Cartoonists in the Spotlight… in Shaftesbury!

By John Freeman on September 25, 2022

Top professional cartoonists were in Shaftesbury earlier this month for Shaftoon, the Cartoonist Club of Great Britain national convention.

Invited to the Dorset town by local cartoonist Sue Burleigh, during their four-day stay, the group traded caricatures and sketches for pints of beer while visiting the Sixpenny Handley Brewery.

(There are some photos of this excursion by Sue here on Facebook).

Shaftesbury residents were also encouraged to visit Ye Olde Two Brewers, an 18th century pub transformed into Shaftoon’s hub for the weekend, to see how the talented artists depicted Shaftesbury’s scenery on Saturday, where Alfred’s Anne Philpott met some visitors who had seized their chance to pick up cartooning skills at a free workshop. You can listen to that encounter here.

“It was our first visit to Dorset and many club members had travelled down miles to see the town,” says Sue. “We were made so welcome and Ye old Two Brewers couldn’t do enough for us, and they even welcomed our bagpipes!”

Members of the Cartoonist Club of Great Britain can next be seen at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival next month, in Bowness-on-Windermere, as exhibitors in the Lakeview Market Place.

Established on 1st April 1960, The Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain is the UK’s largest and oldest cartoonists’ organisation.

Providing a social base for cartoonists wherever they may live/work, the CCGB is open to all cartoonists and comic artists and has a membership of over 200 full and part-time cartoonists both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Many of the great names from the British cartoon fraternity have been members of the CCGB since its founding. The club has been responsible for organising many local, nationwide and international cartoon events.

Each month members receive a copy of the Club’s magazine The Jester, which is packed with cartooning-related articles, news, tutorials, and info about upcoming events.

Members also have access to advice forums and online portfolios.

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

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “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.