Will McPhail scoops “Young Cartoonist of the Year” award

By John Freeman on October 9, 2013

Will McPhail won “Young Cartoonist of the Year” with his drawing of a child’s eye view of their parents with their faces obscured by mobile phones. © Will McPhail

Congratulations this morning to Chorley-based cartoonist Will McPhail, who has won the accolade of “Young Cartoonist of the Year” from the British Cartoonist’s Association.

“My flattery battery is fully charged,” says Will, who won the title with his drawing of a child’s eye view of their parents with their faces obscured by mobile phones.

cartoons for the New Statesman. © Will McPhail

One of Will’s published cartoons for New Statesman. © Will McPhail

The 25-year-old is a regular contributor to New Statesman and his work has also appeared in Private Eye and elsewhere.

“I’m pleased, it’s great, he told ITV News in an interview from his studio. “I mean, I’ve drawn a cartoon, I haven’t cured cancer or anything, but in terms of the carton world, it’s a good thing.”

Will has to deliver ten cartoons every week and the magazine then selects one they’ll use, and coming up with that many ideas isn’t always that straight forward.

Will McPhail was interviewed by ITV’s Granada News about his work in his studio. You can view the video here.

“Generally, they’ll just be whizzing around in my brain and I’ll write them down at the end of the week,” he said, “but I do struggle, and maybe I’ll go for a walk around Manchester and take things in… the best thing for me to do is to go to a coffee shop and get all jitter bugged up on coffee!”

“I have always had a reverent appreciation for comedy” he says of his cartoon work on his official web site, where you can find many samples of both his cartoon work and stunning paintings of wildlife. “However it wasn’t until I saw my first frame of Calvin & Hobbes that I realised how meaningful a comedic platform cartoons can be, and how these two great loves of mine, art and comedy, could be married together so wonderfully.

“Becoming a cartoonist has allowed me to open the valve in my brain that releases the all the insanity that builds up in there. My cartoons both quench my comedic thirst and also satisfy my artist hunger.”

Will will be presented with his award at an event in London soon organised by the Cartoon Museum, along with the as-yet-unannounced winner of the under 18 category.

Judges for the competition were cartoonists Martin Rowson (who is also chairman of the British Cartoonists Association), Banx, Steve Bell, Peter Brookes, Dave Brown, Andy Davey, Mac, Matt, Nick Newman, Paul Thomas and Oliver Preston.

• ITV Granada News interview with Will McPhail, broadcast 8th October 2013

• Will McPhail’s official web site: www.willmcphail.co.uk

• Follow Will McPhail on Twitter

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.