© Peter Brookes @Procartoonists.org

The death of Nelson Mandela inspired poignant tributes from UK cartoonists, among them Peter Brookes in The Times (above), Peter Schrank in The Independent and Christian Adams in The Telegraph. Elsewhere, the South African cartoonist Zapiro tells the BBC a personal anecdote that demonstrates Mandela’s appreciation of satire.

Congratulations to Len Hawkins, who has been named the first-ever recipient of The Spectator’s Michael Heath Award for Cartooning. Already an established gag cartoonist, Len has won a year’s contract with the magazine, an original drawing by Heath, a bottle of gin, and a hand-made pair of shoes from John Lobb, which sponsored the competition.

Bill Watterson, creator of the much-loved Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, looks set to be the subject of a feature film from Warner Bros., with Leonardo DiCaprio among its producers.  Visit The Daily Cartoonist for more information. Watterson and his strip were also recently the focus of a documentary film.

According to Forbes, Bitstrips are now being used by French politicians to connect with the electorate. For the PCO‘s view on the popular automated ‘cartoons’, read this previous article.