"British Newspaper Strips" by Adam Twycross

Students at Escape Studios may know Adam Twycross as our External Examiner for Visual Effects; they may be less familiar with his published work.  Adam Twycross has just published a new book titled "British Newspaper Strips - A Contextual History", a scholarly deep dive into the history of newspaper cartoon strips over the last century. 

Newspapers cartoons are fascinating from a historical perspective because they show clearly and simply how much the world has changed since their publication, documenting the rapid changes in attitudes and values that have taken place in modern Britain.  

For most of us though, it's just a huge pleasure to read old comics from previous decades.   

British Newspaper Strips

Varoomshka in 1972

British Newspaper Strips analyses some of the best cartoon strips published in British newspapers over the past 100 years.  Author Adam Twycross considers British cartoons within their political, commercial and social context, and fills in a crucial section of publishing history - one that has been largely overlooked by both comics and newspaper studies.

Changing Times

Many of the cartoons are remarkable as a reminder how much social attitudes have changed, even in relatively recent history. 

For example, cartoonist John Kent's Varoomshka bursts topless out of the pages of The Guardian in 1972.  The Guardian would be unlikely to publish such an image today, and its editor would surely blush with embarrassment even to recall Varoomshka's existence in its pages. 

You can see Varoomshka, rather heavily censored, on the right.  To see the uncensored version, you will have to buy Adam's book.  

About Adam Twycross

Adam Twycross

Adam Twycross is our External Examiner for our undergraduate course in The Art of VFX and also our post graduate courses - MA VFX Production (3D), and also MA VFX Production (2D).  

Adam Twycross is a senior lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University, and an accomplished animation and vfx artist with considerable experience in higher education.  

External examiners play an important part of quality control in UK higher education, ensuring that our courses meet the highest standards, and that the grades awarded are correct and appropriate.

British Newspaper Strips Available Online

British Newspaper Strips is published by Palgrave Macmillan at £109. You can buy digital and physical copies from amazon.com or directly from the publisher. 

Animation & VFX Library

Students can find our review copy of British Newspaper Strips in the Escape Studios Animation & VFX Library, located on the 11th Floor outside Toontown at 6 Mitre Passage, our new home in North Greenwich.  We have many books on cartoons, comics and illustration. 

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects.  To apply for one of our courses, follow this link.