...cartoon links reviews interviews and news from the UK!
HOME
THE HOUND
british toon
news & chatter
MOVIE TOONS
animated films
& shorts
TV TOONS
animated series
TOON MAKERS
animation studios
& people
IT'S A PUPPET!
string, hand
& finger puppets
COMICS
characters, strips
& comic books
TOON GODS
british animators
& illustrators
RESOURCES
______________
FLEETWAY ST.
GENTLEMAN
BRIGGS
BUNTY'S BOOTY
CRACKING
COLLECTIBLES
_______________
Saluting the Gonzo God Of
Cartoon
Chaos...
____________________________________________________________________
I Am God... Selected
works... Steadman
on the web...
____________________________________________________________________
I
Am God
In
Ralph Steadman's hands ink is an amniotic, life-giving fluid. His absurd
characters are born from a canvas of murky hues
and crosshatches, stretching
out across the page, fluid, evolving, like beings
from some other realm or
nightmare, even. Look there! - In the chaos
of creation a recognisable cartoon
form comes together. An eye here, a mouth there,
now limbs yearning. Inky
threads and blotches combine to make some hypnotic
whole...
To call Mr Steadman a Toon God is no overblown
statement. His solo works
tackle some Big Themes. 'I, Leonardo' focuses on
Leonard Da Vinci. And
then there's confounding, mesmerizing story
of God, 'The Big I Am'. The latter
is comprised of extraordinary double-page
puddles of creative soup, swirling, evolving and
spewing forth mesmerizing characters and creations.
Some times our God likes to play with other Gods
to create Something
Special. Famously, Mr Steadman's collaborations
with the maverick Hunter
S Thompson produced the wholly unique, wholly
off-the-wall GONZO style
journalism and illustrative technique. What
exactly is GONZO? It's impossible
to define. 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas'
is a primordial soup of words and
drug-enhanced imagery which eludes description here.
But - hey - let's put our feet back on the ground.
Even God likes to take a day
off once in a while.
Ralph has illustrated hugely successful editions of 'Animal
Farm' and 'Treasure Island', and produced images
for three extraordinary volumes
based upon Lewis Carrol's 'Alice' and 'Snark' books.
He's brought Bernard Stone's
Mouse stories to life in three sweet children's story
books and had a 'swinging'
time of things with 'No Room To Swing A Cat'.
And Mr Steadman likes put his
palate to the test as a wine connoisseur, having
written and illustrated two
well-received volumes on the subject. He has
also loaned his talents to the
campaign for that debauched, drink-fueled film 'Withnail
And I'.
Steadman's official web site provides us with
a fascinating window on to his
wonderful world of creation. It really
is much more than a simple advertising
space, much as Mr S himself is much more
than a mere cartoonist or illustrator.
Here's to you, Ralph - artist, artist, author,
creator and self-proclaimed
Toon God!
____________________________________________________________________
Selected works
Books by Ralph Steadman:
Ralph Steadman's Jelly Book (1967)
The Little Red Computer (1969)
Still Life With Raspberry Or
The Bumper Book Of Steadman (1969)
Dogs Bodies (1970)
Ralph Steadman's Bumper To Bumper
Book For Children (1972)
Bumper Book Of Boobs (1973)
Flowers For The Moon (1974)
The Bridge (1974)
Two Donkeys And The Bridge (1974)
Charlie's Angels (1978)
Sigmund Freud (1979)
A Leg In The Wind And Other
Canine Curses (1982)
I Leonardo (1983)
No Good Dogs (1983)
Between The Eyes (1984)
Paranoids; From Socrates To
Joan Collins (1986)
That's My Dad (1986)
Scar Strangled Banger (1987)
The Big I Am (1988)
No Room To Swing A Cat (1989)
Near The Bone (1990)
Tales Of The Weirrd (1991)
The Grapes Of Ralph (1992)
Teddy! Where Are You? (1994)
Jones Of Colorado (1995)
Still Life With Bottle (1997)
Little.com (2000)
With Hunter S Thompson:
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1971)
Fear And Loathing On The
Campaign Trail '72 (1973)
America (1974)
The Curse Of Lono (1983)
Gonzo: The Art (1998)
Mouse Books
with Bernard Stone:
Emergency Mouse (1978)
Inspector Mouse (1980)
Quasimodo Mouse (1984)
Illustrated classics:
Alice In Wonderland (1967)
Through The Looking Glass And
What Alice Found There (1972)
The Hunting Of The Snark (1975)
Treasure Island (1985)
The Complete Alice & Snark (1987)
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (1995)
Movie Campaigns:
Withnail And I (1987)
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
____________________________________________________________________
On
the web
Ralph
Steadman
http://www.ralphsteadman.com
As mentioned before, The Master has
his own web site. And it's mighty fine.
There's a biography, information on his
works, current exhibits, projects etc.
Plus, if you've the cash to hand, there's
a large range of artwork to
purchase - from Joe Petro gallery original
silk screens to simpler pieces
for the smaller wallet. Yes, for a 'modest'
fee you can actually own a piece
of Mr Steadman. Exciting, eh?
The
Great Thompson Hunt
http://www.gonzo.org
'The Great Thompson Hunt' is a huge place
devoted to Hunter S.
and all things associated. This place
is brimming with Steadman info.
His associations with Thompson are
intimately chronicled and
cataloged for the serious surfer.
There are articles here, book
reviews, book covers, photos - pages of
'em all - and a big
scrolling list of links to explore.
If you like Steadman, you'll love
this place...
TOON GODS
_____________________________