Skiing cartoon: Downhill from here

"Fancy a swift one?"

While we're on the subject of alcohol-themed jokes, anyone fancy another? This is a "what happens next" visual joke, not something I do a lot of, and took a while to get right.

I have never been skiing, and have no plans to take it up. I'm more interested in the other leisure pursuit shown here, so I also spent quite a bit of time making the pub look cosy, like the kind of place I like to be in on a cold winter's day.

This cartoon is one of two of mine in the Christmas issue of Reader's Digest. It was taken in the early part of this year but they saved it until the weather got cold again. It's appropriate now as much of the UK is covered in snow, though not here on the Kent coast, as usual, to the disappointment of my kids.

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Cartoons in 'Ink and the Bottle' exhibition

I've got a couple of cartoons in the above exhibition at the Cartoon Museum in London. Neither are quite as colourful as the Donald McGill cartoon above, because they're the original ink drawings that were later scanned and coloured, using Photoshop, for Reader's Digest.

Here's one of them, a spin on a well-worn theme ...

"Bloody students."

As you've probably gathered, all the cartoons in the show are on a drinking theme. I saw it last night and it's very well put together, covering the good and bad points of Britain's favourite leisure activity.

The exhibition is not chronological, instead cartoons are linked by different aspects of the theme. It's fun to see how many similarities there are, despite the different times, between Ally Sloper, Andy Capp, and Viz. Go see.

UPDATE: The Radio 4 discussion on the Ink and the Bottle exhibition is online: Listen here

More HMV dog cartoons (scroll down).

Desert island cartoon: Out of office

"I'm worried we might have exceeded our annual leave entitlement."

Yes, there is still life in the old desert island scenario. This cartoon can be seen in the December issue of Prospect magazine, which once compiled a list of new takes on old themes.

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Not Yet Sold: Kilroy was here

"Wot, no ladder?"

Time for another in my occasional series of rejected cartoons. I'm not sure why it's occasional, as rejection itself is pretty frequent in the cartooning game.

This is a bit of a bizarre one. I always thought it was a long shot, but the joke amused me so I drew it up. It may have stood more of a chance 30 years ago! When I was a kid the graffiti character that this is based on was quite popular, though it has been around since at least the Second World War.

For those who still have no idea what this is about, the character is popularly known as Kilroy, as in "Kilroy was here", though when I was a kid we knew him as Chad.

Wikipedia can fill in the gaps, and if you really want to get into it there's a website called kilroywashere.org !

Kilroy/Chad would often be seen peeking over a wall, lamenting the absence of something. Like this:

"Wot, no cartoon sale?"

Click the link for more Not Yet Sold cartoons.

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A note about my portfolio site

My portfolio website is now only at www.roystonrobertson.co.uk, not the old royston.dircon.co.uk address. If you have the site bookmarked, or have links to it on a website or blog, please update. Thanks!

One from the archives: Pets cartoon

"You've got more than one loyalty card? That's despicable."

This Reader's Digest cartoon from December 2007 makes a reappearance in the current issue of the 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.

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A shopping joke and some crazy cartoonists

This cartoon is on the front of the latest issue of The Jester, the Cartoonists' Club newsletter. The theme was shopping and I was amazed, and amused, that the Ed picked this cheerful cartoon.

Also in the issue is this photo from the recent club convention at Butlins. It's the obligatory "Cartoonists: we're a wacky bunch" pic.

Yes, that's right, we're holding our cartoons upside down! Will the craziness never end?!

These are the winners in the Great British Holiday cartoon competition. Pictured, left to right, are Pete Dredge, Rich Skipworth, me, and Tim Harries. Rich, Tim and Pete won first, second and third, respectively, and I won the public vote (for this cartoon). Thanks to Steve Willis for the photo.

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