoons are becoming increasingly scarce, with budgets being slashed and the genre being seen as a bit of a headache not worth having.

Do you fear we are losing something historic to culture wars?

I do. Though it pains me to say it, a picture is worth a thousand words and a good cartoon is every bit as impactful as a great photograph. I’m a collector of cartoons and have a Bohn edition of the complete works of Gillray, which needs some TLC and a rebind, and numerous other originals.

The Times papers are particularly fortunate to have – in Morten Morland, who does all my book covers, and Peter Brookes – two of the greatest artists and wits since Gillray, Rowlandson, Cruickshank and Hogarth.

The 4th book in your series ‘OUT’ with the wonderful cartoon work of Morten thenewcartoonist.co.uk

Mor land on the front cover is in shops soon, highlighting how Brexit ‘got done’ and how it ‘done for’ x4 Tory Prime Ministers. Do you have any more ‘Out’s’ planned ?

BORIS WITH A FULL SALUTE a cartoon by Tim Shipman

The final chapter of Out is called “In” and the final words of the book are “over and out”, so at the moment I’m happy to draw a line under what I hope is the definitive immediate history of the last eight years.

I’m keen to have a go at writing political-espionage thrillers. I guess if Boris Johnson, who has been my main “character” returns, there might be a temptation, but as I get older I’m getting better at resisting temptation.

Finally here at TNC we like a challenge and believe everyone was ‘born to draw’. Could you draw us a political cartoon?

Sure I used to do cartoons at school of the teachers, but I’m very out of practice.

Tim Shipman is the Chief Political Commentator at The Sunday Times OUT by Tim Shipman is available to pre-order on Amazon.

Published by William Collins Books TIM SHIPMAN

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NEWS & POLITICS

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NEWS & POLITICS

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HEAD LINES

A PORTRAIT OF DAVE BROWN

SCULPTING A LIFE IN ART THE BROWN STUFF: A STUDY OF THE INDEPENDENT’S LEGENDARY POLITICAL CARTOONIST So you’ve seen the cover right? Now it’s time to meet the man behind the cartoon.

TNC meets Dave Brown!

Born in Barnehurst, Kent, Dave worked as an art teacher, graphic and stage designer and as a motorcycle courier. He has contributed to the Daily Express, The Guardian, The New Statesman and the Daily Mail in addition to being a political cartoonist at The Independent.

IN THE BEGINNING So where did it start? Drawing on bedroom walls, fighting over blank sheets of paper?

I have a vague early memory of someone getting into trouble for drawing on the living room wall, though that may have been my elder brother. Either that, or it was me and I’m still trying to lay the blame elsewhere! My earliest artwork still in existence is a piece of hardboard on which, aged 5, I painted an image of Robin Hood with the words ‘The Green Man’, so basically a pub sign. I remember being very proud of it, but also very put out that my father wouldn’t hang it up outside the house! I also drew my own comics from an early age. A relative has recently sent me one of those old comics, rediscovered while having a clear-out. It’s in remarkable condition for something nearly 60 years old, and even has the action figure ‘free gift’ it came with, a cardboard cut-out footballer whose head, arms and legs can be animated by means of metal paper fasteners...

HOME STUDIO Dave drawing

What about heroes, peers or cartoonists you looked up to?

My friend Martyn Turner of The Irish Times… he’s about 6’ 9!

But seriously, when growing up comic books were a big influence. The Beano, Dandy, and later Shoot and the imported DC and Marvel comics, although the artists’ names were unknown to me at the time. The first political admired. When I started cartooning professioncartoons I saw regularly were ally I drew on A1 board, largely The Guardian’s Les Gibbard’s. influenced by Ralph’s work, until Les had a deceptively simple scanners appeared in news“AH, THE GOLDEN AGE new style, but was an excellent paper offices and I was told that caricaturist and told a story IS ALWAYS SOME TIME I should work A3 or smaller. This with remarkable clarity. Later, change had a profound effect Steve Bell introduced a more OTHER THAN NOW!” on my work. At first I lamented a surreal edge to The Guardian’s certain loss of flamboyance and cartoons which you couldn’t movement, but then realised help but be influenced by. that not overly straining for effect helped place Ralph Steadman is also someone I’ve always the emphasis on the content.

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Image ©Kasia Kowalska

INSPIRATIONS

GETTING PAID Was there a moment when cartooning became real? A time when you realised, “I can do this for a living, I can get paid to draw?

I knew I wanted to be an artist quite early on, probably as soon as I realised I was nowhere near good enough to be a professional footballer!

Unfortunately, I had no idea how you made a living from drawing; even after getting a degree in Fine Art I still had no idea how to make it work.

After graduating I taught art for a few years, imagining that after finishing work I would still

AMERICAN GARBAGE 2 NOVEMBER 2024 The US election descends into trash talk.

find time and energy to go to the studio and paint for a few hours. In reality the only places I wanted to go after a day’s teaching were the pub, or home to crash on the sofa. Eventually I quit teaching, hoping to paint full-time, though I’m still not sure how I thought making 16’ x 8’ multi panel paintings with very political subject matter was going to be commercially successful. Yet, in my naïve, obstinate state of ideological purity I didn’t seem to care. Luckily, just as finances were looking decidedly dodgy, I won a political cartoon competition organised by The Sunday Times, on the back of which I was offered my first professional job as a cartoonist, standing in for Gerald Scarfe. And, as they say, it’s all been downhill from there.

And is then when it turned political or did that all start a bit earlier?

Probably when I was 11. Moving from a junior school, from quite a small geographical area and attended by kids of a similar social background, to a school with a wider demographic, I first encountered class prejudice and racism aimed at some of the kids. From then on, I think, my art gradually developed a social and political edge.

CARTOONING IN 2024

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DOWN THE DRAIN 4 JULY 2024 The general election finally washes Sunak away.

SNAKES 26 OCTOBER 2023 Rishi Sunak becomes the second unelected leader of the Tory party.

All images ©Dave Brown/The Independent 2024

Do you think there was a golden period to be a political cartoonist? It feels like wherever you look these days cartoonists are being replaced or not having their contracts renewed. Do you think it’s just budgets?

Or is cartooning becoming a victim of ‘safety first’ editors?

Ah, the golden age is always some time other than now! It’s very subjective, but I’d probably consider the late Georgian period of Gillray and Rowlandson as something of a golden one for cartooning, whilst remembering that their work only reached a very small section of society. Cartoons in the Victorian period became somewhat stiff and staid, mostly down to political expediency in an age when advancing technologies meant print was becoming accessible to a wider population.

In some ways, although the years of the Second World War generated some particularly powerful cartoons (Low obviously springs to mind), those Victorian restrictions weren’t completely blown away until the 60s. I think Steadman and Scarfe helped restore some of the caustic satire of the Georgian period at a time when society became more permissive, which opened things up for more recent cartoonists. Perhaps the period that I’ve been working in, from the late 80s to the present, has been, if not pure gold, at least gold-plated… or maybe it was just brassy! I know Nicholas Garland, for one, feels that some of the current crop of cartoonists have gone too far. He once delivered a coruscating diatribe during a BCA dinner bemoaning the amount of blood, piss and shit in editorial cartoons, and the general disrespect shown towards politicians.

But politics isn’t practised according to some unspoken, gentlemen’s club rules any more; it’s a lot more aggressive, and cartoonists sometimes

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All images ©Dave Brown/The Independent 2024 KAMIKWAZI 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 The Truss/Kwarteng budget proves to be a suicide mission.

have to respond with the same level of viciousness.

Unfortunately recently, across the media, editors seem to be taking a more cautious approach. It may be partly explained by falling readerships; fewer readers means fewer readers you can afford to offend. However, there also seems to be a general nervousness and uncertainty within the media about what is and isn’t

BILLIONS 8 AUGUST 2024 Social media appears to fuel rioting.

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offensive, and a growing insistence from some sections of society that they should never have to be exposed to anything that they deem offensive. Personally, I think if you aim to ‘comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable’, to punch up rather than down, then pretty much everything is fair game.

A cartoonist who never offends simply isn’t doing the job properly!

It is concerning to see papers failing to renew cartoonists’ contracts, or dispensing with the

editorial cartoon altogether. The Guardian sacking Steve Bell may have had as much to do with budget cuts as any imagined ‘offence by cartoon’, but it may be emblematic of the end of an era, both in terms of generous retainers for cartoonists and of freedom of expression.

STYLES Your cartoons are like mini masterpieces and I’m particularly fascinated at the way you depict ripples in water and creases in clothing.

Did that style come naturally?

Style should always come naturally. It’s fine when we’re starting out to ape the style of artists we admire in an effort to learn from them, but style should never become something affected.

Style in art is a result of problem solving, the myriad small decisions we make about what we draw with, what we draw on, how we look at the world and how we represent it in two dimensions – all eventually leading to our own personal style.

That style really works well in ‘Rogues’ Gallery’, your Saturday slot in The Independent. Was that a conscious decision to do something a bit different?

The ‘Rogues’ Gallery’ series of cartoons, pastiching famous paintings, actually came from a period when I briefly lost my post at The Independent during David Montgomery of Mirror Group’s reign of budget slashing. I reasoned at the time that the gargantuan Sunday Times could easily accommodate another political cartoon, so long as it was different enough to Scarfe’s. The series ran for a time in that paper,

BRAVERMINE 15 NOVEMBER 2023 Braverman goes on the attack, as Sunak recalls Cameron to the cabinet.

SOCIAL MEDIA

are so ridiculous as to make satire redundant, and yet we continue to find ways to make them look even more ludicrous, so maybe that’s just a cartoonist’s whinge. There are times when striking the right satirical note may be difficult, particularly when some people seem determined to manufacture offence as a means of closing down debate, but those are the times when satire is most needed.

Your success has led to you having an exhibition of your works in India. How did that AH NOT HIM AGAIN? come about?

Do you have a particular politician that is Because I post my cartoons on X/Twitter, they a nemesis to draw? I used to hate drawing can sometimes have an unexpected reach.

The Indian Institute of Cartoonists followed my account and got in touch with an offer of an exhibition. The Institute seems to be a very well-organised body, with their own permanent cartoon gallery in Bengaluru (Bangalore) and a vibrant programme of exhibitions. I was to be the third British cartoonist they had shown, they said, after Hogarth and David Low (yes, I know he was a Kiwi!)… so, no big shoes to attempt to walk in there!

It has been a bonkers year with elections and unrest on both sides of the Atlantic and with war in Europe & the Middle East. Do you think cartoon satire can get lost in all that fog? How do you navigate it all?

Famously Tom Lehrer said that satire died the day they gave Henry Kissinger the Nobel Peace ARE YOU THE FARMER? Prize, in which case, satire must have more 17 MAY 2023 lives than a cat! Cartoonists continually comSunak and Coffey attempt to mitigate plain that events or individuals they portray

Dominic Raab. Or one you love? You seem to have a penchant for Trumps hairline!

It’s very rare to find a politician who doesn’t have some feature you can hang a caricature on. I think Nick Clegg was probably the blandest politician I have tried to draw. I once depicted him as a puddle of dog piss on a rainy Brighton seafront, so it wasn’t impossible to get something worthwhile out of him! The best individuals to draw tend to be the ones you detest the most, as you can simply dip into your own reserves of bile rather than the Indian ink. Thatcher, Blair, and of course Trump readily come to mind.

All images ©Dave Brown/The Independent 2024

and since 2004 has been a regular feature at The Indy. It’s probably the cartoon of the week I least look forward to, as sometimes finding a painting to pastiche that suits the news of the day can be a challenge, but conversely, it’s also the one I most enjoy working on, as it often allows me to be a bit more painterly.

damage done to farming by Brexit.

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means to pay for the ‘serious’ art of painting, but it very quickly consumed all my time. For many years I worked six days a week cartooning and it’s only recently that I’ve been able to scale back on cartoons and get back to my fine art roots, first with painting and, more recently, with sculpture.

There’s something visceral about getting your hands into a block of clay, trying to draw some life out of it. The physical nature of sculpture makes a nice contrast to cartooning, and when I’m working on a piece I’m reluctant to return to the ink face. However, I could never stop cartooning altogether, I’m just aiming for a balance between disciplines.

FUTURE

All images ©Dave Brown/The Independent 2024

People have often asked DRAWING THE WINNER! what that thing Dave capturing The Donald is on Trump’s head, to which I usually reply ‘Exactly! What IS that thing on his head?!’

I tend to subscribe to Sherlock Holmes’ maxim that ‘when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ It’s impossible for it to be real hair on his head, nobody has hair like that, perhaps a wig… but with his money, he could surely afford a

more convincing syrup? Eliminating all the other impossibilities led me to the conclusion that it can only be a semi-house-trained ferret, which considering his increasingly unhinged outbursts, is probably defecating in the empty shell of his cranium. I defy anyone to prove me wrong.

SCULPTING You have a separate life as an amazing sculptor getting your hands dirty in 3D. Does that give you more satisfaction than drawing Rishi or Trump every day?

When I first started cartooning, I saw it as a

What do you have on the horizon? Any more exhibitions? Or books in the pipeline?

I always have more projects in mind than I have time to realise them! I’ve been wanting to produce a third ‘Rogues’ Gallery’ book and exhibition for some time, but keep putting it off in favour of more immediate projects. In terms of sculpture, although I’ve had work in a number of group exhibitions in the UK, I would like to have a solo show in London, maybe some time next year.

STARTING OUT Here at TNC we want to actively promote young upcoming cartoonists. Do you have any advice for those just starting out?

Truth be told, it’s a crowded profession with diminishing outlets. Notwithstanding, of course you want there to be a next generation of cartoonists fighting the good fight. Without wanting to put anyone off, please don’t imagine cartooning is a soft option. If you want to be any good, it takes hard work and a lot of perseverance.

Also, don’t just learn to draw cartoons… learn to draw, full stop! I cannot stress how important drawing is.

It underpins everything; it’s not simply an artistic resource, it’s a tool to probe and understand the visual world.

Craftsmanship and technical ability don’t simply help realise our ideas, they expand the horizon of our artistic thought. @dave_brown_art @DaveBrownToons

BRING YOUR OWN 12 JANUARY 2022 Johnson is embroiled in ‘bring-yourown-booze’ party scandal.

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DAVE BROWN

WHO’S NEXT? the sculpting studio space

DAVE BROWN QUICK FIRE! FAVOURITE FILM?

Too many to choose from, but Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ is up there SCULPTING MASTERCLASS James Gillray, Father of the Political Cartoon’

By Dave Brown

DAVE’S INDEPENDENT ARTICLE ON GILRAY

FIRST CAR?

TIDYING UP ON THE MAC Dave’s office space

Was a bike, Honda CB250RSA

FAVOURITE WRITER?

Alan Sillitoe or Michael Dibdin

NICKNAME AT SCHOOL? ‘Big D’

PIECE OF EQUIPMENT YOU CAN’T DO WITHOUT WHEN CARTOONING?

Brain.

What you make marks with doesn’t mattter

DRAWING OR DRUMMING?

Both are a great way to relieve frustration

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A SIGNED DAVE BROWN COVER PRINT!

ENTER HERE NOW

email: editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk subject: Dave Brown print competition

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES DECEMBER 13TH 2024

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WHAT SUPER POWER WOULD YOU HAVE?

I already have it, but my alter ego as a mild-mannered cartoonist means I can’t talk about it!

ENGLAND WORLD CUP WIN OR MAN UTD TITLE?

At the moment I’d settle for Utd not getting relegated 15

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THE GALWAY CARTOON FESTIVAL 2024

EXPERIENCING THE CRAIC A FLYING VISIT TO IRRESISTIBLE IRELAND AND THE BEAUTIFUL STREETS OF GALWAY BAY PETE SONGI chief Guinness taster

THE VOYAGE I wouldn’t say I was warned, but I had definitely been made aware that Galway wasn’t the easiest place to get to. Adding this to the fact this would be my first trip out of the UK since before the pandemic, my anxiety levels were heightened.

This would be a trains, planes and automobiles experience hopefully less stressful than those japes experienced by Steve Martin and John Candy back in 1997.

A 10:30am start found me hitting a 161 bus to The Jubilee Line and a hop and a skip to The Elizabeth line via Canary Wharf and it’s endless walkways. A seat safely secured on the only piece of infrastructure that actually can be considered a success in the UK (Liz doesn’t put her name to failures) and I was just over an hour from T2 at Heathrow.

A CONVERSATION PIECE! Tom Matthews, Dean Patterson, Will McPhail, Lucie Arnoux, Dave Coverly & Ben Jennings

middle of the Bus. Two hours of doom scrolling sitting around “Now let me just check that ticket again…… shopping hell I finally boarded the 58 min flight ahh yeah, you’re alright there”. to Shannon airport.

At this point I decided that the best thing I was feeling pretty happy with myself waiting to do was just stare out of the window, look for for the 51 bus route and at 4:55 the big red road signs and try to track everything online. machine arrived on time.

About 1 hour and 50 mins later, and after a “Heading to Galway” few trips in and out of beautifully idyllic “Ahh this is the 3:55 fella, you want the towns with stunning backdrops, 4:55 in 10 minutes” we finally arrived in Galway.

“So you not going to Galway?” #phewypanicover.

“Well you see, yes. But let me have a look”.

I glanced up to see that LAUNCH the time on the inside of the I had two choices upon hitbus actually said 3:55pm. ting Galway. Try and find my ???? Was there a time hotel and dump the bag or difference I wasn’t aware head straight to PorterShed FESTIVAL ARRIVAL of? Trusty iPhone still says where the festivities of The in full flow 4:55pm.

Galway Cartoon Festival had al“Ahh you’re ok fella”. ready started - and after a cursory “So I’m ok, you’re going to check of online maps I plumped for Galway?” the latter. “yeah go on with you”.

Greeting me at the festival were friendly facSlightly discombobulated I sat watching es including Dean Patterson and Ben Jennings the clock in the bus tick on to 4:05pm when who had beat me to Galway coming via Dublin. it was actually 5:05pm, and off we drove, I was also able to put faces to the names of only for the bus to stop 5 mins down the Fergus Boylan and Graeme Keyes, and with the PLANES TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES! road way beyond the airport. The driver now help of Dean I was also introduced to the wonthe long schlep to Galway 2024 got up and headed towards me down the derful characters of Jim Cogan, Aidan Cooney

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pictures:Pete Songi

A night out on an otherwise dismal looking day in September began unexpectedly with the fateful phrase; “You know you’ve got to go to Galway… right?”

My wife and I often use the evenings to put the world to rights over a drink or two - or a ‘meeting’ as we call it. Pads in hands, these catch-ups often end with commitments made to anything including diets, work projects, shopping lists etc. This get-together to discuss issue 2 of The New Cartoonist had taken a swerve for the unexpected. Many drinks and internet searches later via Aer Lingus, Omio, Booking. com and GoogleMaps it had been decided. And somehow, booked. Pete, you’re going to Galway!

pictures:Pete Songi

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! the long walk aside the river Corrib

DRAWING UNDER THE INFLUENCE! cartoonists attempt to scribble...

ALL ON DISPLAY ...a large selection of talent

pads, pens and numerous cartoons; and the enigmatic red-scarfed festival regular Tom Mathews. I was also made to feel more than some I have to say NSFW! At this welcome from organisers Richard Chapman, Mar- point (around 10:45pm) the very garet Nolan and Willy Brennan who presented me looming idea of “you need to find with a glass of red. Now that’s better! Others in at- your hotel Pete” prevented me from tendance included the super talented trio of Lu- staying any longer and the epic Galway I didn’t cie Arnoux, Will McPhail and Joey Mason and the mile-long if you walked straight stroll out of town come across any killer sailors thankfully, but not creator of the brilliant Speed Bump cartoons Dave towards my budget hotel began. All hail 24 hour long after passing the graveyard on my way Coverly. We were quickly surrounded by interest- check-in! into town, I did discover my very own saviour ed visitors, and of course a wonderful display of in the form of the Scran Cafe and it’s cartoons on SATURDAY offering of a ‘Breakfast Bla’. Now the themes Food, sustenance, something that’s the kind of start to the day more substantial than a of ‘Beasts’ everybody needs! 10/10. and “General tea and hotel biscuit was Foritified, I was able to BLA INDEED! required on my first full day Mayhem’. successfully navigate a busy rude not to! in Galway. 12:30pm was my After zebra crossing.

Of all the checking out deadline to be at the Town sounds you expect from the wonderful Hall for Dean Patterson’s an Irish seaside town, the show so I headed towards cartoons on extra-terrestrial type zinging town. The walk into Galway display the you get from this experience town centre is reminiscent pub beckwasn’t one of them for me. Very of an old SEGA Dreamcast oned, and entertaining! game I played in the early 2000’s everyone Fresh from all this excitement I disembarked called ‘Shenmue’. In that game your headed towards the Town Hall Theatre for the sole purpose is to walk down into town each to a local by next shows on my list. As well as Dean Patterson’s day, passing the local graveyard as you go, and the name of hilarious quirky toons, other exhibitions inckudFreeneys where to wander aroundthe dockyard to try discover ed “Women in Technology’ and stunning works CAPTURING TH the night was information as to the whereabouts of any sailors E MOMENT! from Palestinian artist and author Malak Mattar. the lively style complete with (I kid you not) who it turns out might be in some of Joey Mason Speeches at events can sometimes fall a bit flat, way responsible for the death of a relative.

In long tales, but Gerry Hanberry (one of Ireland’s finest poets

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THE GALWAY CARTOON FESTIVAL 2024

CARTOON CAPERS! gags galore....

CHURCH OF DEAN the worshipers gather

and a renowned Oscar Wilde biographer) gave a ton Sea Lock. The fresh day was peppered with shoppers, tourists and some hardy souls that great delivery before Dean had us all in stitches had just completed half-marathons or 10Ks, with his run through of some ’not so and I found myself never too far away great’ reviews of his work. A couple, from a man and a fiddle! we learnt, were from his mum…

The second day of my allegedly! I also had the visit came to an end after pleasure of meeting Luna a couple of fascinating Mae Cadden -a new up and interviews and a book coming cartoonist with launch. First up back at bags of talent! the PorterShed was LucAt this point I took the ie Arnoux, where as well opportunity to check out as viewing her beautiful some sights and sounds of PATTERSON! happy with his lot. artwork and her new pubGalway via the Latin Quarter, lication ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ we The River Corrib and the EglingSTUNNING ILLUSTRATIONS learnt about Lucie’s fascination the work of Malak Matar with drawing books and her hatred of red wine and stinky cheese (can she really be French? Stereotyping alert) and her side-hustle as a Cellist in ‘Boogedy Smak’ - an acoustic/folk/ punk band. (Check them out, they’re really rather good!).

New Yorker cartoonist Will McPhail followed with stories of how he started out and his quest to get published, as well as the story behind his new book ‘IN’. This is a tale of awkward interacWOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY! JE NE SAIS QUOI! tions and life moments…(definitely not great cartoon by xxxxxxx but I know it’s good based on him!), including the snake Will got for his 21st birthday, Green Day covers for student band Bedside Manor, and most surprising of all the confession that all his talent was in a new white hair that had grown from his shoulder! And yes readers he showed us it! Yikes. Joey Mason’s new book launch at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop completed the events - it was extremely well-attended and I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy. ThE long stagger back out of town after too many Guinness’s GALWAY LOVE AFFAIR! brought my game to an end… I’m sure Joey Mason outlines his inspirations this was easier in 2002!

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NO FAILS HERE! WIll explains his process

SPEED BUMPS & LAUGHS! Dave xxxxxxxx

SUNDAY While hardy cartoonists Jennings, McPhail and Boylan braved the Atlantic on what seemed a rather ‘plucky’ idea of going for a swim first thing, my day as ever on a Sunday was to wait for the phone to ping. The Daily Mirror gig for Kevin Maguire waits for no man, and so there I sat in my rather bleak Travelodge staring out at what looked like a belter of a day weather-wise inbetween scribbling away a cartoon to match with his column.

Cartoon filed, I headed out for my last full day in glorious Galway, and after a bit more sightseeing it was back to the PorterShed for the rest of the afternoon’s activities.

Dave Coverly is a wonderfully witty American cartoonist. In fact every one of his cartoons that popped up in his presentation left the audience in stitches. Much like Gary Larson, it’s one hit after another. We also learnt about Dave’s weekly schedule, and his ‘mind sofa’ up in a loft which seems a great place to ponder your next gag to me. Speed Bump is wonderful; just Google it!

After a brief break for a live drawing project involving trying to draw a fish with your finger on a phone app (never easy after a couple glasses of red), we settled down for the final interview with top Guardian cartoonist Ben Jennings. Ben was interviewed by Irish Examiner’s cartoonist Harry Burton. Much like Dave Coverly every cartoon that pops up of Ben’s is a belter; not just the comedy value but the sheer quality and craftsmanship of his work. The fact that these are produced in such a tight deadline and to such a high standard is something to be applauded. However, give this lad a bit more time and he can really blow your socks off, as the cartoons from his ’Snowflake’s Progress’ exhibition really demonstrate.

These fabulous pieces of work, a modern take on Hogarth, are spellbounding in detail - and those

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AWE INSPIRING! the worK of Ben Jennings

with more technical knowledge will be left heady with the amount of textures and layers Ben uses in Photoshop. A test of nerve and willpower!

A fun panel discussion ended the day’s sessions with Tom Matthews, Dean Patterson, Will McPhail, Lucie Arnoux, Dave Coverly and Ben Jennings discussing the beauty of drawing when everyone else is asleep, cartoonists’ inspirations and fighting deadlines.

TIGH NEACHTAIN If asked to describe my perfect pub, I’d be able to say that I’ve actually found it, and if I’d had space in my bag I would have shoved it right in there and brought it back to London, where we would of course instantly and ruthlessly ruin it. Packed with character, drinking nooks and beautiful artwork, “The Nocturne’ was the perfect place to spend my final night in Galway. The Guinness flowed, and crazy cartoons were produced as stories of the day’s adventures were told.

The following day held in store a trip to ‘the Island’, with its one pub and an arts centre for one more exhibition and talk. Inis Oírr\ Inisheer is famous for the shipwreck often featured on Father Ted; but I would sadly have to miss out on the visit to a real-life Craggy Island, as I would be heading back to London the next morning.

The final bell rang and I said my goodbyes, and my attentions switched to ‘getting home mode’ via a budget hotel and a confusing bus ride. Would we meet again Galway?

I certainly hope so.

GALWAY CARTOON FESTIVAL

PUB FAVOURITE! ... in the heart of Galway

PUB FAVOURITE! ... in the heart of Galway

PUB FAVOURITE! ... in the heart of Galway

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GALWAY MOMENTS...

BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP! ....Eglington Sea Lock

MYSTICAL INK WORK! ....a piece by Lucie Arnoux

BREAKFAST SAVIOUR! ....Bla’s at the ready IN SITU AT THE NOCTURNE! ....the great work of Jim Cogan

ART ATTACK! ...nowhere is off-limits

QUIRKY LANES! ....adventures await

FESTIVAL READING MATERIAL ...check out more on page 40

LAUGHS OUT LOUD! ....the work of Dave Coverly

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THE LATIN QUARTER to leave ...you won’t be in a hurry

HIGH STREET MURALS ...the stunning work of Magaret Nolan

NEVER TOO FAR AWAY! ...not so confusing signage

IRISH TUNES! ....getting jiggy with it EVERYBODY NEEDS GO OD NAY-BOURS! Ned lives here

THIRSTY WORK! ...for The Editor

SHOP WINDOWS! ...with gags for locals

CARROTS NOT PERMIT TED! ....thick ears if you’re not careful NO GAMES ALLOWED! ....the cemetery in Galway

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HOMEWARD BOUND! ....the 51 to Shannon awaits

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CARTOONIST FEATURE

THE SEW BUSINESS I LOVE NOT ALL ART IS PENS, PAINTS, PENCIL SHARPENERS, AND INK BLOTS WITH HAPPY MISTAKES RADICAL EMBROIDERER a life in threads I think it would be fair to say that I occupy the fringes of the cartooning world with my needle and thread. How did I get here?

On returning to the UK from New Zealand ( I’m half Kiwi) I spent almost 10 years working at Citizen’s Advice Bristol, mostly as part of the Macmillan Team. I saw first-hand the daily effects austerity and benefit cuts had on people and was frustrated and exhausted by the ever increasing hoops that people had to jump through for a decreasing amount of support. I needed a break.

Art was the answer! I started as a volunteer invigilator at Spike Island Gallery in 2017. (I had previously worked in reception at Bishop Suter Art Gallery in Nelson New Zealand) As luck would have it the first exhibition, I worked was Lubaina Himid’s Navigation Charts. (She would win the Turner Prize that year) It was her abstract work Cotton.com that I was particularly drawn too.

This was inspired by an act of solidarity enacted by Manchester women mill workers in support of Lincoln’s effort to end slavery. Two other artists whose exhibitions at Spike Island I invigilated and particularly loved, were the cultural activist Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Zoe Paul who works with simple timeless materials and techniques. (I also invigilated Grayson Perry’s 2 month exhibition at Arnolfini which was great fun.)

There was an annual volunteer’s exhibition at Spike Island and by 2018 I felt confident enough to get involved.

JOURNEYS I am not entirely sure why I chose embroidery as my medium. I was interested in the way it could be used to highlight, question and challenge. I have always been quite handy with a needle and thread adapting and mending clothes that I had bought in charity shops and places like Kensington Market and Lawrence Corner back in the day. I had also made a couple of entries for the Bizarre Bra

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NOT JUST ANY PANTS!. ...and definitely on fire

section of World of Wearableart (WOW) with my NZ bestie, Pammy which involved stitching.

(Fascinating Fact Pammy used to be legendary guitarist Mick Taylor’s PA) WOW is a really big thing in New Zealand and our first entry, Flashbuster, was not only accepted but was featured on the evening news.

I did a couple of day courses at the Bristol outpost of Royal School of Needlework to check out how they did it and then the first embroidery piece I made myself was for the Spike Island VOLts exhibition Echoes of Exclusion in 2018. This became the start of my series Seeing, Read. Seeing Red! (Liza Tarbuck, Radio 2 DJ, and all round fabulous person, has one of them, “Tell Us the Truth!”, as her Instagram picture.)

I was encouraged to keep embroidering by my lovely friend and established artist Curious_Annie, who I met at Spike Island. She generously

invited me to participate in a residency in Bath with artists Danielle Vaughn and Gillian Adair McFarland. Together we became The Female Line and are currently working on a project with Hilary star of the BBC documentary Three Salons at the Seaside and inspiration for Caroline Aherne’s Mrs Merton. The documentary is still on BBC iPlayer and is worth a watch if you have not seen it; or another if you have!

Fast forward to early March 2020. I was in a charity shop and found a beautiful pair of men’s handkerchiefs. I wanted to document Covid-19 in stitch and thought these handkerchiefs would be perfect. I was delighted that Part 1 was included in the Ruth Singer/Gawthorpe Textile Collection book “Textiles in Lockdown”. To date, I have completed 9 parts, one of which was a summary of the first 18 months for The Covid Chronicle.

SOCIAL MEDIA I discovered the fabulous Martin Rowson’s #Draw challenges on Twitter in October 2020.

(I did not realise that they had been happening since November 2019) As luck would have it the call out at the time was for a “Boris Johnson” and it just so happened that I had stitched a version of Johnson as the emperor with no clothes on my

THE RADICAL EMBROIDERER Covid-19 a Handkerchief Part 2; a theme I returned to a lot. I submitted that section as my entry.

Martin seemed to like what I was doing so I continued. Initially it was with a couple of sections of my handkerchiefs, but I was quickly hooked and started making bespoke pieces. I liked the way the challenges stretched me and there was a deadline too, which is always good!

The highlight was seeing how all the other entrants had responded in the round up. And blow me down my entry Putin Pants Poisoner’s Pants, (funnily enough not my first pants embroidery) for the #DrawPutin challenge was joint winner with Ben Chilton and D.J.B. Sackett!

I think it was the change of ownership of Twitter and the manipulation of the algorithms which seemed to put paid to #Draw which was a shame. They were great fun. By May 2023 I had made around 35 #Draw embroideries and 15 object d’art. Some of them are still my favourite pieces.

INSPIRATIONS In July 2023 I embroidered a stained red and white polka dot silk tie that I found in a charity shop. This was in response to the news that Robert Jenrick, Minister for Immigration since October 2022, had ordered that Mickey Mouse and other characters on the walls of a processing centre for children in Dover, be painted over. This was, apparently, because they gave too welcoming a message??!! It was also the time that I started volunteering at Stitching Together in Bristol, which provides welcoming spaces for refugees and asylum seeking women in Bristol and Yate to make textile based art. I am part of the hand stitching group run by the brilliant Dawn Giles. I have huge respect for refugees since meeting some when working at Citizen’s Advice Bristol. The women in the group are inspiring!

So, when I heard that a group of cartoonists led by Guy Venables were hoping to go down

THAT IS THE QUESTION! ...a Suella heckle

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EXPUNGE THEM ALL! ...a bunch of floaters

and repaint the walls that Jenrick had insisted be why she was there.)

You will find my work in the slow cartooning painted over, I wanted to get involved. Unfortusub branch possibly on a sponge or a sieve. nately, this was not allowed as they were Home Obviously, I continue to suffer from severe Office property but then Amy Amani of Profesimposter syndrome. sional Cartoonists’ Organisation (PCO) came @RADICAL up with the idea of a colouring book for child refEMBROIDERER ugees. This resulted in PCO’s The Great British Colouring Book. Some how I was allowed to join the organisation to contribute a page. The brief was that they should be about British life and be non-political. I based my page around cake, which has been another recurring theme in my embroidery. Four thousand copies of the first edition (and colouring pencils) were distributed to newly arrived child refugees and the bumper edition has raised loads for refugee groups. You can still buy one!

Since then, as well as other embroidery pursuits, I have been involved in some PCO exhibitions and managed to get a heckle in when Suella Braverman attended the cartoon awards HANKY PANKY last December. (None of the cartoonists knew ...bogeys and fogeys imortalised

GREAT BRITISH CAKES ...in the PCO colouring book

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THE THREE S’s A CARTOON ICON SERIES

THE STEADMAN INFLUENCE

A LOOK AT THE LIFE AND WORKS OF ONE OF THE GREATEST CARTOONISTS OF OUR TIME MARK WINTER reflecting A poster on the wall of my local train station advertising Ralph Steadman’s first UK exhibition in nearly ten years prompted a flood of great memories and reminded me of his influence in my artistic life.

Thirty-five and a bit years ago I got married for the first time which incidentally lead to me meeting my hero Ralph Steadman for the first time when my belated honeymoon in the UK included a stop off to Ralph’s impressive manor house and studio, Old Loose Court near Maidstone in Kent.

It was New Year’s Day, technically night, 1989.

I left my new wife watching a movie – ‘Amadeus’ – on the television at our more modest lodgings.

With a running time of 161 minutes, plus ads, I figured that would be enough time to complete my visit and to interview Ralph. Mozart for her, Gonzo art for me.

Armed with a pen, pad, camera and my copy of ‘I Leonardo’ I headed out for an inspirationRALPH STEADMAN a cartoon legend al and unforgettable evening with a genuine renaissance man.

The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis once described HUMOUR Ralph’s studio as “a vast, rambling series of Ralph Steadman is very serious about being rooms” in what “you might reasonably describe funny. One of the most admired and distinctive as a mansion”. Rooms full of wonderful working artists of our time, he uses lines and blots to spaces and an immense collection of his own condemn injustices, explore hypocrisy and exart. Ralph has kept most of his original work, it’s orcise his fears about what humans would do to exceedingly rare to find any outside themselves if left unchecked. He has his possession. “If anyone owns a the ability to balance Steadman original, it’s stolen”, he’s brutality with humour often repeated. with as much clarity as The morning after my interview there is chaos.

I managed to navigate the LonHis work is an don underground at rush hour enigma – a series over to the October Gallery in of “eloquent conBloomsbury to spend a small trasts” – from the fortune (til debt do us part) savagery of his purchasing a signed limited political and social edition print of ‘Plague Bridge’ commentaries to EXHIBITION from ‘The Big I Am’ and still made the sublime imagery that notable poster it back to the airport to connect of the Sigmund Freud, with our flight home… just.!

Leonardo and God I wrote a couple of articles based on my illustrated biographies, classics such as ‘Alice in interview with Ralph which appeared in some Wonderland’, ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Treasure Island’ New Zealand publications later in the year. A few and, as one journalist opined ,“the ink spattered extracts from those pieces follow among some architect of Gonzo journalism with his legendary of my newer ramblings. collaboration with co-conspirator American

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writer Hunter S Thompson who emerged to pick at the scabs of the American establishment during the turbulent ears of Vietnam and Nixon.”

This partnership resulted in a number of books and articles beginning with the landmark piece ‘The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved’ in 1970, and including Thompson’s most famous novel ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ following Raoul Duke and Dr Gonzo as they descend on Vegas to chase the American dream. “He was quite easy to be around,” Ralph reminisced “with Gonzo journalism you don’t cover the story, you become the story.”

A legacy of his teenage technical drawing training at Wrexham Technical College (which he left at age 17) is evident in his precise treatment of machinery human and animal anatomy. He was fascinated to be able to draw circles and straight lines – the

“The cartoon is a wonderful vehicle to express immediacy – it twists, it enlightens, it’s like a double-edged sword.” Ralph said back in 1989.

“One has diversity as a cartoonist and it has now become a respectable art form. Some people still, however, view cartooning as a whim. I’m often asked what I do for a real job. I’m involved in quite a lot of advertising work. It doesn’t feed the soul, but fills the purse which allows me to PASSAGE have an escape route to my independence as an Ralph’s early career was varied. He was once a artist.” tea boy at an ad agency. “There was this guy At the time he felt politics and political there who drew cartoons, which seemed like a cartoonists had become boring. “They’ve gone good idea to me, so I had a go”. While doing a backwards – too apologetic. I’m starting a new couple of years military service in the RAF as a movement that ignores politicians. It should hit radar operator (which taught him how to watch them where it really hurts – their egos! Alas, no television, he recalls) in the early 1950s Ralph one has joined me yet.” signed up to do a mail order Art School in the Ralph prefers to be known as a cartoonist Percy V. Bradshaw Press Art School Correspondrather than an illustrator. “Cartooning is ence Course. He completed 18 lessons, not a derogatory term. My roots are six of which were related to the in cartooning – an illustrator illusart of cartooning. He later sent trates someone else’s text, which a drawing to ‘Punch’ and recan be limiting” ceived the standard rejection Many of Ralph’s books slips, so dropped it into a new dominate my small library. ‘The magazine called ‘Private Eye’.

Big I Am’, ‘Between the Eyes’, The rest is history.

‘The Joke’s Over’, ‘The Grapes One stimulus for Ralph of Ralph’ among many others. came from members of the My signed and doodled copy of Dada movement, in particular CELEBRITY CIRCLES ‘I Leonardo’ is a treasured posseshe was influenced by the work of for Koru Care sion. Another one in particular is also German graphic artist George Grosz, precious; my copy of ‘Paranoids’ is not signed by best known for his stinging indictments of Nazi Ralph. Instead it contains a short note from my Germany. His trademark was caricature domiyoungest brother, Carl. We both shared an adminated by physical ugliness – a satirical weapon ration for Ralph’s work. It was the last gift he gave used as an expression of moral decline and depravity. “By using ugliness, Grosz gave drawing me before taking his own life at the age of 23. a moral purpose” Ralph said. In 1932 Grosz fled Germany - and certain death as a member of IMPACTS Hitler’s black list – to America. But in his new In 1995 I coordinated a project called ‘Celebrity home his pen lost its sting. He no longer felt Circles’ for Koru Care, a charitable trust I was hatred for his subjects. involved with that fund raised to make dreams come true for seriously ill and disabled children.

I sent many well known people a blank circle printed on plain paper to draw something for the charity. Ralph was one of these people. Such is his generosity and kindness he produced a wonderful batch of “Blottoes” as he called them, returned in an appropriately inked envelope.

For the past sixteen years I have been living in London. The film ‘For No Good Reason’ provided the catalyst for my last two catchups with Ralph. Charlie Paul’s (a fellow Steadman disciple) intimate documentary portrait was filmed over 15 years presents Ralph as “a driven artist with a voracious creative instinct” the director said.

It explores the connection between life and art through the eyes of Ralph when his very good friend Johnny Depp pays a visit to do the interview and they take off on “a high spirited, lyrical, raging and soulful journey”. Johnny and Ralph’s relationship goes back to the Hunter S. Thompson days. Both shared a very deep loss classical lines of his landscapes in contrast with his signature unstructured, freehand characters.

It often begins with a blot of ink on a page.

“Making a mark is what it’s about – leaving a sign you’re been there. And any unintended marks were an opportunity to take his work in a different direction.

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when Hunter committed suicide in 2005.

Ralph even sings the lead on his song ‘Little Boy Billy’ a track featuring Johnny on Hal Willner’s 2006 anthology of songs “Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys”.

The film had its world premiere at the 2012 BFI London Film Festival in competition for the Grierson Award for Best Documentary at the Vue Cinema in Leicester Square. I caught up with Ralph for a brief chat, where he signed a copy of the poster, adding a quick doodle and even picking my antipodean accent as a Kiwi, not Australian.

A couple of years later Ralph did a Q&A at a special screening of the film at the Curzon Soho.

There he signed a montage sketch I drew and

added four blots for his pupils after forgetting what year it was, originally writing ’15, corrected to ‘14. “Sorry, bit tired,” he said.

It’s a fascinating film, but one that ends on a bleak note where Ralph informs interviewer Johnny that after nearly sixty years he doesn’t think he wants to be an artist anymore, for fear of becoming a ‘visual polluter’.

Ralph, thank you. For everything.

‘Ralph Steadman: INKling’ at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham in Kent until 17 November 2024.

“A unique opportunity to see four distinctive sides of a remarkable career from his iconic Gonzo work to his beautiful children’s illustrations”.

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TECHNOLOGY

INK VERSUS PROCREATE DOES DRAWING DIGITALLY COMPARE FAVOURABLY WITH GETTING YOUR HANDS DIRTY...

PETE SONGI testing the waters A common question when I meet new cartoonists at events these days is “so, do you ever use Procreate?”

I used to approach these conversations with a bit of trepidation, from a fear of imagined scorn or of being labelled some sort of cartooning outcast.

“Procreate you say? Pah! Be gone with you!”

Nowadays however it seems everybody’s doing it; out and proud and without fear of repercussions. I first started on this digital addiction at the start of the pandemic. At a loose end and with white paper seeming increasingly blank I was in need of a reboot. Along came Martin Rowson’s Twitter ‘Draw’ challenges, and suddenly there was a reason to commit what was in mind to the page. But hang on! All that scanning, rubbing out, wasting ink...surely there was another way? That’s when, as per usual on these occasions, Mrs Songi stepped in with a suggestgiven ed solution. “Have you thought of an iPad?” An EQUPMENT CHOICES! a few ways to skin a cat a considerinterview with the great Jeff Kinney (Diary of a able boost. You also Wimpy Kid fame) had stuck in her mind. Jeff had have access to extras like instant never looked back it seemed. video capture of what you”ve just drawn and the So I decided what’s good for Jeff is good for ability to create simple animations . As it’s digital me and off I went online, bank card in hand. A you have a very similar range of tools available bit of research quickly led me to the Procreate to that of Photoshop to enhance your image, App and before I knew it I was staring, not at and I personally loving using a bit of ‘smudge’ to blank piece of paper but a blank create some nice shadow effects. computer screen. And I thought Costswise the app will currit was going to be easy. #LOL rently set you back £12.99 as a NOWADAYS I started life with crayons, one-off payment, which is very progressed to felt tips, had a IT SEEMS cheap considering what you have brief pencil and paint period access to and obviously there is EVERYBODY’S and then found myself settled in no need to hit Cass Art or Graphic rather expensive pigment black DOING IT Centres for endless refills or paper ink pens and pantone markers. grabs. Finally, there is the beauty The beauty of Procreate is that it of freedom, as you are not tied has all of these and more, so your to a desk.

I might start something in my studio initial period is not drawing but instead testing space, continue it on the sofa and maybe finish out its myriad functions, which can feel slightly it down the pub (with good wifi obviously!). So overwhelming. But what are the real positives if it’s this good, why are we still cutting down all and negatives to digital v mucky hands? those trees?

PROS With Procreate you have no need for a rubber, you have a choice of pretty much every known brush or tip with the choice of any colour in the rainbow, and you can zoom right in, create specific palettes, work in layers and export instantly to email and social media, or Air Drop to devices.

This means your speed of finishing a project is

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CONS Do you EVER shake off that “dirty’ feeling of “I haven’t produced a one-off masterpiece and I I’ll never have those artistically mucky hands”?

I’m not sure. Legitimacy and the ability to sell an ‘original’ can be non-negotiable for some.

You don’t have to charge a paint brush! I find

JUST SAYING! Mrs Songi knows it...

if I’m doing a big piece the iPad will probably slip 45% and the iPencil likewise, so it’s always best to keep up to around 90% at all times to effectively charge when you are not using it.

You can be caught out. On one of my brief moments on The Guardian approaching the deadline, everything went blank. I had to work for the remaining time plugged in, which is not ideal.

There’s also that nagging feeling of ‘what if the iPad breaks?’ A bit like a wedding ring in ht lead-up to the ceremony, you have to treat it like your life depends on it. Therefore the cost and outlay of the iPad also needs to be taken into consideration. An affordable app, yes! But £300 at least for the hardware.

EXPERIMENT So we like the shiny iPad with its fancy app and we also like the warm fuzzy feeling of producing cartoons the traditional way, but which is better?

There’s only one way to find out...

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFIGHT! Or I could just do an experiment using one cartoon and come to some sort of informed conclusion and avoid a TV Burp face off.

Opposite is our old PM Rishi in a toon that’s hopefully self-explanatory, and inlcudes some common themes such as a familiar character, water, skin, clothing and light. I’ve created it on an iPad, painted it on Oxford paper, and finally I’ve painted it on board.

THE EXPERIMENT PROCREATE

This image took 25 minutes to produce.

After sketching out the image using a digital watercolour pencil I created three layers; the first for the black outline, below that the character colour and below that the background. You can view the whole process on the time-lapse video Opposite, another handy feature of procreate!

EXPERIMENT

PAINT ON OXFORD PAPER

Oh I do love it when it gets messy!

After managing to find my old light-box under a load of old annuals I embarked on putting pen to paper for the first time in quite a while. After pencilling the outline and adding a rough pigment line I set about it rigorously with a rubber.

I have large array of paints from large tubes of acrylic, watercolours and a bit of goauche for detailing - and of course way too many brushes!

Use it all? Why the hell not? After about 90 minutes it was done. I’m not the most accomplished and certainly not the most patient, but I did really enjoy this process an awful lot!

EXPER-

IME HAPPY MISTAKES? last minute ink blot

OLD SCHOOL lightbox up first JAM JARS OF DOOM...

100 brushes? Nah just use 4

PAINT ON BOARD

MUCKY HANDS but is it worth it?

CONCLUSIONS

A slightly different feel and obviously There is no way of avoiding it - using an app not ideal for putting in the post is less messy and at least twice as quick to a customer or publishers; as paint. However you can’t pretend however I do love working there isn’t a lot more satisfaction in on board. producing a piece of artwork in the You get the same traditional way. amount of satisfaction I remain on the fence, which from producing what is may seem like a cop out, but I do deemed ‘original’ work; feel that there’s room for all of but there are less pitit which is why I need both at my falls and the ink is better disposal. absorbed. POSCA - for For my regular gig at The Mirror, or those who prefer to have any similar job that requires a POSCA PAINT PENS! a pen in their hand - seem pacey finish to a news story or great for board work particularity suited to MDF. deadline, I’m going to be using Procreate This small piece once sketched 100% all the way. out took me about an hour, although I didn’t However if I have more time on my hands and attempt a background wash which would have I’m getting paid for a more of an original piece taken a bit longer. of work, then it’s time to get my hands dirty!

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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34

SUCCESS

MEASURING ACHIEVEMENT WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REJECTION ISLAND AND YOUR HEART SKIPPING A BEAT? RUPERT BESLEY from the coalface In cartooning, success and failure are not hard to tell apart. A cartoon rejected is one strangled at birth. So much time lost and effort wasted.

And so it remains, until you are lucky enough to find a taker elsewhere - if the cartoon is any good, that will happen sometime (unless it is one so topical as to miss the moment).

A cartoon accepted (and published, which does not always follow) is something that gives a skip to the heart, however often that happens. On comes payment (sometimes, eventually) and the door open to further acceptances.

For newbies (ok, be honest, for old hands too) there’s the thrill of having your name up in lights. (Only it isn’t. They’ll have got it wrong.

It’s what editors are trained to do.) That’s cartoon success. Or is it?

For plenty in the profession a cartoon taken is job done and on to the next. For them, cartoons are just noises off, amusing page-fillers, here today and binned tomorrow, with no deeper end in mind.

Others take a different line. They went into cartooning with thoughts, maybe naive, of somehow being able through ridicule to expose the lies, hypocrisy and injustices by which things work and so make changes for the better. Some hope, that. How often do we hear of satirists chucking in the towel on finding politics and the ways of the world far outdoing anything they can come up with.

CREATING WAVES Did any cartoon ever change anything? And, if you think one did, how do you ever prove that Googling ‘cartoons that changed the world’ brings up endless lists of famous and timely cartoons, like Gillray’s Plumb-pudding. But these all take the form of witty observation and

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

reportage of things already happening rather darkest of times. Hoffnung arrived here as an more than being quite the creators of change. escapee from Nazi Germany. Searle somehow Writers and artists (which includes cartoonsurvived 3 years in Changi Prison and on the ists) are the canary sniffers down the mine.

‘Death Railway’. Giles, sent to visit Belsen on Whether or not they are the initiators or drivers its liberation, found it impossible to draw. The of social and political change, they are among joyous work of their subsequent careers was to the first to sense and anticipate what is to show there is a better world to be had through come. That’s what happened a century back. For humour than through hatred. hundreds of years, thousands even, life in this No one ever did bucolic charm and innocence country had gone on the same old way. It took better than Norman Thelwell, but his work too the horrors of World War One to change all that. is not without its sharper edge and deeper The breakdown of the old order did not come message, often addressing environmental out of the blue; it had been herconcerns. His fine collection ‘The alded years before by the birth Society’ was well ahead FOR PLENTY IN THE Effluent of modernism in art, theatre, of its time.

PROFESSION A writing and music.

In art we see ourselves reflectA single raindrop hitting rock ed.

Cartoons do this with crazy CARTOON TAKEN IS bounces off. It does not crack mirrors, all the funnier for the A JOB DONE AND ON comic and absurd distortions that the stone. But in time, by erosion, water wins. Rain and waves seem so very real. Cartoons work TO THE NEXT crumble rock, wash away cliffs by exaggeration, the more so the and change the whole shape of merrier. In cartooning, nothing the coastline. Cartoons work much the same succeeds like excess. way.

Most cartooning is more than just crackRUPERTBESLEY er jokes with drawing and political cartoons are not the only ones to make a wider point.

Look back to those greats of the 50s/60s and beyond, almost all of whom had known the

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THE SUCCESS GALLERY

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THEME FOR THE NEXT ISSUE:

RESOLUTIONS Email entries to editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk Deadline: DEC 20th 2024

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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SUCCESS

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ON TOUR

43rd Salon de la Caricature du dessin de Presse et D’Humour 2024

JUST ACROSS THE CHANNEL CARTOONISTS ON A ROAD TRIP TO THE SAINT-JUST-LE-MARTEL CARTOON FESTIVAL IN FRANCE DES BUCKLEY le dessinateur Saint Just la Martel is a small rural village 12k outside Limoges. Local visionary Gerard Vandenbrouke with the support of local people established this unique Arts festival.

Now in its 43rd year St Just has established a reputation as an International Centre for Humorous Art & Caricature. An army of volunteers ‘keep the show on the road’ providing world class hospitality The picturesque motif of the Salon is the local Limousine Cow. The Salon exposes the lofty ideals of Fraternity, Freedom of the Press & Democracy.

In the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo four Cartoonists were murdered. The artists are well known in St Just. They & the late Mr Vandenbrouke are now commemorated on the Salon walls. During the festival Armed Personnel are deployed to help guarantor public safety. The atmosphere however remains convivial, calm & joyful.

CARTOONS The quality & variety of Artwork is impossible to summarise. There are certainly graphic images of global conflict, destruction, folly & despair.

A display by Israeli cartoonists pulled no punches in its depiction of their political class. Given the multinational make up of the artists there was debate & difference. Conducted in several languages. There were also subtle artworks from those living under restrictive regimes where overt criticism is punished.

Last year the Salon celebrated Steve Bell following his turbulent experience with the Guardian.

This year even with the effervescent Ross Thomson we still didn’t have enough Brits to form a 5-a-side team. John Landers Chris Williams & I were fortunate to have a small selection of work in the International display.

Our larger ‘Entente Cordial’

JOHN SACKS MODEL King Charles & Steve Bell

CARTOONISTS TRIBUTE

EXHIBITION The Exhibition was set up at Limoges Airport.

We were lucky to visit it with the assistance of Steve Bells advocate Oliver who helped arrange transport with the excellent volunteers.

It was an excellent trip. The commonest question “ do you regret Brexit!”

DES BUCKLEY

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

IT’S HERE! Chris Willams locates the toons!

CHURCH AT ST JUST

THE GYMNASIUM Exhibition space at Limoges

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PERSPECTIVE

TOONING AT CONFERENCE IS THEIR A BENEFIT TO POLITICAL CARTOONING BY GETTING UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL? TOM JOHNSTON political cartoonist With conference season over in the news calendar, It’s worth looking at the niche history of cartoonists at political conferences plus other visual reporting.

The modern version of the political conferences started in the early 1900s that function like other public forums and public gatherings.

Evolving over the decades from being national assemblies type events to nowadays being more PR exercises, to mingle with members, the media and lobbyists and hopefully going off without a hitch.

Not always the case when you think of the innfighting for Labour in the 80s and Corbyn days to Theresa May’s 2017 speech when the set fell apart and was handed a P45. Given the importance in the news cycle, big events for cartoonists in the UK. A CONVERSATION PIECE! Asking around It seems cartoonists attendsigned work of the Labour front bench ing important political events like conferences has been a regular thing during the 20th from life, as anyone doing life drawing classes THE CONFERENCE century. knows. Especially with the speeches watching The acclaimed David Low and Vicky were reg- Back to the conferences after those smattering some of the politicians speak you notice little of refences, for the past 40 years cartoonists ular attendees at Party conferences and others haven’t been going to conferences or live events things like gestures, mouth movements, how like the TUC. they move around, getting the full 3D view, too much, the honour of most being done by I suppose the thinking was it wasn’t a stretch rather than the top few pictures from Google Steve Bell who has covered many of the confor editors to assign them to it like other jourimage search. Plus the location itself can lead ferences plus travelling in nalists. In many ways the function to the visuals, many a cartoon covering elections. Some videos isn’t too dissimilar to a courtroom “THE BLODDY conference where say the Brighton on the Guardian artist or House of commons sespier, Birmingham’s canals or rainy website show Bell’s sions pre the TV broadcasts LIBERTY YOU old Manchester used as a backdrop. working methods Cartoonists have occasionally TOOK WITH With being up close with the in action, plus his been sent to other live political politicians, that comes with some interactions with events being amongst the roamME MATE” strange interactions. Now as some politicians like ing reporters as well. Famously of you reading know, I’m a Labour David Cameron David Low drew the Numberg DRAW OR EXTERMINTATE? Wes Streeting asking about councillor and work for a Labour MP, trials, coming up close to the Tom discusses next moves.. at 2023 conference Health Secretary the condom so I often attend the conferences high ranking nazis he’d been For work but also bring a sketchbook thing, even while drawing for a decade before their and doodle away. campaigning at a Fishmonger’s executions.

Off hand during a By Election in 2022, I was suggesting Bell draw a Fish in a condom.

Gerald Scarfe was sent to cover Richard kneeling down at a campaign event and when Martin Rowson also attended for some years, Nixon’s 1968 run for presidents, much to Tricky making his speech Keir Starmer stood next to only recalling seeing Chris Riddell and Peter Dick’s annoyance, often saying “Hi Gerry, are ya me, face to bum. After his speech I presented Brookes attending once or twice. pencils sharp today?” Scarfe also travelled with him with a doodle which he laughed at, probably It’s a strange anomaly as most of the time Robert F Kennedy 1968 run and would be dining thinking “Who’s this kid bothering me?” cartoonists are at their desks at the office or at in the same hotel where RFK would later be assassinated. Also it wouldn’t be amiss to mention home. Especially with the editorials, why go to CARTOONS a live event when we have TV or the internet to visual reporting, illustrating the events through With the recent election victory for Labour I drew give them all the news and reference images cartoons, like David Ziggy Greene’s Scene and a cartoon based on all behind you Winston by heard series for Private Eye, Ella Baron’s coverage they need, making the job easier than ever.

David Low with a load of the labour front bench on refugees and Ralph Steadman’s collaboration So why go to these events then? and new MPs, including ones I know personally.

Well there is something thrilling about drawing with Gonzo Journalist Hunter S Thompson.

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From the Labour Party Conference 2024 Is it a bit of shameless propaganda? Probably yes but given I was trying to draw some of the MPs in what I thought was a nice way, the reactions have been interesting.

Meeting some at events including conferences, I got them to sign a print for a possible fundraising item in future. Most were quite chuffed, others had rye smiles saying “i’m not sure i want to sign given how you drew me”.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said I drew him too fat, which to be fair, he is quite slim seeing him in person.

Wes Streeting laughed at how small i drew him said when signing “The bloody liberty you took with me mate” I immediately apologised to Ed Miliband how he looked but replied saying he didn’t think he looked too bad, probably true given how rough the toons were during his time as leader.

As it went on I did feel quite embarrassed going round bothering MPs for signatures, being reluctant to interrupt them. Did make me realise why some cartoonists keep their distance or deal with the awkwardness. It was a positive but I’d be too embarrassed to do it again.

Plus conferences can be exhausting to cover and the big events and speeches inside the con-

JOHNSTON SKETCHES! scribbles from the conference

ferences might not be the big stories covered in the news which is what most viewers see so can be a juxtaposition of how things are perceived.

On a separate note, there was a stall at the labour conference for east Asians for Labour which was selling “Chibi” or cute manga drawings of the Labour team, which is probably more flattering and nice.

So while it seems like with most of the news, covering conferences may be done from afar by cartoonists for the foreseeable future, I can personally say it has been a useful and unique experience. Plus it’s given me a greater appreciation of the visual journalism side of cartooning.

So if you’re looking for a one off experience, going to draw at conferences or other news events is fun when done right. If nothing else the amount of free alcohol available at conferences is sure to keep you going.

TOM JOHNSTON

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

MARTIN ROWSON: MEMORIES OF CONFERENCES PAST...

I went mainly in the 90s and 2000s, my first one was the Labour conference in 1994 when Blair first became leader and my last was in 2007.

Myself and Steve Bell would sit amongst the photographers in the front row while drawing the main leaders speech.

I remember during Blair’s 1997 speech after 9/11, we briefly made eye contact and I could get the sense of him thinking “What’s that guy doing here? I’m the prime minister and I want this man killed!”

Seeing the politicians move is actually very useful, I could not draw Nick Clegg until I saw him move in the 2010 debates when I noticed how much his head would wobble, leading to my Clegg-noccio depiction.

I’d usually go to the Labour ones for Tribune and once the Tory conference for the Times. I’d usually go for larks, meeting fellow colleagues in journalism and politics circles

Some memories I recall was going to the Tribune rally singing the red Flag next to Gerry Adams who didn’t know the words.

I also remember going through the 1997 labour ring of steel security, an elderly lord’s pacemaker sets off the metal detector and the young staff were unsure what to do.

One Labour colleague got us backstage, visiting Tony Blair’s dressing room complete with a mirror and baskets of fruit. There was a suggestion to shit in his toilet and not flush, trying to cause a media storm about how bad Blair’s toilet habits are.

Another memory was a Mirror party, where me and Steve Bell were bullshiting with Peter Mandleson, him pretending to not know who I was. Mandy then joked with Piers Morgan, then Mirror editor, had he ever heard of Martin Rowson? To which he responded “Yes i do, he’s fucking brillaint” which promptly shut up Mandleson. So that’s why I give Piers more slack then most would.

STEVE BELL: MEMORIES OF CONFERENCES PAST...

My first conference was the 1981 conservative Brighton conference for Time out magazine. Being a young thing then it was a terrifying experience, it was like a gathering of the undead.

So when I produced the cartoon, I drew from life complete with zombies and vampires applauding the undead Thatcher.

Having moved to Brighton I sparsely attended Labour and Tory conferences in the 80s but then I started going along full time with the Guardian team from the 90s onwards and became addicted going almost every year for some 30 odd years.

Seeing the subjects up close has been valuable in capturing certain details for caricature, such as John Major’s ingrowing lips or Tony Blair’s mad eyeballs.

I would often plop myself in amongst the photographers drawing the main speeches.

Often with conference cartoons I did there, I would incorporate aspects of the stage like backdrops or slogans, with the Lib Dems having yellow everywhere I depicted Nick Clegg drowning in Cheese.

I am quite fascinated with how politics is run so that’s partly why I was more drawn to it then my fellow colleagues were.

It was also a social highlight of the year seeing all my colleagues from the Guardian like Michael White and the sketch writer Simon Hoggart, often being merry in the evening drinking with other journos.

Being able to draw a complete cartoon became more doable as technology progressed, faxing and then later emailing from the press pack area.

I also went over to a few of the US conventions which happen every 4 years, Gordon Bennett,

I have never seen so many American flags in my life!

The members at conferences can be interesting. One fond memory I have is of a particular Tory representative at the podium, going on about Europe.

At the climax of his speech he reached into his Tesco carrier bag, produced an enormous leg of lamb and started waving it around his head, shouting “Stop the madness!”

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MY NEW BOSS!

A VERY VERY NEW CARTOONIST...

TNC CATCHES UP WITH THE NEW AND UPCOMING TALENT CHOOSING TO POKE FUN WITH A PENCIL, FELT TIPS OR iPAD DYANA SONGI meets Theo Martin Theo is 10 years old and lives in London.

He gets his influences from Lord of the Rings, Dungeon & Dragons, Greek Myths, cats and chaos and loves to paint.

“I do serious painting once a week with a brilliant teacher called Mar. I’ve done that for a few years.

She teaches me how to paint properly and how to see. Then for fun I just come up with my own creations. I’ve always done drawings when I’ve written stories. I find handwriting tricky, but I’ve never had problems putting my thoughts into my pictures. I find it both calming and creative – a great zone to be in. I mostly draw in pencil, but I love colour in my

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paintings. No idea why I’m so obsessed with cats, but they make good characters!’

So Theo, what kind of boss would you be?

“Well, I would take 90% of the profits, I ‘d only work on Tuesdays, and 40% of our workers would need to be cats, so all in all I think I’d be a pretty good boss.” Check out some of Theo’s artwork here.

THEO AGED 10

Would you like to have your work featured in My New Boss?

Please email editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk with your full name, date of birth, and a parent/guardian’s name, mobile number and email address.

You must be aged 12 or under, and be resident in the UK. You must also be prepared to take part in a Zoom interview and submit your own work only.

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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PENS DOWN!

THE BELL TOLLS FOR US ALL

A LOOK BACK AT THE PAST SIX YEARS THROUGH THE PRISIM OF THE UK’S GREATEST CARTOONIST Some books can be easily categorised, their genre readily outlined and labelled on a shelf with others in the same ilk. There are some however that are far away from the norm and are simply ‘stand alone’.

If you take a moment and just think back over the last six years, there’s a lot to remember. There’s the mayhem of Brexit, Trump, and Tory leadership battles. Royals moving on to other realms, wars aplenty and new Labour Party leaders. We had the Covid pandemic, with clapping for nurses and masks, and let’s not forget a bunch of marauding goats in Llandudno. Now throw in the mind of Steve Bell with Ack Ack from Mars attacks, grizzly lord penguins, bum-faced Boris and baked bean factions, and

you have a piece of work which is impossible to explain or review. Bell also explains in detail the end of his ‘If” strip, and his own unseemly departure from the Guardian comment pages.

A story of the wrong people getting upset over a cartoon that never was anti-semitic, and of uncommunicative editors.

The fact that the Israeli Cartoonists Association deemed the cartoon not anti-semitic says it all.

As a cartoonist it’s something you just have to have. BUY IT.

If...Stands Up versobooks.com £13.60

BUY HERE

Understanding the real ‘Culture Wars’ Britain’s culture wars, says Peter York, are waged by a shameless minority with no shortage of money or media access.

‘Their battle against society’s most vulnerable, whether it’s asylum-seeking refugees or transgender youth, is fought not for principle, but for money and for political power. ‘A Dead Cat on Your Table’ illuminates the dark corners where these culture warriors operate. Amplified by the viscerally profound artwork of cartoonist Martin Rowson, this book not only cuts through the

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divisive and dangerous narratives pervading our politics but exposes the cynicism and rancour of those who promote and promulgate them – all in graphic detail.’

I attended the launch of this book at the Century Club on Shaftesbury Avenue - a very enjoyable night with wine and excellent company including Glenn Marshall and Ben Jennings that offered an insightful Q&A with Peter York and Martin Rowson. I chose this book as my companion on my recent trip to Galway.

First up the imagery! What’s not to like about Martin Rowson’s work? But what is sometimes lost in the murk of newsprint within the Guardian pages is the absolute joy and detail in his work when applied to a whiter gloss stock of paper. The illustrations have a real zing.

‘A dead cat on your table’ is a fascinating exploration of what are commonly known as ‘the culture wars’. Think you know all about that? Well put away those misconceptions and read this!

The book cuts through what you think you know and exposes the back-handed narratives and strategies that drive news information in the UK today in forensic detail. Alarm bells ringing? Well they should be... and remember, always follow the lines.

A Dead Cat on your table Amazon £12:39

BUY HERE

Ever found yourself in an awkard silence, troubling to connect or to have a real human interaction?

Well say hello to Nick, an artist with many such hang ups either with his neighbours, plumbers, and even his Mum! This original graphic novel is brought to us via the exciting artwork of the NewYorker’s Will McPhail. A curious and deeply human story of adulthood, relationships and complex human moments, speckled with quite breathtaking ‘colourful flashes’ where Nick actually opens up to relay his true feelings.

WINNER OF THE BETTY TRASK PRIZE BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF 2021’ Guardian and Irish Times A quite wonderful piece of work and well worth the outlay.

In: The Graphic novel Amazon. £17.10 Want to learn more about beautiful Galway?.

Well you could waste hours on YouTube or Googlemaps. A better way is to grab this wonderful little gem of a book called Quay Street Sketches by Joey Mason. Joey was the artist in residence at the Watershed studio in 2022.

Full of stunning illustrations in an emerald green palette showcasing the people, buildings and streets of Galway, ‘Sketches’ really captures the essence of the place. Trust me, I’ve just been there!

STOCKING FILLERS!

BUY HERE

A beautiful, smart, entertaining new art book from New Yorker cartoonist and author Bob Eckstein that is a love letter to museums and museum-goers, filled with lush and whimsical illustrations paired with stories and anecdotes from curators, museum workers, museum visitors, and more.

Amazon £18.69

Quay Street, High Street & Shop Street Sketches Amazon. £27.28

BUY HERE

BUY HERE

Imagine if you could go back and capture all those meaningful moments and turn them into an illustrated book!

Join Lucie Arnoux on this adventurous journey through the first 30 years of a much travelled life. Beautifully illustrated this, at times very personal story of being an outsider, and an artist with a career in comics, is a wonderful escape.

The love affair with London pubs, the forever awkwardness of Tinder dates, folk rock bands and losing stuff all lend itself to a throughly entertaining tale of a life being lived to the full.

Je ne sais quoi Penguin Books £20.00 BUY HERE

Remember playing Top Trump cards as a kid round the back of the school sheds during lunch break?

Well now you’re a fully-fledged adult with bills and work responsibilities, why not escape that for a while by revisiting those halcyon days - with a bit of a twist!

Brought to you by the talented cartoonist Fergus Boylan (@infiniteguff) these chaotic-feeling trading cards based on the UKs’ obsession with the beautiful game of football (or soccer) and it’s crazed fans will leave you howling over your Turkey roast and choking on Grandma’s Apple crumble.

Fun for all the family at £14.99.

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

A tribute to a unique art form: the single-panel gag cartoon. It looks at why so many of us enjoy cartoons, and what makes for a great cartoon. Authors Phil Witte and Rex Hesner consider how cartoonists can present a complex or odd scenario that we immediately grasp, and what enables us to “get” the humour in a flash.

Amazon £21.45

BUY HERE

BUY HERE

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46

THE YOUNG CARTOONIST AWARDS 2024

COMPETITION

CARTOON DISCOVERIES!

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN AS THE BRITISH CARTOONISTS’ ASSOCIATION SEEKS NEW BLOOD The annual quest to find the best new cartoon talent is upon us as The British Cartoon Association and The Cartoon Museum invite applications for the Young Cartoonist Awards 2024.

The Young Cartoonist of the Year Award was originally founded as the Mel Calman Award in 1995, in memory of The Times cartoonist and Cartoon Art Trust founder. The competition is now run jointly by the Cartoon Art Trust and the British Cartoonists’ Association.

WINNERS These awards are not just a celebration of new art but an actually chance to forge a new career path.

Previous winners have included the great Will McPhail in 2013, now of NewYorker fame and a friend of TNC. In 2017 the incredibly talented Ella Baron took home a prize and can now be found gracing the pages of the Guardian and The Times.

Fergus Boylan was a winner in 2020 and can be found in this magazine’s pages as well as Private Eye, The Spectator and The London Economic. Zoom Rockman was a runner up in 2023 and was until recently published regularly in Private Eye. In 2022 friend of TNC and regular contributor Ed Garcia was a runner up, and Under 18 winner Corb Calow Davies has been published in The Guardian.

In 2023 Jess Judge was a runner up, and as well as appearing in TNC now has cartoons published in Private Eye. So what are you waiting for!

Cartoon Awards thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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EVENTS

BELL’S WINDSOR TAPESTRY Two years on from his coronation, The Windsor Tapestry showcases a visual history of King Charles III from 1980 to 2023, told in cartoons drawn at the time it happened, and accompanied by Charles’s own words as imagined by legendary British cartoonist Steve Bell.

The Royal Family is intertwined with British culture, politics, and art and are a core part of everyday British life and values - but like many Royals before them, they are not immune to the sharp satire of a cartoonist’s pen and ink. With a tradition of the free press stretching back over 300 years, cartoonists have long held the Royals and other powerful figures to account, and showcased the good, the bad and the strange parts of their role in British society.

For the past forty years legendary British political cartoonist Steve Bell has been caricaturing King Charles III and his family, and Steve Bell’s Windsor Tapestry brings together 98 of these cartoons into a 28-metre long fabric tapestry telling a visual history of Charles III (in the same way the Bayeux Tapestry told the story of King Harold II and King William I, but with a lot less arrows through eyes) from 1980 to the present day and exhibited alongside original artworks by Steve Bell, and other artists’ depictions of King Charles including Gerald Scarfe and Kathryn Lamb. The tapestry was originally exhibitied in October 2023 was part of the 42nd annual Festival of caricature at the Centre International de la Caricature, du Dessin de Presse et d’Humour in St Just Le Martel near Limoges in France.

Steve Bell is one of the most revered figures in British cartooning, with a career spanning more than four decades and a wealth of iconic images, strips and caricatures

cartoon: Steve Bell

KING CHARLES lll AND A NEW CARTOON EXHIBITION 16 NOVEMBER 2024 – MARCH 2025

of famous public figures, most prominently politicians, behind him. He is notable for his long-running If… strip for The Guardian, which ran from 1981 - 2021. He has produced illustrations and comic strips for many different magazines including Whoopee, Punch, Private Eye, the Radio Times, The Spectator and The Guardian. His work has been published and exhibited all over the world and he has won numerous awards, including the Political Cartoon Society Cartoon of the Year Award in 2001 and 2008 and Cartoonist of the Year in 2005 and 2007, the British Press Awards Cartoonist of the Year in 2002 and the Channel 4 Political Humour Award in 2005.

Alongside the Windsor Tapestry, the exhibition will explore Steve Bell’s process and career through original art from his 40+ year career, including If… strips, some of his early contracting work including his first-ever strip in Whoopee comic, and original cartoons featuring public figures such as Tony Blair, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Boris Johnson. Visitors will also get a chance to hear Steve discuss his studio and the subject of caricature itself, exploring how a cartoonist determines the character of a subject, and where their ideas for caricaturing certain physical characteristics and personality traits comes from.

HAVE YOU SEEN OUR ONLINE SHOP? CARTOON MUSEUM ONLINE SHOP

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or visit us in person: 63 Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London. W1A 3AE 5 minutes walk from Oxford Circus underground station.

Stay in touch via our social feeds or at www.cartoonmuseum.org

CARTOON MUSEUM

EXCLUSIVE AARDMAN SIGNED PRINT OFFER

We are very excited to have worked with Aardman Animations to create this exclusive to The Cartoon Museum limited edition /of 100 print which has been signed by Nick Park.

The image has been taken from one of Nick Park’s pencil sketches for the stop-motion animation film The Wrong Trousers (1993).

Size: A3 (unmounted and unframed) Printed on Somerset Photo Satin 300gsm paper in the UK by Mat Sant Studio.

Each print comes with a certificate of authenticity. Posted rolled in a cardboard tube and wrapped in acid free tissue paper

Price £150 but readers of

can get 10% off with the discount code:

NEWCARTOONIST10 CARTOON MUSEUM

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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EVENTS & ADS

LET IT SNOW! CARTOON EXHIBITION

MEET T CARTOONHE ISTS EXHIBIT ION LAUNC H THURSDA Y NOV 28T H FROM 5PM !

NOV 28th - JAN 31st ‘25

DUKE OF GREENWICH

91 COLOMB STREET, LONDON SE10 9EZ

IF YOU WOULD LIKE THE CHANCE TO BE IN THIS EXHIBITION ON A PUB WALL THEN PLEASE GET IN CONTACT HERE PUB EXHIBITION

In Association with:

Talent Including: Mark Winter, Royston, Andrew Birch, Kathryn Lamb, Pete Dredge, Glenn Marshall, Martin Rowson, Clive Goddard, Ben Jennings, Joe Dator, Dave Brown, Ed Naylor, Ken Pyne Pete Songi, Surreal McCoy, Nick Newman and many many more!

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EVENTS & ADS

A marketing newsletter for cartoonists and gagwriters.

Write for a free sample copy:

www.gagrecap.colemantoons.com AVAILABLE NOW! Exclusive signed prints of Chicane’s original cover art from the Sep/Oct issue of The New Cartoonist

CONTACT MARK FOR MORE DETAILS

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SPECIAL REPORT

CREATORS UNDER THREAT

CARTOONISTS RIGHTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN UNDER THE MIRCROSCOPE BUT EVEN MORE SO IN 2024 TERRY ANDERSON Cartoonists Rights Executive Director As this Year of Elections (some anticipated, others not) draws to its end there has been no shortage of fodder for the world’s cartoonists.

As never before their satirical insights offered an antidote to the rhetoric of candidates in campaign mode and, increasingly, “strong man” figures who promised a return to greatness.

An editorial or political cartoon rarely, if ever, offers a positive outlook. They are expressions of dissatisfaction with the status quo, dismay following tragedy, disgust when corruption is exposed, and dissent against the narratives of party politics and ideological orthodoxies.

Unlike a lengthy opinion column, they deliver to the reader a short, sharp shock of impudence.

Using caricature, egos are deflated. A cartoon might break a taboo with a flourish of splenetic exaggeration or, deploying a few simple strokes of the pen, may be literally as well as figuratively reductive.

For all these reasons cartoons trouble authoritarians. No-one relishes the prospect of mockery, least of all Dear Leaders. But it is cartoonists’ skill as communicators that is the real issue.

When with a wry smile or snort of weary resignation we recognise in a cartoon our own opinion reflected succinctly, there is comfort in it. The message is sent that others feel as we do. In that moment of connection, perhaps, something more can flourish.

And so, around the world and with mounting frequency – our latest report written jointly with Cartooning for Peace (Paris) points to a near-doubling of incidence – cartoonists are targeted and repressed; bracketed with seditionists and even terrorists, accused of peddling disinformation and propaganda, criminalised for insulting the state or causing offence to notions of decency and religious sensibility.

THREATS At the time of writing, two cartoonists are of especial concern. In July, police in Cairo grabbed Ashraf Omar from his home and subjected him to questioning over cartoons that had appeared on the Al-Manassa independent news platform.

Charged with crimes pertaining to misinformation and the support of terrorism, Omar’s

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wife says he was beaten and threatened with electrocution during interrogation and is being held in a period of pre-trial detention that can be extended indefinitely.

Earlier in the summer, a court in Tehran handed down five- and one-year sentences, respectively, on charges of ““insulting the sacred” and creating “propaganda against the State” to Atena Farghadani, a fearless visual artist and activist who first came to the world’s attention a decade ago when a cartoon drawn in defiance against legislation to curtail reproductive rights saw her imprisoned for eighteen months. Like Ashraf Omar, Atena has been very roughly treated by police. We know she suffered head injuries when arrested this year and in 2023, when held under similar circumstances, she alleges that an attempt was made to force-feed her an unidentified substance. Worst of all, during her original period in prison she was subjected to pregnancy and virginity tests, classified as torture by the UN. For all she endured then, my organisation recognized Atena with its Courage in Cartooning Award.

This year our partners the Freedom Cartoonists Foundation (Geneva) gave awards to both Zunzi – a Hong Kong cartoonist who lost a 40-year newspaper position and had his work withdrawn from public libraries after months of criticism from officials, and Rachita Taneja – awaiting a verdict from India’s Supreme Court, where three of her Sanitary Panels web comics may be found in contempt.

Rachita’s undaunted feminism garnered attention in the Draw for Change! film series profiling women cartoonists, a minority in the profession who receive a disproportionate level of (gendered) abuse. Of late we have championed the cause of Zehra Ömeroğlu, awaiting a verdict in a criminal trial after censors in Ankara this year determined that a 2020 cartoon of hers for Le Man magazine was “obscene”. Had it appeared in the same magazine under a male by-line we contend no such complaint would have arisen.

in Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

The celebrated street artist and cartoonist Badiucao’s exhibitions in Italy and Czechia have been disrupted by the Chinese embassies there, and he is impersonated by hordes of accounts on Twitter/X, seemingly intended to crowd him out and disrupt his ability to communicate with an audience.

PRESS FREEDOMS Places like Iran or China crop up time and again the context of press freedom, but some of our most troubling cases have occurred off the beaten track. Optatus Fwema, illegally detained by police in Tanzania or Abecor, targeted with death threats by partisans in Bolivia are prime examples.

And we in Europe cannot be complacent.

Cartoonists and satirists have been targeted by the political classes in Italy, Hungary and Slovakia, and hit with criminal complaints in Portugal and Spain. The populist end of politics often lays claim to guardianship of free speech, but in practice we know that their tolerance of protest is conditional upon whom is being demonstrated against. It is no different with critique, including satire.

CAUSING OFFENCE

A grim prognosis awaits cartoonists in a shrinking media sphere where the risk of causing offense is deemed too great, and some online platforms dispense with political content entirely. In recent years a handful of very high-profile names have exited from news titles under a cloud, even when their peers offer vigorous defence (for instance, the Israel Cartoon Association countering the accusations of anti-Semitism levelled at Steve Bell last summer). We must cherish our cartoonists, wherever their work is seen, and ask what it indicates regarding the health of our democracy when it is not.

Terry Anderson is a cartoonist based near Glasgow, and the Executive Director of CARTOONISTS RIGHTS, a non-profit organisation that seeks to defend and support cartoonists suffering human rights violations as result of their work.

December will see the organisation mount its annual pledge drive. Donors this year can bid for STATE DILEMMAS special rewards from some of the world’s best When national crises provide a pretext for cartoonists. crackdowns, cartoonists often feel the pressure.

Visit cartoonistsrights.org/donate to lend your During the COVID-19 pandemic Dhaka cartoonist support.

Ahmed Kabir Kishore was jailed and, he alleges, tortured under Bangladesh’s notorious Digital Security Act. And representatives of China alleged SUPPORT racism and called for reprisals against cartoonists HERE

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YULETIDE SPECIAL

ERR... SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS! Yeah, I know. It’s only ‘that time’ when the new John Lewis advert hits our TV screens!

Well here at TNC we’re always up for the festive period, even this early in November, and when you produce a bi-monthly mag you’re at the mercy to the Nov/Dec schedule. So before we get sucked into a new wistful version of a timeless classic butchered by a newby pleading us to make it all better by buying a product from a department store, I lay before you a seasonal spread from PCO cartoonists and beyond.

These are their stories...

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thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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YULETIDE SPECIAL

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thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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THE DIRECTORY

ANDREW BIRCH CONTACT HERE

VRONI HOLZMANN

CONTACT HERE

IAN BAKER

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

MARK WINTER

ED GARCIA

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

DAVID SIMMONDS CONTACT HERE

BEHRANG JEDDI CONTACT HERE

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JESS JUDGE

KIPPER WILLIAMS CONTACT HERE

ROGER PENWILL CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ERIC TRUANT

FERGUS BOYLAN

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

AIDAN COONEY

ANDREW FRASER

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

DES FONDANT CONTACT HERE

DEAN PATTERSON

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ACHAZ VON HARDENBERG CONTACT HERE

MIKE STOKOE

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

KEN LEVINE

ANDREW SCHULTZ

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

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THE DIRECTORY

PETE DREDGE CONTACT HERE

STEVE BRIGHT CONTACT HERE

ED NAYLOR CONTACT HERE

CLAUDIA WARD CONTACT HERE

STEVE LILLIE CONTACT HERE

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NICK NEWMAN CONTACT HERE

ROYSTON ROBERTSON CONTACT HERE

CLIVE GODDARD CONTACT HERE

CHRIS ‘DINK’ WILLIAMS CONTACT HERE

THE SURREAL MCCOY CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

KERINA STREVENS CONTACT HERE

BOB ECKSTEIN

CONTACT HERE

JOE DATOR

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

JAMES MELLOR

SAMUEL OJO

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

STEPHEN DEAN

KEVIN WELLS

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

GLENN MARSHALL CONTACT HERE

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ROY NIXON

LEWIS MARSDEN CONTACT HERE

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THE DIRECTORY

GUFFO CONTACT HERE

VILNISSIMO CONTACT HERE

DAWN MOCKLER CONTACT HERE

SAM SKORONSKI CONTACT HERE

RON MCGEARY CONTACT HERE

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NICOLA JENNINGS CONTACT HERE

ZACH RHODES CONTACT HERE

SIMON ELLINAS CONTACT HERE

DEREK SCOTT CONTACT HERE

DAN BORIS CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

VISH CONTACT HERE

STEVE BELL

CONTACT HERE

BEN CHILTON

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

DAVE BROWN

RUPERT BESLEY

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

MARTIN ROWSON

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ROB MURRAY

RADICAL EMBROIDERER

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

JIM COGAN

SARAH BOYCE

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

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A mean-spirited crocodile has descended on the fair city of Dundee, plaguing its citizens with a relentless game of one-upmanship that is driving the townsfolk to despair. The Mayor has sent an urgent request to Australia to send their very best crocodile hunter – Mick Hogan – at their earliest convenience…

As requested, Mr Hogan, here is a rugged new bicycle for you to get around town with on your search

It’s a f***ing ripper, Mayor, beauty, I’ll get started straight away

No wuckers Mayor. I love hunting crocs and this one seems particularly nasty, so just the kind of bastard I like to throw on the barbie!

…thi s

That’s

not a bike

Welcome Mr Hogan.

You come to us in our darkest hour, thank you!

is a bike!

Right, no time to lose, let’s get after that f***ing croc

Later...

Come back here you leathery f***er!

Strewth!

The bastard got away and all that bike ridin’ has left me as dry as a nun’s nasty!

I’ll cool down with this frosty pint of amber nectar before getting back on his trail…

Mate,

that ’s

this

not a pint…

is a pint!

This

Later...

F*** me – he’s given me the slip again.

All this chasin’ around has left me deadset starvin’… I’m gonna get stuck into this bloody pie and then…

is a pie!

That’s not a pie!

Wait!

Heh heh… right into my trap.

Now to get my massive cock out

That’s

not a cock…

small penis

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What?

Congratulations Mr Hogan, you’ve freed

Th is is a cock!

This is Neville, my massive fighting cock! And judging by the size of that piddlin’ little thing you’re packin’ there pal, there’s no match, but!

H HAHA

A

F*** me, I’m not sticking round here to be made a laughing stock – I’m off and no mistake!

P the city of the tyranny CLA CLAP P CLA

Bonz er !

Nice one, cobber! Nev and I’ll be on our way. hooroo everyone!

of that rotten croc!

You’re welcome back any time – you and your massive cock.

HOROSCOPES

By Prophetical Mildred, the most accurate soothsayer in the Greater London region for cartoonist horoscopes Aries 21 March – 19 April

Scorpio 24 October – 21 November

The ghosts of three renowned cartoonists will visit you in the night and drink all of your beer.

During a heavy snowfall you come up with a great idea to get cartoon editors to notice you: you draw cartoons in the snow outside their offices. If they still refuse to publish you they are left with a vulgar snowman.

Taurus 20 April – 20 May

You will be invited to take part in a very glitzy winter festival. Unfortunately when you arrive you realise it’s been a case of mistaken identity and they actually meant to invite that famous weirdo whose name is a bit like yours. As you try to set them straight you catch sight of the massive pile of dosh they intend to pay you and you decide to put on the damn elf costume and dance on that pole like your life depends on it.

You may even consider a career change.

Sagittarius 22 November – 21 December

You notice a big star in the east following you around all day. You ask an astronomer friend of yours what’s going on, and she confirms that it is following you but it’s actually a planet, not a star. Your first thought is “I wonder if they have a newspaper in need of a cartoon”

Capricorn 22 December – 19 January

Gemini 21 May – 21 June

You will be invited to a Christmas party for an elite yet shady organisation. Upon arrival you notice several other cartoonists with fear in their eyes. Each of you has drawn a particularly vicious caricature of at least one member of this organisation. For their Christmas party this year they have decided to hunt you all down through a manor house with a paintball gun, thus turning you into swollen bruised and colourful caricatures.

Cancer 22 June – 22 July

You will create a collection of Christmas cards that are a bit spooky. You will sell so many of them you will have visions of yourself swimming in gold coins Scrooge McDuck styles, only to be confronted with several underworld spirits you’ve accidentally summoned who all need to be paid off. This eats up all of your profits

Leo 23 July – 22 August

You will wear novelty reindeer antlers relentlessly, convinced that they act as cartoon antennas that let you pick up on all the good ideas before the other cartoonists can think of them.

Virgo 23 August – 22 September You will be minding your own business on New Year’s Eve - dancing topless on a table while licking a toad in a respectable manner - when you witness a crime. As you are the most sensible person present the police will try to question you but you will have temporarily forgotten how to speak English causing them to arrest you instead. You will have to express the events of the night via deranged drawings on the holding cell walls.

This has the beginnings of rather a lovely coffee table book.

Libra 23 September – 23 October The strangest person you vaguely know will give you a Christmas present. They will insist that it’s a magic pen and they will pester you every day to know if you’ve used the pen yet. Finally they wear you down and you unwrap the pen. It doesn’t work. Instead of ink it’s filled with a bizarre mixture of Class A drugs and coconut.

You will go out for a walk in the dark to look at all the Christmas lights. You find yourself on a street you’ve never walked down before and peer into a house that has left their lights on and their curtains open. You will see one of your cartoons on the wall! Overjoyed you hang around a little longer to try and catch a glimpse of these wonderful beacons of culture. Once they stumble back into the front room and begin sacrificing a goat you scurry off into the darkness.

Aquarius 20 January – 18 February

You will draw cartoons using a turkey feather quill intending it to be a great marketing schtick for Christmas presents. However you will discover you can only draw cartoons about Easter and Diwali via turkey quill due to some licensing agreements the turkeys made with various gods hundreds of years ago

Pisces 19 February – 20 March

It will be particularly icy and you wall fall on your arse, gliding down a steep slope legs akimbo. No fewer than 27 cartoonists will witness this and “icy falling man” will become the new “desert island” cartoon trope for a solid 6 months.

CAPTION COMPETITION!

WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Can you match the cartoonist?

Opposite is a caption from a finished cartoon.

Send us your suggestions. The winner will get published alongside the original cartoon in the next issue and win this fantastic TNC mug.

Email jpg entries by December 20th to editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk or hit the link below!

The winner will be selected purely on humour and originality, open to all skill sets!....

Good Luck!

CAPTION COMPETTION

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

Winner!

Stephen Dean

WIN ME!

So that life hack thing didn’t work out then?

Stephen wins a TNC mug for matching up against Andrew Birch from the last issue!

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PARTING SHOT

ONCE UPON A TIME ON A DATE WITH THE OPTIMIST TAKE A WORDY TRIP WITH THE EXPECTANT ROMANTIC EXPERIENCING TRYSTS WITH A TWIST...

DEAN PATTERSON a poet that knows it Dating Life of the Punster.

I once dated an equation But it didn’t work out, I once dated a Guinness heiress Nice girl, a little stout.

I once dated Mary Queen of Scots She was great at giving head, I once dated an electric blanket She was fucking great in bed.

I once dated a burning ember She gave me the hots, I once date a woman who lost her dentures See Mary, Queen of Scots.

I once dated an unknown sea length But she was hard to fathom, I once dated a computer generated answer She was random.

I once dated a playground roundabout but it was not to be as it turns, I once dated a dog, trapped inside a burning vehicle But she gave me carpet burns.

I once dated a selfish Dalai Lama But he wouldn’t give me peace I once dated a selfish farmer But he would give me peas, I once dated an American president But he got me in some awful states I once dated the fruit of a dactylifera tree I actually quite enjoyed those dates.

I once dated a one-armed uber driver But she drove me round the bend, I once dated an unqualified cardiac surgeon But my heart she couldn’t mend.

I once dated a bunch of dried grapes but she left me. She had her raisins, I once dated an in-your-face meditating underwear model But she was far too bra-zen.

I once dated a faulty speaker But she wasn’t quite sound

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I once dated a coat left on the tube But she was lost, and I was found, I once dated a pigmy How could I stoop so low?

I once dated a genuine gardening tool Turns out, she was a proper hoe.

I once dated an unemployed perfumer But she didn’t make any scents I once dated an unemployed American coin manufacturer But she didn’t make any cents, I once dated a woman with a small patch for gardening But when she left she took the lot I once dated a forgetful fiction novelist But she had clearly lost the plot.

I once dated Britain’s fattest man But there was no getting around him, I once dated a man who set treasure hunts Who was lovely, until I found him.

I once dated a suspicious refuse collector, But she kept asking where I’ve wheely bin I once dated the current leader of North Korea Nice boobs, but didn’t look much like a Kim. I have dated many in the past, really And most have had their day, But I ended falling for a scabble player Due to what we have in common, wordplay.

DEAN PATTERSON

THE END PORTRAIT BY: KEVIN WELLS

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