A little while ago I saw a cartoon in a children’s comic that absolutely filled me with rage. I obviously can’t say what it was, or even what the joke was, because I’m not trying to single out whoever did it. But it was such a redundant, well-worn (and for the record, illogical) joke, in fact it was so incredibly ASININE, that its very placidity made me angry.
Let’s not pretend, every cartoonist doesn’t like every cartoon. We all have our own favourites, as much as we have our own secret, seething resentments. And don’t get me wrong, the comic community is by and large wonderful, loving and very supportive, and I wouldn’t hear anything said against most of it. But obviously, as a human being, there are some comics I like more than others.
What gets me riled up, however, is laziness. And worse, pretending laziness is your craft. That’s nothing to do with how fast you work, how your style looks, how many days a week you work. It’s about the content you’re putting out, and if you’re creating content for children, then you need to be trying that much harder.
The issue for me boils down to this – just because your audience is children, doesn’t mean they’ll accept any old crap. Some comics are written solely to keep kids happy – they set up, they hit with a punchline, they tell you to come back next week. In between there are mildly diverting shapes and colours, but in the end it’s a one-sentence joke dragged across a page as if it were roadkill spelling out BORING with its entrails. The artist isn’t taking this opportunity to embrace the gloriously surreal, the rich silly heritage of cartoons, the irreverence of their characters. They’re assuming the audience are idiots.
They’re patronising them.
Last year when I gave a talk at the Sheffield Children’s Conference, I tried to make this point to a room full of tv execs (because tv cartoons are just as, if not more, guilty of this). I’m not sure it got me anywhere. My main thrust was that you can’t come up with a character to hit your demographic targets, you can’t fill in the jokes like you’re painting by numbers. You can’t cut out a story you found in an old Garfield book and call it your own. You’re privileged enough to be in career where you’re entertaining children, fucking DO something with it.
Children want original ideas as much as adults, more so! They want their imaginations filled, enriched and provoked. They want to be swept away and carried along, they want characters, beauty, humour and story. This is why the rich intertwining darkness of Harry Potter caught everyone by the curlies, or the loveable Spongebob ended up in everyone’s home. They weren’t made to keep children distracted, they were grown from seeds and given the right space to grow.
I think this is important. And I tell anyone who asks. You want to create things, you do it for yourself. And from yourself. You build your own little world up, and you get lost inside it, until you and it are almost the same. Your characters are part of you. You don’t write them, they talk for themselves.
This applies just as much to large-scale tv cartoons as it does to 3-panel funnies. Any artist worth their salt will be producing material they’re proud of because they HAVE to. It’s not a job, it’s a need. If you’re just filling in the blank panels because you think your audience are stupid enough to buy it, you’re wasting an amazing opportunity.
I’m not the greatest comicker in the world, I’m sure there are many who dislike my work, but good. The things that make you angry should ignite the passion in your own work, lazy comics made me work harder at my own, and still do.
Be proud of your craft, make it into something unique and inspiring, credit your audience with the intelligence they deserve. Don’t just regurgitate what you read, or worse – drew, twenty years ago.
Thanks yeah.
(A little note – it’s worth reminding that the majority of artists and comics are exceptionally lovely, and there’s a wonderful community between us all. I’m not trying to bitch, just being honest. My anger at some comics can be undiginified, but I only get riled up by comics which don’t make any effort. Fortunately, most comics do. There’s some real beauty out there, so no excuse for this laziness.)
I always aim for the not-treating-kids-like-idiots angle when working on my stuff – instead I rely on the fact that I AM an idiot, and hopefully infuse my work with my own brand of loony idiocy :D
Thanks for the reply and your kind comments on the Wizzo! Definitely take all you said into mind, found the writing story part very helpful indeed… Glad you like our comic so much! :D
From Harry Rickard :)
If only the tv execs would listen, Jamie. If only the world would listen, but whenever money is involved we apparently want it homogenised and we want it averaged. It is a shame because if anything kids entertainment should have so much more freedom that “grown-up” entertainment; grows the mind etc.
And people always underestimate what level of sophistication a kid will enjoy. They’m not as daft as they sometimes appear.
Fantastic stuff. Heartfelt and completely correct. Shame that most TV execs appear (if their output is anything to go by) to be short-sighted idiots. Same with publishers a great deal of the time. All you can do is attempt to maintain your own integrity and hope some of it rubs off on others.
Oh my god, it’s me isn’t it!?!
I’ll try harder next time. :)
I draw and write for myself. Not the kids. I have to like it, and think it funny. Otherwise how can you be proud of the stuff you do?
Well said Jamie! The view I always take is that if it amuses me it will also hopefully amuse the readers. (It’s not always possible to hit the mark every time with a weekly deadline of course.)
What dismays me sometime is the attitude within our industry from people working in comics for older readers who assume our work must be easy because it’s for younger children than their audience. If anything it’s harder, because not only do we have to try and amuse them we also have to create a world that their limited experiences will understand.
Fine blog post, We are viewing back again often looking for improvements.
Very well said! The trenches of kids’ comics are a hugely rewarding place to work, and some of the finest cartoonists who ever lived spent a big chunk of their careers there (Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, Basil Wolverton, Leo Baxendale, Ken Reid – you know, the usual suspects). And yeah, like Lew says, it’s challenging. Thanks for making a big noise about it.
sounded good till i saw your dd strip. physician, heal thyself
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