Catatouille

Another one on the hazards of consuming feral cats, which the Territory Health Department says isn't a very good idea at the best of times. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.

Meanwhile, some cat recipes, just in case.

via ErnieG at Tim Blair's blog

Neighbours from Hell

One day at the tax office

I guess one good thing about my blog blowing up is that I can re-post old cartoons on days I'm too lazy to post anything else. Nothing wrong with that, as far as I know.

Cat's revenge

Territorians would be aware we enjoy a terrific outdoor lifestyle here in the Top End, and to enhance it even further the NT government has introduced legislation legalising paintball. Hooray! Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.

Feline fine

Territorians, it seems, are free to eat cats. But you can't sell them for human consumption, says the Health Department. An entry in this year's Alice Springs bush food competition features a feral cat stew that is flavoured with native fruits. Feral cats are a major pest throughout central Australia. Territory Health says while it's not ideal for people to eat feral cat it is not illegal for personal consumption. Yummo.

And speaking of things feline, meet the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats. They are good.

Special Project - Update 3 (I think)

For those who came in late...

When I take a break the NT News is happy to run a few of my old cartoons while I'm away. I'm going on leave in a few weeks but we're going to do something a little different this time. We'll be running a new comic strip instead! Dan Dingo - Private Eye will kick off on September 22 and run for a month. Afterwards, I'll be posting the entire series on the blog, probably sometime in November.

Here's the update bit: All 30 episodes are written! Hooray! Now all I have to do is draw them.

Points taken

A demerit points system is to finally kick off in the Territory from September 1. Independent MLA Gerry Wood wants good Top End motorists (presumably those who don't use up all their points in the first week) rewarded for their behaviour on the road. Cartoon copyright © Northern Territory News. Please don't pinch it.

Ned the Bear and the strip club

Cross-posted at Club Troppo, where you'll find previous editions of Ned the Bear lurking in the archives.

A rush of reposting

I've reposted below some of the info that was lost after the blog meltdown. Regular visitors will probably have read it all already.

More about me

Even though I look like a young Harrison Ford I've been the editorial cartoonist for the Northern Territory News, and not a fabulously wealthy actor, since 1988. Based in Darwin, my work also appears in the Sunday Territorian and the Centralian Advocate in Alice Springs.

My first cartoon was published in 1977 while I was still at school on Queensland's Atherton Tablelands. A job offer followed soon after, leading to work on newspapers in both North Queensland and the Territory.

After arriving in laidback and tropical Darwin in 1981 for a two week holiday I didn't feel inclined to leave again. It's that sort of place.

Over the years I've worked closely with Territory community groups, charities and schools. I was honoured to be awarded the Northern Territory Achiever of the Year in 2000 for my community work, in particular with the Australia Day Council's Northern Territory Branch. And I was also mightily surprised to be named the Darwin Regional Territorian of the Year in 2003.

In 2004 my cartoons were officially declared a Northern Territory Cultural Heritage Icon by the National Trust.

What the critics say

From the NT News Letters pages:

"...offensive, humorless, irresponsible, repetitive and violent."
SD Kenny, Parap, NT

"Racist, sexist, tasteless and crude... I don't find his work genuinely funny."
Stuart Littlemore, ABC TVs Mediawatch

"Such a gross display of sexism, perversion, and insecurity suggests this man could benefit from some intensive therapy."
J Bird, Parap NT

"Is this joker serious? Why doesn't he get a proper job?"
Henry Adams, Rozelle NSW

"Nothing more than sick...distasteful..."
MJ Young, Nightcliff NT

"Shows grave poverty of thought..."
The Old Trout, Sanderson NT

"Have you no respect at all?"
L Hine, Darwin NT

"World class..."
Anonymous

FAQs

Questions I'm frequently asked by small children:

DID YOU HAVE DRAWING LESSONS?
No, and it shows sometimes. I still have trouble drawing feet and certain items of household furniture.
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS?
I guess by observing those around me, and listening to what people have to say. Especially my wife. Heh heh.
HOW MUCH DO YOU GET PAID?
I get paid pretty much the same as a journalist.
WHAT TIME DO YOU START WORK?
Around five in the afternoons during the week and in the mornings on weekends.
IS CARTOONING ALL YOU DO?
Um, yes.
HOW COME YOUR CHARACTERS DON'T HAVE FOREHEADS?
That's just the way I draw them, okay?
HOW LONG DO YOU WORK EACH DAY?
Usually an hour or so every day.
CAN I HAVE YOUR JOB?
No.

Copyright Stuff

All cartoons appearing on this site - even the bad ones about sheep - are Copyright © Colin Wicking unless otherwise stated.

However...I'm happy for them to be reproduced for non-commercial purposes ONLY. Please do not alter the original image in any way. If you do use any of the cartoons from this site please include the following credit below the image:

Cartoon © Colin Wicking

and include a link to this site.

The cartoons on this site are NOT to be used in any commercial publication, newspaper, magazine or on commercial websites without my permission.

Contact me at: GPO Box 79 Darwin NT 0801 or Fax 08 8948 3537

The copyright for all Wicking cartoons appearing in The Northern Territory News, The Sunday Territorian and The Centralian Advocate is held by NT News, and permission MUST be sought to reproduce them for any purpose. A copyright fee may apply. Enquiries should be directed to:

Northern Territory NewsGPO Box 1300Darwin NT 0801

%#*&+(%#$!!!

'%#*&+(%#$!!!' is, of course, cartoonspeak for 'Blistering barnacles!', or something close to it. After much googling and searching of forums I've discovered it's pretty much impossible to recover any of my lost posts. So welcome to Wicking's Weblog Mark IV, which'll have to start from scratch. I will try very, very hard not to kill it this time.
I'll repost all the actual important stuff - my bio, copyright info, contact details etc - over the next day or so and resume normal service soonish. In the meantime, here is a cool link to a page featuring every single vehicle ever to appear in Tin Tin books. Somebody obviously had way too much time on their hands but it's terrific anyway.

Disaster

Press the button. Hey Presto! Deletion disaster. Back to the drawing board, maybe.