The New Cartoonist May/June 2025

ISSN: 2977-6368

NUMBER 5 MAY/JUN 2025

READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH COVER STAR JEREMY BANX

BORN TO DRAW

thenewcartoonist.co.uk

£2.50

POLITICALLY SPEAKING...

WITH IAN DALE

NEW CATS EXHIBITION LAUNCH SPECIAL

ESCAPE CARTOONS A THEMED SELECTION

THINKING ABOUT INK WITH MARSHALL NOT FUNNY

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DIFFERENT CARTOONISTS INSIDE!

PLUS: N MARK WINTER ON SOREL N TNC MEETS A NEWBIE IN MY NEW BOSS N YCOTY WINNER JESS JUDGE N STEVE LILLIE V PROCREATE N PROPHETICAL MILDRED HOROSCOPES

CONTENTS PAGE 4

MONKEY TYPEWRITER

POLITICALLY SPEAKING WITH IAIN DALE

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HEAD LINES JEREMY BANX PROFILE

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CATS CARTOON EXHIBITION

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MEET JESS JUDGE

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THE 3 S’S CONTIUED MARK WINTER ON SOREL

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STEVE LILLIE V PROCREATE

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ESCAPE A CARTOON THEME

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TECHNICAL MARSHALL NOT FUNNY ON INKS

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MY NEW BOSS WITH RAFE CARVER

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PENS DOWN BOOK REVIEW

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THE CARTOON MUSEUM WHAT’S ON

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ANIMATION - FLOW

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A CARTOON TRIBUTE BOB BROCKIE

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QU EST KEIR?

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CRICKET CARTOONS

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THE DIRECTORY CONTRIBUTORS LISTING

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HOROSCOPES & CAPTION COMP

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PARTING SHOT WITH MEGAN LEE

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

CLICK HERE 02

IF A MILLION MONKEYS WOULD TAKE A MILLION YEARS TO TYPE THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE IT SHOULD TAKE ONE MONKEY 15 SECONDS TO TYPE A SINGLE DONALD TRUMP POST

GET YOUR HOROSCOPES FROM PROPHETICAL MILDRED p81

JUDGEMENT DAYS YCOTY WINNER JESS JUDGE on p24

COOL FOR CATS!

CHECK OUT THE LAUNCH OF THE NEW EXHIBITION

p20

Ed’s Welcome Hello and welcome to the May/June edition of TNC. The jumpers are back in the drawers and the sunglasses are out in force; could summer be here? Here’s hoping!

Firstly an update from the last issue, as I had mentioned subscriptions were leading me to tear my hair out. But thankfully that bug has now been fixed at ISSUU. If you haven’t subscribed and saved 10% then do it now! Who doesn’t like saving money?! (Hit the button top right for more information).

Talking of money, it can be a very expensive business setting up a new venture like TNC, with lots of unforeseen costs lurking around every corner. One thing I thought I was ok with was hardware. That was until one of the first signs of the great British summer appeared... FLIES! Yes, those pezzzzky things buzzing around the minute you feel brave enough to open a window, or especially after these past sun-filled weeks, NO FIT STATE TO actually having the CONTINUE 2013 back door ajar.

I have become in the recent past quite an expert KAPUT 2025 in relieving these blighters of the

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self-imposed imprisonment they seem to crave.

Carefully navigating window-opening with subtle waves of my arms; “...go on fella you know you want to..”, on a recent fateful afternoon one little bugger got the better of me as a few waves too many sent water flying all over my work surface.

Now I’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to MACs over the years - losing only one to user error in 2013 - so to lose another twelve years later to pilot error seemed quite apt, and probably inevitable. We move on, quite a bit lighter in the pocket, but sat in front of a gleaming MAC Studio I feel a sense of relief more than anything. Updating feels like the right thing. The Fly? Well when I finally caught up with it, there was no doubt it understood the enormity of its actions.

NUMBER FIVE

Despite the slight interruption to zzzzservices the juggernaut keeps rolling. In this issue we have the pocket cartoon genius that is Jeremy Banks (Banx). I caught up with Banx in his studio at home in sunny Margate with views to die for.

Make sure you watch the video as well as reading the interview.

We also have the fabulous Iain Dale in

‘Politically Speaking’ and a piece on the very nice evening spent at the launch of the new Cats exhibition at The Cartoon Museum.

Jess Judge, one of the Young Cartoonists of The Year, gives us an insight in to her work, and the talented Steve Lillie tries on Procreate for size. Plus there are political cartoons galore!

Mark Winter extends his three S’s series with a thank you to Edward Sorel and his work, and there’s a brilliant look at Inks from Marshall Not Funny.

There’s also gag cartoons, a centre-spread special on the theme of ‘Escape’, and another on ‘Cricket’.

Dy meets up with budding cartoonist Rafe Carver, and the most accurate soothsayer in Greater London, Prophetical Mildred, returns with your horoscopes. Finally a striking tale from the eighties in ‘Parting Shot’.

EMAIL PETE Enjoy!

THE EDITOR

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POLITICALLY SPEAKING

HAMMER AND TONGUES

LBC RADIO PRESENTER, POLITICAL PUNDIT, WRITER AND PUBLISHER , IAIN DALE SPEAKS TO TNC PETE SONGI poking and probing

When listening to lively interviews on the radio or staying up late on a ‘school night’ to catch the debates on paper reviews, political balance is always vital.

Whether you exist on the left, right or somewhere in-between, political debates can often become clouded in hard-core rhetoric, with opposing views clashing and resulting in often unwatchable slanging matches.

Navigating the political arena successfully is probably down to a combination of lived experience, and being able to see both sides of the argument. So who better for TNC to catch up with than someone who has been round the political block a few times, the one and only Iain Dale.

Iain has a regular talk show on LBC Radio and also appears on Sky News and ITV as a political contributor. He is also a former publisher and book retailer and has a new twice-weekly podcast. He is a prolific political writer with two new books out on the very ‘Marmite’ figure of Margaret Thatcher.

The dust has now settled after the local elections. Do you think the ‘Reform Quake’ will really change the political establishment? Are they here to stay? Can Nigel really make plans for Number 10?

In September last year I was ridiculed for writing an article in the I Newspaper which explained a path to Nigel Farage becoming prime minister.

I made clear I wasn’t predicting it, but there was DEBATING ON TV A regular political pundit

a ten per cent chance of it happening. I think that probability has risen to 20-25%. They’re not laughing at me now! Obviously there’s a lot of political water to flow under the electoral bridge before 2028, and Nigel has a record of not lasting the course, but I think this time it’s different, now that he’s got a sniff of power in his nostrils.

With Trump sneezing nearly everyday, how does the rest of the World stop getting a Tariff cold? Do you think his way of doing global politics will ever get the wars/conflicts to end?

We always knew that a second Trump presidency would be a rollercoaster rise, but his hyper activity in his first three or four months is unprecedented. He’s ripped up an established world order in trade and diplomacy, all with a view to his legacy. There is

little the world can do about it apart from try in vain to adapt and not lose its collective head in response.

You’ve had a very varied career from running a bookshop in Westminster, writing for numerous national newspapers, TV Broadcasting and even running as an MP. How did that start for you? Was it always going to be politics? Any top tips for newbies starting out in journalism?

I originally intended to be a German teacher, but once I caught the political and media virus, that was it. I wanted to either be an MP or a radio presenter. I failed at the first, although at least I tried, and it took me many years to break into radio. Indeed, I was 48 when it finally happened. Frankly, I had given up, but luck and determination prevailed.

My advice is that if you have a dream, hard work and persistence will get you a long way.

Being in the right place at the right time helps too. If you’re starting out, make a nuisance of

WITH IAIN DALE yourself, and take on any task, however menial.

If you’re on work experience or an internship, make yourself indispensable.

You are also a big Hammers fan (West Ham Utd for those reading from abroad). Do you get to see them much with your busy schedule?

I’ve had a season ticket since 1992 and I try to get there as often as possible, but this season hasn’t been a good one and I’ve been to fewer than ten games. That’s not because they’ve been playing badly – and they have - but given how difficult they’re making it to drive there and get away from the stadium, going to football now takes most of the day.

You have written extensively about Britain’s Political History. Do you think there are many lessons to be learned in looking back or are we just living in unprecedented times?

IAIN DRAWS!

If you don’t think there are lessons to be Rachel from accounts... learned from history then you’re supremely arrogant or know nothing. Probably both.

You have two new books out about The secret is to seek out the lessons and the Maggie Thatcher. Can you tell us more test them on people who know more about the about that? subject than you do. My new podcast WHERE The main one is a short biography, which seeks to POLITICS MEETS HISTORY with Dr Tessa Dunlop, introducer her to a new seeks to do just that. We grapple with a newsy generation, who weren’t subject of the day and try to relate it to incidents adults or weren’t even in history where something similar happened. alive during her eleven I’ve come to the conclusion that all politics and and a half years as prime economics are cyclical and the cycles generally minister. It also seeks last around 40 years. to explode some of the mythology put about by You are a prolific writer. Which writers her critics, but also some of her fans. The second inspire you? one, MEMORIES OF In fiction, James Herbert, Alan Hollinghurst, MARGARET THATCHER, is Michael Dobbs, Amanda Prowse and Robert a updated version of the Harris. In non fiction, Peter Hennessy, Richard book I published just after J Evans, Alastair Campbell (didn’t see that one coming, did you?), Tim Shipman, Charles Moore, her death in 2013. It’s a collection of 250 essays of Katja Hoyer and Tessa Dunlop. recollection of her as a person or work colleague. There are 36 new entries.

Political cartooning is becoming an increasingly precarious role for cartoonists. Do you think it still has a future in the age of AI and inclusivity? Have any cartoons stood out for you as a journalist?

A CARTOON FAVOURITE The genius of Martin Rowson

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Yes, I do. AI could never replicate the genius of Peter Brookes, Martin Rowson or Steve Bell. And there are

some brilliant young cartoonists out there, like Zoom Rockman. It may be a precarious living, but frankly, when hasn’t it been? Talent always rises to the top.

What is next for Iain Dale? As well as your regular LBC radio slot and ‘All Talk’ podcast, I hear you’re off to Edinburgh Fringe?

Life is never dull! I’ve been doing my radio show for 15 years and still love it. And I love podcasting too. When the radio eventually finishes, I’m sure I will continue with podcasts. My IAIN DALE ALL TALK podcast started life as an Edinburgh Fringe show in 2019, and there are 315 episodes later. I’ll be in Edinburgh this August for another run of 8 fringe shows featuring, among others, Rachel Reeves, Michael Heseltine, Jeremy Hunt and Jess Phillips. People really do love seeing politicians up close and in the flesh.

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

See the pathetic attachment! (above).

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HEAD LINES

A PORTRAIT OF JEREMY BANX

PERFECTLY FORMED TOONS THE NEW CARTOONIST MET UP WITH THE FT’s CARTOON POCKET MASTER JEREMY BANX People often say, “size isn’t everything”, and when it comes to cartooning that term is never truer when seem through the prism of the creative mind of Jeremy Banks (Banx).

Jeremy was born in London in 1959.

He became a freelance cartoonist in 1980, and since 1989 has been a pocket cartoonist for the Financial Times. In 2008 the Cartoon Art Trust voted him Pocket Cartoonist of the Year.

Banks’ work has appeared in many publications, including Punch, Private Eye, London Evening Standard, Daily Express, Mail on Sunday, Men Only, Mayfair, Penthouse, and She. His books include: ‘Cubes’ (1982), ‘The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal’ (1995 – and in 1998-9 transformed into a series of animations by Bob Godfrey Films), ‘Big Fat Sleepy Cat’ (2001) and ‘The Dewsburys’ (2006). From 2002 to 2009 Banks was also a float designer for the Nice Carnival.

You’ve been a professional cartoonist since 1980. What’s the secret to your longevity, and where did it all begin?

Were you drawing from an early age?

Having lots of bills to pay helps keep one going.

Geoff Dickinson - my predecessor at the

IN SITU! Banx at home in Margate

FT- used to pin his bills on a board above his desk to keep him motivated. As for how I got started, it all began at a barber my dad used to take me to when I was a boy. There were piles of old Punch magazines and Giles annuals and I would flick through them while waiting to be shorn. Naturally, I had to have a go myself and I’ve been trying ever since...

You’ve been drawing at the FT since 1989.

How did that relationship start? You must feel part of the furniture by now?

I got a phone call from David Case, the FT’s Art Editor at the time. I was moving house and it was the very last call I got before my phone line was cut off. I’ve often wondered what would have happened if he’d phoned half an hour later. He wanted to use more cartoonists and illustrators in the paper and he’d seen a cartoon of mine in Punch which made him feel I might be a good fit. Initially he wanted me to do a strip, and while I was waiting for that to happen, he got me illustrating articles and doing the letters page. Eventually I got the pocket cartoon gig. I’m still waiting for the strip to happen.

Maybe not part of the furniture but a part of the scenery.

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an awkward space to fill. There are times when a bit more horizontal space would be nice. It’s fine for drawing a giraffe but not so great for a stretch-limo. Having said that it’s a discipline that encourages visual inventiveness and that’s always good.

There’s usually a way of making the drawing work somehow if you think about it long enough. I use tropes all the time. We all do. I just can’t use very long ones.

The industry labels your cartoon style as ‘pocket’.

For me that term diminishes their impact. A single panel gag can have just as big an effect as a full-on large-scale editorial cartoon. Do you yearn to pack more in to the spaces? Or do you more enjoy the subtlety of getting the gag in without tropes? Can you tell us more about that?

I don’t worry too much about the nomenclature.

But a single column can be

Your cartoons are mainly black & white and beautifully sublime. Do you find colour and over-detailing interferes too much, especially when it comes to your more surreal cartoons?

My very first drawings were horribly over drawn, full of filigree cross hatching and unnecessary detail. Most of it disappeared when printed on rough paper and just looked terrible and it got in the way of the gag. Over the years I’ve learnt to strip out as much as I can, and I’m still learning.

Seeing my drawings on the internet has made me simplify more too (things look different on a screen). And its helped me value the use of white space. As for colour, I think it can get in the way. I like the stark impact of b/w. Although sometimes a bit of spot colour can really help. In Trump’s tie for instance. I once did a Xmas card of a bunch of reindeer smoking outside a pub while Santa was having a pint. It was when the smoking ban came in. Adding a touch of red to the cigarettes’ embers helped draw attention to them and made it funnier.

Politics seems to be in a perpetual whirlwind at the moment, with one sneeze from across the pond overnight throwing stories off-kilter, wars never-ending, and news at home being dominated by what Reform say and do. Do you often wake up and wonder ‘where do I start?’

So much that is happening at the moment is just so batshit crazy. It’s almost beyond parody. Some of it is frankly hard to believe.

I have initially thought that true stories were jokes. Trump posting an AI of himself as the Pope for heaven’s sake. And this craziness ends up becoming the new normal. I wish Trump and all the rest of these clowns would just stop it and let us satirists do the satire for a change.

Although editorial cartoons, especially those for print in national newspapers, seem to be diminishing at an alarming rate, the ‘pocket’ genre still remains strong. Why do you think that is? You, Newman, Pugh & Matt etc. all seem to enjoy huge success in your field. What’s your secret? What advice do you have

for anyone starting out in these uncertain times?

They haven’t got rid of us yet. Fortunately newspapers still feel they should have a one column cartoon. How long it will last I don’t know. The market is so different now to when I started I’m not sure I’m qualified to give advice to anyone new to the job. They might well have advice for me and I would frankly welcome it.

HEAD LINES Cartooning is not your only passion. As well as having had several books published, including ‘The Many Deaths of Norman Spittal’; some parts of which were animated.

Is there any chance of bringing Norman back to life?

Not at the moment, sadly. But I’m always biddable.

You spend a lot of time in France and in the past designed floats for the Nice Carnaval. How did that come about? And can you tell us a little more about your ‘French Connection’?

I went to a French school in London although no one in my family was French. It has left me

seeing the British, especially the English, as an alien species. -as well as my own family.

And what’s next for Banx?

More FT cartoons, unless they fire me. I’m working on a TV script with a producer, also a novel with a real proper writer and there’s a cat cartoon character called 70’s Cat I’m hoping to get published. Also aspirations to learn the ukulele if I can find time to pick it up.

JEREMY BANX

@banxcartoons @banxcartoons

JEREMY BANX QUICK FIRE! FAVOURITE FILMS?

I’d have to say 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I consider a comedy. Also just about anything by Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Also ’The Maltese Falcon’, Double Indemnity’ and ‘Carry on up the Khyber’.

FIRST CAR?

STUDIO SPACES

Mark III Cortina, sprayed matt black.

Lovely motor with seats so low I could barely see over the dashboard.

MOST LOVED CUISINE? Dumplings.

WHAT WORD DO YOU HATE HEARING? ‘Literally’ not being used in its proper sense. Also ‘Back in the day’ and ‘Best/worst (insert here) on the planet’.

I know the latter two are phrases and not words (and you only said one) but I just had to include them because I find them so deeply irritating. And I’m not even really sure why.

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A SIGNED JEREMY BANX COVER PRINT! Simply email: editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk subject: Jeremy Banx print competition DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES JUNE 27TH 2025

ENTER HERE NOW Congratulations to Iain Russell who was picked out of the hat from the last issue and gets a Martin Rowson signed cover print

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

KISS ME QUICK HATS AND STICKS OF ROCK OR FRENCH RIVIERA AND CREPES?

My little stick of Blackpool rock, naturally.

WHAT SUPER POWER WOULD YOU HAVE? X-ray vision. And a bigger bladder.

CARTOON HERO? Bosc, Sempé, Larry.

THE WORLD OF JEREMY BANX

BOOK OF IDEAS Jeremy’s brand new seventies venture

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IT’S COOL FOR CATS!

NINE LIVES NOT NEEDED FOR THIS WONDERFUL NEW COLLECTION AT THE CARTOON MUSEUM PETE SONGI getting to know felines If you find yourself skulking around Central London and you’ve finished with perilouslooking walks along garden walls and hours spent under parked cars, then why not make like a cat and enjoy the new kittytastic display at the Cartoon Museum?

From Garfield to Simon’s Cat, Krazy Kat to Bagpuss and everything inbetween, there’s a long line of iconic cartoon cats who’ve graced our comics, newspapers and magazines and have sometimes evolved into animated characters. For the first time, The Cartoon Museum is exhibiting works by artists such as Louis Wain, Ronald Searle, Heath Robinson, Wendy Eastwood, Simon Tofield, Anthony Smith, Gemma Correll, Natty Peterkin, Hunt Emerson and many more - to explore why people love cats so much, and what cats can tell us about life.

Exhibition Ends: Sunday 7 September 2025 17:20

THE DISPLAY

TNC was lucky enough to be let in through the catflap for the Private View of this delightful selection for ‘Cats in cartoons’ in association with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

The museum also houses a collection of over 6000 original cartoons and comics, and a library of over 8000 comics and books, documenting the history of British comics from the 18th century to the present day.

Take a look it’s purrfect!

BIG CAT ATTENDANCE! Guests gather for speeches at the ‘Priva te

63 Wells St, London W1A 3AE

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Opening Times THE Daily | 10:30am - 5:30pm CARTOON Sunday | 12.00pm - 4pm MUSEUM Monday | Closed Last Thursday of every month | 10:30am - 8pm

EXHIBITION

THE CATS WHISKERS! Keeping an eye on things...

THE CARTOON MUSEUM SHOP Packed out! With badges available too!

CHRIS RIDDELL The Observer - 2008

AXEL SCHEFFLER

SIMON TOFIELD & ‘SIMON’S CAT’

MARK WINTER

W HEATH ROBINSON

(c.) The Ronald Searle Cultural Estate

EARLY CATS Utagawa Hiroshige sketchbook from 1830

JIM DAVIS & GARFIELD RONALD SEARLE

CAT ANNUALS... on display

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DAVE BROWN The Independent - 2010

GEMMA CORRELL

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A CARTOONIST PROFILE

REACHING THE JUDGEMENT THE WINNER OF THE BCA’S YOUNG CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR 2024 Jess Judge is a freelance cartoonist based in Brixton. She has graced the pages of TNC and Private Eye, and is a member of the PCO & BCA. Jess has also featured on the walls of Balans Soho and is a regular contributor to the pub exhibitions at The Duke of Greenwich.

Her talents include Product Design/UX Design and music; she is a cellist and plays bass guitar.

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE WIN AT THE YOUNG CARTOONIST OF THE YEAR AWARDS. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WIN? Cartooning can be quite a mysterious process.

You can’t always tell how a joke or an idea will land, so to be awarded for it is a lovely feeling.

YOU CAME SECOND LAST YEAR, SO OBVIOUSLY DETERMINATION IS KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS? Yes, I think cartooning in general requires a lot of determination.

AS WELL AS TAKING PART IN A FEW EXHIBITIONS AND GRACING THE PAGES OF TNC YOU’VE ALSO MANAGED TO BREAK INTO PRIVATE EYE. CAN YOU TELL US HOW THAT CAME ABOUT? I started submitting to Private Eye last year - after the Young Cartoonist Awards and with some advice and encouragement from

WINNING ENTRY 2024 YCOTY victorious cartoon

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CARTOONIST IN SITU Jess hard at work in Brixton

established Cartoonists. I send a bunch every couple of weeks, mostly timeless ones but occasionally a few topical. One time Ed (editor) emailed back asking if they could put one on hold. There’s a link that lists all the cartoons that will be published in the next issue and after a couple of months I saw my name listed.

I think it said something like ‘Judge_new side grater’. That was a pretty nice surprise. I’ve had a couple more since then, but it can be a long waiting game, and I can never guess which one they will pick. But it’s worth the wait.

(I also quite like trying to guess the cartoon from the titles in the list.)

WHERE DID CARTOONING START FOR YOU? WHICH CARTOONISTS HAVE INSPIRED YOU? I read a lot of comics/comic books as a kid, classic ones like the Beano and Calvin & Hobbes. We had a few Sempé books around the house which I loved - he is an early inspiration for me.

I studied Product Design at Glasgow School of Art and drawing has always been part of my design process. Initially traditional perspective drawing but I then started to use more illustrative/cartoon sketches to convey an idea. I don’t think I even thought of them as cartoons then. More as a visual prop. Cartoons can be a great tool to provoke, challenge misconceptions, or create a narrative around a design or an idea. It’s also way easier to draw

cartoon hands. You don’t even need to worry about the number of fingers.

I graduated during lockdown and so while looking for a job I started to get more interested in Cartooning and discovered a lot more Cartoonists. There are many that I admire - Roz Chast, Ed Steed, Liza Donnelly, George Booth, Sam Gross, Barsotti, Posy Simmonds, the absurdities of James Thurber. I’m more often drawn to the simple, captionless cartoons. Saul Steinberg is one of my favourites for this, and more recently, André Francois.

JESS JUDGE

PRIVATE EYE CARTOON

That being said, there are some iconic cartoon captions that live in my head – ‘No, Thursday’s out. How about never - is never good for you?’

‘Fusilli, you crazy bastard! How are you?’

‘I don’t care if she is a tape dispenser. I love her.’

WHAT ARE YOUR PROCESSES? DO YOU DRAW WITH TRADITIONAL EQUIPMENT OR DIGITALLY? I mostly draw with pen and paper. A brush pen, fine liner or fountain pen. I start in a sketch book or on printer/cartridge paper, draw a few versions of the cartoon and then pick one. I don’t like to overwork a drawing too much. At some point in art school, I decided to stop using a pencil and just draw with a pen from the start which really helped to free up my drawing style.

I nearly always keep a cartoon in black and white. Occasionally, I will add colour if it has a purpose in the cartoon. Then I’ll use water colour

or coloured pencil.

If I’m away from my desk, I’ll have an A6 notebook with me in a pocket or my bag. These are normally filled with cartoon ideas, caption ideas, overheard conversations, observational sketches (traffic cones). Hopefully there’s a joke in there somewhere.

I sometimes use an iPad, but I still try to work quickly with the strokes. As with a pencil, there’s always the option to erase/delete which I find can slow a drawing down. Although it can be handy when trying to draw a horse. Or spiral stairs.

YOU USE PERSONIFICATION A LOT IN YOUR WORK; IS THAT SOMETHING THAT JUST COMES NATURALLY? LOOKING AT A COUPLE OF TRAFFIC CONES AND ILLUSTRATING WHAT THEY MIGHT BE THINKING? It’s fun to bring objects to life.

By using a recognisable object, you can ground a cartoon in familiarity, then put a

playful spin on it to make it funny - either in the caption or in the construction of the cartoon.

I think removing the human element can sometimes help with the immediacy of a cartoon – it becomes more about the idea or the joke than the person saying it. When two traffic cones are talking to each other you don’t focus on what they’re wearing or what their back story is.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR JESS JUDGE? The more I cartoon the more I love it. I’m hoping I can find ways to share more of my work, in publications and cartoon events (looking forward to the desert island one). I’m also working on illustrating a children’s picture book and exploring animation which is fun.

And I don’t think I’ve exhausted the traffic cone cartoon theme just yet.

JESS JUDGE

PRIVATE EYE CARTOON

COOL BANANAS! YCOTY runner up cartoon 2023

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THE THREE S’s (EXTENDED) A CARTOON ICON SERIES

THE EDWARD SOREL EFFECT

LOOKING ACROSS THE POND TO ONE OF AMERICA’S FINEST CARTICATURISTS MARK WINTER reflecting “The thing about being a cartoonist is that I keep being thrown in with people who are eccentric, interesting and offbeat and I always find myself in the position of being the straight white man who’s an unexciting conformist.” Edward Sorel.

Following the‘Three S’s’ trilogy, celebrating Britain’s cartooning sovereignty; Steadman, Searle and Scarfe, I’m crossing the pond to salute another ‘S’ influence, the lifelong New Yorker, regarded as one of the supreme caricaturists of our time, the incomparable Ed Sorel.

As a student in the ‘70s I spent many an hour (and no coin) at the magazine stand in my SOREL AFTER DINNER CLASSIC local newsagent. So much so, that I think they The Waverly Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village were going to charge me rent… until I actually crossed their palm with silver and purchased world,” said Ed. He hated his father, who he a publication. It was a TIME magazine, August described in his memoir as “stupid, insensitive, 8, 1977. In those days it only cost a dollar, but grouchy, mean-spirited, fault-finding and still a week’s worth of lunch money. The main racist.” He developed childhood fantasies attraction was its cover; a brilliant caricature involving pushing him off a platform in front of of US President Jimmy Carter as Daniel in the an oncoming train. You get the picture. lions’ den relating to his foreign policy. It was Because of this, Ed decided to change his a moment of biblical proportions, my first surname from his father’s name, ‘Schwartz’, exposure to the art of Ed Sorel and I have been to Sorel from the character Julian Sorel in hooked ever since. Well worth the fiscal and food Stendhal’s novel ‘Le Rouge et le Noir’ (1830). sacrifice.

It chronicles the attempts of a sensitive young Born in New York’s Bronx borough in 1929 to peasant to rise socially, beyond his modest poor Polish Jewish immigrants, Edward Schwartz upbringing. Ed felt an affinity because both grew up during the Depression era. At the age hated their fathers, the clergy and corrupt of eight, double pneumonia confined him to society. bed for nearly a year. He Art classes passed the time listening at the High to the radio and learning to School of draw on the white cardboard Music & Art supports that were placed in convinced Ed shirts from a nearby laundry. to work with A career path evolved. images. He His father, Morris, was enrolled at a door-to-door dry goods the illustrious salesman, but it was his Cooper Union GIFT FROM SEARLE mother, Rebecca that School of Art, “earned the bread”, making graduating in hats in a millinery factory.

1951. Cooper Ed clearly loved her. “I had Union was a a warm, supportive and school founded encouraging mother, which

by Peter Cooper made me want to fix the around the

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middle of the 19th Century for the education of women. He was the designer of the first American steam locomotive and a multimillionaire industrialist and philanthropist.

By the time Ed enrolled in 1948, it was coeducational with the essential purpose to take young people and turn them into suitable material for advertising agencies; ‘Graphics’ being a euphemism for commercial art.

“For all my professional career, they have found a new word for ‘commercial art’ every ten years. In the ‘50s, we were called ‘graphic designers’, in the 1970s we became ‘visual communicators’. I don’t know what it’s called now,” Ed told Gary Groth in his 1991 article for The Comics Journal. “The first year out of Cooper, I got fired from 11 jobs, which I am told by people who know, was a record,” he said. “By the middle of 1951 I was lasting on jobs only about three days before they realised I was unsuited for it. I only had one ambition in life, and that was to have my own apartment and get laid... neither one of those was easy.”

In an Esquire interview with Alex Belth for the November 2016 issue, Ed

recalled, “I didn’t do a lot of drawing at Cooper Union. I saw maybe two life models in my three years. They weren’t interested in drawing, they were only interested in design. I did very well, but I hated it. Design still doesn’t interest me. I could do if I had to, but I just liked drawing.” The artist he always wanted to be was Feliks Topolski, the great Polish expressionist painter and great caricaturist who primarily worked in London from 1935, opening a studio in Waterloo.

“David Levine was the patron saint in our field,” said Ed. “He was so nice and so helpful to everybody. In the ‘60s, everyone was imitating David. I illustrated the very first issue of The New York Review of Books. For the second issue they got David and he stayed with them forever after that. He had gone to Temple University, where they put great stress on live drawing. He didn’t have to find reference for gesture, he had done so much live drawing, it was in his head.”

UNEMPLOYMENT

After working at Esquire magazine for a short time, both Ed and fellow Cooper graduate, Seymour Chwast were fired on the same day.

They established the groundbreaking Push Pin Studios in 1954, joined by classmates Milton Glaser and Reynold Ruffins. “We started Push Pin Studios thanks to our unemployment cheques, which I think were $30 a week at the time. We were able to start a studio in a cold-water flat,” Ed recalled. “I drew the least well. I became the salesman. In spite of the fact that I only had one suit and couldn’t talk too clearly, I was the salesman because Milton and Seymour could draw and this went on for awhile until they were able to hire someone with several suits and I went back to the drawing board doing whatever I could.”

Two years later, after enormous success, Push Pin moved from its cold-water loft to fashionable East 57th Street and Ed decided to

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leave. “My accountant said this was a poverty wish, similar to a death wish, but somehow different. And I’ve been freelancing ever since… oh except when I got a ‘real’ job at CBS as an art director for a while.”

When journalist Gary Groth asked Ed about the genesis of his cartooning, he replied, “I was doing decorative illustration - purpose of it was to be cute and inoffensive. I was filled with insecurity and figured that I didn’t know how to be funny. Being funny was for superior people who had a sense of humour. I just couldn’t do anything original. I didn’t do a good drawing, a personal drawing that was recognisable as being my own until I was 40.” said Ed. “When a drawing doesn’t come out right it’s because I haven’t figured out where the joke is. Not that every drawing has a joke, but every drawing has a point. At least it should have.” he said in the 2016 ‘Esquire’ interview.

“Edward Sorel’s wonderfully loose and gestural cartoon illustrations have featured on the covers and interiors of magazines like Penthouse, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Harpers, Forbes, The Nation, Esquire, Rolling Stone, TIME, Variety among others,” summarised Charley Parker on his website ‘Lines and Colours.’ He has also contributed written features, “becoming one of the greatest caricaturists of the century and every bit as accomplished a writer.”

Although he works in a variety of styles, you’ll likely recognise Ed’s work instantly. He is noted for his distinctive wavy pen-and-ink technique, which he describes as “spontaneous direct drawing,” characterised by loose, energetic, ‘spirited’ lines, which developed into the looseline style for which Ed is celebrated today. He

uses a variety of mediums; ink, pastel, grease pencil and watercolour depending on whether he’s drawing a political cartoon, illustrating a children’s book or creating a mural. Each drawing consists of what he calls “finding lines” before he applies the definitive lines, which give form and shape to his work. Once the ink lines are finished, the watercolour is applied. “That’s the fun part - colouring is always fun. Colour is so easy that it doesn’t require learning. It’s the easiest thing in the world,” claims Ed. On some paintings he uses a wash made from a number of things, including black china marker dissolved by rubber cement thinner. “You just use anything you can,” said Ed. “The reason I use so many lines is because in certain drawings that are done direct, when you work in a line with pen and ink, there’s no erasing it, no fudging it, so there are a lot of finding lines.”

‘OL BLUE EYES

Ed’s first Esquire cover was a drawing of Frank Sinatra for the April 1966 issue for Gay Talese’s celebrated profile ‘Frank Has A Cold’. “When I got the job, it was a particularly low point in my life.

I had left my first wife, I was completely broke.

This was a big job. I always get scared doing a job. To this day, I start every job thinking I really can’t do this. That drawing changed my entire career”.

Does he ever get self-conscious when working on a drawing of a recognisable face? “Sure, every now and then I’ll overwork a drawing in my desire to get it exactly right and I lose the caricature and it ends up looking like a line drawing of a photo. You can go through 20 or 30 sheets of paper before you get it right. In

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PENTHOUSE WORK

comic art you don’t want to over work it… if it’s overworked, it’s not funny.” Ed thinks the great cartoonists are magicians. The cartoons he likes are the ones where you say, “I don’t know how he did that”. Included in his magician list is Pat Oliphant and Ralph Steadman, who he regards as, “the most miraculous of all. What he does is the most amazing to me. His Da Vinci book… how did he do that? Just absolutely gorgeous. I can’t speak too highly of him and he writes well too.”

Ed joined The New Yorker in the early 1990s.

The magazine was the natural home for cartoons of “unimagined sophistication”. He did not find a place there until he reached his sixties when new editor, Tina Brown selected him to do her first cover in October 1992; a punk being conveyed through Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage. He acknowledges that the magazine saved his career. “There weren’t all that many magazines left. Money plays a big part in the kind of artist you are. If you don’t have a private income, you’ve always got in the back of your mind, does it pay? I never did drawings for the

love of it. I still don’t do drawings for the love of it. In the last 40 years I have only done one drawing without a purchase order.”

Both Ed and I are certified cinephiles. One of my favourite Ed series was ‘The Movie Classics’ appearing in Esquire in the early 1980s. “I just didn’t have enough time on some of ‘The Movie Classics’ pieces. Some were just lousy, some brilliant. The one of Peter Lorre in ‘M’ (1 August 1980) is one of the best drawings I ever did… it has enormous power. I love that picture,” said Ed in 2016. “My one failing as an artist is that I depend on reference material to perhaps a greater extent than I should. Delacroix said that if you can draw a man falling out of a window and have it finished before he hits the ground then you’re a real artist. I wasn’t that kind of artist. I love when a gesture is convincing and I love doing research for a picture. Movies are a great place to get gesture and composition.”

Ed’s long association with Penthouse was unique. “They bought every idea I submitted and never changed anything except my spelling,” said Ed in the August 23, 2023 ‘Who’s Out There’ blog.

“I grew up when frontal nudity was quite enough to excite a young boy. I did a cartoon in Penthouse every month. When my daughter went to college, she was teased by some boys because it was discovered that her father was doing a page in Penthouse. She made me feel that this was a wrong thing for me, so I left the magazine for a period, like five years, until she was through with college”.

PUNCHING UP

For a 1993 cover of PRINT: America’s Graphic

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Design Magazine, featuring an article on Sorel by Steven Heller, Ed drew himself posing for some of his own victims; Henry Kissinger, Terrance Cardinal Cooke and Presidents from Johnson to Bush senior. The gleefully malignant expressions on the faces of the sketchers make this classic image of the victims’ revenge. It also appeared on the cover of Ed’s book ‘Unauthorised Portraits’ (1997) a collection of history’s great and near great, 166 heroes, rogues, fools and geniuses. The ‘Unauthorised Portraits’ exhibition opened at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. from 2 July 1999 to 2 January 2000. The website introduction states: “One of the foremost graphic artists of our age, Edward Sorel has delighted magazine readers for decades with his social critiques, political satires and whimsical picture essays. At heart, he is a storyteller and commentator as incisive as any of his journalistic colleagues. Beyond the intelligence and humour, so readily apparent in his images, however is a subtle, complex art of rare power and vitality.”

Ed returned to Richard Nixon many times, creating some memorable caricatures. My favourite is the 37th US President as Louis XIV, the Sun King, (which also features in the exhibition) entitled ‘Milhous 1, Lord of San Clemente, Duke of Key Biscayne, Captain of Watergate’ for a 1974 issue of Rolling Stone.

What about Trump? Apologies, it had to be asked. Ed drew Trump as Medusa for Vanity Fair in 2016. Henry Chamberlain did ask the question in his 2017 Comics Grinder interview.

“I can’t cope with Donald Trump. I haven’t done a political cartoon in a number of years.

I can’t deal with him. With all other presidents, you could make fun of their hypocrisy. But, Mr. Trump is kind of crazy. And he’s dangerous. He’s cruel. Making fun of him doesn’t seem what’s called for. It’s trivialising him. He shouldn’t be trivialised. He’s a real danger. People are really scared I don’t know how to deal with that. I’ve been trying to avoid the news lately.”

In 1965 Ed was doing some much needed renovations on his ‘wreck’ of an apartment.

When he removed the cracked, decaying linoleum in the kitchen, under several layers, he discovered issues of the Daily News and Daily Mirror from July 1936. Both carried gigantic headlines about Hollywood starlet Mary Astor’s diary, that her ex-husband stole and was threatening to use its contents at a custody battle over their young daughter to prove that Mary was an unfit mother. He claimed she kept a record of all her extra marital affairs in it with the likes of John Barrymore, Samuel Goldwyn and Broadway legend George S. Kaufman (also married) whom she had a bi-coastal

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF EDWARD SOREL

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THE THREE S’s (EXTENDED) A CARTOON ICON SERIES involvement for three years. Ed was smitten.

Many moons later (51 years to be precise), his discovery resulted in the publication of the wonderful ‘Mary Astor’s Purple Diary. The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936’, his love letter to the adulterous actress.

One Woody Allen, no less, reviewed it for the New York Times on December 22, 2016. “Life is unfair. I tore up my old linoleum in my grungy apartment I rented years ago and found only schmutz, hardened chewing gum and a torn ticket stub to ‘Moose Murders’. Ed Sorel tears up his old linoleum in his apartment and finds yellowing papers with headlines screaming about a scandal that gave him material for a terrific book. Not only does he write a terrific book, but he illustrates it with his wonderful caricature drawings… in Sorel’s colloquial, eccentric style, the tale he tells is juicy, funny and in the end, touching.” Ed did produce a very fine caricature of Woody for The New Yorker, 3 June 1996 article by famed theatre director Michael Blakemore. It depicts him scribbling copious stage directions for his single-act contribution to ‘Death Defying Acts’, a 1995 off-Broadway production. “Woody Allen is so easy that after drawing him, many an amateur comes to think of himself as a pro,” Ed commented.

PUBLISHING

Ed has published numerous books, often collaborating with his wife, Nancy Cauldwell Sorel as writer, including ‘Word People’ (1970), ‘First Encounters’ (1998), and ‘Literary Lives’ (2006). As well as producing his own children’s books Ed has also illustrated many such as ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ by Ward Botsford (1981) and Eric Metaxas’s ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ (2006). As a writer, Ed has reviewed books and exhibitions of fellow cartoonists and illustrators for The New York Times Magazine, The New York Observer and American Heritage.

‘Profusely Illustrated. A Memoir’ was published in 2021. In its review, The Washington Post stated: “Sorel has given us some of the best pictorial satire of our time… his pen can slash as well as any sword.” Bob Stolzer also reviewed it in his ‘Ink Slinger’ blog, entitled ‘Pen Bites Man, The Inkslinging Virtuosity of Edward Sorel’. “Sorel reveals the kaleidoscopic ways in which personal and political collide in art - a collision that is simultaneously brilliant in concept and uproarious and beautiful in its representation.”

The Waverly Inn has been a landmark in New York’s Greenwich Village since the 1920s. Since 2006, when the Vanity Fair editor, Graydon

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Carter bought and refurbished the restaurant, he commissioned Ed to do a wonderful, witty mural involving forty local greats from the past 150 years. “A lot of people in that mural were somehow my contemporaries, people I grew up, either reading or knowing. My second mural was for the Monkey Bar in midtown, about New Yorkers between the First and Second World Wars - the twenties and thirties - the great age of Art Deco.

Ed wrote a moving tribute to his great friend Jules Feiffer, who he bestowed the status of “the greatest political cartoonist of the past century” in The Atlantic. Jules sadly passed away earlier this year. “Jules Feiffer and I were born 94 years ago in the Bronx, two months apart. We grew up terrible at sports and we both started to draw characters from comics and last year both of us ended up in different emergency rooms with heart failure, in the same week. After four or five days, we were both discharged from the hospital with pretty much the same array of pills and orders to stay away from salt. In the 1970s, when we met at parties or spoke on the same panel, we were always friendly, but did not become close friends until Jules met my wife Nancy. It was easy for a boy from the Bronx to be attracted to Nancy: Her voice was warm and soft and her speech was clearly enunciated - best of all - she had been a fan of Jules since her college days.

Jules figured that if Nancy had married me, I must be more interesting than he’d thought.”

In early 2014, Ed entered the New York City Society of Illustrators’ Hall of Fame. He received the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist

of the Year by the National Cartoonists Society in 2022 and inducted into The Art Directors Club of New York Hall of Fame in 2002 among other accolades.

Two of Ed’s pieces ‘John Milton and Friend’ and ‘The Last Flossing’ were included in the Illustrators 2024 exhibition at Chris Beetles Gallery in London from November 2024 through to January this year. Billed as the biggest event worldwide for illustration and cartoon collectors featuring over 400 artworks, the Gallery’s website proclaims, “Sorel’s success lies in his gleeful, merciless way he approaches caricature and satire. This was perfectly suited to the newfound confidence of magazines and newspapers that occurred in the 1960s and, with fellow leftwing cartoonists David Levine and Jules Feiffer, he formed part of a triumvirate of character assassins for hire. Ed’s early works were mostly pretty, decorative magazine illustrations, but it was his passionate anger about the Vietnam War that forced an evolution in both his line and content. He honed these satirical skills during a ling association with the left-wing weekly magazine The Nation, for which he drew a strip.

He holds a special affection for the publication because it was the only one that allowed him to openly attack organised religion. Ed’s clever and unforgiving satire is the product of a lifetime spent observing and criticising the unpleasant reality of the American Dream. He is able to prick with his pen inflated egos from the worlds of politics, acting, literature, music and religion.

His aim is to ‘bring down the Gods’”.

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE PCO?

WHAT IS THE PCO?

Our title pretty much gives the game away: we’re an organisation for, erm, professional cartoonists. We considered Professional Political & Gag Cartoonists’ and Caricaturists’ Organisation…but not for long.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The PCO promotes the work of its members and champions the cartooning arts across the board and around the world. We organise and support exhibitions and festivals.

We also stand up for, and have campaigned on behalf of oppressed artists.

All before breakfast.

HOW DO I JOIN?

The majority of your earnings need to come from cartooning and/or caricaturing.

Then you can send samples of your work or links to a website/social media platform to the esteemed Andrew Birch here: pcomembership@gmail.com

BENEFITS!

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PROCREATE V STEVE LILLIE A NEW CARTOON SERIES

THE ART OF PROCREATING

TNC ASKED SEASONED PRO ‘STEVE LILLIE’ FOR HIS THOUGHTS ON HIS NEW DIGITAL PURCHASE STEVE LILLIE double-tapping I’ve been creating artwork mostly on a computer for a while now. I remember a tricky period of adaptation but I’ve come to totally rely on painting digitally, as it’s cheaper than buying art materials, faster to paint, easy to edit, and speedy to deliver.

I remember watching a documentary about David Hockey called “Painting With Light”, which was made way back at the dawn of digital painting. At the time, I was still producing all my images in the traditional way—trying to dry paint using a hair dryer, before the courier arrived. Eventually, it became clear that I would have to go digital. Speed is an important factor for cartoonists, and it was clear, then, that if I was going to stay in business, digital was going to be the future for me. (This was still a time when there was a future, before AI shamelessly stole all of our work.)

Personally, I liked the idea that you could work over a canvas as long as you wanted, and the colours would stay fresh. Plus, you can undo all your mistakes so easily. However, it’s worth remembering, that are no real life colours as bright as RBG, and—as the documentary said—it is painting with light. What you see on the screen isn’t necessarily the way it’s going to look in print. Working with RBG is a positive advantage if the publication is digital!

Also, no digital device is ever going to give you an exact replica of what can be achieved with a pen, pencil, or brush. You’re never going to be able to draw like Glenn Marshall on an iPad or in Photoshop (well no one can draw like Glenn Marshall, but you know what I mean!).

There’s no denying that digital technology

CHECKING OUT THE REAL WORLD VIEW Steve Lillie with iPencil at the ready...

is very clever, although when it comes to art, it doesn’t have the random ‘happy accidents’ or the toothy authenticity of analogue methods.

However, for the cartoonist, there are plenty of digital techniques that will allow you to add expressive lines, or ‘painterly’ textures, if that’s what you want.

CHOICES

DIGITAL ORIGINS...

1986 Documentary with David Hockney

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Photoshop has been the ‘arty’ program of choice for decades now. Illustrator is also popular but specialises in producing those clean, vector graphic images that are still fashionable (for some reason), although it’s so far from an analogue drawing experience that there are times that it feels like you’re painting with maths. I’ve used it myself for years and, despite many fine features, it will drive you mad. Let’s never speak of it again.

Recently I’ve been considering updating Photoshop, but it’s now a monthly subscription!

So rather than give the eye-watering fee to Adobe to rent their new (and apparently pants) version of Photoshop, I thought I’d give Procreate a go.

Procreate costs about £13 for one-off purchase, which is less than the cost of one bottle of Higgins ink. And, of course, Procreate has an unlimited supply of ink.

I’ve only been messing about with it for a short while; it’s been a fun and frustrating learning experience.

With Photoshop I was always ‘remote drawing’—looking at the screen, rather than what my pen was doing on the drawing tablet—which you do get used to, but is really weird. I’ve always wanted to get as close as possible to the traditional drawing experience, with the benefits of digital. With Procreate I can

now draw directly on screen, which feels much more like proper art making. Drawing on glass has a different texture to paper, but I believe you can buy a screen cover to add the feel of paper to your mark-making.

The first thing I liked was the brushes. There’s a good selection, and many feel quite authentic, especially the drawing brushes, which are quite different from the sketching brushes.

The pressure sensitivity is good (after some adjustment) although I find that some brushes equate light pressure with, not only a thin line, but a light tone. Each brush can be tweaked with a bewildering number of settings, and it’s clearly going to be a while before I get everything ‘just so’. I’m keen to create my own brushes, which I don’t know how to do yet. I’m also confused that the paint-like brushes are very light and lacking in opacity—even the gouache selection. No doubt there’s a fix for that. In fact there are a fair few fixes needed…

CHANGES

There are a number of things that need adjusting straight away. Firstly, the pressure sensitivity is not suitable for drawing, and you end up pressing too hard on the iPad. This can easily be changed in the settings.

The brush cursor is not even visible when you first open the app. That needs to be turned on, and the contrast pushed up. If you have the fancy Apple Pencil, it’s far too easy to toggle between brush and eraser. You might not even notice this function change, and start erasing

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your work. I’ve found that it’s better to turn the function off entirely.

Also, turn off the gesture control, otherwise you’re constantly making unwanted marks on your image.

All of these adjustments are under the Spanner icon (or Wrench if you are American).

The exception is the Apple Pencil fix, which is in the Settings. (I’m starting to think that paying extra for the fancy pencil was a waste of money.)

If you’ve used Photoshop, everything is going to feel quite familiar. There are gestures instead of keyboard short cuts to learn, and things work a little differently, but it’s basically the same. I can’t find any filter effects,

but who uses those anyway?

Basically, Procreate is sort of a Photoshop lite… but there are some bizarre omissions.

There are no rulers! There should be rulers.

There’s not much in the default palettes, so you must create your own—which is fine once you’ve gone through the hassle of working through the process, but it would have been handy to at least have some skin tones.

I recommend finding a beginner’s guide on YouTube, or similar. This will save you much screaming into the void, because the app is not set up correctly in the first place.

Despite some snags, I’m very impressed with Procreate, especially at the price. I think it’s certainly possible to do without Photoshop entirely (as a cartoonist) and save £20 per month. It’s a powerful app, and functions very smoothly. If you already have an iPad, there’s no reason not to give it a go. I’ve already had many hours of fun playing around with it and I can now produce artwork anywhere (within reason)!

Doodling in front of the telly is now a thing, or would be, if I had a telly.

It’s ironic that so much technology, time, money, and expertise has gone into replicating what a pencil and paper does. But that’s the world we live in, where even books and fags are electronic. At least beer is still analogue. So far…

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ESCAPE

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ESCAPE

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ESCAPE

ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY (WHICH IS, OF COURSE, WHERE MOST OF US ALREADY RUPERT BESLEY from the coalface

2005 and 2020 according to the UK Press Gazette). Local circulations can’t ever compete with national and anything basing Check out this country’s wittiest cartoonists its humour and content on local of recent decades and you can’t fail to notice ways must surely be limiting its how many hail from the Liverpool area.. own appeal.

Bills Tidy and Stott, Mike Williams, Albert Or maybe not. Look to television Rusling, Ray Lowry and many more. Even and it’s clear that in serials from Norman Thelwell, at home in leafy Hampshire, Coronation Street and EastEnders was Birkenhead born and bred, graduating to Emmerdale and Gavin & Stacey, from the Liverpool College of Art. Was it it’s the locality that is a big part of something they put in the Mersey? their success. Ditto the detective Liverpool has its own special brand of series (Morse and Miss Marple, humour: rapid, edgy, downbeat, wacky, surreal. Bergerac, Vera, Shetland…). In all And very funny too. Trouble is, other places of these the setting and scenery can make similar claims: are leading players.

Glasgow, Belfast, Newcastle, It’s not just residents Birmingham… Maybe it was BUT HOW MUCH of the area who like that same struggle to survive to see their own NICER IS IS TO hardship and challenging territory onscreen, circumstances that encouraged TASTE SOMETHING or exiles abroad, but the culture of dark humour those who may LOCALLY SOURCED also and quick wit in each of these have been there once IN IT’S REAL HOME on holiday. Maybe places.

In any field, success comes cartoonists could from leaving the parochial pick up more on such patch and gaining recognition on a bigger factors. Local material and actual stage. In cartooning, the big hitters appear in locations are good weapons in any national publications, out to reach the widest cartoonist’s armoury. . possible readership. But success has also come to ones who have stayed regional and made ‘OUTOFTOWNERS’ the most of their local identity: think Dudley D Staying local has its hazards. Expect no mercy Watkins (‘The if you get things wrong, like accents or a Broons’ & dialect word. Sticking with a region, its quirks ‘Oor Wullie’) and ways, risks perpetuating stereotypes and in Scotland, tired clichés that don’t allow for the kinds of Gren diversity and difference that drive change and (Grenfell future progress. Everyone got fed up with Irish/ Jones) in Scottish/anyone-else-but-us jokes, made to South Wales disparage. or Dave County magazines and nostalgia-rich Follows heritage publications go for cosy, comfortable (‘May un Mar and conservative with a large or small ‘c’.

Lady’) in The Cartoonists tend not to be that way. They keep Potteries. above the fray, preferring not to identify with Regional any one party. They are by nature critical and papers these subversive, picking out the follies, unfairnesses days are and hypocrisies of the status quo. It is their job fewer than to sniff out crap, from whichever direction it ever and comes. They look ahead more than back. dropping None of this means there isn’t still room for like flies locally spiced humour and wit from beyond the (265 went bounds of the M25. Through television and between transport, chainstores, globalisation and the

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internet, the modern world has worn away the sharp edges of regional difference, making us more the same in how we speak, what we eat and how we live. In many ways that’s very convenient. Any ingredient, it’s there in Sainsco’s. But how much nicer it is to taste something locally sourced in its real home West Country cider, soda farls and Veda bread in Ulster, fresh veg straight off the Fen. (Yes, I know, before you put me right: Veda bread is said to have originated in Scotland.)

In Food and Farming they’ve been busy preserving local variety in the face of pressures to make all things the same. I wouldn’t mind seeing cartooning too make more of local identity and regional character, before they’re gone for good. That would be a surprise turnaround. ’Jings, crivens,’ as Oor Wullie might say, ‘help ma boab.’ Or, as they put it, more simply, down here on the I O Wight, ‘Wurr!’

RUPERT BESLEY

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THE ESCAPE GALLERY

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THEME FOR THE NEXT ISSUE:

SUMMER

Email entries to editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk Deadline: JUN 27th 2025 thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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TECHNOLOGY

MARSHALL NOT FUNNY getting filthy As a multi-award winning and internationally renowned cartoonist….once said to me as he surveyed the inky mess of my drawings, “You could never think your cartoons were digital”. I’m not entirely sure that was a compliment. As a result I changed my social media profile biogs to ANOTHER FINE MESS. One ‘friend’ even said my drawings look like Rorschach ink blot tests.

I’ve stuck with pen & ink all my cartooning career - they go together like Romeo & Juliet, fish & chips, strawberries & cream or Trump & the breakdown of the global economy.

This knowledge hasn’t come from being a great practitioner but because I’m very old. When I first started out I was actually using shellac ink which is made from the resin secreted by the female Lac beetle. It’s the shiniest ink known to man and is also used as a varnish. In an attempt to become a social media inkfluencer I’m frequently sharing my thoughts on the black stuff Drawing © Henny Beaumont online.

(You can also read my review on nibs in the With the amount of their ink I get through I previous issue) could probably afford to buy that iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil within a year.

DRAWING It is, I’m afraid, an unrequited love, as no One thing I like about ink drawing is the way matter how much I eulogise about it and share you can see the natural pen marks and brush my drawings on my socials I get no response strokes. I love Henny Beaumont’s sketches. I from the makers Higgins…even though they do find I can draw much more loosely with a normally share work of creators who use their physical pen and ink rather than on a tablet ink. In fact I half expect to get a cease and desist (although admittedly most of my experience letter from their legal team to stop mentioning with on-screen drawing has been with an Etchthat my drawings are done with their product as A-Sketch). if the drawings could do damage to their brand.

Over the years I’ve been happy with Higgins The Times cartoonist Black Magic. Once I start using a product I do Chris Duggan has even tend to be obsessively loyal to it. It’s super black, more experience of the dries quickly and is robustly waterproof if you Higgins range including want to add watercolours or ink. Though that’s Higgins Calligraphy ink, not to say I haven’t promiscuously tried other Higgins Fountain Pen India inks when I’ve seen them recommended and Ink and Higgins Eternal there are several others I like to use too. which Chris describes Being a long time Black Magic user I have, at as an ‘eventual nib killer times, had to resort to the desperate measures in the hands of a slob. of begging when I couldn’t afford its hefty price Stops working about two (this was way before the days of crowdfunding) thirds of the way down When the muse has taken me I’ve actually and turns into tarmac.’ written poetry about my my infatuation with Black Magic, I even called my dog Higgins!

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TOP TIPS

Before I go into details about some of the other inks I have tried, just a couple of tips (I spoil you people): Tip 1: When flying with just carry on luggage where you have to show your liquids, I disguise my ink as a bottle of shampoo in with my toiletries.

Tip 2: When I’ve finished a bottle I half fill it with water and use it for washes. I’m cheap I know, but I never like to dip a water brush into an ink bottle as after a while this waters down the intensity of the colour.

MARSHALL NOT FUNNY

WALL OF INK My stockpile of US manufactured Higgins ink hoarded to protect against the future US tariff war.

BEGGING FOR INK Gillray experiencing a drip problem © Chris Duggan

Old B&W Higgins advert

WASH LABEL

TOILETRIES

I do like a cartoon featuring bottles of ink. This great one is

by Jonesy drawn after the Charlie Hebdo attacks (Steve is a fellow Higgins Black Magic user.)

FOOTNOTE: After my article on nibs in the previous issue I heard from last year’s Young Cartoonist of the Year finalist Ryan Fairbanks who told me my pontifications had encouraged him to visit the wonderful L Cornelissen & Son and go on a nib buying frenzy. If I’ve persuaded one person to visit Cornelissen’s, online or off, I feel my work is done.

Ryan sent me this great drawing done with my favourite nib the Leonardt 256.

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MARSHALL NOT FUNNY ...and testing

Kuretake Sumi 60 ink

My second favourite ink to use for drawing which I’ll move on to if there’s a Higgins drought. Sumi-e is a term for the Japanese art of ink wash painting.

A big benefit of this is it’s virtually impossible to knock over which I appreciate more since the Great Rug Disaster of 2015. It also has a very thoughtful pen rest on the upturned lid.

Platinum Carbon Black & Noodler’s ink Two fountain pen inks. The characteristic of fountain pen inks is that they have to be slightly more watery to flow in the pen but this means they take longer to dry and can’t get as intense a black as a thicker ink. My favourite is the Carbon Black which is a good blackness but expensive at over £20 (other currencies are available). The glass bottle is so thick it could stop a bullet (and coincidentally the Noodler’s ink is actually called ‘Bullet Proof’). It’s the fullest bottle you’ll ever get, take extra care when first opening.

N.B. Can take about six months to dry.

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Rohrer & Klinger Sketch inks They say you should never judge an ink by its label but I do with these because they have such lovely illustrations on the packaging. The colours are a little muted for my gaudy taste but they look great on the shelf.

They are a bit thinner than other colour inks as you can also use them in fountain pens. Some users have a separate pen for each individual colour.

(Fountain pen knowledge planned for a future issue)

Daler Rowney System 3 Acrylic Colour inks I’ve recently been trying these as I’ve started experimenting with more intense colour. You can get this 6 bottle starter set for around £20 although bizarrely, apart from the primaries plus the black and white, the sixth colour is silver. Watch out for me doing more robot drawings to use that up.

Not great if you’re on the move though; water colour pans are still my favourites for travelling with.

Not great labels either so I keep these hidden away in my sock drawer.

Pébéo Black Encre De Chine India Ink Winsor & Newton Ink Another ink whose range has nice illustrative labels but I know someone who won’t use the black as the label triggers their anachrophobia.

Very popular with pen & ink artists but I find it is just black whereas Higgins is BLACK black. For you digital artists out there the W&N is RGB 252525 and the Higgins more RGB 030303.

I always keep a big bottle of India ink to use if I’m working at large scale and want to cover bigger areas (the Higgins is too expensive to use a bottle per drawing) This one is great at under a tenner for a 250ml bottle.

Parker Quink Ink

Liquitex Acrylic Black Ink & Daler Rowney FW acrylic white ink Well-liked by some cartoonists as acrylic inks are extremely opaque; they cover well in one application and can be mixed with water yet still are colour fast. I like to use acrylic white ink as it can work on dense colour and is great for a bit of toothbrush splatter.

The Liquitex is the ink currently favoured by fellow inktinkerer and aforementioned Chris Duggan because it ‘doesn’t seem to destroy nibs like something out of the Quatermass Experiment or turn into a primordial soup when you’re only half way through the bottle like some I have tried.’

After using, thoroughly wash your nibs and brushes as acrylic inks can set hard and you’ll end up with a build up on your pen the weight of a 3kg dumbbell.

A nostalgic choice from school days when you could tell the pupils who had fountain pens by the blue stain on their shirt pockets.

It has a really lovely quality when you use a clear water brush with it and my favourite is the blue black.

This is the classic old bottle on the left and the current one on the right.

Squid ink Great for making a fine Arròs Negre but I have painted with it in the past (see above) Best just leaving it in the squid though.

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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, PAINT, FELTS OR iPAD DYANA SONGI meets Rafe Carver Rafe Carver is 10 years old and lives in Chichester. He is the 2024 winner of the Woodcock Prize for the Most Surreal Cartoon Award; organized by the Cartoon Museum as part of their Young Cartoonist of the Year Competition.

Rafe started cartooning when he was 8 years old, taking inspiration from Jamie Smart books – Bunny Vs Monkey and Looshkin. Other inspirations are his collection of Jellycat fruit toys; Rafe likes the personification of fruit as ‘they don’t already have faces’, and he likes to add his own. He enjoys being spontaneous and not too intense, and has a lot of fun with his cartoons.

He uses pencil when practicing and pen when confident with the character, and is learning to develop strips. He’s currently developing regular strip characters – Pierre - a French Gull, and some militant Milkshakes who live in the fridge in a violent kitchen.

You might be my new boss one day Rafe.

What sort of boss will you be?

‘I’d be a really nice boss. You would only need to do a page a day, and could have Friday off, and run around the office if you wanted to. And you could get paid what you like!’.

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RAFE CARVER

WINNING ENTRY Rafe’s YCOTY victory toon

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 or available overseas.

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!

A DECADE FOR THE PLANET A NEW COLLECTION OF CARTOONS FROM MULTIMEDIA ARTIST DAWN MOCKLER

The poignant cartoon on the cover of this book says “Swipe Left”, and if you were that alien you probably would give the Earth a big swerve right now.

The harm we do to our planet is something some of us will never see the conclusion of.

That delight will be for the very young and the new generations yet to be born, and they’ll be perfectly entitled to ask “what were you thinking?”.

What Mockler does brilliantly in this collection of her work over the past decade is to highlight that plight in illustrative form. When you move through the pages of this book you’ll be left with a sense of regret and an urge to do more!.

IF TREES COULD TALK... the new book by Dawn Mockler

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BUY HERE

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63 Wells Street, London W1A 3AE

5 minutes walk from Oxford Circus underground station

Event: 26th June Coming Home: Panel Discussion Coming Home is a life story anthology comic sharing veterans’ mental health stories. Issue 2 was published in 2025 and features the powerful true stories of five LGBTQ+ members of the British Armed Forces.

The comic has been co-created by Arts in Health organisation, Re-Live, working in partnership with LGBTQ+ veterans charity Fighting With Pride.

The storytellers, spanning the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, worked with Re-Live over many months to explore their mental health stories. The scripts were brought to life by leading LGBTQ+ and allied British comic artists Ed Firth, AJ O’Neill, Ria Grix and Anna Readman.

To celebrate the publication of Issue 2 of Coming Home, during the 25th anniversary year of the lifting of the ‘gay ban’ in the Armed Forces, the Cartoon Museum are proud to host a panel discussion exploring the process of making this timely comic.

The panel will feature the creative team from Re-Live, alongside the veteran storytellers, and artists Ed Firth, AJ O’Neill and Anna Readman.

Join us on Thursday 26th of June for this very special event. Arrive from 6:30pm for a 7pm start TICKETS HERE

Event: 22nd May Comic Panel Discussion: Speed Switch: A Deep Dive into Chaos in Motion Buckle up for an electrifying panel discussion with the creative team behind Speed Switch, the high-octane cyberpunk racing saga that’s taken comics, animation, and gaming by storm. The creators will take you on a journey through the origins of Speed Switch, sharing the inspirations that fueled its creation and how the series evolved into the action-packed story it is today.

The discussion will explore the team’s collaborative process and the challenges of bringing the world of Speed Switch to life across different mediums, from comics to new frontiers in storytelling. Fans will also get an exclusive look at Issue 3 and a recap of the story so far, delving into how character-driven narratives and dynamic artwork keep the series moving at full throttle.

To top it all off, the creators will tease what the future holds for the franchise, so get ready for surprises, insights, and an inside look at the chaos in motion!

Check out their work on Instagram: @senarkoraltan @shanefaced @ramzeerawkz @speedswitchgame www.speed-switch.com 58

Join us at The Cartoon Museum from 6:30pm for a 7pm start on Thursday the 22nd of May. TICKETS HERE

EVENTS & ADS

Event: 12 JuneDavid Shenton’s History of PRIDE Join us on the 12th of June for a very special event. To celebrate this year’s Pride Month we’ll be joined by cartoon legend and knitter, David Shenton! David will be talking us through his personal 50 year cartoon history of PRIDE. David Shenton has been working as a cartoonist since the 1970s and his work has covered a myriad of topics including, the trials of coming out, the age of consent, family rejection, dodgy boyfriends, police swoops, queer bashers, the stern presence of HIV/AIDS, the loathsome Section 28, the friends, the outrage and the outrageous and so on, with his work truly painting a picture of queer life and queer history in Britain.

David will be doing a deep dive through his archives to deliver an evening of great art and stories.

Attendees are encouraged to come in their best 70s attire.

Join us from 6:30pm for a 7pm start Spaces are limited so booking is advised.

Happy PRIDE!

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TICKETS HERE

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ANIMATION

ALL ABOUT THE ‘FLOW’ CELEBRATING A LATVIAN FEATURE FILM LANDING ON ITS’ FEET AT THE OSCARS MARK WINTER out and about Flow’- a low-budget animated film, with no dialogue using the free open-source software Blender, about a cat trying to survive along with other animals in a seemingly postapocalyptic world as the water level rises surprisingly won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature earlier this year, becoming the first Latvian film to win an Oscar..

It was also nominated in the Best International Feature category. Described by one critic as “a mesmerizing dance of survival and silence’’, The underdog (undercat) upset the big-budget films, DreamWork’s ‘The Wild Robot’ and Disney/ Pixar’s box office smash, ‘Inside Out 2’. Its creator, Gints Zilbalodis directed, produced (with Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman), wrote (with Matiss) edited, shot and composed the music (with Rihands Zalupe). It premiered on 22 May 2024 at the Cannes Film Festival in the official Un Certain Regard section.

The film and its success has sparked a tide of national pride in the small Baltic nation, with more than 320,000 people from a population of 1.9 million flocking to watch it at cinemas across Latvia.

For two weeks in March in the 3rd floor lobby of the Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga, the film’s three major awards-the Oscar, Golden Globe and the European Film Academy Award were on display with people waiting over an hour to view. A special stamps commorating it was been released it its honour, a few days before its Oscar win and cat statues also appeared in the capital.

‘Flow’ also won the Grand Prize for Feature Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, four major awards at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and two Annie Awards among the 50 plus wins the film has achieved to date.

Gints has attended a number of Q&A’s at screenings of ‘Flow’ in London, OSCAR WINNERS! starting with the BFI London Film Zibalodis,Matiss Kaza, Festival last year and leading up to this Gints Ron Dyens & Gregory Zalcman year’s Awards season and I was lucky enough to meet him at the Curzon Soho.

MARK WINTER

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THE CATS WHISKERS! Using Blender software

CATS ON DISPLAY! On the RIga City sign

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TRIBUTE

REMEMBERING BROCKIE BOB BROCKIE - APRIL 23, 1932-MAY 1, 2025 MARK WINTER reflecting Bob Brockie, one of New Zealand’s preeminent cartoonists and scientists passed away peacefully at the age of 93 earlier this month. NZ Stuff’s obituary called him a “force of nature-a man of boundless energy, irresistible intellectual curiosity and impish humour”.

Bob was the editorial cartoonist for the National Business Review for 43 years (19752018) and contributed a popular science column for Wellington’s Post newspaper from 2001-2018. His writing ranged far and wide in subject matter and he never shied away from challenging orthodoxy. In both his columns and his cartoons, he was ”a natural rattler of cages, spending his life kicking the establishment in the shins.” The late, best loved political figure and former NZ prime minister, David Lange called him “ the thinking man’s cartoonist.”

Bob had the distinction of being made a Member of the New Zealand order of Merit for services to both cartooning and sciencepossibly a unique combination in the history of the honours list. He was twice named NZ Cartoonists of the Year at the Qantas Media Awards.

He was always uncomfortable talking about his cartoons, seeing them simply as a counterpoint to the rigorous demands of science. “I am endlessly entertained by the ridiculousness… it allows him to let off a bit of steam so I don’t feel so impotent in the face of a preposterous world,” he said in an interview. His cartoon work has a defining sense of mischief, strongly influenced by the great Ronald Searle. He admits not to really understanding the political process. The only politician he had a ‘visceral’ dislike was Robert Muldoon, the country’s leader from 1975-1984, whom he regarded as a bully. “We’ve never had anyone else, before or since, who was quite like that.” he said.

ANIMALS

As a scientist, Bob’s speciality was hedgehogs, chosen because no one else had taken an interest in them. He took a particular fascination in animal populations, behaviour and diseases.

He was famous among his peers for his road kill studies. On a trip in 1984, he and a colleague

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Bob Brockies cartoon appeared in the National Business Review on Feb 8 1982

documented every corpse along the way, repeated in 1994 and again in 2005, establishing that while rabbits and possums were being flattened in ever-increasing numbers, hedgehog mortality on the highways had declined. Dead animals and fridges are a recurring theme in Bob’s life. For his doctorate, he spent two years surveying leptospirosis (dairy farm fever) in wild animals. He collected blood and kidneys from hundreds of newly killed animals. “Motel owners in Hawera, Ngatea, Coatesville and Tirau would be horrified to learn what I kept in their fridges overnight.” Nothing on four legs, or even two escaped Brockie’s curiosity. He once co-authored a paper about a clever sparrow named Nigel, which had learned how to enter and leave the cafeteria at Lower Hutt’s Dowse Museum by fluttering in front of the electronic sensor that opened the glass doors.” Another study, ‘An Australian magpie’s response to fake snakes in New Zealand’ was based on a pet magpie named Napoleon that became highly agitated at the sight of a little girl with a candy snake. Bob bought a pair of toy snakes to further test the bird’s response. Same result. His conclusion- “Magpies have been here since 1860. They haven’t seen a snake for about 80 generations, but still hold the memory in their DNA.”

He summarises the life balance. “I sweat blood and tears over science, but the cartoons are frivolous, something to do after work. I suppose they exercise a different part of the brain.

Someone might be an accountant by day, but at night they do stand-up comedy or become a drag queen. I know lawyers who do highland dancing.”

only to discover that Sicily was largely hedgehogIn 2015, New Zealand’s Cartoon Archive in association with Fraser Books published ‘Brockie: free, but stayed anyway, becoming fluent in Italian.

A Memoir in Words, Cartoons and Sketches’, Returning from a visit to edited by Ian F. Grant, “a rollicking, picaresque chronicle of Bob’s life.” Like its author, the book is Britain, he discovered that his wife had become funny, self-deprecating and a bit eccentric. pregnant to the nextWriter and Bob’s ex-brother-in-law,Lloyd door neighbour. He had Jones spoke at the launch of the publication. He nowhere to live, sleeping started with a quote from Saul Steinberg, the Romanian-American writer and conceptual artist in the park and showering in the local railway station who was an early influence on Bob’s drawings. and trying to meagre “Avoiding boredom is one of creative man’s income teaching private more important purposes.” Lloyd continued, “I English lessons, his would venture to say that Bob’s life has been one immune system failed. prolonged flight from boredom. I was 12 years Kiwi migration to Oz In 1962, at the age of old when Bob entered my world. He had hooked 30 he contracted polio up with my sister Pat, and of all her boyfriends, that turned him into Bob was the most unlikely, but easily the most a quadriplegic patient at an isolated hospital impressive. An appealing kind of un-orthodoxy clung to him. He liked to wear a dark P-jacket and for paupers in the Ospedale degli Banfratelli white jeans and he limped like a Long John Silver, for 18 months, the later part back in NZ. He was unconscious and delirious for days. In his a legacy of his polio-it seemed less of a disability review of the memoir, Dylan Horrocks than an enhancement. There seemed to writes, “It is typical of Brockie that be three or four people crammed he refuses to dwell on the inside the one skin. Certainly no desperation of the months one like Dr Brockie had ever that followed. Before crossed my path before.” In long, he’s describing the his book, Lloyd thinks he memorable characters found the source of Bob’s who populated his political indignation in long hospital stay: a drawing of ‘mad cow a handsome young disease’ which he breaks monk who kept inviting down into six categories: his sister to visitthe “Paranoia, narcissism. gardens at his monastry, Manic behaviour, delusions a blind barber who shaved of grandeur, exhibitionism. him daily with a cut-throat Pyschosis-out of touch with razor and the eccentric Doctor reality.”

Cerrito who entertained Bob and “My parents could not draw to Untitled self caricature his sister by shooting his pistol out of save themselves,” Brockie begins, the window of the ground floor ward... “but they inadvertently pointed me once killing a blackbird in the ivy overgrowing the in the right direction.” At four he was enrolled morgue and was served up for Bob’s dinner that in kindergarten where Miss Youngman taught night-crumbed and deep fried. him to draw with pastels, and he’s been drawing ever since. Collection trips to the Southern Alps FACING THE END with his father, who became curator of the Even a botched suicide was made to sound Otari Plant Museum in Wellington, awakened amusing. Feeling overwhelmed by work and Bob’s interest in nature, but it was a boarder depressed, Bob thought he would kill himself by at his grandparents’ house that stimulated his running a tube from the exhaust into his car. “I enthusiasm for drawing. He recalled that she wrote suicide letters to my family, ran a tube from was a dark, beautiful young Eastern European the exhaust into my car, turned up my radio and woman who posed as a model at a nearby art revved up the motor, expecting to depart this school. He was 12 when she invited him into her life in about half an hour. I fell asleep but awoke room to look at some of the students’ sketches about three in the morning, not in heaven but still -the first time he had seen images of a naked woman. He returned home and reproduced some in Eastbourne. I was really annoyed that my plan had come to nothing and returned sheepishly of the drawings. “So began my sketching career home where I had to phone my family, asking and my taste in women from that day to this.” them to disregard the contents of my letters.”

He won a bursary to study at the University of He subsequently wrote two letters to the car Palermo based on his hedgehog MSc thesis. He manufacturer, one cursing the effectiveness had moved there with his wife and young family,

BROCKIE

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of their catalytic exhaust converters, the other congratulating them for the effectiveness of their filters as they gave him “another suck on the sausage of life.”

“But perhaps the art and the science aren’t so far apart after all Whether he’s counting squashed hedgehogs on the road to Kaitaia, mocking a deceitful politician or sketching a lover’s tangled hair, Brockie seems driven by a passionate devotion to observing the world around him exactly as he finds it, in all its scruffy, ridiculous, irresistible, ugly beauty,” Dylan writes.

“Some of the most beautiful drawings in this book are extensions of his scientific work: precise, delicate studies of rats, flowers, fish, spiders and butterflies, some of which appeared in Brockie’s 1992 book, ‘City Nature’, a guide to the plants and animals of New Zealand’s urban landscape.

In contrast, his cartoons are brutal and earthy, with little respect for propriety or ‘good taste’, stripping away the trappings of power...Politicians and officials are often drawn naked, in underwear or drag, swimming in a bucket of poo or sprawled on a couch, desparate to seduce the public, each other or whoever holds the cash… bodies grotesque, flabby, sagging, wrinkled, hairy, faces full of insincerity and pompous self-regard.”

At the time of his death he was married to Galya, an ebullient, Ukranian-born , accordian player, for 20 years. They met at a fancy-dress party. She was a gypsy and I rented a gorilla suit. “The gorilla met the gypsy and it was all on,” Bob recalled.

It was always a joy and a pleasure being in Bob’s company and a real privilege to be a contemporary. I will always treasure the memories and thank him for his encouragement and inspiration.

A memorial service will be held shortly to celebrate Bob’s life. The NZ Stuff’s obit on May 10 said, “There will be tears, uproarious anecdotes, lots of laughter, and inevitably, some jokes about road kill.”

RIP mate.

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EVENTS & ADS

INDIAN CARTOON HISTORY

CartoonistsIndia, an annual magazine published by the Indian Institute of Cartoonists, offers a captivating journey enriched with memoirs, tributes, biographies, interviews, features and little-known facts that serves as a vital archive preserving the country’s rich cartooning heritage, a treasure trove for enthusiasts and historians alike.

India boasts a vibrant tradition of cartooning, shaped by legendary artists such as Shankar, R. K. Laxman, Abu, Mario de Miranda, and many others whose remarkable contributions have left a lasting impact. “Recognising the absence of comprehensive documentation, we embarked on this ambitious initiative in 2020 and reached out to all eminent researchers, cartoonists, and their families nationwide.” said Bibek Sengupta, the magazine’s editor, “Initially, we were uncertain if this effort would resonate with readers. However, the overwhelming response fuelled our determination. We are proud to

CARTOON EXHIBITION

JULY 3rd - AUG 31st ‘25

DUKE OF GREENWICH

91 COLOMB STREET, LONDON SE10 9EZ

e: petesongi@gmail.com for more details In Association with:

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present the third volume of this anthology as a testament to our collective dedication.” he added. In addition to Indian cartoons, the latest edition includes an international section highlighting the 50th anniversary of the British Cartoon Archive at the University of Kent, as well as a report on the prestigious Herne Bay Cartoon Festival 2024, the UK’s renowned annual cartooning event.

Indian Institute of Cartoonists is a Bangalorebased non-profit organisation that has been a haven for cartoon enthusiasts, committed to highlighting the best of Indian and international cartooning since 2001. Over the years, it has organised monthly exhibitions and honoured distinguished cartoonists with lifetime achievement awards. The institute has provided space for collections, offering visitors a chance to stroll through its prestigious 2,000 sq ft Indian Cartoon Gallery.

MEET T CARTOONHE ISTS EXHIBITI ON LA THURSDAY UNCH JULY 3r FROM 5PM d !

CONNECT WITH US thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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CRICKET!

I DON’T LIKE IT... I LOVE IT AH! If I had a fiver for every time my wife asks me “what’s an over?” or “why do they stop playing and stand around doing nothing?” and ‘is it really still going on?!” I would probably be able to afford a big round of drinks at the Oval.

It’s safe to say my wife hates cricket, or at least can’t be arsed to try and understand it. Which I get. It’s not for everyone, and neither is trying to explain the positions to someone already yawning.

I’m lucky enough to live not too far from the Oval, and doubly lucky to have a mate and regular ticket holder for Surrey in fellow cartoonist Mark Winter not too far away either. It means I can experience a day out amongst the badgers which I heartily recommend!

Anyway, TNC asked cartoonists who are fans to harness the sound of leather on willow. These are their stories...

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THE DIRECTORY

ANDREW BIRCH

REBECCA JESS HENDIN JUDGE

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

VRONI HOLZMANN CONTACT HERE

MARK WINTER CONTACT HERE

ALLAN BIBEK MCDONALD SENGUPTA CONTACT HERE

CAITLIN PHIL JOHNSON STARK CONTACT HERE

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IAN BAKER CONTACT HERE

MEL DIXON CONTACT HERE

BRIAN DAVID GUTIERREZ REY CONTACT HERE

CLARENCE ROGER PENWILL WAGNER CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ERIC TRUANT CONTACT HERE

DUSTY MCGOWAN CONTACT HERE

DES FONDANT CONTACT HERE

DEAN PATTERSON

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CLEMENS MOSES CONTACT HERE

DEREK SCOTT CONTACT HERE

ACHAZ VON HARDENBERG CONTACT HERE

MIKE STOKOE

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

MICK OHARA

ADAM YEATER

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

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THE DIRECTORY

PETE DREDGE CONTACT HERE

VIKTOR NASIF G KHOURY AHMED CONTACT HERE

FLORIAN ED SCHEUERER NAYLOR CONTACT HERE

FIRUZ GUY VENABLES KUTAL CONTACT HERE

STEVE LILLIE CONTACT HERE

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NICK NEWMAN CONTACT HERE

ROYSTON ROBERTSON CONTACT HERE

GLENN JOHN HUSTLER DALY CONTACT HERE

CHRIS ‘DINK’ WILLIAMS CONTACT HERE

THE SURREAL MCCOY CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

KERINA STREVENS CONTACT HERE

CARTOONS BY AL CONTACT HERE

JAMES MELLOR

CONTACT HERE

PETA MANNING CONTACT HERE

HILARY FITZGERALD CAMPBELL

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

STEPHEN DEAN

KEVIN WELLS

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

MARSHALL NOT FUNNY CONTACT HERE

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ROY NIXON

JERROLD DAVIDSON CONTACT HERE

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THE DIRECTORY

DANIEL HODSON CONTACT HERE

VILNISSIMO HEYWOOD REYNOLDS CONTACT HERE

JONATHAN DAWN MOCKLER TRUIN CONTACT HERE

MIRA SAM SKORONSKI SCHARF CONTACT HERE

DES BUCKLEY CONTACT HERE

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VIKTOR NICOLAG JENNINGS KHOURY CONTACT HERE

JASPER ANDY SMITHERS BUNDAY CONTACT HERE

GRAHAM LUKE CORCORAN FAROOKI CONTACT HERE

MIKE NICK ABADZIS SEDDON CONTACT HERE

LEWIS ELIOT MARSDEN LORD CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

ELIOT LORD CONTACT HERE

RUSS MCPHERSON

CONTACT HERE

BEN CHILTON

CONTACT HERE

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TIM MELLISH

RUPERT BESLEY

CONTACT HERE

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TONY NOON CONTACT HERE

HARRIET MERRY CONTACT HERE

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KIPPER WILLIAMS

THOMAS JEDRZEJAK CONTACT HERE

TOM REESE CONTACT HERE

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THE DIRECTORY

DANIEL ED HODSON GARCIA CONTACT HERE

VILNISSIMO MICHAEL KING CONTACT HERE

DAWN TIM MOCKLER RUSCOE CONTACT HERE

GRAŽVYDAS SAM SKORONSKI B CONTACT HERE

DES JO BUCKLEY YOUNG CONTACT HERE

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NICOLA MARK JENNINGS DAVIES CONTACT HERE

STEVE ANDY BUNDAY BRIGHT CONTACT HERE

GRAHAM TEJA CORCORAN FISCHER CONTACT HERE

KATO MIKE TARATINO SEDDON CONTACT HERE

RADICAL ELIOT EMBROIDERER LORD CONTACT HERE

A LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

STEPHEN ASHMAN CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

JOE DATOR

ANDREW FRASER

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

RYAN FAIRBANKS

SARAH BOYCE

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

ANDREW SCHULTZ

SEAN BOPTIST

CONTACT HERE

CONTACT HERE

MARK ENGLAND CONTACT HERE

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STEVE MAY

PHILLIP LEE CONTACT HERE

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ISSN: 2977-6368

NUMBER 5

MAY/JUN 2025

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BORN TO DRAW

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Jamie Phillips

Email jpg entries by 27th June 2025 to editor@thenewcartoonist.co.uk or hit the link below!

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CONGRATULATIONS! Jamie wins a TNC mug for matching up against Roy Nixon from the last issue!

Prophetical Mildred

HOROSCOPES Scorpio

the most accurate soothsayer in the Greater London region for cartoonist horoscopes

24 October – 21 November

You will make 3D papier mâché cartoons out of news articles that infuriate you. There are so many of these that the local council soon contacts you regarding planning permission for these enormous structures.

Aries

21 March – 19 April

You will discover a talent for drawing obscure politicians.

You will then plot devious ways to bring them out of obscurity.

The mayor of a small town in Zimbabwe promises to throw a banquet in your honour once the police investigation concludes..

Sagittarius

22 November – 21 December

You will find a burglar in your house at 2.47am. He panics and grabs the thing closest to him before legging it – which happens to be a half drawn cartoon. Screaming with rage, you chase the bandit for 17 kilometres before he finally gives up and hands it back to you. At this point you realise you are completely naked.

Taurus

20 April – 20 May

You will start a movement drawing cartoons on the underside of tables. No table is safe, until you visit the cafe with the glass tables. Unable to resist your base instincts, you begin to draw something truly obscene whilst a small crowd gathers around you, clutching pitchforks.

Gemini

21 May – 21 June

A rather offbeat associate will throw a ‘dress like a cartoonist’ fancy dress party. You understand on a simplistic level that you could be the butt of the joke here, but on a more urgent, primal level you really want to know where everyone is getting these jaunty hats, patterned waistcoats and the general sartorial sense of doom. You are much enamoured.

Cancer

22 June – 22 July

You become convinced that you are having your best cartooning ideas while asleep and it’s the only thing holding back your career. You will buy a small journal to write down ideas in a half asleep state and soon find it filled with stuff like “bacon whiteboard” and “chimps don’t like it when I vibrate”.

Leo

23 July – 22 August

course, a catch: each cartoon must be a collaboration with an animal. Unfortunately you will experience violent creative differences with a lemur that will be impossible to overcome and the whole gig unravels. If you ever see that smarmy, stripey tailed bastard again you will not be responsible for your actions.

Virgo

23 August – 22 September

Inspired by a short lived cartoon strip you saw in a prestigious publication you begin to build your own army of animal cartoonists. Recruiting a squid for its blue-black ink, an octopus for black ink and a cuttlefish for brown ink is easy enough, the real trick will be sourcing a troop of suicidal cochineals willing to self-sacrifice for a nice carmine hue in your art..

Libra

23 September – 23 October

A mysterious onlooker will send you a list of cartoon ‘improvements’ every time you are published, everywhere you are published. No matter how obscure the publication, they will find you and critique you. This is infuriating, mostly because you secretly agree with their comments.

Capricorn

22 December – 19 January

The Royal Society for the Appreciation of the Mouse will give you a big, fancy award.

Apparently you did a very nice cartoon about a mouse once, but you’re buggered if you can remember it. There will be a bizarre and mildly terrifying ceremony where you are forced to wear novelty mouse ears as many people dressed as rodents attempt to run up your trouser leg, but you’d be a fool to leave before the spectacular cheese buffet..

Aquarius

20 January – 18 February

You will discover that a fan club exists specifically for your cartoons. They misunderstand most of them, and the cartoon that the treasurer has tattooed on his neck was actually drawn by somebody else.

Pisces

19 February – 20 March

Annoyed that your rejected cartoons will never see the spotlight they deserve, you will carve them into the soles of your shoes and spend your free time walking on soft, imprint-able surfaces.

You will be given a dream job; a high paying weekly cartooning slot in an extremely prestigious publication. However there is, of

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PARTING SHOT

STRIKING NIGHTS OUT AND FLASH COCKTAIL DRESSES A FEW OF THE FAVOURITE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT FIND ON A PICKET LINE...

MEGAN LEE Nan’s on strike My Nan and Grandad aren’t together anymore. But this isn’t a sad story, I promise; it was probably for the best. My Grandad loves telling stories, and this is one I always remember.

Pat was a printer over in Fleet Street in the 70s and 80s. Not only was he a printer, but he was a strong union man, often driving to Wales to hand out care packages to miners and their families. He stood up for what was right and wasn’t afraid to let people know that! And then there’s my Nan. Margie also worked in the print but as a cleaner - that’s where they met. She is honestly one of my most favourite people on this Earth, but I would never, ever describe my Nan as the protesting type. It’s not that she doesn’t care, she would just rather be tanning in the sun with a cigarette and a glass of wine (or two) in her hand.

PICKET FENCES

Anyway, the year was 1986 and there were protests in Wapping centred around working conditions in the print industry, as well as it being moved from Fleet Street to Wapping due to cheaper rent. Of course my Grandad was involved - not only would it directly affect him, but he lived for a bit of picketing!

One morning, my Nan told my Grandad that she would join him on the picket line later that day. My Grandad was elated. Finally, he thought, she gets it! What he didn’t know was, she’d heard they’d all been going down the pub after a hard day of shouting at ‘scabs’, and didn’t want to miss out on another piss up…

Fast forward to that late afternoon and Marg gets dropped off to the picket line in a black cab.

It gets worse, or better, whatever way you want to think of it. She hops out (quite literally as she is only 4’ 10) in a cocktail dress, heels and a full

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face of makeup. My Nan had been out that day shopping for a nice, new outfit for the occasion.

I wish I could’ve seen Pat’s face!

She walked over, completely unaware of how inappropriate this was, probably smiling and waving at everyone, maybe even asking the odd bloke how their wife was. My Grandad grabbed her, and pulled her by his side. “What are you doing?” he asked, more curious than furious.

“What do you mean?” she asked, “I told you I was coming this morning, didn’t I?” At this point she probably rolled her eyes and looked away. “Why are you wearing a cocktail dress to a picket line?” my Grandad asked, still bewildered. “Well, we’re going out after all

this is over, aren’t we?”

The next thing, the police began to charge, on foot and on horseback, and the only thing for Pat to do was to sling her over his shoulder and throw her over the nearest fence.

And this is probably why they’re no longer together!

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KEVIN WELLS

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THE END PORTRAIT BY: KEVIN WELLS

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ISSN: 2977-6368

BORN TO DRAW!

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