Private Eye cartoon: Dangerous business

"The BBC want you back, Danger Mouse – subject to a full risk assessment."

This cartoon from the current Private Eye could land me in Pedantry Corner again. Several people have pointed out that Danger Mouse was on ITV. However, they may not be aware that this is a topical cartoon as the much-loved cartoon series is indeed returning ... to be screened on Children's BBC.

So technically it's not wrong, depends on how you read it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

UPDATE: The cartoon was mentioned in the next issue's Pedantry Corner, as predicted!

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History cartoon: The Normans

Every time I turn on the BBC these days they're talking about The Normans, the new history series, so here's "another chance to see", to adopt the current TV euphemism for repeat showings, a Normans cartoon which appeared in Private Eye earlier this year. Click the image to enlarge.

This is one I will almost certainly be showing at my aforementioned talk on cartooning. Have I aforementioned that enough yet?

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Not Yet Sold: Doctor Who cartoon

As the new Doctor Who begins his spell in the Tardis this weekend (as no-one in the UK can fail to have noticed) I thought I'd dig out this old chestnut for my series on rejected cartoons.

This is from 2006 when Private Eye were running lots of gags punning on the TV series Grumpy Old Men (Grumpy Old Mister Men, Morris Men, that kind of thing). This happens from time to time, there was a series of iPod puns when the gadgets became popular (here's a published one) and a couple of years ago, for some reason, they favoured "Are you looking at my bird?" gags.

I usually submit one or two for these themes, as they are easy to think up, but the problem is they are almost impossible to sell anywhere else if rejected.

More Not Yet Sold cartoons.

More on Doctor Who

Page three cartoonist

Look, I wasn't going to mention it again, but they've only gone and put me on page three of the local paper. Shame about that grimace. Click to enlarge or read it here: Your Thanet

Update 6.11.09: Here's another cutting, click it to enlarge. This appeared in today's Kent Messenger. More egg-based wordplay!


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Cartoonists victorious on TV's Eggheads

The Cartoonists on Eggheads, l-r, Alex Hughes, Royston Robertson, Robert Duncan, Graham Fowell and Martin Rowson

If you have yet to watch the show on BBC iPlayer and don't want to know the result, look away now: yay we WON!!!

And pretty convincingly too, becoming the first team to knock out each Egghead in the head-to-head rounds and then go on to win the show. Kevin Ashman, the last Egghead standing, who finally fell on a question about cartoons, if you can believe it, said it was "the most comprehensive defeat we've ever had". I like that quote.

To celebrate here's a rare shot of me smiling on the show (most of the time my face was in a grimace caused by sheer nerves!)


We all drew cartoons and caricatures of the Eggheads beforehand, which we revealed on the show. I drew CJ de Mooi as a Bond villain as that is the type of "Mr Nasty" character he likes to project! He got the joke, luckily, and really liked it. I only found out via a recent episode of Eggheads that he considers himself something of an expert on Bond films, so that was fortuitous.


Over at the Bloghorn there's another more detailed account of the Eggheads experience by team captain Alex Hughes: Cartoonists crack Eggheads Can I just say "Yay!" one more time?

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Appearing on TV's Eggheads tomorrow

OK, I said I'd remind you nearer the time: I can be seen on the TV quiz show Eggheads tomorrow (October 29th) at 6pm on BBC Two.

I'll be appearing with a group of fellow cartoonists from the PCO. Our team is called, logically enough, The Cartoonists. It was that or something naff like "Drawn to Quizzing"!

The Cartoonists, seated left to right, are: Chris Burke, who was on the subs' bench but will not be seen on the show, Alex Hughes, myself, Robert Duncan, Graham Fowell and Martin Rowson.

I would say wish us luck, but of course I already know how we did! The show was recorded on January 29th, which means it will have had a gestation period of nine months to the day.

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Cartoonists on TV's Eggheads

You may, or may not, remember that I mentioned on this blog back in January that I took part in a recording of the TV quiz show Eggheads with a group of fellow cartoonists from the PCO. Well, we finally have a broadcast date.

Thursday 29 October is when the show will go out on BBC2. It's still a few weeks off, so I'll remind you nearer the time (the date has already changed a few times, so it may do so again.)

Pictured above are our team, left to right, Chris Burke, our sub in case any of us fell prey to sudden illness (or stage fright), Alex Hughes, myself, Robert Duncan, Graham Fowell and Martin Rowson.

On the back row is presenter Jeremy Vine, second left, with the Eggheads, CJ de Mooi, Barry Simmons, Daphne Fowler, Chris Hughes, Kevin Ashman, and Judith Keppel, who was the Eggheads' sub on this show.

On each edition of the show a team of challengers are pitted against the Eggheads, who are all quiz specialists. Between them they have won most major TV and radio quizzes.

And no, I can't tell anyone how we did. Sworn to secrecy, and all that!

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Evolution cartoon: The missing link

"Let's all do the Conga, let's all do the Conga, la-la-la-la ..."

Three out of the four cartoons I submitted for exhibition at the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival can be seen in the Boffination show (which is at the Bear Steps Gallery until May 9) but this is the one that got away.

I always knew this one would have an outside chance, because with the theme being Darwin-inspired they were bound to get lots of "Ascent of Man" cartoons. And they did. But once I had the idea of them do-do-doing the Conga, I just had to draw it up. Makes me chuckle, anyway.

Talking of Shrewsbury (as have been doing quite a lot on this blog lately, don't worry it'll stop soon) I was alerted today to the fact that the BBC picked one of my Boffination cartoons to illustrate an article on the festival. Excerpt below.


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I met a Dalek yesterday

I've only been to BBC Television Centre once before and the only famous person I spotted that time was James Robbins, the BBC News Diplomatic Correspondent. No offence, James, but meeting this fella was a bit more exciting.

I was at the Beeb with five other cartoonists to take part in the recording of the BBC2 quiz show Eggheads. I'll put the transmission date on this blog when I know it.

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History cartoons: How we used to laugh

Here's a cartoon that appears in the April issue of Prospect magazine. I'm no great history buff, but history cartoons are always fun to do.

Last year I illustrated a series of articles on life in medieval times ("How we used to fight ... eat ..." etc) which appeared in the BBC's Robin Hood Adventures magazine, a tie-in with the TV series. They were fun to do and I found that when the job finished I continued to think up gag cartoons on a medieval theme!

Here are a few of the cartoons from the "How we used to ..." series.





Cartoons by Royston