2010
Tom vs Dragon
WHEN IT comes to influences on my creative skills, there are three names that instantly spring to mind – Roald Dahl, Stan ‘The Man’ Lee, and Tom Paterson.
Everyone knows the first two, but I’ll wager there’s not many who recognise the third name on the list, yet you may well have seen his work if you read ANY British humour comics over the past thirty years or so, and he’s definitely the biggest artistic influence in my life, for sure.
Tom is one of the first artists whose work really stood out for me, catching my young eyes with his wonderfully deranged style, his panels crammed full of brilliant detail and so, so funny. I mean, not just chucklesome, but laugh out loud, gut-achingly hilarious.
Just look at this Calamity James page below, pulled from one of the hundreds upon hundreds of Beanos in my collection. Look at the grotesque detail whenever James is pummelled, the little signs everywhere and the ubiquitous smelly sock and Little Squelchy Thing which he’d work into nearly every strip. It’s all just so BRILLIANT.
Calamity James from 'The Beano' (c) DC Thomson & Co
From Sweeny Toddler in Whooppee!, to the brilliant covers for Buster comic, and his crowning glory (in my mind) the aforementioned Calamity James for The Beano, I was completely and utterly entranced by his work, and would pour over those pages for hours, copying my own wonky tributes to his characters in my sketchpad.
And so the wonky tributes continue, with my rough approximation of Tom’s style in my picture of George (from my Dandy strip George vs Dragon) at the top of this post. I’ll never be as good as ‘the master’, but I hope I haven’t disgraced myself too much. If I have, I expect an anvil to drop on me at any moment, or a runaway steam-roller to mow me down.
Tom is still working today, producing his wonderful pages in The Beano, including occasional work on the comic’s iconic Dennis the Menace. And he still continues to inspire me hugely, and influence me all the time (as evidenced maybe by my penchant for background gags in my own strips).
So, here’s to you Tom – thanks for unwittingly inspiring me to pick up a pencil, and long may you keep on working, and squelching!
- Fanton.
Peter Gray has an awesome collection of Tom Paterson’s work for you to admire, by just clicking here.
12 Comments
So, what do you think?
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I also attempted to draw in a Tom Paterson way…it is a very difficult style to master..
http://petergraycartoonsandcomics.blogspot.com/2008/02/i-would-love-to-work-for-beano-and.html
Of course Tom and Leo are my number 1 top artists..
Who hasn’t heard of Tom Paterson? Okay, don’t answer that…
Tom is a fantastic comic artist, by the way, he draws Dennis and Gnasher fortnightly, Calamity James (reprints) and Fred’s Bed
Lovely attempt at his style! Very neat! I love Sir Squelchalot
Thanks, chaps – it is a difficult style to emulate, but hopefully I’ve made a decent STAB at it!
Haha! Stab! Because he has a sword, see?
No? Suit yourselves!
I think that Paterson, while very good, was in turn influenced by Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid. You can really see the Baxendale influence in his work, right down to the signs and background gags. No bad thing, though, and certainly not uncommon amongst UK humour cartoonists.
Well, EVERYONE is influenced by someone, of course! And yes, Tom was definitely influenced by Baxendale – in fact I believe he started out by ghosting some of Baxendale’s work – but I just love the way he developed his own style from it, and it’s that style which really caught my imagination.
Fair enough. I wasn’t having a pop, by the way. I’m a huge admirer of Paterson too.
No worries, mister!
i Love tom pattersons style! sweeny toddler is his best i think
your art is awesome!
[...] The Beano this week – especially as I find myself in an issue carrying work by my comic hero Tom Paterson, the very awesome Laura Howell and comics LEGEND Leo Baxendale! What a thrill for a comics nerd [...]
You may call me nuts, but i recently noticed he’s good at drawing in David Law’s style for Dennis the Menace.
I’m thinking we have the start of a Tom Paterson Appreciation Society here! The man is a legend, make no mistake!