Guardian continues British Comics coverage in wake of Dandy news

National newspaper The Guardian is continued its coverage of British comics -- specifically, the future of The Dandy -- throughout last week, with key writer Jacqueline Rayner stepping up to champion the lost world of girls comics like Misty and Tammy and Charlie Brooker savaging those afraid of The Dandy's evolution into a digital-only title. Here's a round up of the coverage.

On Tuesday, artist Jamie Smart, who was an integral part of the comic's re-design and relaunch in 2010, wrote on  Why The Dandy Still Matters, arguing it's essential to keep kids reading comics.

"Comics are where we first learned about pea shooters, mud pies and building forts in trees," he notes. "They're one of the most exciting mediums around, and unrestrained by common sense or manners. Inside the pages of the best comics you will find pure, unbridled anarchy, running rampant through the world, telling hilarious stories with the naughtiest, silliest characters."

Writer Charlie Brooker - who was also one of Oink's youngest contributors back in its day - got hot under the collar about critics of the title's move to digital publication, arguing reports of the Dandy's death are greatly exaggerated. Going all-digital is the best thing that could happen to Britain's longest-running comic, he argued in The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer, yesterday.

"Why is The Dandy going all-digital? Because it's a magazine for children, and today's children don't seem to want magazines any more than I wanted a 1920s whirligig when I was their age," he said. "Kids today have Moshi Monsters and the Nerf Vortex Nitron Blaster. Traditional ink on paper looks like medieval tapestry to them. This is the price you pay for technological advancement. On the plus side: fewer cases of rickets."

Meanwhile, acclaimed author Jacqueline Rayner noted that at least Dandy fans were still going to have the chance to read their favourite comic - an opportunity not afforded fans of  Jinty, Tammy, Misty from the golden age of girls' comics. The decline of the Dandy is sad news, her article noted, but let's not forget the plucky young heroines who have already perished in the Great Comics Bloodbath, from Diving Belle to Lisa the Lonely Ballerina

"The news this week that the Dandy's 75th anniversary issue in December would be its last in print must have been a blow to its readers, but at least they had the consolation of knowing it would continue online," she mused. "For some of us, this summer has only reminded us how much we have lost."

Her article prompted a flurry of memories of mainly 1970s and 80s from girls comics fans, including a post from comic artist Sean Phillips who cut his teeth in professional comic work by drawing many of them.


The Guardian also published a round up of Twitter to the news that The Dandy was quitting print, noting it was a decision that has got a few Desperate Dan fans a bit misty eyed. The round up included a note about DC Thomson's Chief Executive Ellie Watson's continued fuming at the alleged 'leak' of the company's plans for title; links to The Dandy's YouTube channel's videos offering how to draw Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat - and the Guardian's Media Editor Dan Sabbagh noting it's not just kids comics in trouble on the news stand. Word magazine closed a few weeks ago, and the men’s magazine market is in big trouble. The dead trees business is not a happy place to be for many publishers.

"Moshi Monsters mag is the best performing magazine," he commented (with reported sales of 223,000).

• Links to earlier news stories about the demise of The Dandy are posted here as part of an ongoing discussion on our forum about the title and its future. Contributors include Dandy artist Nigel Parkinson; Kid Robson, an outspoken critic of The Dandy in its current form, who outlines his vision for the future of British comics; and Dandy, TOXIC and Viz artist Lew Stringer

Fifth year for Observer, Cape and Comica Graphic Short Story Comp

(via Paul Gravett): Back for For its fifth year, The Observer/Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize has just been announced, inviting UK residents to submit a four-page comic on any theme, with the winner receiving £1,000 (the runner-up £250) and getting their story published in The Observer Review and on the Guardian and Vintage websites.

"This Prize has really galvanised the creative comics scene in this country, stimulating more people to try their hand at sequential art to express themselves," says organiser and Comica Festival director Paul Gravett. "It's also led to several fresh British voices having their debut graphic novels published by Jonathan Cape."

Regular jury members Observer literary critic Rachel Cooke, Random House Creative Director Suzanne Dean, Cape publisher Dan Franklin, and Paul Gravett are joined this year by the pioneer of UK graphic novels Bryan Talbot, of Luther Arkwright, Alice In Sunderland and Grandville fame, and David Nicholls, acclaimed author of One Day and a writer for film, television and theatre.

You can see the stories of previous winners and entrants here on the Vintage Books web site and listen to Paul's conversation with Stephen Collins, winner of last year’s Prize here on Vintage Books.

"The winner and runner-up will be announced as part of this November’s Comica Festival and we’re hoping to exhibit both stories and some of those by shortlisted finalists as well," says Paul. Further details to follow.

You’ve got about three months, till 14th October 2011, to send in your entry. Entry forms with the full rules and conditions can be downloaded here and you can see how your story will be laid out in The Observer here.

Best of luck to everyone who enters and be sure to to send Paul a web link if you also post your entry online so that it can be listed on his Comica website.

• More about the competition: www.comicafestival.com/index.php/prize

Guardian's Free Drawing Guide Out Tomorrow

Hot on the heels of what seems to have been a popular giveaway, judging by the scant number of copies in local newsagents, The Guardian is following up its week-long comics promotion with two guides for budding artists being given away in the Guardian and sister Sunday newspaper the Observer this weekend.

The Guides to Drawing and Painting - free with the Guardian on Saturday (19 September) and The Observer on Sunday, are produced in collaboration with the Slade School of Art and the University of Gloucestershire. The guides will prove to be a useful starting point for anyone interested in learning how to draw (including the comic artists of the future!) or wanting to 'brush-up' (groan) on their existing skills.

Three art tutors at the University of Gloucestershire have drawn upon their years of experience to produce a the 66-page Guardian Guide to Drawing circulated free with the newspaper on Saturday, penning a series of exercises to inspire even complete beginners to pick up a pencil and start to sketch.

Mick Maslem, who recently retired after teaching drawing and painting to foundation students at the University for more than 30 years has teamed up with fine art tutor Jack Southern, senior lecturer in illustration and drawing, Jennifer Whiskerd and London-based Atul Vohora to produce the guide.

Jack Southern was approached by the guide’s editorial advisor, Dale Berning, a friend from his days at the Slade art school. Jack recommended Mick as ‘the best drawing tutor I’d ever met.’

“Mick sent in a rough draft of a book that he'd had on the shelf for years," explains Nell Card, of Guardian News and Media, "a selection of teaching notes and exercises that he'd found had produced exciting, unusual results amongst his students over the years.

“We were really keen for the guide to be unlike the any guides we'd seen in the shops: we wanted the exercises to be encouraging, innovative and non-prescriptive and Mick's lessons were exactly that.

“Knowing that Mick had worked alongside both Jack and Jen, we asked all three if they'd be willing to work together on the exercises for our guide. The result is a set of fantastic exercises that will encourage our readers to learn to look, to broaden their visual language, and to value the uniqueness of their own mark-making.”

"Working on the guide with Mick and Jen has been a fascinating experience," says Jack. "Coming up with ideas and writing new exercises was an extremely exciting creative process.

“I think it's wonderful that the drawing knowledge, experience and expertise which has been the backbone of the foundation course at Pittville for so many years, will now be disseminated both nationally and internationally, encouraging people of all ages and abilities to develop their understanding of the possibilities of drawing.”

The Guide also features contributions from Grayson Perry and Louise Bourgeois.

• More details at: www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/competition/2009/sep/11/art

Tube Surfing: In Memoriam, Guardian Giveaways and Art for Sale

• downthetubes regrets to report the passing of illustrator and comic colourist Ian Mckie last Monday, aged 58. Bryan Talbot reports his heart stopped during what's been described as a "horrific" asthma attack. The twin brother of Angus McKie, Ian was colourist on comics such as Neil Gaiman's Phage: Shadow Death (right), Al Davison's Teknophage, sometimes art assistant to Angus, and Mac mentor to people like Bryan, Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland and Viz Comics. Our condolences to his family.

• Also mourned this week will be Australian actor Ray Barrett. Perhaps best known for playing hard-nosed oilman Peter Thornton in the BBC drama The Troubleshooters, his roles also included voicing Stingray's gruff Commander Shore, and John Tracy, The Hood and many of the extra characters in Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Thunderbirds. He also appeared as a murderer in the early Doctor Who story The Rescue in 1965. The Guardian carried an exceellent obituary here

• Talking of The Guardian, if you haven't already seen the news elsewhere (I've been on holiday), this British national newspaper is giving away facsimile copies of some famous British comics this week: a Valentine's issue of Jackie kicked off the promotion on Saturday, complete with a strip featuring Donny Osmond dressing up as a hippy to avoid screaming fans; The Beano is being given away free in today's Observer (the Guardian's ailing sister Sunday). Monday's Guardian has Roy of the Rovers (the one where Roy Race is shot from 1981), followed by the Bunty 1972 Summer Special on Tuesday, The Dandy with the last Korky the Cat cover from 1984 on Wednesday, the first Tammy from 1971 on Thursday and an issue of Whizzer and Chips, two comics in one on Friday. To celebrate the promotion, Jon Ronson travelled to the Beano office to try his luck at their ideas meeting last week.
Among other features, the paper has also ran a round up of celebrities identifying their favourite comics and, perhaps of most interest, carried a feature where kids were asked for their views on the giveaways. Most telling are girls preferred reading in the absence of comics for them today, including Grazia and Vogue; and a damning indictment on some modern comic giveaways.

Frears to direct Tamara Drewe

Stephen Frears director of films such as The Grifters, Roddy Doyle's The Van and The Queen is set to take the director's chair for the big screen adaptation of Posy Simmonds Guardian comic strip Tamara Drewe.

Variety reports Frears has officially signed on to direct the film from a script by Moira Buffini, with British actress Gemma Arterton confirmed in the role of vivacious Drewe, a sexy flirt who returns to her small country village and stirs up dark passions among the locals.

The cast will also include Dominic Cooper, Roger Allam, Luke Evans, Bill Camp and Tamsin Greig.

The film, which will begin shooting at Pinewood Studios later this month and is Frears latest since directing Cheri, which starred Michelle Pfeiffer, is to be produced by Ruby Films and BBC Films and will get development and production coin from the U.K. Film Council's Development and Premiere funds.

People are drawn to Tamara Drewe, male and female. In the remote village where her late mother lived Tamara arrives to clear up the house. Here she becomes an object of lust, of envy, the focus of unrequited love, a seductress. To the village teenagers she is 'plastic-fantastic', a role model. Ultimately, when her hot and indiscriminate glances lead to tragedy, she is seen as a man-eater, a heartless marriage wrecker, a slut.

Inspired by Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, and first appearing as a serial in the Guardian, in book form Tamara Drewe was recently enlarged, embellished and lovingly improved by Simmonds.


Web Links


• Read our review of the Tamara Drewe graphic novel.


• Apart from the first episode - go figure! - the newspaper version of Tamara Drewe can still be read on The Guardian's web site

• Guardian Video: Posy Simmonds on creating Tamara Drewe


Posy Simmonds talks about the origins of Tamara Drewe and the processes by which she ends up on the printed page.

Tube Surfing: Comic Cutbacks, San Diego Schedules, Dinsoaurs and Weird Fishes...

• Filming has started on the new series of Doctor Who that will see Matt Smith will take on the eponymous role. Matt is seen here in costume, side by side with Scottish actress Karen Gillan who plays new companion Amy Pond.

Arriving on set in Cardiff for his first day of filming, Smith commented: "I feel very privileged and proud to be part of this iconic show.

"The scripts are brilliant and working alongside Karen, Steven and the rest of the crew is an inspiration because their work ethic and passion for the show is so admirable."

• Talking of Doctor Who, the new free to download Big Finish podcast is a Bernice Summerfield special, the companion created by Paul Cornell for Virgin's New Adventures novels and who went on to star in Doctor Who comics and get her own audio adventures. David Richardson and Lisa Bowerman discuss all things Benny.

• The Guardian newspaper has come under fire for cutting The Comic, its supplement created in partnership largely with the sadly-defunct The DFC comic. The paper's Readers' editor, Siobhain Butterworth, reports today that people have noticed that the newspaper has slimmed down - a response to economic woes affecting all newspapers - and more than 200 print readers have been in touch about the demise of The Comic, reduced radio and TV listings, and the disappearance of environment pages from the weekly Society section. Of these, 80 specifically complained at the loss of The Comic, but this was not the only part of the paper to be hit by cuts. Education and Society have dropped from 10 and eight pages of editorial, respectively, to six, and G2 has also become slighter. Sad times for the paper.

• Talking on the Guardian, artist Eddie Campbell notes that Gemma Arterton has reportedly been cast as title character in movie adaptation of Posy Simmonds's comic strip Tamara Drewe , featured in the paper.
The strip centres on a beautiful columnist who ruffles feathers in a rural writers' retreat.

The director of The Queen and The Grifters is reported to have cast former Bond girl and St Trinian's graduate Gemma Arterton as the title character, a newspaper columnist whose recent nose job transforms her into a seductive flirt, to the chagrin of the quiet village's womenfolk. Tamsin Greig and Roger Allam are also said to be attached to the project.

• Artist and writer Adam Grose reports that the dedicated website for his imprint, Clown Press, has closed down, but all content has shifted to www.adamgrose.com. "This site will be fully up and running from August and will expand over the coming months with the galleries to upload," says Adam. " In the meantime check out the Phoenix: A Warrior's Tale preview on the news page or from the shop. This book is set for release in October."

• Wildstorm have just published the cover of Warren Ellis' Planetary #27, drawn by John Cassaday. The issue is out in October. Warren will be at the San Diego Comic Con and post his schedule here, appearing at the event under the exclusive aegis of Sony, Madhouse and Marvel Anime.

• Talking of Warren, he's just plugged Jamaica Dyer's new graphic novel, Weird Fishes. Pre-order it at this link direct from the publisher and read a bunch of her work here. "The only explanation for Jamaica Dyer is that she was built by aliens and dropped here to show us all how crap we are compared to her," he enthuses.

• ... and talking of San Diego schedules, writer Tony Lee posts his appearances here; Transformers guru and top writer Simon Furman has posted his here; brilliant artist Liam Sharp (Death's Head II, Gears of War etc. etc.) has announced his plans here; and David Lloyd has his schedule here.

• Even Tharg will be in San Diego: well, a sampler of the comic, anyway! Kudos to Rebellion for flying the flag! (with thanks to Chris Weston)

• Lew Stringer has a great post charting the history of the rise and fall of the British comic Summer Special, complete with gallery. It was prompted by a Guardian feature by David Barnett bemoaning their disappearance. Although the Summer Specials are no more, some publishers have launched the Summer Annual in its place - hardback books in the traditional children's Christmas annual format, albeit thinner. Egmont currently have several out, tied into licensed properties, including, this year, the Power Rangers Super Legends Summer Annual and the Disney Princess Summer Annual.

• Comics artist Neil Cameron has just posted some intriguing drawings from a new project, The Pirates of Pangaea, on his blog. It's the sort of posting that really makes you want to know more but apart from the tidbit that it's being written by Dan Hartwell, Mr Cameron is playing coy...

• Also at San Diego will be artist Colin Wilson, making his first visit in 15 years. He'll be appearing at Dark Horse Comics (Booth #2615) from 3 - 4pm on Friday afternoon, and again on Sunday morning from 11 - 12am, so everyone is welcome to call past and have a chat.
"I will be also handling a limited commissions list while I'm at the Con, so grab us while you can as this will be our first, and only, US appearance for the year."

• And finally... the Sunderland Echo has a report on artist Bryan Talbot's recent promotion to Doctor. Bryan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts at Sunderland University's graduation ceremony at the Stadium of Light – the first time a doctorate has been given to a comic book artist.
The paper reports that Bryan was delighted to accept the honour on behalf not only of himself, but his profession.
"This doctorate, a first in the UK for work in the comics medium, is an indication of the growing recognition of the graphic novel as a respectable vehicle for entertainment, education and communication and the medium itself as a legitimate art form," he said.

"There's still a lot of prejudice and preconceived notions of what comics are but we're getting there."

Steve Bell in Liverpool

Steve Bell, probably Britain's most recognisable political cartoonist, joins Writing on the Wall festival in Liverpool next week, to explore this year’s theme: The Outsider.

Steve’s original strip Maggie’s Farm appeared in Time Out and City Limits magazines from 1979 through to 1987. Since 1981. he's written and drawn the If… strip in The Guardian, for whom he has produced cartoons with high penguin content ever since the Falklands crisis of 1982.

It was Bell who created the memorable ‘underpants’ image of John Major, of Tony Blair with Margaret Thatcher’s rogue eyeball, and depicted George W Bush as a malevolent chimp. Mixing surreal visuals with hilarious dialogue, Bell's cartoons have won him wide acclaim and a host of awards.

• Steve Bell: The Outsider is at 7.30pm on Friday 15th May at The Rodewald Suite, Philharmonic Hall, Hope Street, L1 9BP. Tickets £8.00/£5.00 available form the Philharmonic Hall Box office Tel: 0151 709 378. for on line booking visit www.liverpoolphil.com

(With thanks to Chris Williams for spotting this)

Tube Surfing: 5 April 2009

• The Independent on Sunday carried a two-page 'interview' with Roy "Roy of the Rovers" Race today, a splendid piece of well-researched work about the character and his history by writer Cole Morton. The piece not only promoted the new Classic Comic released last week (see news story) but revealed Egmont's new online Roy of the Rovers project, which gives Racey fans the chance to play alongside Roy, and score the winning goal in a cup final. Choose a look, type in your name online and Egmont will print a comic that looks and feels like the one you remember, but has you as the star. This internet-age wish-fulfilment will become possible in the coming weeks. Read the full 'interview'

• Some bad news for fans of comics in newspapers: in the aftermath of the closure of subscription comic The DFC it seems The Guardian has cut its entire Comic Supplement from its Saturday edition. So no Vern and Lettuce or Super Animal Adventure Squad -- or any Comic for that matter! Let's hope readers complain...

• A quick reminder that the online strip Huzzah!, which features contributions from Dan McDaid, Dylan Teague, Rob Davis, Faz Choudhury, Dave Taylor, Paul Harrison-Davies and D'Israeli, among others, is cracking along nicely here. We gather there is talk of a print collection...

• Voting in the TOXIC Comic Special Poll has gathered apace, with Dave Hailwood and Paul Harrison-Davies' Hoaxers now neck and neck with Jamie Smart's Count Von Poo...

• Paul Birch reports, in his latest Speech Ballons column for the Birmingham Mail, that Borders' Bookstores UK now has a graphic novel section specifically for children's titles. "Publishers likely to benefit over the coming months include Walker Books, Penguin, Classical Comics, and Cinebook," he notes. "The latter specialise in bringing best-selling European comic books to an English-speaking readership and reviews of some of their titles will be appearing at Speech Balloons soon." Read the full column...

• Adam Cadwell has posted a report on the indie comics event Thing 2009 over on the Manchester Comics Collective forum, revealing it would seem that offering biscuits and cakes is a good way to help sell comics and thoriughly recommending Roger Langridge's Mugwhump the Great over on Act-i-vate. "It's wonderful stuff," says Adam, "So while I was disappointed that Langridge's new The Muppet Show comic wasn't available due to UK licensing reasons, I was consoled by picking up a handmade minicomic of the first chapter of the Mugwhump story. Excellent." He has plenty of other good-looking recommendations from the like of Paul Rainey and others, too.

• We're sorry to hear of the death of comic creator Ron "Nobby" Clark, who has died aged 85. "Nobby was one of the important figures in moving the action story away from historicals to more modern adventures," notes Steve Holland in a detailed tribute to the creator on Bear Alley. "Although his first action strip was a Western, he took over the writing of "Captain Phantom", a wartime spystrip featuring a "man of a thousand disguises". These were fast-moving and entertaining yarns which helped establish a more modern style of adventure strip in the UK with writers like Nobby Clark and Mike Butterworth ushering in the kind of strips that would dominate during the 1960s..." Read the full tribute on Bear Alley

• And finally for today... Brickman, Lew Stringer's classic cartoon character, is currently appearing in US title Elephantmen, and, mirroring the fate of the well known comics character he's inspired by, he's killing him off! "It's been 30 years since Brickman first appeared and I'm marking the anniversary year by killing him off!" Lew confirms. "Yep, don't miss Elephantmen 17 for the first part of Brickman R.I.P.! Coming up in future months, the Battle for the Trowel and the NEW Brickman!" For more details on Elephantmen visit the official website here:
http://www.hipflask.com/issues/elephantmen17/ or the official Brickman website at: brickmancomics.tripod.com

The Graphic Art of Comment

With the flurry of outrage over New Yorker's recent Barrack Obama cover, a new exhibition of cartoons commenting on politics and more published by Britain's Guardian newspaper may well gain more attention than usual.

The Graphic Art of Comment runs from Thursday 24 July until Friday September 26 2008 at the The Newsroom, Archive and Visitor Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA, offering a collection of illustrations and cartoons from the Comment pages of the Guardian. Featuring the work of artists such as Steve Bell, Simon Farr and Martin Rowson, the exhibition showcases the distinctive visual intelligence and wit that the illustrators and cartoonists bring to bear on the issues of the day.

A free catalogue will accompany the show, while stocks last. (free p+p)

Opening times to the exhibition:
Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm
Saturday 12pm to 4pm
Closed August Bank Holiday weekend, 23 and 25 August.
Free admission, free catalogue while stocks last. For more information call 020 7886 9898 or email newsroomATguardian.co.uk

The web sites of the artists featured:

• Simon Farr
• David Parkins
• Matt Kenyon
• Daniel Pudles
• JAS (Jim Sillavan)
• Frazer Hudson
• Otto
• Paul Blow
• Tobias Shickey
• Simon Pemberton
• Joe Magee
• Lawrence Zeegan
• Phil Disley
• Tim Ellis
• Gillian Blease
• Gary Kempston
• Satoshi Kambayashi
• Toby Morrison
• Steve Bell
• Martin Rowson
• Matthew Richardson

Tube Surfing: 20 July 2008

• Tank Girl co-creator Jamie Hewlett has been interviewed by The Guardian. "His is the pen behind Eighties comic-strip heroine Tank Girl, virtual band Gorillaz and the opera Monkey," the article opens, "and soon you'll be seeing his animated title sequence for the Olympics on TV. He tells Mark Kermode how a shy boy turned into a great graphic art rebel...

• Over on Bear Alley, Steve Holland has posted a galley of book covers that have graced the work of the brilliant SF author Eric Frank Russell. Like Steve, I have devoured much of his work, thanks to being introduced to him by peter pinto of Lancaster's Interstellar Master Traders (no offence to perte by the way, but the shop, contrary to the bigger-on-the-inside appearance given by photos on its web site is actually much smaller-on-the-inside!). Older British comics fans may remember peter as one of the people behind Dark They Were and Golden Eyed, one of the first comic shops in the UK back in the 1970s. The founder of that fondly-remembered shop, Derek 'Bram' Stokes, also lives in Lancaster and can be found working behind the till of one of its charity book stores.
He chose some odd titles, did Eric - the Space Willies surely one of the strangest...

• Empire magazine has an online listing for its pick of the 50 greatest comic book characters, starting with Todd MacFarlane's Spawn at Number 50 and Superman at Number One. Good to see British and European characters included such as Tin Tin's Captain Haddock (No. 49), , the Mekon (No. 39), Johnny Alpha (No. 27), Obelix (No. 23), Halo Jones (No. 18) and Judge Dredd (No. 7). Not forgetting, of course, characters created by British writers such as Warren Ellis' Jenny Sparks (No. 44) and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Rorsharch from Watchmen.

• Talking of Watchmen, Entertainment Weekly has an interview with Alan Moore online and Empire has posted a trailer for the movie, set to debut in 2009. Moore continues to remain scathing of film adaptations of comics. "I increasingly fear that nothing good can come of almost any adaptation, and obviously that's sweeping," he says. "There are a couple of adaptations that are perhaps as good or better than the original work. But the vast majority of them are pointless." Moore also talks about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Vol. III): Century and his upcoming novel, Jerusalem, and also reveals what he currently rates as one of the best TV shows ever: US TV cop series The Wire. (Older readers will recall how Alan Moore and Jamie Delano used to race off from Westminster Comic Mart drinking sessions to watch the latest episode of Hill Street Blues back in the 1980s...).

Round up gathered with thanks to Matthew Badham and the team at Forbidden Planet International

Bell Defends New Yorker Obama cover

Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell has sprung to the defence of the New Yorker magazine, currently embroiled in controversy for its latest cover depicting US presidential candidate Barrack Obama and his wife Michelle.

Barack Obama supporters are said to be furious that the cartoon depicts him and his wife as Muslim terrorists. In response, the magazine has insisted that the cartoon is meant to satirize opposition slurs on Mr Obama, and is not itself an attack.

On Tuesday, Obama told CNN's Larry King. that the satirical cover, depicting him and his wife as flag-burning, fist-bumping radicals, doesn't bother him but that it was an insult to Muslim-Americans.

Reaction to the cartoon has been mixed, earning the New Yorker support from unusual sources. Right-leaning news channel Fox News' Greg Gutfeld immediately spotted the cartoon wasn't meant to bash Barack, "rather it was an attack on his critics — a commentary on those who sensationalize Obama's perceived flaws.

"Basically The New Yorker cover suggests that anyone who finds Obama to be less than a cross between Jesus Christ and gorgeous unicorn, to be a racist creep."

USA Today's Chuck Raasch noted the cartoon "offended many, including John McCain. But as crude and offensive as it was, the cover was tame next to other Internet rot, not all of it aimed at Obama. The ageism directed at John McCain is prevalent, too."

Steve Bell, no stranger to controversy about his own work, feels the New Yorker cover falls into the category of cartoonists going too far -- which is exactly what they should do. "Having seen the full image (along with unimaginable numbers of idiots and psycho-paths worldwide), I can say that I rather warm to it," says Bell. "I look at it, and it works, for me anyway."

Often attacked for his portrayal of some British politicians, Bell argues cartoons -- many drawn by some of the most paintstaking, shyest and most timid people on Earth - need to be disturbing, and they should also dare to ask questions.

"People in the US aren't generally fools (even though the fools have been over-represented of late, particularly in the current administration), though some may be a little over-literal, and these are not always the psychos... But whether a cartoon is funny or not is one judgment that is always going to remain subjective."

Writing for the Daily Telegraph, cartoonist Christian Adams felt the cover missed its mark. "All cartoonists have one simple task. To get their message over visually in roughly three seconds. This is how long a reader will take to glance at their work. That's it. It has to be bold, then intriguing, then acute, and then, hopefully, funny. In three seconds.

"The New Yorker Obama cover may well be all of these, but unfortunately, thanks to the world wide web, it has been a victim of its own wit... taken out of context, [the cartoon] can mean whatever you want it to. And here we come to the internet. Seen on its own, scattered randomly over the internet, with no knowledge of what the New Yorker's mindset is, this cartoon can be interpreted however you wish."

Meanwhile, a New York Times article on how difficult it is to make jokes about Obama quotes comedian Bill Maher made a good point: "If you can't do irony on the cover of The New Yorker, where can you do it?"

Tube Surfing: 12 July 2008

• Artist Rufus Dayglo has posted a message on the official 2000AD Forum revealing the new Tank Girl: Skidmarks series will begin will be making its debut in Judge Dredd Megazine #275.
Meanwhile, Tank Girl - Visions of Booga #3 will be out soon from US publisher IDW Comics. "Go get it!" he demands. "It's definitely the one I'm happiest with!"

• The Daily Telegraph reports that whether alien activity or natural phenomena, reports of UFOs have flooded in this summer from across the UK. Plotted on a map of Britain, the sightings can be seen to stretch from Liverpool to Dover and from Llanelli to Derby. (This is what happens when too many people are allowed to watch Doctor Who).

• Cartoonist Lew Stringer is celebrating 25 years of professional comics work this week. His first work published in a professional comic was in Marvel UK's Eagle Award-winning The Daredevils and the job was a pocket cartoon entitled What If Iron Man Really Lived up to his Name? He recalls he was paid the princely sum of £5 for the cartoon.
"Looking at it now, the style is crude and the gag very lame, but seeing it in print back in 1983 gave me a huge boost to my self esteem. At the time I was on the dole, having quit a dead-end office job, and had been trying to break into comics for a couple of years with no luck."

• As part of British comic magazine Crikey's continuing contributions to the Forbidden Planet International blog, there's a new post on some of the first appearances of Marvel Comics characters in British comics such as Pow!, noting the different layouts of the strips compared with their original US publication and more.

• UK national newspaper The Guardian continues its impressive support for the comics medium with the arrival of cartoonist Laura Howell today, with her new strip The Mighty M, part of the comic section delivered by the team behind The DFC. Most of The Guardian's strips also feature online, available as downloadable PDFs, but unlike the newspaper, your really have to search hard to find the comics page. I suggest you bookmark this link!

• Over on Bear Alley, Steve Holland reports Panini UK have a handful of interesting books coming up. September sees the release of Marvel Masters: The British Invasion Volume 2 celebrates the nation's greatest comics artists, including stories illustrated by such renowned artists as Dave Gibbons, Alan Davis, Bryan Hitch, Steve Dillon, Barry Windsor-Smith, Paul Neary, Frank Quitely and Mark Buckingham. (Marvel Masters: The British Invasion Volume 1, released late last year, focused on the best of the UK's writers to have worked for the House of Ideas and included the work of Neil Gaiman, Alan Davis, Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, Paul Jenkins, Peter Milligan and Warren Ellis.
Also of note are releases for a collection of Dragon's Claws, Marvel UK's first foray into US comic format and a further volume of early Captain Britain adventures.