And the Same to You: February 2013

Sunday 24 February 2013

Oink! and Alan Moore

Looking through my old Oink! books I came across this 1988 missive from Alan Moore. It appeared as the foreword to "Uncle Pigg's Crackling Tales" 2. I attach cover scan from both volumes and the foreword to volume 2. Charlie Brooker's cartoons don't appear here - although there are a couple of uncredited strips.

I was surprised to see that Alan name-checked Kliban. Its odd to learn that I'd read about Kliban perhaps 12 years before I really became aware of his work.

I've met Alan on a couple of occasions and I recommend trying to attend one his talks. He's always an entertaining speaker, even if you don't necessarily agree with his world-view.

I wonder if thats a self-portrait?

Uncle Pigg's Crackling Tales 1

Uncle Pigg's Crackling Tales 2

from Uncle Pigg's Crackling Tales 2

Sunday 10 February 2013

Oink! and Charlie Brooker

Looking back over my blog postings I have noticed that there has been an over-emphasis on American cartoonists. I'm not sure why this has been - I do like British & European cartoonists like Tomi Ungerer, Gerald Scarfe, Ralph Steadman, Banx, Tony Husband as well as the cartoonists who appear in Viz. I hope to redress (address?) this in-balance in future posts.

I first learnt several years ago that Charlie Brooker - newspaper columnist, screen writer, critic, media commentator, author, satirist, video-games review, TV personality was also a cartoonist for the superb late-eighties children comic Oink!.However, at the time I couldn't find any images on the Internet to actually see his efforts (several have since appeared).

I strongly recommend tracking down episodes of Screenwipe or its various spin-offs programmes. His collections of newspaper columns are also pretty good - although the quality is variable and reality-TV references date badly. I don't suppose he ever intended his weekly missives to be anthologized. On balance, he did alert me to the fantastic song "So What" by the "Anti-Nowhere League", for which I am very grateful.

Oink! ran for 68 issues over couple of years (1986-88). It was marketed as Viz-for-kids and featured several cartoonists who later contributed to Viz. I actively followed the comic from about 6-months after launch through to the end and also joined the fan-club.

I even remember submitting some cartoons myself. They didn't appear. Anyway, happy days!

Its taken me several years to finally re-discover my Oink! comic collection. I can quite understand archives who lose or misfile something only for it to be re-discovered years later...its easily done.

So, after a gap of 25 years, what are his cartoons like? Well - they're fairly basic and probably not the best examples in the comic but they're OK. He was only about 16 or 17 at the time. So pretty good considering.

Here are some images from Oink! Holiday Special 1989.

Oink! Holiday Special 1989

Charlie Brooker, Oink! Holiday Special 1989

Groening before the big-time

A rare article on Matt Groening from Saturday Review, Mar/Apr 1985

Saturday Review, Mar/Apr 1985

Futzie Nutzle and Kliban : Modern Loafer

Here are some images from Futzie Nutzle's 1981 collection "Modern Loafer". Kliban kindly provided a foreword.

The cartoon clear gives an indication of his influences. I know Kliban admired Steinberg too.

Futzie Nutzle, Modern Loafer (1981)

What is a Futzie Nutzle?

Futzie Nutzle is the pen-name of a cartoonist active in the 1970s. His work appeared regularly in Rolling Stone through-out this time.

I don't know much about the artist but here are some examples. He has a very distinctive style. There a couple of collections, but I've only seen the first (Modern Loafer). I'll cover this in another post.

Futzie Nutzle

Kliban - Evergreen Review 63 - Feb 1969

For me, this period marks the "golden age" of Evergreen. Great covers and layout. Illuminating articles. Good cartoons and interesting ads.

I think I know what she's thinking...