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The Round-up

January 11, 2013 in General, Links, News

Lord Snooty by Alexander Matthews for The Beano @Procartoonists.org

Procartoonists.org member Alexander Matthews has resurrected Lord Snooty for The Beano (above), and writes about his approach to the character on his blog. Snooty has been absent from the comic for a while (and was even replaced by his grandson for a time). Alex has also recently brought his distinctive style to another classic Beano character, Baby-Face Finlayson.

In more DC Thomson news, former Dandy editor Morris Heggie will be giving a talk about the comic’s 75 years at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh on 15 January. The talk, which follows a cartoon workshop for adults held on Wednesday, complements the library’s ongoing Dandy exhibition. Read more here.

Reassuring news (at least, reasonably reassuring)  for gag cartoonists came from Reader’s Digest (UK) this week, after mass redundancies painted a bleak picture. While the company – which was bought out of administration in 2010 – is downsizing and will no longer sell retail goods, it apparently intends to continue publishing the monthly magazine as normal. Read the story here.

Axe Cop, the bizarre webcomic created by a five-year-old boy and illustrated by his cartoonist older brother, has been made into an animated TV show. Watch a clip here.

And finally, click here to be taken on a brief tour of The Certified Hunt Emerson, an iPad app featuring more than 200 pages of work by the renowned underground cartoonist (and Procartoonists.org member).

 

 

The Round-up

December 22, 2012 in General, News

© Jamie Smart – Fumboo.org @ Procartoonists.org

They said it would be the end of the world, but they were wrong … The Dandy is still with us (albeit in digital form), as mentioned here last week. There is, however, a documentary on 75 years of the comic, Just Dandy, showing on BBC One on New Year’s Eve, featuring contributions from the likes of Frank Skinner, Brian Cox, Bill Paterson and Nick Park. The programme is only being shown in Scotland, sadly but perhaps it will turn up on the iPlayer.

Following on from last week’s series of articles in the New Statesman celebrating British comics, the Economist chips in with an article on the rise of the webcomic, whilst their editorial cartoonist Kevin ‘KAL’ Kallaugher reflects on 35 years of drawing for the magazine.

For another perspective on the state of British comics check out Dandy contributor Jamie Smart’s blog post “I love stupid comics”.

Less happily, The Guardian reports the death of its longtime cartoonist and illustrator Peter Clarke.

 

The Round-up

December 14, 2012 in General, Links, News

© Axel Scheffler for Royal Mail @Procartoonists.org

Axel Scheffler, the illustrator best known for his work on the Gruffalo books, has produced the designs for Royal Mail’s Christmas stamps this year. Scheffler talks to the BBC about this latest commission, and looks back at his early work, in this short video.

After widespread publicity about falling sales and the decision to cease printing, The Dandy has now gone digital. Check out the first issue of the interactive web comic here.

Newsagent Des Barr requested 50,000 copies of the last print edition of The Dandy and has been selling them from a pop-up store in Glasgow, as well as via the internet. Somewhat ironically, sales have apparently been strong – read about it here, or buy a copy.

In related coverage, New Statesman looks at the UK children’s comic industry – from the online Dandy to The Phoenix and others – and finds it is in rude health. The article is one of several published as part of a week-long celebration of British comics by the magazine. Find the other pieces here.

As part of The Guardian’s coverage of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, illustrator in residence Chris Riddell writes that he has high hopes for the future of illustration in the digital realm.

And finally, Procartoonists.org member Royston Robertson has written an article for Sabotage Times in which he lists 10 cartoonists who have influenced him.

Avatar of Royston

by Royston

The Dandy in the news

December 5, 2012 in General

You can’t have failed to hear the news about the end of the print edition of The Dandy, which ran across all the media yesterday.

BBC news had the story, national newspapers covered it, The One Show ran a profile of Desperate Dan (why do TV people always have to put the presenters in boxes with speech bubbles when they cover comics?) and there were early thoughts on the new digital edition.

But here are a few links you may have missed, blog posts from those closer to the story: Dandy contributors Andy Fanton, Jamie SmartLew Stringer and Wilbur Dawbarn.

Dandy looks back, and forward

October 24, 2012 in Events, News

Dandy exhibition

Dandy characters celebrate 75 years © DC Thomson and Co. Ltd

The Dandy: 75 Years of Biffs, Bangs and Banana Skins opens at the Cartoon Museum in London today.

The exhibition runs until 24 December, effectively out-living the comic itself, as the final print issue comes out on 4 December – 75 years to the day since its launch.

The comic will be moving online though, and the Cartoon Museum says that the exhibition will look forward “as Dandy prepares to embark on a new digital adventure“. It will include some exclusive material from the new Dandy which is currently in development,

Lots of favourite characters from the past feature in the show, such as Desperate Dan, Korky the Cat, Corporal Clot, Winker Watson, Brassneck and Bananaman. Younger readers will be able to see Harry Hill, PreSkool Prime Minister and other recent strips. Visit the Cartoon Museum website for more details.

The Round-up

August 31, 2012 in General, Links, News

Edward Lear @Procartoonists.org

Edward Lear is best known for his humorous illustrations and nonsense verse, but his highly-detailed zoological illustrations are the focus for a new exhibition at The Royal Society. Read more here.

With the Paralympic Games now underway, The Beano features Oscar Pistorius as a sporting special guest.

Mark Anderson outlines some of the major markets for a freelance cartoonist and shares some of his own experiences in this blog post. And at a time when protecting copyright seems more important than ever, Japanese artist Shuho Sato is allowing others to use and adapt his manga work without paying royalties.

And finally: a new book, Naked Cartoonists, sees cartoonists such as Sergio Aragonés, Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner, Charles Schulz,  and Scott Adams depicting themselves in the buff. Click here for a preview.

The Round-up

August 24, 2012 in General, Links, News

© Martin Rowson for The New Statesman @ procartoonists

After The New Statesman published this cover story in its current edition, The Spectator has responded by calling on the NS to publish more cartoons. Not a bad idea, if we say so ourselves…

Comics expert Paul Gravett interviews illustrator and picture-book author Shaun Tan over on his blog. As prevously mentioned, Tan will be in conversation with Quentin Blake at a Comica event this Monday, for which tickets have sold out.

Following the announcement that The Dandy is to cease printing in December, Charlie Brooker argues that the move to online-only is only natural – and also writes about his own early experiences as a cartoonist. Read the piece here. Elsewhere, Dandy regular Jamie Smart calls on other artists and comic fans to work together for the benefit of the medium. Read his views on the direction comics should take here.

Forbidden Planet has a sneak peak of Hunt Emerson‘s new adaptation of Dante’s Inferno, due out in October.

And finally, just to disprove all those people who think that capturing a likeness is easy…

The Round-up

August 19, 2012 in General, Links, News

© DC Thomson

The Dandy has received a huge amount of media interest since our post earlier this week about the comic’s struggle for survival, and sadly it has now been announced the last print edition will be published in December.

Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner has paid tribute to the comic, and the Dandy cartoonists Jamie Smart, Lew Stringer and Procartoonists.org member Alexander Matthews have all said their piece in support of the comic, which will continue online. In a report for the BBC, Anita O’Brien, curator at The Cartoon Museum in London, points out that this does not signal the demise of comics as a format.

In happier Dandy-related news, publisher DC Thomson has teamed up with the University of Dundee to launch a competition asking cartoonists to revamp one of the comic’s old characters. Read more here.

Cartoonist Joe Sacco talks about the inevitable impact of subjectivity and morality on his war reportage, while a thought-provoking article considers the importance of truth and honesty in autobiographical comics.

Finally, Matt Pritchett, the celebrated pocket cartoonist for The Telegraph, tells the paper about how his experience of the housing market has inspired some of his pithiest cartoons.

The Round-up

July 6, 2012 in General, Links, News

"Casino Karl" (detail) © Chichi Parish

Following a successful run at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden, an exhibition inspired by the work of poet and illustrator Edward Lear is now being shown elsewhere. Happy Birthday Edward Lear features work by 25 cartoonists and illustrators, among them the Procartoonists.org member Chichi Parish, above. It can be seen at Penny Fielding Gallery & Interiors in Walthamstow Village, London, until August 26. It is then due to be shown at a gallery in Southampton during the autumn. Chichi has written about the exhibition on her blog, which is always worth a read.

The extraordinary lawsuit against the Oatmeal cartoonist Matthew Inman has been dropped. You can read a useful recap here, or see our previous posts on the subject here and here.

Two separate cartoons have become the subjects of race rows based on their depictions of Barack Obama and the footballer Mario Balotelli.

The Cartoon Museum in London will celebrate 75 years of The Dandy with a dedicated exhibition this autumn.

Finally, Forbidden Planet has details of the launch of the British Comic Awards, and the official awards site features an interesting piece about the origin of its logo design.

Avatar of Royston

by Royston

Stamp of approval for British comics

March 20, 2012 in General, News

To mark 75 years of The Dandy, Britain’s oldest comic, the Royal Mail is issuing a set of commemorative stamps today (March 20)

As well as The Dandy, the set of ten stamps features characters and covers from the country’s best-loved comics including, above, The Beano, Bunty and Buster. The set also includes The Eagle, 2000AD, The Topper, Tiger, Valiant and Twinkle. The BBC has more on the story.

It’s an indication of how huge the British comics industry once was that millions of people who read about these stamps will think, What no Beezer? Whizzer & Chips? Krazy? Cheeky? Victor? Hotspur? Nutty? Sparky? Whoopee? …