LEGENDS OF CARTOONING
Discover the rich history and enduring influence of cartooning with a deep dive exploration of excellence. Written by award-winning New Zealand cartoonist Mark Winter, this compelling series celebrates one iconic cartoonist per issue, shining a spotlight on the true legends who have shaped the art form across generations.
“The phrase ‘Renaissance man’ tends to get overused these days, but apply it to Shel Silverstein and it practically begins to seem inadequate.” Otto Penzler. ‘The Mysterious Press’ founder.
Cartoonist, mega-selling author, award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, poet, actor, playwright, musician, performer, journalist, illustrator, and war veteran, Sheldon Allan ‘Shel’ Silverstein first appeared, in person on September 25, 1930, in Humboldt Park, a densely populated neighbourhood on Chicago’s northwest....
ISSUE 10:
“Laughter often arises from the tragic situation of another...humour is the politeness of despair.” Claude Serre.
The online bookstore ‘Le Bibliophile Heurtebise’ was selling the 1987 edition of a cartoon book titled ‘Savoir vivre’ (‘Etiquette’) in July, 2014. The byline simply said: “The disturbing and unsettling world of Claude Serre.” A world I discovered many years ago when I ventured out on my own cartooning journey and one that had an influence on my early direction....
ISSUE 08:
““I yam what I yam and that’s all what I yam!” Popeye the Sailor Man.
Elzie Crisler Segar’s relatively short, but productive life began on December 8, 1894, on a farm located on the outskirts of Chester, Illinois, a small town along the Mississippi River. He was the son of Amzi Segar, a Jewish handyman and his second wife Erma and the youngest of eight children...
ISSUE 11:
“Mother always encouraged my drawing and although she had little talent herself, would show me how to use my paints. We made plans together for when I grew up and become an artist myself. After her death, I missed her companionship terribly and was determined to justify her faith in my talent.” E.H. Shepard, ‘Drawn from Life,’ (1961).
Ernest H. Shepard published his first two cartoons in ‘Punch,’ the quintessential British satirical weekly in 1907 and became a staple for the magazine for almost 50 years....
ISSUE 09:
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, “Where have I gone wrong.” Then a voice says to me, “This is going to take more than one night.” Charles M. Schulz.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest cartoonists of the Twentieth Century, Charles Schulz wrote and illustrated ‘Peanuts’ for fifty years, considered the single most popular and influential comic strip in the world. He is cited as a major influence by many. Bill Watterson, the creator of ‘Calvin and Hobbs’ is one of them...
ISSUE 07:
“The role of the artist is to ask questions, not to answer them.” Saul Steinberg.
I continues the ‘S’ tribute series with a double, Saul Steinberg, pre-eminent cartoonist and graphic artist of the 20th century, providing a snapshot of one of the most remarkable careers in American art.
“A writer who draws,” is how Saul described himself. “Line is the most beautiful thing in drawing; it is a form of writing,” he once said. “Drawing is my way of explaining to myself what goes on in my mind.”...
“My father was a banker. He wanted me to be a banker. The only thing I could do was draw”. Gerald Scarfe completes ‘The Three S’s’ cartoon icon series featuring the British ‘Toon Trinity’ that I have admired and been inspired by.
The Daily Mail described Gerald as the “ruthless diminisher of power through political cartoons - grotesque, hilarious, shocking, pushing boundaries of taste” but asked where does all that fury come from? Gerald acknowledged his debilitating childhood illness during wartime and how it gave him a dark side. He realised how vulnerable life is. ...
ISSUE 04:
“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....
ISSUE 05:
“There was an irrepressible impulse to draw. I cannot remember wanting to be anything else other than an artist.”.
Ronald Searle passed away peacefully a day before the end of 2011, aged 91. it was, give or take, 25,200 days longer than he expected to live, after his horror hiatus as a prisoner of war in the Southeast Asian theatre of the Second World War. “My God! Every day is a present,” he told the BBC, when interviewed on his 85th birthday.
Nearly seven decades on borrowed time gave us all the chance to witness and admire the work of the world’s greatest cartoonist...
ISSUE 03:
A poster on the wall of my local train station advertising Ralph Steadman’s first UK exhibition in nearly ten years prompted a flood of great memories and reminded me of his influence in my artistic life.
Thirty-five and a bit years ago I got married for the first time which incidentally lead to me meeting my hero Ralph Steadman for the first time when my belated honeymoon in the UK included a stop off to Ralph’s impressive manor house and studio, Old Loose Court...
