The recent acquisition from a Darwin deceased estate of a number of books about cartoonists brought to life the work of the gifted New Zealander TRACE HODGSON . The above volume, suffering from Darwin’s harsh climate , unfortunately the way of all flesh and dead trees in the North , is an example of his inspired political cartooning . It shows NZ PM , David Lange, a vociferous , would-be- nice- guy , evolving into Roger Douglas who brought in Rogernomics , a form of hardline economics which hit the country like a seismic shock. Cartoons cover the 1984 breakdown of the ANZUS Treaty when the Kiwis told America to stick their nuclear weapons , gay rights, the proposed football tour of South Africa , the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by the French and the Mururoa nuclear tests, whales and one marking Lange’s first year in office, the enigmatic Mona (Lisa) Lange , with a five o’clock shadow ?, nursing chubby baby Lange , the Wellington Beehive parliament building in the background.
Hodgson began cartooning in 1979 at The Christchurch Press where he was a commercial artist. He wrote that the newspaper’s mean, erratic, pitiful payment and constant rejections made him even more determined to crack their stony faces with a smile . “I never did and I don’t think anyone will ,” he said in the 1986 preface to the book, issued to mark an exhibition of political cartoons which toured NZ.
A political cartoonist for the NZ Listener magazine , he also drew a series with a very familiar title to viewers of a highly rated current (seemingly never ending ) Australian TV series - UNDERBELLY - for CITY VOICE , a Wellington based community newspaper . In it he took a satirical , offbeat look at the capital , at times mocking bogans, while also carrying attached messages to learn CPR to save lives and get HEP C injections . One explained why bogans have long arms , a subject of immense interest for Australia , seeing we have so many of the critters over this side of the Tasman . It seems their dangling limbs are ideal for carrying crates of beer and other bulk grog containers from liquor outlets. His drawing of aggressive HAPPY HOUR drinking sessions is familiar . One imagines deriding tattooed bogans in windy Wellington could be highly dangerous, but he survived somehow .
Against the 1990 Gulf War , he travelled to Iraq to join the Peace Camps, living between the armies in an attempt to prevent the American invasion .
Comic strip creations of his include the adventures of an environmentally friendly garden gnome who decides to drink his own toilet water to help the planet and attends a world sustainability conference where one of the delegates favours hemp underwear. Little Darwin strongly suggests readers Google TRACE HODGSON and look at his work as it could lift your spirits in these frustrating political times, although mining tycoons are supplying some unexpected laffs .
Hodgson began cartooning in 1979 at The Christchurch Press where he was a commercial artist. He wrote that the newspaper’s mean, erratic, pitiful payment and constant rejections made him even more determined to crack their stony faces with a smile . “I never did and I don’t think anyone will ,” he said in the 1986 preface to the book, issued to mark an exhibition of political cartoons which toured NZ.
A political cartoonist for the NZ Listener magazine , he also drew a series with a very familiar title to viewers of a highly rated current (seemingly never ending ) Australian TV series - UNDERBELLY - for CITY VOICE , a Wellington based community newspaper . In it he took a satirical , offbeat look at the capital , at times mocking bogans, while also carrying attached messages to learn CPR to save lives and get HEP C injections . One explained why bogans have long arms , a subject of immense interest for Australia , seeing we have so many of the critters over this side of the Tasman . It seems their dangling limbs are ideal for carrying crates of beer and other bulk grog containers from liquor outlets. His drawing of aggressive HAPPY HOUR drinking sessions is familiar . One imagines deriding tattooed bogans in windy Wellington could be highly dangerous, but he survived somehow .
Against the 1990 Gulf War , he travelled to Iraq to join the Peace Camps, living between the armies in an attempt to prevent the American invasion .
Comic strip creations of his include the adventures of an environmentally friendly garden gnome who decides to drink his own toilet water to help the planet and attends a world sustainability conference where one of the delegates favours hemp underwear. Little Darwin strongly suggests readers Google TRACE HODGSON and look at his work as it could lift your spirits in these frustrating political times, although mining tycoons are supplying some unexpected laffs .
