#tom humberstone

[dynamobooks]

Tom Humberstone: I’m a Luddite (And So Can You!) & Other Tales from The Nib (2023)

[thenib]

Dominant tennis player. Comics editor. Master spy? Read Tom Humberstone on the possibly too-good-to-be-true life of Alice Marble.

[smashpages]

Flappers, forehands and infamy: A brief history of tennis fashion scandals

Tom Humberstone, creator of the graphic novel ‘Suzanne,’ offers a guest essay today on tennis and fashion.

[graphicpolicy]

My 7 Favorite Phonogram B-Sides

My 7 Favorite Phonogram B-Sides #comics #comicbooks

In advance of Kieron Gillen and Caspar Wjingaard’s upcoming comic The Power Fantasy, we’re revisiting some of Gillen’s previous creator-owned work. As I’ve written before in features and monthly reviews, Phonogram will always be one of my favorite comics and is responsible for roughly 60% of my music taste. For folks who weren’t reading the book 8-18 years ago, Phonogram is a fantasy comic where…

[rwpohl]

i wake up screaming, h. bruce humberstone 1941

*

blow up: peeping tom, michael powell 1960

dune, meek's cutoff: fury at furnace creek, h. bruce humberstone 1948

[thestalwartheart]

007 Fest 2024 Masterpost

It's 11:59pm here on the 31st of July, and I'm signing off from Fest 2024 feeling like this:

Fics

toothpaste a cup runneth over the wait the quiet whisper i can't get no the hour before tea he's a little bit

Misc

Moodboard: TEXAS HOLD 'EM (00Leiter) Moodboard and ficlet: A little bit Alexis Bond Poem: first impressions

RADI00Q: 31 Songs for Bond and Q

A full playlist of every song featured this month is available on Spotify (thanks @eleanor-is-fine!) and YouTube.

Want to relive the moodboards? Here they are:

Song 1: Good Luck, Babe - Chappell Roan Song 2: Will We Talk? - Sam Fender Song 3: I Saw - Young Fathers Song 4: This Is The Last Time - The National Song 5: Everything - MUNA Song 6: Little Red Corvette - Prince Song 7: I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You - Tom Waits Song 8: Blue Monday - New Order Song 9: Love Calls You By Your Name - Leonard Cohen Song 10: Catherine Wheel - The Whitlams (covered by Megan Washington and the SSO) Song 11: Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground Song 12: England - The National Song 13: Phobia - Nothing But Thieves Song 14: Sunday Best - Megan Washington Song 15: You Are In Love - Taylor Swift Song 16: I Touch Myself - The Divinyls Song 17: The Heart Is A Muscle - Gang of Youths Song 18: Want Me - Baby Queen Song 19: Mystery of Love - Sufjan Stevens Song 20: Do I Wanna Know - Arctic Monkeys Song 21: Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn Song 22: I Wish I Was Sober - Frightened Rabbit Song 23: The Walls Are Way Too Thin - Holly Humberstone Song 24: How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths Song 25: Ocean Blue - Kita Alexander Song 26: Maybe You Know - Holy Holy Song 27: Writer - Paolo Nutini Song 28: A Sunday Kind of Love - Etta James Song 29: Linger - The Cranberries Song 30: Overcome - Nothing But Thieves Bonus song: Tears For Fun - Griff Song 31: 'Til Forever Falls Apart - Ashe & FINNEAS

--- GUEST SPOTS ---

Voice In My Throat - Pearl and the Beard Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby - Cigarettes After Sex It Had To Be You - Frank Sinatra Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift Shameful Company - Rainbow Kitten Surprise Splinter - MYRNE & salem ilese Please Please Please - Sabrina Carpenter Drive You Home - Garbage Hold Me Closer - Cornelia Jakobs The Ocean - Dar Williams Starlings - Elbow Talk - Hozier

I am genuinely so thankful to everyone who hyped up and supported me this month. You’re all angels.

And if your song didn’t make it to RADI00Q this month: I’m so so sorry! There were a few I didn’t have the spoons to get around to. But stay tuned - August and September might bring a few surprises 😘

[nevernonline]

Seventeen as songs by your favorite non-kpop artists? 🙏🏻🤗

✧. seventeen members as some of my favorite songs.

thank u sm for this request?? I love it! sorry it took me a little bit, I had to limit myself to 3 per member :') also I made you a spoty playlist of all the songs here.

choi seungcheol:

state lines - novo amor

0310 - yerin baek

means something - lizzy mcalpine

yoon jeonghan:

the moon song - karen o

white trainers - olivia dean

let's fall in love for the night - finneas

hong jisoo:

beach boy - benee

archetype - omar apollo

luv note - chloe moriondo

wen junhui:

remind me - emily king

leaning on you - haim

dream song - samia

kwon soonyoung:

hate to see your heart break - paramore

no shame - 5sos

you are the best thing - ray lamontange

jeon wonwoo:

heartbeats - jose gonzalez

part of me - noah gundersen

nobody gets me - sza

lee jihoon:

beautiful escape - tom misch

live laugh love - sasha alex sloan

mother may i sleep with danger - joy crooks

lee seokmin:

from the start - laufey

when i hate myself - ben kessler

keep driving - harry styles

kim mingyu:

god in jeans - ryan beatty

goodnight n go - ariana grande

autumn - niki

xu minghao:

late night thoughts - shy martin

better distractions - faye webster

savage good boy - japanese breakfast

boo seungkwan:

count on me - ashe

room service - holly humberstone

walk - griff

chwe hansol:

worth it - beabadoobie

this hell - rina sawayama

pure love - hayley williams

lee chan:

bad for business - Sabrina Carpenter

if we were a party - alexander 23

ungodly hour - chloe x halle

[allamericansbitch]

Hi everyone! Here’s the newest addition to my Creator Shoutout Series (october 15 - october 22)!  I want to appreciate editors and their creations that i love from the past week. To track this series or look at previous shoutouts, please check out the tag on my blog *creatorshoutouts. Have a great week everyone!

stranger things: robin and steve gifset by @hopemikelson

halloweentown gifset by @phoebesbridgers

taylor swift: midnights + letterboxd reviews gifset by @thatwasthenightthingschanged

holly humberstone: paint my bedroom black gifset by @antoniosvivaldi

marina: bubblegum bitch graphic by @cellphonehippie

twitches gifset by @miriammaisel

scream 1996 gifset by @charmedslayer

fear street trilogy gifset by @eightynines

knives out gifset by @meliorn

yellowjackets: natalie scatorccio gifset by @natscatorrcio

scream 6 gifset by @taiturner

it follows gifset by @losthavenmine

nope 2022 gifset by @buckhelped

heartstopper gifset by @spookys

taylor swift: red anniversary gifset by @lovestory

bottoms 2023 gifset by @julianavalds

taylor swift gifset by @h-f-k

ready or not gifset by @djo

taylor swift: eras tour vinyl design by @deadddswift

barbarian gifset by @thepunkpanther

aftersun gifset by @eldestboy

best horror movie costumes for halloween gifset by @possession

scream: sidney prescott gifset by @finalgirlsidney

succession: shiv and tom gifset by @sdktrs12

heartstopper gifset by @strandtk

scream 1996 gifset by @gresit

taylor swift: midnights anniversary gifset by @mrperfectlyfinetv

us 2019 gifset by @saw-x

scream: antagonists gifset by @taoargents

over the garden wall gifset by @spookys

taylor swift: 1989 graphic by @imkindatheman

gravity falls gifset by @userdanewhitman

us 2019 gifset by @nowadayz

taylor swift: midnights graphic by @thehoax

taylor swift: midnights anniversary gifset by @sweeterthanfictiontaylorsversion

taylor swift: midnights graphic by @sadbeautifutragic

[jungleindierock]

Rebjukebox 2024 - No. 2

My second playlist of new music from mainly new bands, all tracks are from 2024. Makes no difference, where the tracks appear in the playlist, they are all good. I feel 40 is good number of tracks not too long or too short in listening time for your enjoyment. The whole playlist is only two hours and eighteen minutes long.

I used to do these just through Soundcloud, but thought i might as well add it to my Spotify also. So i will add two links to the playlist and can use which ever one you prefer.

If your a solo singer or a member of a band, then follow me on my Soundcloud page here, if i like your stuff, i will follow you back, if i don’t follow back then sorry but your not my thing. Whatever style of music is fine, i like many stlyes and will take a listen. You should always trust your own ears with music.

You can only follow 2,000 people on Soundcloud, so am limited. But if am following you there, i can see when you share new music, which means you could be added to one of these playlists or the main JIR playlist (one per month). What style of music is fine, i like many and will take a listen.

Enjoy & share, stay free, see you soon with No 3!!

Ok the links for the playlist:- Soundcloud - Spotify

Reb

Tracklist

01- Dubinski - Downtown Operation 02- girl in red - Too Much 03- Dehd - Mood Ring 04- softcult - Shortest Fuse 05- Brògeal - Girl From NYC 06- Madi Diaz - For Months now 07- pencil - The Window 08- Keaper - Alone 09- ALICE LILY - Caroline 10- The Last Dinner Party - The Feminine Urge 11- The Height - Type Of Days 12- The Goo Goo Dolls - Beautiful Lie 13- Letting Up Despite Great Faults - Gleam 14- Dentist - Random Numbers Shaoes & Colors 15- Tom Webber - This Time 16- Del Water Gap ft. Holly Humberstone) - Cigarettes & Wine 17- DI-RECT - My Blood 18- Bull - Red Rooves 19- Genius Of The Crowd - Sleeping Bags & Concrete Floors 20- The Drives - Maybe I'm A Masocchiist 21- Emmi Maaria - Bride's Farewell 22- Prince Of Sweden - The Electric blue 23- Izzy S.O - Refuse 24- It's For Us - Sandy Beaches 25- JJUUJJUU - All The Time 26- Give My Remains To Broadway - It Will All Be Red 27- The Zutons - Creeping On The Dancefloor 28- Real Estate - Haunted World 29- Lime Garden - Mother 30- The Revivalists - Good Old Days 31- Ski Lift - Double Yellow 32- The Buoys - Gaurd My Heart 33- Scotstown Dance Band - Shawfield Greyhound Stadium 34- Gallus - Wash Your Wounds 35- Mannequin Pussy - Nothing Like 36- The Spase - She's Both Sides Of The Moon 37- SPECTRES - Chain Reaction 38- heavy wild - Dope Gods 39- The waves - Looking Up 40- Yard Act (ft. Katy J Pearson) - When The Laughter Stops

[azspot]

Tom Humberstone

[them-faetale]

A new luddite movement would be no bad thing.

(Comic by Tom Humberstone via The Nib - which is sadly closing)

[thenib]

The original luddites weren't resisting the future – only demanding they be part of it. Read Tom Humberstone in our FUTURE issue.

[taylorswifdaily]

Taylor Swift plans to put on 'best show of her life' on return to Wembley

Taylor Swift is planning to put on “the best show of her life” when she returns to Wembley on Thursday, according to a new report.

The global superstar, 34, is set to entertain an 80,000-strong crowd for the first of her final five Eras tour shows in the UK.

It has emerged that her second opening night in the capital is going to be like no other as she takes to the stage for the first time since the death of three girls at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport last month.

The tragedy was quickly followed by a foiled terror attack which led to the cancellation of her three shows in Vienna, Austria, last week.

The Sun has claimed that her pal Ed Sheeran is set to support her on Thursday night, with a possible turn on stage, but ultimately the night is for her fans and to show “hate never wins”.

A source told the outlet: “Everything Taylor does is for her fans and she will be putting on the best show of her life when she returns to Wembley.

“Hate never wins and Taylor absolutely stands for that.

“Her shows are about love, unity and acceptance, and this is a message she will always want to convey.”

Last month the US pop star paid tribute to victims of the Southport attack, which saw three young girls die after a mass stabbing at a holiday club themed on the singer.In a statement posted to her Instagram story, the performer added: “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously and I’m just completely in shock.

“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders.

“These were just little kids at a dance class.”

Fans of the singer told the PA news agency they hope she will dedicate one of her songs during her London gigs to the victims of the attack – Bebe King, six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

The 14-time Grammy winner performed a slew of shows at Wembley in June watched by famous faces including Tom Cruise, the Prince of Wales, the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan.

The Anti-Hero singer has said that her August set of shows will be supported by Brit Award winner Raye, Daisy Jones & the Six star Suki Waterhouse and rising stars, Maisie Peters, Holly Humberstone and Sofia Isella.

Swift’s billion-dollar Eras Tour takes fans through her back catalogue, including hits from albums 1989, Red and Midnights.

To mark her previous arrival in the capital, murals, a special Tube map, a Taylor trail and a series of events were created. This time, a giant mural of the megastar has appeared on steps next to the venue.

[sambinnie]

Yesterday snow, so fears that my fading head torch wouldn’t get us all the way to the river were moot; the glow from the snow-bound fields turned the pre-dawn sky peach, and even on the bank it was bright enough without torches to have read a book. But my goodness, the water is colder than my body can remember.

And nearly Yule, and the days will lengthen again. Joys!

Quelle année, hein? Between my current obsessions of existentialism v nihilism, the bread recipe I’ve recently started using, the programmes on cults and scammers my algorithms keep feeding me, and the historical cycles that suggest we’re in for a rough ride shortly (but boy oh boy will some things be a lot better afterwards), I have some 2022 delights to share.

BOOKS

January brought two gorgeous graphic novels into my life: Alison Bechdel’s The Secret to Superhuman Strength, which was just what was needed in a Run Every Day January that ended up with me having a post-Covid relapse (fool); and Tom Humberstone’s Suzanne (full disclosure: Tom is a pal and I was sent the book to write the blurb). It made me cheer with delight at its skill and wit, celebrating the sheer guts of a woman carving her way through a man’s sport.

Children’s books were all re-reads: Rumer Godden’s The Doll’s House (terrible suspense clothed in sweet white lace), Louis Sachar’s Holes (racism and the prison-industrial complex dressed as a kid’s adventure romp); and the original Hunger Games trilogy, reread to discuss with a housemate (which mostly descends to me sobbing as we attempt to talk about certain characters). I’m almost sorry the series was so popular, because popularity always begets countless knockoffs that end up damaging the reputation of the original, but Collins’ books really are very good. Katniss is a brilliantly unreliable narrator, and the world built around oppression, division, figureheads, purges, the 1% and the violence they’ll use to keep inequality in place, is something we may all become re-familiar with soon enough.

I’ve covered most of the non-fiction here before, but a quick recap. Blurb Your Enthusiasm, funny and niche and brilliant, buy it for everyone you know who loves books; Four Seasons in Rome, particularly if you go to Rome; and Raising Demons, whether you are, in fact, raising your own demons, or just want a peek behind the curtain at the home life of the Shirley Jackson, Horror genius. Two I’ve recommended repeatedly in person, if not pressed copies into hands: Recovery: The Lost Art of Convalescence, a comfortingly slim work by a GP, telling us everything we know but never pay attention to: that illness should be followed by recovery, recuperation, and convalescence, that medication isn’t everything, that we are healed not just by pills or operations, but by fresh air, natural light, trees, small, good meals, and time. An almost impossible prescription, but a truth we’ve forgotten about over the last 100 years. Finally, Foolproof, out in February, which I read for work a few months ago and have not stopped talking about. How do we combat the hysterical tone of conspiracies and cults online? How do we save ourselves and our loved ones from internet misinformation? What hope is there? Loads, if Sander van der Linden has his way, which is how I like it.

Fiction, I shall try to be quick because there are so many, but all of these had impeccable writing, tight, sharp and bright, and reminded me why I love reading (and especially why I love reading for my job, which leads me across genres). Young Mungo, beautiful and devastating; Piranesi, dreamy, like an adult Diana Wynne Jones novel; They, dystopian and wonderfully creepy; The Housekeepers, which I would have given my eyeteeth to write the screenplay for, a visually luscious Victorian Ocean’s 11; Lord of the Flies, a reminder to reread those masterpieces we think we remember; The Marriage Portrait, razor-sharp writing and a rarely seen autistic girl in literature; The Birds & Other Stories, because you can’t ever go wrong with Daphne du Maurier and her subtle undermining of the patriarchy; The Weather in the Streets, funny, brutal and dry as a bone on not knowing what you want from life and messing up attempts to get it; The Vet’s Daughter — why are we not reading Barbara Comyns every day?; Foster, tiny and jewel-like; Really Good, Actually, and I beg you not to look at the author quotes and just read it, because it deserves to be loved — a High Fidelity for 2023, if that appeals, and a bleak but hilarious look at the myth of self-care if that appeals more; My Turn to Make the Tea, funny and insightful, and I love a book without a real plot; finally The Colony, which may have recency bias as the last full book I read, but the writing is flawless, even if it made me think again about the responsibility creators have to the lives they give their characters.

FILMS

Family films, if you want something lighter over the sofa season: Bill & Ted Face the Music was watched when I was extremely hormonal and I wept with joy throughout — who knows what the quality is on another day, but I loved it right then. The Man in the White Suit is a remarkable (and funny) commentary on invention and capitalism; Charade has both Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, so really what more do you need; My Cousin Vinny has a comical Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei, and is great for a Sunday afternoon. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is gorgeous and, as they say, iconic (’Hey! They said you were stupid’); Good Morning is gentle, stunningly shot, and makes me wish I had someone making me delicious rice every day. We had a weekend of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which started with mostly heckling but ended in my usual copious weeping. January will see me reread the marvellous books, and I’m sorry that I always used to (wrongly) agree with Paul Merton’s comments on the first book here. Animated with fresh artistry away from the bland Pixar mould, The Mitchells vs. the Machines deserved its rewatch (DEREGULATE TAPIOCA); wonderful Raiders of the Lost Ark suddenly awoke me to the fact that watching it weekly as a child meant my wedding dress was a straight mash-up of Marian’s two frocks; Little Women is perfect and I don’t regret my three cinema trips to watch it (or the many subsequent small screen viewings this year).

Four documentaries to watch: Some Kind of Heaven, which, like Mad Men, is both a celebration and a searing condemnation of the American Way. Speaking of which, Boys State: watch it, take some time to cool off, then google what they’re all up to now. The Princess is an excellent look at the building and destruction of a public icon, made up only of contemporary clips; Crip Camp is a loudhailer calling us to recognise the work and joys of disability campaigners, and to remember those human rights battles still truly needing to be fought.

I got into horror this year! Fresh and Men and Nope and The Black Phone! They’re good! They actually made me feel better about the world! 

Two cinema highlights: Jackass Forever, dumb and joyful, and Don’t Worry Darling, smarter, hotter, and more interesting than the coverage would have you believe. Pugh is a marvel and Styles does exactly what he’s meant to.

TV

Looking at them now, I understand why these five were my top picks and I gave up watching more gloomy TV after an episode or two. Slow Horses and Severance and Mythic Quest on Apple, The Witchfinder on iPlayer, and The Bear on Disney+, all wildly different genres but all containing, essentially, an existential view on humanity and the value of connection. Plus spies etc! Don't read anything about them, but if you have access, just watch a couple of episodes and see what you think. They have inspired and hooked me through the year.

FOOD

Speaking of The Bear, there is a recipe which has become an almost weekly treat here and is a direct lift from the programme, but I’ll only share it with you once you’ve watched all episodes. My god it’s good. This is the bread I’ve started making (the third one in the video), and reliably (to crib the great Jeffrey Steingarten) ‘the bread is more than good enough to eat, and some days it is so good that we eat nothing else’. Pre-Rome, I also discovered this focaccia recipe which is embarrassingly simple and tasty.

I don’t want to abandon my sourdough starter, though, so I use the dough for pizza bases, rolled out into long ovals (approx 100g per person) and topped with olive oil, fresh corn (sliced from the cob, briefly fried), mozzarella and jalapeños and cooked, then topped again with sour cream, crumbled feta, coriander and lime juice. White pizza heaven. 

This French Onion Pasta is a great filling evening meal in the cold months, as is this amazing chicken and pumpkin tray bake from Diana Henry. We occasionally leave out the chicken for vegetarian or budgetary purposes, and it’s still delicious; if you don’t make the sage butter (or forget it in the fridge), this is really good with a side bowl of 50/50 mayo and sriracha.

Gwyneth P’s Polenta & Roasted Tomatoes is unbelievably quick, and feels like a hearty but not heavy meal whenever it’s dark outside — in summer I actually managed to grow the tomatoes myself, for the first time ever (banana skin juice appears to be the secret).

Scones have seen us year-round: wild garlic scones in late spring, bramble scones in late summer, cheese scones after autumn walks — what is the winter equivalent? Fig and mature cheddar? I may experiment. Otherwise, Benjamina Ebuehi’s Pecan & Burnt Honey Cake has become an enormous favourite for dessert. Perfect on the day, and even better after a night in the fridge, it’s worth buying her (excellent) book for alone. Nigel Slater’s rice pudding gets a fair few outings too, although I still think his numbers are way off (I times everything by 1.5, except the rice which I take from 80g to 200g).

I wish you and your loved ones a great Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy 2023. x

[jimmyaquino]

Comic News Insider Episode 1365 - Thought Bubble: Tim Bird/Tom Humberstone!

Comic News Insider: Episode 1365 is now available for free download! Click on the link or follow on Spotify/subscribe on iTunes!

Jimmy attended the Thought Bubble Festival in Harrogate, UK and got 25 interviews! In this final episode dedicated to the festival, you'll hear from Tim Bird and Tom Humberstone. Tim talks about his works GREY AREA, THE GREAT NORTH WOOD, psychogeography and being in a band. Tom discusses his great graphic novel SUZANNE: THE JAZZ AGE GODDESS OF TENNIS, taking creative license with true stories, favorite tennis players and what's next for him artistically. Also, get a hold of us!

Thanks for listening!

[terrariumfiction]

What the ?!@?!£($*@ workshop

From the synopsis on the moodle, I was really looking forward to this workshop. Cartoons are a form I return to within my research, and utilise within my practice, and I'm very interested in their history and application within contemporary art.

I've come away from part 1 of the workshop confused but contemplative. As I'm particularly interested in these areas, I find myself quite critical of the session. Please don't interpret this as discontent; this blog is a messy place for me to figure things out, think things through.

Melanie Jackson's main notion for the workshop seemed to be that cartoons can create space to question established "rational" ideologies and concepts. I'm not quite sure how cartoons are unique in this regard. Worlds imagined in writing don't necessarily adhere to the laws of our reality: "the water floated up", "the skeleton fled the body, dancing as it went". Likewise, any form of 2d image-making can be as playful or irreverent as a cartoon in this reading, or even as mocking.

(Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors (1533) - this work mocks the wealthy men who commissioned it. the skull slices across the scene in a way that defies physical laws. they will die, despite their posessions)

She conflated animated cartoons with still comics, which I found confusing, as these different forms use entirely different methods to communicate. Still cartoons/comics/networked graphic texts communicate in similar ways as collage/montage - through creating meaning by juxtaposing imagery spatially. Animated cartoons are film; more easily interpreted as narrative. Though montage theory of meaning is applicable in film, I think it is less so in animation, where each frame follows largely sequentially.

It is true that animation favours ongoing metamorphosis of imagery. The early animation she showed was cool. It felt like the film's subject was a personality separate from a body - the body in a state of constant flux.

There were some omissions and simplifications that I found problematic. The history of the still cartoon, or multi-windowed comic, is inseparable from the history of racial caricature. As a form of pictoral language, cartoons rely on reduction of information. This reduction of information is dependent on worldview - how do you democratically reduce complexities? For the ancient greeks, anyone who didn't speak greek was a barbarian, was mocked/shunned accordingly. The word "mockery" is uncomfortable to me. What details are being erased? This is the core of the cartoon - the forefronting of certain details over others.

(Little Nemo in Slumberland - a newspaper comic from the early 1900s that is very formally inventive in many ways, very grotesque in others)

Now I'm going to conflate comics with animation, to speak specifically about the cartoon design of Mickey Mouse. Melanie spoke about how early cartoons were darker than contemporary ones, and tackled grim subject matter playfully; for example how Mickey Mouse originally looked more ratlike, rather than the very rounded, docile figure he is now. But Mickey's original design is also informed by minstrel shows.

(excerpt from Mickey the Minstrel by Tom Humberstone https://thenib.com/mickey-the-minstrel/ )

Modern political cartoons essentially work from the basis of caricature: exaggerating facial features of those they make fun of. What kinds of criticism does this really open up? Is King Charles being criticised for his wealth, power and bigotry? Or is King Charles tittering as his reliable fool points out his big ears?

It's also inaccurate to say that the contemporary animated cartoon is exclusively toothless, maybe Mickey isn't quite so edgy these days, but his presence as a subject in film is dwindling anyway. Animations specifically meant for adults are more popular than ever; there's edgy stuff, philosophical stuff, psychedelic stuff.

Though it's not something I know much about, and should probably research further, none of this is exclusive to "western" traditions. Anime and manga are popular forms in Japan, for example, that have their own lineages and histories.

(I found this on wikipedia and I'm not sure of the name or date, but it's by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, made between 1797 and 1861)

I thought the connections Melanie made to moveable compositions in medieval art were very interesting. I wonder if any contemporary cartoonists move their panels around a page to find compositions they like? I didn't know of Sam Keogh's work, and am very interested in checking it out further.

A connection she didn't make was the similarities in medieval illumination to modern cartoons (surreal imagery, humour, darkness, reduction of detail to allow images to function linguistically).

Personally, none of this came together for me during the making task, but I appreciate how it could have been a useful exercise for people with more tactile processes. We were asked to work instinctively, playfully, and the resulting material was nonsensical, abstract, and combative. It didn't feel like we were working as a group so much as fighting some kind of battle.

Interested to see what happens in part 2 next week.