The reader’s editor at The Guardian news organisation writes in response to critical correspondence about some of cartoonist Steve Bell’s editorial cartoons.

Whoever wins the US election, he is probably unlikely to be as much of a gift to cartoonists as the guy who is currently putting his feet up in the Oval Office.

US editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich tells us “What I’ll Miss About George W.”

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

An exhibition called Tory Blues: A Cartoon History of the Conservative Party opens today (October 21) at the Political Cartoon Gallery in London and runs until January 7, 2009.

It features original political cartoons charting the history of the Conservative Party from Benjamin Disraeli, through the likes of Balfour, Baldwin, Churchill, Thatcher and Major, to today’s Party Leader, David Cameron.

Included, for the very first time on display, are original cartoons covering both the Party’s election victories and defeats as well as important events in the history of Britain’s most successful political party.

The exhibition consists of 60 original cartoons by leading cartoonists both past and present including work by Sir John Tenniel, Sir Francis Carruthers Gould, Sidney Strube, Sir David Low, Leslie Illingworth, Trog, JAK, Michael Cummings, Nick Garland, Ronald Searle, Steve Bell, Chris Riddell, Paul Thomas Dave Brown, Peter Schrank, Martin Rowson and Peter Brookes among many others.

The exhibition is to be opened by the former Conservative MP Mathew Parris. A book by Alan Mumford entitled Tory Blues will accompany the show.

The Political Cartoon Gallery, at 32 Store Street, London, is open Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11.30am – 5.30pm.

UPDATED: 22nd October 2008.
Telegraph cartoonist Christian Adams has a write-up on the exhibition opening night here

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

Kal (Kevin Kallaugher), cartoonist for the Economist for the past 30 years, will be discussing political cartooning with Henry Naylor (former head writer for Spitting Image). The debate will be chaired by Channel 4′s Krishnan Guru-Murthy and will be followed by Kal conducting a hands-on interactive cartooning demonstration.

Campaign cartooning: Discussing how the art of satire shapes the political landscape is on at the Congress Centre, 28 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3LS on Thursday 2nd October 2008, 7-8.15pm. The event is free, but to register for the event email campaigncartooning@stockholm-network.org.

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

“I have a great idea for a cartoon! Want to hear it?”
“No.”

… US political cartoonist Daryl Cagle takes on the questions that people always ask cartoonists. Some of it is very specific to Cagle’s site, but much of it is universal and very funny. Here’s another favourite:

“When are you going to stop bashing President Bush?”
“Be patient. It won’t be long.”

Thanks to the ever-vigilant Mike Lynch for spotting this one.

The PCO: British cartoon talent

With Hurricane Gustav battering the Gulf Coast many of the cartoonists covering the DNC last week crossed the country to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis Saint Paul, including Rob Rogers (who had to cut short his visit to the convention due to his father’s death), Walt Handelsman and al.com’s JD Crowe.

Other cartoonists covering the convention from home include Rob Tornoe (sketchbook), and Ron Rogers. The British media was again represented by Kal (sketchbook day 1, day 2, day 3 ) and Steve Bell (sketchbook days 4-8, day 9, day 10, day 11).

It’s British cartoon talent

Party political conference season is nearly upon us here in Britain, but in the US the Democratic Party have already finished their turn. The cartoonists were out in force both drawing and blogging in Denver, Colorado.

Cartoon blogs from the convention include Rob Rogers from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (convention blog), convention first-timer Walt Handelsman from Newsday, Jen Sorenson from the Charlottesville C-Ville and Denver local Ed Stein from the Rocky Mountain News.

Interesting to note that a number of US cartoonists have chosen not to attend the Convention in person, such as Dan Wasserman from the Boston Globe, Rob Tornoe from Politiker.com (sketchbook), Matt Davies from the Journal News, David Horsey from the Seattle Post-Intelligencier and Ron Rogers from the South Bend Tribune (sketchbook), instead chosing to work from their studios, well away from the media crush.

In the meantime from the British press we had Steve Bell from the Guardian (sketchbook day 1, day 2, day 3)and Kal from the Economist (sketchbook day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4) actually in attendance.

It’s British cartoon talent

The cartoonist Gerald Scarfe is touring the UK with his show Scarfe On The Road. It comes to the Shrewsbury Music Hall on the 4th of September

Scarfe is one of Britain’s most popular caricaturists and is political cartoonist for the Sunday Times. For more details on this illustrated talk, which spans his 40-year career, see the above flyer (click to enlarge). You can book tickets here.

Shrewsbury is no stranger to cartooning as every April it hosts the Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival, the foremost event of its kind in the country.

The PCO: British cartoon talent

The Graphic Art of Comment, an exhibition of cartoons and illustrations from the Comment pages of the Guardian newspaper opens tomorrow (July 24) and runs until September 26.

It showcases the work of more than 20 artists whose work can be seen in the paper’s Comment pages, including Martin Rowson, Steve Bell and David Parkins.

The exhibition is at the Newsroom Archive and Visitor Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London. (Tel:020-7886 9898). Opening times: Monday to Friday 10am-5pm; Saturday 12pm-4pm; Closed August Bank Holiday weekend. Admission is free and there is a free catalogue (while stocks last).

It’s British cartoon talent

An Independent Line – an exhibition of cartoons from The Independent newspaper, by Dave Brown, Peter Schrank and Tim Sanders, is at the Political Cartoon Gallery in London from June 18 until October 18.

The exhibition promises to be a treat for lovers of satire, as it features a wealth of work from the Indie’s three political cartoonists. Drawing on the best of more than 12 years of material, it features cartoons from the John Major years to the present day.

The show will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated hardback book with a foreword by comedian Mark Steel.

The Political Cartoon Gallery is at 32 Store Street, London WC1E 7BS, and is open Monday to Friday 9.30am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11.30am – 5.30pm.

It’s British cartoon talent