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New Jester features interview with Idler cartoonist Paul Shadbolt

By John Freeman on 26 September 2026 • ( 0 )

The latest issue of The Jester, the magazine of The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain, available to members, features an in-depth interview with Paul Shadbolt, a regular contributor to The Idler, founded back in 1993 by Tom Hodgkinson and Gavin Pretor-Pinney with the intention to improve the public perception of idling.

Paul Shadbolt has been drawing cartoons for as long as he can remember. Over the years his cartoons have appeared in newspapers and magazines, which include the (long gone) Punch, The Oldie as well as the satirical magazine, Private Eye, regularly published in the latter since 2011 – and his cartoons have also appeared in their end of year annuals.

The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain, who are returning to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal next weekend, is open to new members, offering not only The Jester magazine but regular online hook ups to discuss matters comic.

The Club is undergoing some changes at present, looking at a new format for Jester, but this issue continues the current format, with plenty of enjoyable cartoons reflecting the issue’s theme, “RISE”, along with Rich Skipworth’s ongoing series offering tips on using the Procreate drawing app, and his review of the recent 54321FAB! summer exhibition at the Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum.

Edited by Simon Chadwick, The Jester is always a fun read, and the Club organises plenty of social gatherings and attend events across the country. If you’re a published cartoonist or creator in the field, you might want to consider joining.

• Web: www.thecartoonistsclub.com | Twitter: @CartoonistsGB | Facebook | Instagram

• The New Cartoonist is online at thenewcartoonist.co.uk

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.