What is Cartoon Museum ?

Ronald Searle has been described as 'arguably the foremost graphic artist of [the twentieth] century', and is unquestionably one of the most influential.

The Reform Bill crisis of 1830-2 stirred up a flurry of satirical prints, but topical satire was finding a new home. Following an example in Paris, a number of humorous magazine were launched in Britain.

The malevolent schoolgirls of Searle's 'St Trinian's' appealed to a new public taste for black, cynical humour cultivated in wartime.

In his later work a baroque extravagance of detail is painstakingly built up with his extraordinary line - stuttering, fidgety, barbed.

Victor Weisz, 'Vicky', one of Britain's best post-war political cartoonists, was forced to flee Nazi Germany in 1935. When he started at the News Chronicle in 1939 his editor advised a crash course in British culture: he soon had a witty command of a British cartoonist's stock references and motifs, including Shakespeare and Tenniel's Alice drawings.

Britain was finally coming out of a post-war period dominated by deference and social conformity.

Ronald Searle has been described as 'arguably the foremost graphic artist of [the twentieth] century', and is unquestionably one of the most influential. The malevolent schoolgirls of Searle's 'St Trinian's' appealed to a new public taste for black, cynical humour cultivated in wartime. In his later work a baroque extravagance of detail is painstakingly built up with his extraordinary line - stuttering, fidgety, barbed.

A younger generation of comedians was appearing on stage, radio and television. In 1961 a new satirical magazine Private Eye was founded.

Britain was finally coming out of a post-war period dominated by deference and social conformity. A younger generation of comedians was appearing on stage, radio and television. In 1961 a new satirical magazine Private Eye was founded. It was a magazine of political gossip and disclosure that ripped aside the curtains of gentility and decorum that Punch had upheld for over a century. For cartoonists it was a breath of fresh air, publishing cartoons that no other newspaper would print.

It was a magazine of political gossip and disclosure that ripped aside the curtains of gentility and decorum that Punch had upheld for over a century.

For the first time in many decades caricature took centre stage. Two revolutionary artists pushed British satire to the extreme, both visually and politically: Ralph Steadman and Gerald Scarfe. Wally Fawkes, 'Trog', brought intense focus to caricature and political cartooning through his ability to condense a complex situation into a single memorable image.

For cartoonists it was a breath of fresh air, publishing cartoons that no other newspaper would print.

Peter Fluck and Roger Law had worked together since the 1960s. In the 1970s they began producing three-dimensional caricatures for the [Sunday] Times and other publications. Out of this work grew the satirical show Spitting Image, first screened in Britain in 1983, featuring Fluck and Law's latex puppets.

For the first time in many decades caricature took centre stage.

The real break came in 1890 when Alfred Harmsworth launched Comic Cuts and Illustrated Chips, the first halfpenny comic papers. They were a runaway success. In 1896 Tom Browne created a pair of tramps who came to be known as Weary Willie and Tired Tim. They held sway on the cover of 'Chips' until it folded in 1953. In the years leading up to the First World War a host of new titles appeared including Puck, Merry and Bright and Funny Wonder. So great was the demand for comic material that many British comic publishers relied on American reprints.

Two revolutionary artists pushed British satire to the extreme, both visually and politically:

Competition was intense and publishers introduced colour in titles such as Rainbow, which introduced the 'Bruin Boys' led by Tiger Tim, who graduated to his own title in 1919.  The cinema inspired several comics including Film Fun and Kinema Comic (1920) featuring real comedians such as Laurel and Hardy.  As with most newspaper cartoon strips the story was moved forward by several lines of text that ran below the pictures: the speech bubbles playing a relatively minor role.

Ralph Steadman and Gerald Scarfe.  Wally Fawkes, 'Trog', brought intense focus to caricature and political cartooning through his ability to condense a complex situation into a single memorable image.

In the 1950s and 60s new titles for boys offered sport, war and adventure in Lion, Valiant, and Hurricane. Bunty and Judy gave girls ballet and school stories, and for slightly older girls there was romance in Marilyn, Valentine and Jackie.

Peter Fluck and Roger Law had worked together since the 1960s.

In the 1970s, the twin influences of American Underground Comics and Punk shook the industry. Viz (1979) revelled in bad taste but earned a huge following and became the best-selling British comic ever. A number of short-lived titles of the early 1970s introduced artists who were to become major names through 2000AD (1977). These included Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Mike McMahon, Kevin O'Neill and Bryan Talbot, many of whom would later work for major American publishers DC and Marvel Comics. 2000AD also produced Britain's first major comic superhero, Judge Dredd.

In the 1970s they began producing three-dimensional caricatures for the [Sunday] Times and other publications.

In the 1980s the Japanese animated series Transformers began to appear on British TV screens while Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball and films such as Akira introduced a British audience to a very different tradition of comic art. In recent years manga, anime and computer games have had a visible affect on the work of younger artists.

Out of this work grew the satirical show Spitting Image, first screened in Britain in 1983, featuring Fluck and Law's latex puppets.

The real break came in 1890 when Alfred Harmsworth launched Comic Cuts and Illustrated Chips, the first halfpenny comic papers.