You want magazine cartoons? I got 'em

Here's a somewhat random selection of cartoons (I think this is what the young people call a pic dump) from various UK newsstand magazines over recent months. Enjoy! Click any image to enlarge.

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Crime cartoon: A brush with the law

"You say, 'Comedy catchphrase', the law says, 'Bomb threat'."

A jokey or humorous comment can get you in trouble in these paranoid times, as this character is finding out. For international readers who don't know who he is, Wikipedia is your friend. This appears in the June issue of Reader's Digest.

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Reader's Digest cartoon: Spud-based mirth

I've got a cartoon in the May issue of Reader's Digest in the US:

This gag was initially sent out to several UK magazines, but was rejected. In those days, it looked like this:


I had to change the "British bobby", of course. I went for a more generic TV cop show style detective. I also thought that "assailant" seemed like a very British policespeak sort of word. They may well use it in the States but I thought I was on safer ground with "attacker". It's never straightforward sending gags to the US. You have to constantly think about whether certain words/concepts will be understood in the same way. As someone once said, we're two nations divided by a common language. And it goes way beyond lift and elevator.

(By the way, talking of British bobbies, if you've not seen Hot Fuzz yet: drop everything and go now. It's just hilarious.)

You'll notice also that as it was such a prestigious client I decided to do a bit more picture research on Mr Potatohead, to make him more accurate. It's not the first time said character has appeared in a cartoon of mine. This is from a few years ago:


Hey look: there's an interview with yours truly over at the excellent Chewing Pencils cartooning blog. Matt Glover, who runs the site, says: "This week’s feature artist surely has the coolest name any artist could hope for!" I must say, this is news to me, and seems a little unlikely, but I'll gladly accept the compliment. Thanks, Matt!