How to not get into The New Yorker
Cartoon © James Sturm
If you don’t follow the Bloghorn on Twitter (you should: @bloghorn) you may have missed this article that we highlighted recently.
James Sturm, an artist better known for graphic novels, decided to try his hand at gag cartooning for the most competitive, exclusive market there is. He writes about his exploits for Slate magazine here: How hard is it to get a cartoon into The New Yorker?
He tells of how he enjoyed the freedom of gag cartooning, how his meeting went with the magazine’s cartoon editor Bob Mankoff, and how he ultimately didn’t get into The New Yorker. But he did have lunch with lots of cartoonists, so it’s not all bad news.
September 7, 2011 1 Comment
Most high-profile cartoon in the world
The Google doodles – the drawings which accompany the advertising company’s ubiquitous search engine – are the most read cartoons in the world.
Bloghorn admires the company’s long-term use of drawn imagery as a piece of business promotion (do visit the archives.) Today they have moved the still cartoon image into a animated video celebrating the memory of the flamboyant leader singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury.
Agree with our view on the most high-profile cartoon in the world? Please have your say in the comments below.
Bloghorn is made on behalf of the UK’s Professional Cartoonists’ Organisation
September 5, 2011 1 Comment
Powerful stuff goes on display
Artwork from the political cartoon collection of Jeffrey Archer is to go on show for the first time, at the Monnow Valley Arts Centre, Herefordshire, from Saturday (September 3).
Image of Power will feature 100 cartoons owned by the writer and former Tory MP who has been collecting cartoons for 25 years. They include this early image of Tony Blair, Has Bambi got teeth?, by Peter Brookes of The Times.
The exhibition, which spans three centuries from Gillray to Scarfe, is being curated by the art collector Chris Beetles. It features images of Churchill, Macmillan, Kennedy, Reagan, Nixon, Thatcher and more.
Lord Archer says on his website: “I continue collecting, as there are still gaps to be filled, but it’s my long-term intention to produce an illustrated book on the collection, and to leave the works to the nation. Mind you, finding a home for them may not prove easy. “
The exhibition will be opened by Lord Archer on Saturday at 3pm and runs until October 30.
September 1, 2011 No Comments
Bloghorn: Moving home this autumn
We’re back after our summer holiday with some good news for the autumn.
We’re moving to a new home alongside all of the portfolios from our membership of professional UK cartoonists.
Packing the boxes will take us a little while but this blog won’t be moving anywhere even though eventually all our new updates will appear at the new, ahem, pad.
Long time readers of Bloghorn may recall we have done this before and we are sure we will get better with the practice.
Keep your eyes here for the updates about progress and in the meantime do check out the membership artwork which is frequently updated.
Bloghorn is made by Matthew Buck, Royston Robertson, Alex Hughes and Rob Murray.
August 31, 2011 No Comments
Round up: What the Bloghorn saw
Rob Murray writes:
Music by The Smiths has inspired a comics collection, Unite and Take Over, due for release in November. Smiths fan Shawn Demumbrum of Phoenix, Arizona has assembled 13 creative teams to interpret songs by the band as comic strips, each three or four pages in length. Demumbrum, who is currently looking for contributions towards printing costs, discusses the project in a promotional video here, and with the Guardian here.
Another rock band, Art Brut, have commissioned a 28-page comic to mark the release of their latest album. The comic features art by Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley, and you can read more about the project here.
Elsewhere, a vintage TV clip of film director and Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam discussing his animation techniques has resurfaced courtesy of Cartoon Brew. The blog points out that, given the continuing interest in animation, it is a shame that such shows no longer exist. Bloghorn agrees, but would also like to see more in-depth coverage of other cartooning formats.
As always, please alert us to anything we might have missed, using the comments below. Thanks.
August 7, 2011 4 Comments
Foghorn – The magazine by cartoonists
Bloghorn commends summer reading with the NEW* issue of Foghorn magazine due for publication. It’s the only cartoon magazine made by the cartoonists themselves.
- http://procartoonists.org
You can try a digital copy and subscribe to six print issues a year for £20 here. Don’t miss it.
* See what we did there?
August 3, 2011 No Comments
Round up: What the Bloghorn saw
Rob Murray writes:
With Steve Bell’s one-man restrospective at the Cartoon Museum having just closed, the Guardian cartoonist – and member of the UK Professional Cartoonists Organisation, which runs the Bloghorn – has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Brighton.
New Yorker cartoonist Ed Koren has been interviewed by Vermont Public Radio about his long career, his writing process and his views on the future of cartooning. You can listen to the 12-minute interview here.
Acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore tells the Guardian about the latest installment of his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series (published this week), and how he thinks the internet will transform comics. Read the interview here.
Staying in the realm of comic books, Robert Crumb’s classic underground series Zap Comix is due to be reprinted in its entirety next year, in an 800-page, two-volume hardcover set from Fantagraphics Books.
As always, please draw our attention to anything you think we’ve missed by posting a comment below.
July 29, 2011 No Comments
Doctor Who at the Cartoon Museum
Almost as long as Doctor Who has been on — and off — our TV screens he has also been seen in his comics incarnation.
The world’s longest running sci-fi series began in late 1963 and the Doctor first appeared in cartoon form in TV Comic in the following year.
A new exhibition, Doctor Who in Comics: 1964-2011 brings together artwork featuring all eleven Doctors from publications including TV Comic, TV Century 21 and Doctor Who Magazine. Comic-strips were famously one of the mediums that kept the Doctor alive for the fans when the TV show was off the air for 16 years — yes, excepting Paul McGann’s one-off TV film, don’t write in! — between 1989 and 2005.
The show, which materialises at the Cartoon Museum in London on Wednesday, features work by many writers and artists including Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Dicky Howett, Roger Langridge, David Lloyd, Pat Mills, Alan Moore and John Wagner. It looks set to be a family hit for all generations over the summer. Catch it before it dematerialises on October 30.
Artwork above by Paul Grist and James Offredi
July 26, 2011 1 Comment
Round up : What the Bloghorn saw
Rob Murray writes:
A handsome new book about the use of cartoons in early advertising is released this month by graphic novel and comic art publisher Fantagraphics Books. In 128 full-colur pages, Drawing Power spans from the 1870s to the 1940s and features lesser-known work by cartoonists such as Peter Arno, Thomas Nast, George Herriman and Dr Seuss. More information on the book, including a slideshow of many of the cartoons featured, can be found here.
The News International phone-hacking scandal has made headlines around the world, and reminds Vancouver Sun writer Darah Hansen of a classic Doonesbury strip, as she explains here.
Judge Dredd, the iconic star of long-running UK sci-fi comic 2000 AD, is getting a second chance at movie stardom – this time without Sylvester Stallone – in a new film due early next year.
Last but by no means least, the UK Professional Cartoonists Organisation – which runs the Bloghorn – has this week unveiled its portfolio website. Take a look, if you haven’t already. We will be moving to the new site in due course.
July 22, 2011 1 Comment
Cartooning in real-time
Response to printed and digital cartoons is now pretty much instant as this tweet about a drawing by Peter Brookes of The Times shows.
Peter’s colleague Morten Morland (a PCO member) had a swift response below
The standard response of editorial cartoonists to feedback like this is
Or complete silence, but when the controversy crosses the oceans in seconds to other influential commentators…
This speed of interaction between opinion, response and offence pose, in Bloghorn’s view both a challenge and an opportunity to makers of drawings. What do you think cartoonists should do in the social media era?Answers welcome in the comments.
Updated: 2pm
Further response from the internet
Updated: Wednesday 27th July – The Guardian is reporting a letter from seven UK academics complaining about the publication of this cartoon. Read the story here and please comment below if you would like.
July 21, 2011 3 Comments
