Blair cartoon from The Times by PCOer Morten Morland

The advent of statistics recording visits to web sites has allowed web publishers to see exactly which pages readers head for. Unsurprisingly, many have embraced this technology to show you – the reader – which pages are most popular.

So, I ask you to go to The Times website. Scroll down. No, you don’t have to get past the Great Pay Wall of Murdoch to do this – no small denomination payments are required. Look at the “Most Read” list of sections which are – as you might guess – the paper’s most popular click-through reads.

Of course, I don’t know when you’re reading this but I bet you that coming in the top three with a bullet will be “Cartoons”. I have checked assiduously for the past several weeks. “Cartoons” has been at or near the top spot for almost all of my visits (many times at Number One).

As I write, I am not chastened by the fact that nestling at number 2 is “Top Ten Chinos”.Well, a chap’s got to look the part while perusing the best of cartoon art online. Standards, you know. (Of course, if you want to actually look at the cartoons, you WILL have to pay at this point).

It’s a subject close to the hearts of us cartoonists. The popularity of The Times’ cartoons is, of course, not unrelated to the fact that they boast two fine cartoonists in Peter Brookes and Morten Morland, together with legend-inna-lifetime Gerald Scarfe at the Sunday title.

But it’s not just that. Readers love cartoons. We know that. It’s such a pity that this simple fact doesn’t prevent culls of cartoonists to cut costs at newspapers facing hard times. It seems counter-intuitive to us. For example the loss of almost all cartoon content from The Observer recently was mourned widely. So Bloghorn says hats off to the wildly good taste of Times readers.

Bloghorn is pleased to report that this evening’s talk by Peter Firmin, co-creator of Bagpuss, the Clangers, Ivor the Engine and Noggin the Nog at the Cartoon Museum is sold out.

This is a closing event for the Toy Tales exhibition which finishes showing to the public at the end of this week.

Bloghorn says go while you still have the chance. To talk to the museum, call 020 7580 8155

Updated: If you are interested in some of Peter’s back catalogue of work you also enjoy some here

PCOer The Surreal McCoy writes with a short review of  The Illusionist, the new film by Sylvain Chomet.

The perfect antidote to Hollywood’s current obsession with computer-generated 3D imagery, The Illusionist is the latest animated feature from Sylvain (Belleville Rendez-vous) Chomet.

I defy anyone to watch dry-eyed as the poignant story of an ageing magician trying to make a living during the dying days of variety unfolds in glorious watercolour against the backdrop of 1950s Edinburgh.

Based on an unfilmed screenplay by Jacques Tati, Chomet uses hand-drawn images to conjure up an atmospheric and nostalgic film with breathtaking landscapes and city scenes, employing plenty of visual background humour but hardly any dialogue.

I’d argue magicians do exist (you have to see the film to get that reference) and surely Sylvain Chomet is one of the master illusionists.

Bloghorn particularly enjoyed the English garden party (there’s a snippet from it in the video) and the Scottish island. Click the video for a larger version. Our thanks to Surreal for the review.

On Mondays you can rely upon Royston Robertson to be posting news of the UK’s cartoonists here at Bloghorn – but not this week.

After a long struggle, Bloghorn convinced Royston he should allow himself the week off because the Kent-based cartoonist will be giving an illustrated talk about his work at A Summer Squall in Ramsgate on Saturday 28th August.

Royston told us:

The idea is that I’ll show a load of cartoons – mostly published but maybe a few rejected ones as well – read the captions and talk a little about themes covered, the background to the cartoons, the process of coming up with ideas and drawing the cartoons etc. Hopefully it’ll raise a few chuckles and there will be questions and input from the audience.

So, kindly add yourself to the great August bank holiday weekend getaway for a high-quality end to the silly season.

The talk takes place at 2pm at Ramsgate Library on Saturday 28 August. Admission is free but you need to book. Tickets are available at the Custom House, Harbour Parade, Ramsgate, or by calling 07544-971 685.

“Double Dip and Toil and Trouble !!” by Nick Hayes,
from the Guardian’s summer cartoonists showcase.

As previously mentioned in Bloghorn, the Guardian is showcasing six up-and-coming cartoonists whilst regular incumbent Steve Bell is on his summer holidays.

Since the last week of July, the cartoons of Anna Trench, Lou McKeever (aka Bluelou), Ben Jennings, Tanya Tier, Bob Moran and Nick Hayes have been adding their own visual takes on the day’s news. Their contributions haven’t been without controversy, with many cartoons receiving over 100 comments each, including numerous pieces or rebuttal from fellow Guardian cartoonist, Martin Rowson. As Martin says in the comments:

The reason for giving these cartoonists an airing here – including, of course, the opportunity to fail – is that these days it’s almost impossible to undergo that kind of baptism of fire in a national newspaper , and thus hone your native skills.

and on the subject of the comments:

[...] these six debutants have overturned an original editorial decision not to have comments on their work when it appears on this site. I think that’s quite brave of them, so it might be worthwhile some of you repaying the compliment by being constructive in your criticism, rather than just trolling about as usual, beating up this particular bus shelter on the side of the information superhighway with the kind of reckless abandon that seems to come so easily to the heroically anonymous.

On a related note, Steve Bell and Martin Rowson will be in conversation at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this weekend, whilst Steve will also be chatting to American political cartoonist Garry Trudeau and comic book writer Alan Moore.

A new British adult comic, CLiNT, launches on the 2nd September. Featuring writers including TV’s Jonathan Ross and contraversial comedian Frankie Boyle, the magazine is a collaboration between Kick Ass artist Mark Millar and Titan Publishing. The comic, that Millar describes as “The Eagle for the 21st Century,” is aimed at men aged 16-30. You can find out more information about CLiNT via twitter.com/clintmag or Facebook.

In case you’re wondering why the magazine is titled CLiNT, Bloghorn suspects it has more to do with a piece of US comic folklore than a certain Mr Eastwood.

CLiNT number 1 is on sale 2nd September in the UK from all good retailers and specialist comic stores.

"You'd better release their ball. They've kidnapped the cat" by Norman Thelwell

The Chris Beetles Gallery in London has an exhibition of cat cartoons, illustrations and paintings opening later this month, titled Louis Wain and the Summer Cat Show 2010.

This show marks the 30th annual exhibition of British cat art at Chris Beetles. Alongside work by the eccentric Edwardian cat artist, Louis Wain, the exhibition features cartoons and sketches by William Heath Robinson, Norman Thelwell and Ronald Searle, although some of the paintings on show do remind Bloghorn of the infamous Viz commemorative plate The Life of Christ in Cats.

Louis Wain and the Summer Cat Show will be showing at the Chris Beetles Gallery, 8 & 10 Ryder St, St James’s, London, from August 14 to September 4, opening hours 10am – 5.30pm, Monday – Saturday. For more details go to www.chrisbeetles.com

PCOer Steve Bell writes in today’s Guardian newspaper about an usual opportunity for the more unseen cartoonist which he has cooked up with his colleague Martin Rowson.

We are both constantly badgered by young cartoonists waiting for us to die (as indeed Martin himself once urged me to), as well as editors complaining about how difficult it is to find fresh talent. He suggested using our longer than normal holiday period of six weeks to showcase some of the talent we know full well to be out there.

And he offers a short explanation of what the independently-minded artist does. Bloghorn thinks this definition is useful when trying to identify the drawn work of an illustrator or a cartoonist.

It does require a certain arrogance to sit in judgment over the great and good, as well as the not so good and the less great who rule our lives, but I’ve had a political agenda as long as my arm since I was in flared trousers, and have never been expected to express any point of view other than my own.

If you have things to say about what Steve has written please add them in the comments below.

A caricature of Daniel on one of the festival banners

Cartoon festivals pop up here and there around the globe. Some last for decades, others flourish and die swiftly. They come in many shapes and sizes but all share a common denominator: the enthusiasm of the participants to show their art to the world and the passer-by … and to have a good time doing it.

The Louviers Cartoon Festival in Northern France was one of the best attended but, sadly, its guiding light and director, Daniel Chabouis, passed away recently.  PCO member Simon Ellinas attended several of the festivals created by its memorable organiser.

Simon writes:

The English and the French hate each other. Official. Or so common folklore influenced by centuries of historical arguments, wars and petty grievances would have us believe. This hasn’t been my experience at all, with myriad pleasant and warmly welcomed visits to all parts of France.

The warmest welcome of all though was provided by the organiser of the Louviers Cartoon Festival, Daniel Chabouis, who contacted me in 2002 asking for a deputation of cartoonists to represent the UK at this most festive of festivals.

Daniel and his team were ultra-hospitable right from the start showing a depth of human kindness, consideration and extensive bonhomie often noticeably lacking elsewhere.

Passionate about the festival, he welcomed all forms of cartooning (see many of our past posts – Ed) and was able to persuade the local municipality to bankroll the event, along with many other local sponsors, for 12 years before it finally bit the credit-crunch dust and failed to surface in 2009.

The thing he created with the Louviers Cartoon Festival which, in my opinion, is unique amongst cartoon festivals I have visited, was a real atmosphere of festival. People attended in their thousands from the surrounding cities and towns.

All the cartoonists, their exhibits and their workshops and demonstrations were under one roof. Prizes were announced over the PA throughout the event and the public were able to see the cartoonists for whom they had voted based on the cartoons they had seen. There was often a palpable and electric excitement in the air.

The Louviers Cartoon Festival was, I believe, simply an extension of the organiser’s own personality. Because Daniel Chabouis was such a wonderfully generous man with an intense joie de vivre, so the festival was always an effervescent and memorable success.

Bloghorn thanks Simon for the news, the photograph and the good memories.

Following our earlier post, here is more evidence that new technology can help turn a tactile skill into a digital work of art.