DON’T JOKE

Biting wit and clever drawings in book featuring South Africa’s best political cartoonists. (Review by Caroline Smart)

Want to know what’s going on in a country politically-speaking without having to wade through pages of text? Then source out the cartoons in the daily press. In either a cartoon strip or a single image with well-chosen pithy comment, sharp-minded and fearless cartoonists the world over are telling it like it is. And long may democracy reign! Especially in South Africa.

Celebrating South Africa’s best political cartoonists, Jacana has published Don’t Joke! which covers the year in cartoons from September 1, 2008, to August 31, 2009, and is edited by Andy Mason and John Curtis.

Formerly based in Durban, Andy Mason is now head of the Comic Art Unit at the Centre for Comic, Illustrative and Book Arts (CCIBA) at Stellenbosch University. He also works freelance and produces several strips under the nom de plum ND Mazin.

John Curtis runs a Cape Town based design agency. Curator of an online showcase of cartoons at www.AfriCartoons.com, he often provides cartoon ideas to other cartoonists including Jerm, Dr Jack and Zapiro who are included in Don’t Joke!.

Also appearing in the publication are Andy, Brandan, Chip, F Esterhuyse, Findlay, Fred Mouton, Grogan, Mangena, Mynderd Voslo, Mghobhozi, Miles, Mothowagae, Nanda Soobben, Qaps, Siwela, Stent, Stidy, Weyni Deysel, Wiggett and Yalo. Also included are the strips Madam & Eve (S Francis & Rico); Mama Taxi (Gavin Thomson and Deni Brown) and Trek Net by Gavin Thomson and Dave Gomersal.

Invariably a cleverly constructed satirical opinion through imagery and a few words can speak volumes and each page of this publication offers highly thought-provoking material. Each chapter is amusingly titled – such as March to Pretoria, There Goes the Neighbourhood, Juris Imprudence, Unhealthy Situations, Goals and Penalties and Nought to a Hundred. There is a quick reference to all-important datelines encapsulating the political highlights – or lowlights! – of the period

The cartoons range from the amusing to the hilarious, the ironic to the vicious or the breathtakingly daring to the breathtakingly simple! However, through it all runs the passion that these graphic artists feel about their country and who are bringing what they consider vital information to their readers, whatever the political slant of their publications.

This is a very important publication – not just for its entertainment value but also from an educational one. It also stands out as a beacon of the hard-won freedom of speech which has lately begun to feel threatened.

Don’t Joke is published in soft cover ISBN 978-1-77009-758-2. – Caroline Smart