During my first ten years of my career as a cartoonist, Margaret Thatcher loomed large. I was working in the UK for a variety of daily and weekly publications and Maggie was residing in 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister of Great Britain. She seemed to be a hovering presence in my life for a decade.

I drew her just about every week. She was sharp-nosed determined character with little humor. Small in stature, Thatcher proved to be a large conservative force for change in both the the UK and the world. Her determined style won her many friends and enemies among citizens of the country and  the cartoon community.

She was a friend to cartoonists because her dogged right wing politics provided mountains of inspired scorn-filled cartoons. She was an enemy to many cartoonists because few supported her conservative agenda.

While assembling my new book Daggers Drawn: 35 Years of Kal Cartoons in The Economist I found scores of cartoons I produced about the Iron Lady over the years. I attach a handful here. If you have favorites from years past let me know and I will try to dig them out.

Here are three new cartoons available for Purchase to the support the Daggers Drawn Kickstarter campaign.

I am excited to announce that in April 2013, I will be celebrating my 35th anniversary as cartoonist for The Economist. To mark the occasion, I want to publish a large retrospective collection of my cartoons and covers from the magazine titled Daggers Drawn.

To make this happen, I have turned to the arts funding website www.Kickstarter.com for help. With Kickstarter’s help, I have created a special campaign to help fund the book.
Fans and supporters can pre-order copies of the book, buy prints of cartoons and covers from the magazine, plus purchase one of a kind original cartoons and covers. Plus there are special rewards for those who want to join the KAL team including a book launch party at Boordy Vineyards in April.

Here’s a link to the Kickstarter campaign.

Any support you can offer would be great. But perhaps the best thing you can do to help is spread the word.  Forward the link to all your contacts, friends and colleagues. The more money we raise the better quality the book will be!

For those of you wishing to purchase an original color cover from The Economist to support the fundraising effort for Daggers Drawn… here are the covers available. Beneath each you will find a copy of the art as it appeared on the cover and the dimensions (width x height) of the original artwork. As each is sold a red SOLD will appear beneath the artwork.

13w x 16h inches

10 x 12

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD SHAW

13.5 x 12.5

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD OGM

12 x 13.5

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD sg

15 x 10.5 

13 x 9.5

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS  SOLD jp

12 x 12

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD BL

12 X 12

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD WS

14.5 x 1712 x 13.5

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD KT

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD SN

NEWS ALERT! JAN. 18: 21 MORE CARTOONS HAVE BEEN ADDED BELOW FOR A TOTAL OF 56!!

For those of you wishing to purchase an original Black and white artwork from The Economist to support the fundraising effort for Daggers Drawn… here are the 20 cartoons available. Each is on paper that is approx 16 wide x 11 deep. As each cartoon is purchased, a red  SOLD will appear beneath the cartoon.

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD rs

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD jhk

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD sn

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD tf

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD pl

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD  mkr

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD ihr

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD   mc

THE CARTOON ABOVE IS SOLD   rg

THE ABOVE CARTOON IS SOLD df

I had a busy week with The Economist. I completed the cover for the New Year edition as well as adding an editorial cartoon (see below) and an illustration about Ron Paul. Now it’s time to catch up on my sleep!

Election season is in full swing which means lots of material for political cartoonist. The cartoon above is from this week’s edition of The Economist.

I drew this one from a hotel in Abuja, Nigeria where I was participating in a conference sponsored by The Economist. As you can probably guess I had a great fun drawing this one.

Among the fearsome flock of Wannabees is Republican businessman Herman Cain. People outside of the US have been watching the American political circus with some interest and despair. An example, the French magazine Courrier International commissioned me to create a cartoon of Herman Cain for this week’s edition (see below).

I was asked to create the cover for The Economist this week. It was a fun topic to illustrate (taxing the rich). I also had fun creating an autumnal scene… makes me want to paint more landscapes! Also this week… I drew the cartoon (below) on the current crisis in Israeli/Palestinian relations. The next day I flew to Taipei, Taiwan to address the World Congress of the International Press Institute. More on that event to come!

Here’s some recent cartoons from The Economist. The cartoon below I drew while on holiday in Ireland.

Whenever I travel in the world, I carry a portable scanner so that I can never miss a chance to file my cartoons and covers for The Economist. I have drawn and sent my cartoons from such far flung nations as China, Russia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, New Zealand, Italy and France.

Sorry to be so lacklustre at posting this summer… been bogged down with the new 2012 Economist wall calendar ( which looks awesome!).

Here are some recent favorites from The Economist.