Mark Knight’s best news cartoons of the past three decades
From bushfires to terror attacks, sporting glory to royal weddings. Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight shares the controversial, funny and touching favourites in his collection of three decades behind the pencil.
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Mark Knight says it’s a privilege to draw cartoons that capture what readers are going through — be it celebrating a royal wedding, grieving a beloved figure or riding a wave of economic upheaval.
Today, the Herald Sun features the cartoonist’s 30 favourite cartoons across all topics except politics, as part of the newspaper’s 30th birthday celebrations. The cartoons that resonate most with readers, Knight says, are often those that mark an important milestone.
“Readers like those cartoons that give a farewell and acknowledge people who have played a big part in our lives that have left us. People like to see a tribute paid to them in cartoon,’’ Knight says.
“I love to voice readers’ experiences in cartoon and reflect that back to them, and then to receive feedback from them on how they have interpreted the cartoon.”
One of the biggest challenges is to cover a major event, such as the September 11 attacks, capturing its breadth in a single drawing, he says.
“But I find that stimulating to try to distil major events into one strong image — to convey what happened and the emotion of it,’’ he says.
Knight also finds himself drawing cartoons about some issues over and over, like the debates over the republic or daylight saving.
One constant that sharp-eyed readers will see in each of Knight’s cartoons is a small pig.
“That came about when Paul Keating was prime minister and he had a piggery that got into financial difficulty and I drew a cartoon of it. A cartoonist called and said (former Herald Sun cartoonist) Jeff Hook kept a hook in his cartoons and the readers loved it. So I kept it in, inspired by Hook’s hook.”
Knight’s favourite political cartoons will run on October 31.
KNIGHT’S BEST CARTOONS
— To mark the Herald Sun’s 30th birthday milestone, we will celebrate all that makes Victoria and Melbourne great over the next 30 days. Starting with the fantastic souvenir poster by cartoonist Mark Knight our coverage will include the state’s 30 most influential people of the past 30 years, greatest sporting moments, and best photos. To get your Mark Knight cartoon, pick up a copy of the Thursday Herald Sun or find it in the Herald Sun Shop online store. Subscribers can also purchase a limited edition print at heraldsun.com.au/rewards
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