Bumper cartoon selection!

Here's a bumper selection of cartoons published in magazines such as Private Eye, The Spectator and Prospect over recent months. In other words, it's the obligatory "I haven't updated this blog for ages" post!

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On seaside fun and being "budding"

I'm a bit late getting around to blogging about this but the Beside the Surrealside cartooning event in Herne Bay was a great success in glorious sunshine. Thanks to Kasia Kowalska for the picture above. And here's a report from the Herne Bay Gazette. Click the image to enlarge and read.

The Guardian mention that is referred to in the piece was a "reader's cartoons" feature they ran via their website. A handful of the submitted cartoons appeared in the Guardian and in an online piece.

It was really aimed at "budding" and "aspiring" cartoonists, but as I was saying to someone at Herne Bay, you never feel established as a freelance cartoonist anyway, as there's so much rejection involved! And it was nice to see a cartoon turned down by all the magazines get some exposure in print at last.

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Book illustrations: Look Who's here

This book is finally released today, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who this month. I'm a fan of the show (though nowhere in the same league as Neil, the author of the book) so it's fun to be a very small and unofficial part of the celebrations.

This is the original drawing. Faber, the publishers, added the colour. And below is the illustration I drew for the back cover, a shelf full of mundane kitchen stuff alongside Doctor Who paraphernalia.

It's a bit small to see the detail here, but I had fun coming up with the titles of the books on the shelf, such as Cybermen Behaving Badly and The Doctor's Day Off. I'd like to read that last one, though there's no sigh of him taking a break any time soon.

For more on the original Wife in Space blog cartoons click here.

Happy Birthday, Doctor Who!

More cartoon adventures in space

Having drawn the cartoons for the Adventures with the Wife in Space blog, in which the Doctor Who superfan Neil Perryman subjected his long-suffering wife Sue to every episode of the original series, I have now drawn one for its sequel.

Adventures with the Wife and Blake, will see the experiment repeated with every episode of the cult 1970s sci-fi show Blake's 7. It won't take anywhere near as long but it could still be grounds for divorce. The project is being launched using Kickstarter and fans can pledge to support it here.

Meanwhile, I've drawn the front and back covers for the Adventures with the Wife in Space book which is published by Faber & Faber in the autumn, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. More on that nearer the time.

Click here to buy Royston's cartoon book

Shrewsbury 2013: Doze were the days

Here is my Big Board cartoon from 10th Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival, which took place at the weekend. You can see, right, that I used a homemade template, Banksy-style, to get the "Buffering" icon right. I wasn't going to risk mucking that up.

This year I went for a very loose look and had it finished in about three and a half hours. A crucial decision was to apply the acrylic paints straight after the pencilling, then ink the lines. It saves having to re-ink when you paint over lines.

What I love about the festival is getting feedback from the public, not something cartoonists usually experience. It was good to hear the recognition as I drew. Many women and children claimed that this was familiar behaviour from their husbands/fathers.

But you can't please all of the people: a different version of the "Buffering" cartoon appeared in the main festival exhibition and when I arrived at the private view somebody was trying to explain it to the Mayor.

"Do you ever get a hollow feeling when you've looked forward to something for ages and then it finally happens?"

This Daleks cartoon also featured in the exhibition and was a seller. I seem to have drawn quite a lot of Daleks at Shrewsbury over the years (always a hit with the kids) and this one seemed appropriate with the festival theme of "Time" and the upcoming 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. It was also included in a feature by the BBC on ten years of the festival. The exhibition runs until May 6 then it goes on tour (details here).

Some more links: see a great short video on the festival here and a slideshow of all the boards here.

As ever, as well as the live drawing and attending of exhibitions, there was much drinking, singing and carousing. But the least said about that the better. Feel free to add a caption to this picture.

Photo: Clive Goddard. I think. Frankly, there are so many pics of half-cut cartoonists flying around online right now, it's hard to keep track.

Doctor Who cartoon regenerated

I drew a "regenerated" version of my cartoon for the Doctor Who fansite Adventures with the Wife in Space, as Neil and Sue Perryman, who have been watching an episode of the 49-year-old series every day from the very beginning, are now on to the Peter Davison years. And the fifth Doctor was famous for a love of cricket and, er, celery.

The original version, in which Neil wears a Tom Baker scarf, was drawn last year for when the project got its own site (it had previously been part of another site).

As you can see, Neil also inflicts some of the dodgy spin-offs on his long-suffering missus. He asked if I was OK with him "customising" the cartoon for different episodes, with different screenshots and captions. I would normally be wary of allowing people to alter my drawings in this way, but it works for this site.

If you haven't yet seen the site, check it out at wifeinspace.com. It's very funny. And you can see lots more of my Doctor Who-based cartoons here.

Cartoon for Doctor Who website

I had some fun doing this cartoon, which can be seen on the Doctor Who fansite Adventures with the Wife in Space. The site is run by Neil Perryman, an old friend from my university days, who commissioned me via Facebook, having seen me banging on (and on) about my cartoons there.

The idea behind the site is that every day he watches an episode of Doctor Who with his non-fan wife Sue, in order from the very beginning, and records her reactions, which are mostly sarcastic and very funny. They're on to Jon Pertwee now: check it out.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm not averse to drawing the odd Doctor Who-based cartoon.

TV cartoon: Careful what you wish for

Fans of Doctor Who will know that the current series has been leading up to death of the Doctor tonight. Sounds unlikely that they would kill off a much-loved franchise, er, character, but unlikely things do happen: it's October 1 and it's hot and sunny.

Click play


For some though, you should be careful what you wish for ...

"Do you ever get a hollow feeling when you've looked forward to something for ages and then it finally happens?"

You know you want to see more Doctor Who/Dalek cartoons ...

Finally made it to the Letters page

It has long been an ambition of mine to make the letters page of Private Eye, preferably in a missive from a "Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" type, foaming at the mouth and threatening to cancel his subscription because of his anger at a cartoon. Instead, I seem to have pleased some people and moved them (right, click to enlarge). Ah well, that will have to do.

The cartoon is question is this one. [Note to Private Eye sub-editors: My surname is Robertson. I did meet someone once called Roberton -- imagine spending your life with a typo for a surname!]

Doctor Who cartoon: Goodbye Sarah Jane

This cartoon was intended as a genuine tribute to the actress Elisabeth Sladen, who died last week, rather than an exercise in humour. It appears in the current Private Eye.

I think I got the balance right -- it is intended to be moving without being too sentimental -- as I've had a positive reaction to it.

Since I drew it, I've seen similar cartoons on the web. This is inevitable with topical cartoons. Any cartoonist who sat down to think about this subject may well have thought of K-9, who was inextricably linked to Sarah Jane, Sladen's Doctor Who character. And as death is the subject it's a short logical leap to a Greyfriars Bobby scenario.

Topical cartoons are drawn quickly and sometimes mistakes are made. There is one in this cartoon. I'll give points to any Doctor Who fan, or anyone else, who spots it! Comment below if you know.

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Captionless cartoon: A new Dalek

This week's caption contest on the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain public forum is a actually a no-caption contest. Instead, a theme is provided and you have to draw a "silent" cartoon to go with it. And the theme is Daleks. Having done so many Dalek cartoons in the past, I couldn't resist.

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Shrewsbury, Daleks and exhausted cartoonists

Phew! Very tired still after the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival 2010. Will post more on it when I've caught up with work (and sleep) but in the meantime here's a cartoon I drew for the "HuMurals" in the town's Darwin Shopping Centre.

I returned home last night to find I'd got an email from a mum whose 10-year-old son was "very amused and excited" by the cartoon and drew his own version inspired by it (which she sent to me). That's kind of what the festival is all about and makes all the effort more than worthwhile.

To see the live coverage of the festival we put together while there, see The Bloghorn

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

Not Yet Sold: Dalek cartoon

"Every time you use that word you exterminate part of yourself."

Here's number 2 in my exclusive new part-work series Not Yet Sold, which builds week-by-week into a chronicle of blind hope and failure.

This rejected cartoon from 2007 is one of many Dalek gags I've done over the years (click Daleks in labels below to see a few) but I thought this one had a bit more substance as it's not just a joke about the usual Doctor Who/Dalek cliches (climbing stairs, hiding behind the sofa etc). Alas, it has been submitted to many magazines, with no luck.

It remains a personal favourite though, I just like the idea of a Dalek struggling with his true nature and seeing a shrink. Maybe, in a parallel universe, it was a hit ...

As ever, feedback and constructive criticism on the Not Yet Sold cartoons (or any on the blog) is welcome and, indeed, encouraged.

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Snowman cartoon: Who's that?

Apparently, lots of people here in the UK have snow today. People in London appear to be getting particularly excited about it on Twitter. As usual, there is none here on the tip of the Kentish coast, so I have to make do with snow cartoons instead.

This one can be found on a Christmas card in a gift shop near you (I sold the card company this and a slightly rude caption for a photo card). It can also be seen as a full-page cartoon on the back of the latest edition of Foghorn, the magazine of the Professional Cartoonists' Organisation.

You can read an archive of the Foghorn online, just click the button on the right-hand column of this blog (scroll down). To buy a print subscription to the mag, which comes out six times a year, go here.

In other news: There's an interview with me over at a US blog called David Wasting Paper. David is a self-confessed cartooning geek and has put the same questions to a whole load of cartoonists and comics artists, including Bill Griffith, Nick Downes, Dave Coverly, Chris Browne and Larry Gonick. There's lots to read there, well worth a look during the inevitable festive period down-time.

Royston's portfolio website

Caption contest cartoon: Moon crash

Once again, this week I have taken part in the "reverse caption" competition at the Cartoonists' Club public forum . The caption was "Sorry, no thanks" and I found it a bit tricky. But I've only myself to blame as I set the caption, having won last week.

This one is a bit different to the usual gag cartoons I do, but it was fun to draw. And it was another chance to do a topical one. It just occurred to me, when the story about crashing spacecraft into the moon broke yesterday, that it's all a bit reminiscent of the famous Georges Méliès silent film Voyage to the Moon.

"Sorry, no thanks" is a phrase familiar to all cartoonists, by the way, as it is often what is written on rejection slips!

Here's the cartoon I won with last week, the caption was "Right, any more of that and you'll be sitting on the naughty step." Click to enlarge.


To me, the word "step" instantly meant Dalek joke opportunity! I'm always a sucker for a Dalek cartoon.

This next one, from a few weeks earlier, was less successful in the voting. I was surprised as I quite liked it. It was drawn for the caption "This is the best I could come up with" and I include it here as Antony Gormley's living artwork One and Another, which it spoofs, finishes next Wednesday (October 14).

Royston's portfolio website

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.

Royston's portfolio website

Dalek cartoon: The director's cut

This cartoon is in the current edition of Private Eye. The Dalek cartoon was popular a few years back, notably during the lengthy period that Doctor Who was off air. Here I've combined it with a current popular obsession among cartoonists: outdoor smokers.

Private Eye added a sign reading "Stage Door" on the left hand side of the cartoon. I had considered putting in a sign saying "BBC" when I submitted the gag, but I thought it might be over-egging the joke. I don't think a sign is needed really.

Apart from anything else, I thought that rather than actors smoking inside the Daleks, maybe this takes place in the Doctor Who universe – the Whoniverse, if you will – and these are Daleks taking a break from conquering the human race. Well, whatever the interpretation, it's smoking Daleks, what more do you want?

It's not the first time I've had a Doctor Who gag in Private Eye. Here's one from 2005, just before the series was relaunched.

In actual fact, having been a big Doctor Who fan as a child, I was really looking forward to the new series, but sometimes you have to play Devil's Advocate as a cartoonist. There had been an excessive amount of hype surrounding the series (that seems to have been maintained!) and the media kept falling back on the old "get ready to hide behind the sofa" cliche, hence this cartoon.

Royston's portfolio: Star Wars cartoons also available ...

There's no escape

Top Dr Who cartoon is from Private Eye, the other unpublished.