The Round-up
January 18, 2013 in General, Links, News
© Bill Stott @Procartoonists.org
Following on from our last post about what is and isn’t funny, we link to a recent BBC article about the history and humour of the pun – a weapon in the cartoonist’s arsenal that is loved by some and disparaged by others. (We at Procartoonists.org are happy to sit on the fence and say that while some puns deserve nothing but a weary groan, others – such as in the cartoon above, by Bill Stott – are inspired.) Read the article here.
There were equestrian puns aplenty bouncing around on Twitter this week, following the horsemeat burger scandal (log in and search for #horsemeat and you’ll find some good examples). Even Tesco itself decided to crack a joke on the subject.
The horsemeat story provided fodder for cartoonists, too, and The Telegraph’s Matt Pritchett was particularly inspired – producing no less than five gags on the subject in just two days. Click here to scroll through them.
BBC Radio 4 broadcast two programmes of interest to cartoonists and illustrators this week. First, there was a half-hour show celebrating the art and characters of The Beano (click here to listen). Then Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen chose to celebrate the Great Life of Aubrey Beardsley (here).
And finally, the Chris Beetles Gallery in London is holding a sale, beginning this weekend. Click here to see the artworks available.
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Bill Stott said on January 18, 2013
There used to be a driving school in Birkenhead called ” el Passo”
Rob Murray said on January 18, 2013
I’ve always had respect for the New York fish & chip shop ‘Assault and Battery’
Royston said on January 19, 2013
I remember the group Salt-n-Pepa did an album in the 1980s called “A Salt with a Deadly Pepa”. I went “Hey … I just got that!” in about 2007.
Bill Stott said on January 20, 2013
I remember the name. It falls into a broad category of mis-spelling which is thought to be smooth and cool in some circles. “Pepa” should be pronounced “Peeper”, but those who change their names to Traci, Jakki, Debbi,etc., probably don’t care. Why is it mainly women who do this ? Why aren’t there more Harris or Kennis or Gregoris ? Salt’n’Pepa also features the deeply irritating “n” instead of “and”. I bet, given a bag full of apostrophes, the above would go beserk.
Huw Aaron said on January 24, 2013
Bill Stott said on January 26, 2013
That’s funny, Huw. The naming of hairdressers is an art in itself although customers must “get” the joke.
I showed the Valkyries gag to a neighbour who is v keen on Wagner and expensive hi-fi systems.. “Hmm” he said. “But they wouldn’t ALL be called Valerie though, would they ?”
Rob Murray said on January 26, 2013
That’s amazing, Bill – I’m always surprised by the very specific ways in which people refuse to suspend their disbelief!