BookLust

Hug a Penguin!

Did you know that yesterday was World Penguin Day? How did I miss that? But it doesn't matter that I missed it, really – because in my world, every day is Penguin Day. I adore these creatures, and can't stop drawing them. There is something so charming & peaceful about penguins – they don't want to hurt or bug anyone else, they just want to live their life as best they can. They just want to 'be'. What's not to love about that?

A Menagerie of Moustaches

Lately I've been thinking a lot about moustaches...

Only a Brain Injury Could Make Me Draw Martin Amis

Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration. I mean, I don't think I have a brain injury, and look what I've gone and done – drawn a whack of cartoons of this silly man. Never mind that I also draw and write for kids. Yikes – I must have a brain injury!

For those not in the know, Martin Amis recently made some silly comments on a BBC book programme called Falks on Fiction. In a nutshell, here's what Amis said that's got some folks cheesed off:

People ask me if I ever thought of writing a children's book. I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable. I would never write about someone that forced me to write at a lower register than what I can write.

I can see why folks in the kidlit world would be offended by this, but really, this isn't the first time Amis has spouted such idiocy, and it certainly won't be the last. That's what this lad is known for. He says something stupid, and then people pay attention to him. We should all just ignore this wanker and move on to more important stuff. Unless, of course, Amis' utter wankerness inspires some creative fun. So it got me thinking: Perhaps Mr. Amis just needs to 'get into' some classic kidlit characters in order to truly appreciate the beauty of children's literature:

Hmmm...The Cat in the Hat, perhaps?

No, I think Amis is more Grinch than Cat in the Hat.

I bet deep down inside, Martin Amis has always wanted to dress up like Madeline...

 

You can never go wrong when you go Moomin, Martin.

 
Would you let this Pigeon drive the bus?

I wonder if Amis has ever felt like a Wimpy Kid...

If only Amis was as Curious as George, then he'd make the effort to understand the fine art of creating children's literature.

 
If you found this Bear at the Paddington Station, would you take him home with you?

 
We all know Amis was a Wild Thing in his youth, but these days? Meh.

 
I think Mr. Amis needs to take some lessons from the sweet and lovely Lola of Charlie and Lola fame.

Would Amis have to be Mad as a Hatter to want to write for children?

 
Meh. Enough of this silliness. Tip your hat to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and let's call it a day.

My sincere apologies to all the authors and illustrators who took part in my silly fun – it's only because I love your work so much that I chose you as part of my spoof.

A Talent To Amuse

This wonderful cartoon is from my most treasured book, A Century of Punch. At least a few times a year I will re-read this collection to remind myself of what really funny cartoons look like.

I've been thinking a lot about humour lately. Particularly my humour, and the sense of it, if you will. You see, I can't help myself, really; they way I see things. I've always been this way. Some might think me flippant and childish, but I'm really quite the opposite. It's just how everything gets filtered through me. In fact, I think I'm lucky. I really can't imagine going through this life without a sense of humour. I equate it to going through life without a limb.

I was inspired tonight to think about humour after reading the blog Literaisons. Debbie of Literaisons brought to my attention an amazing quote by of all people Dave Barry about humour:

A sense of humor is a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge.

That is me in a nutshell. I feel most like myself when I am making myself, or most especially someone else laugh. And I have always been drawn to artists who have a wonderful sense of humour. Ronald Searle, Woody Allen, Mordecai Richler, Charles Schulz. Very often these artists mix sadness with the humour, wich makes me love them all the more. To be human is to truly understand the expression 'bittersweet'.

When I was seventeen, for some completely unfathonable reason I became obsessed with the music and writing of Noel Coward. I memorized many of his songs, and used to sing them around the house at the top of my lungs. To this day 'London Pride' can still bring tears to my eyes, and I've never even been to England.

My mother could not understand why a teenager in the early 1980's would be listening to a gay show-tune writer of the early 20th century, instead of say, Madonna. Personally, I think she should have counted her blessings. One Noel Coward song in particular really spoke to my heart – 'If Love Were All'. There is one line that when I heard it for the first time, I said to myself, "That is me!" It goes like this: "I believe that since my life began, the most I've had is just a talent to amuse." In fact, there is even a memorial stone in Westminster Abbey which bears these words, paying homage to the talented Mr. Coward himself.

A talent to amuse. I too would love to be remembered for that.

Funny Ladies

Last night I hung out with my pal Rina, who is a cartoonist. She draws the strip Tina's Groove and she's also the Wednesday chick for the comic strip Six Chix. She is one funny, talented gal, and is in a very small minority being a female cartoonist. I guess I could count myself in that group, too. So why are there so few women cartoonists, compared to the percentage of men? Touchy subject for some. For starters, in the early days of cartooning, it was just considered a man's field. Not that there weren't women even back then doing good work (if your're curious, I highly recommend the book A Century of Women Cartoonists) but I don't think they got the recognition they deserved back then. I think a big part of the lack of women cartoonists in this field is the plain and simple fact that for some reason women don't seem to want to pursue cartooning as a career. But why is that? Some people suggest it's just a tough field, and women don't have the cahones to take the constant crushing rejection. I've been told that this is the same in stand-up comedy, too. I dunno. Is it sociological? Are we raised to be sweet and nice, encouraged to giggle and twitter but never to guffaw or laugh out loud or heaven forbid make an off-colour joke in mixed company? Did my parents mess-up big time 'cuz my laugh can be heard throughout the entire office? Perhaps. Whatever the reason, I wish there were more of us. I wish there were more women writers writing really funny stuff, instead of weepy dreary stories about women overcoming obstacles in some prairie town or chicklit crap that focuses on the bitchy world of fashion or publishing or any bitchy thing that happens in Manhatten. I wanna read a really funny novel written by a woman that's just as funny as Mordecai Richler. Is that too much to ask?

You know what I think? I think that when God made Eve, he should have passed on Adam's rib and taken his funny bone instead.