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THE STRIP CARTOONS OF H.M.BATEMAN -
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Bateman developed the strip cartoon to a degree that even Caran d’Ache
had not imagined. His draughtsmanship – freed from the wood block that
reproduced the French artist’s creations – was far more fluid, more
energetic and expressive, his own appreciation of and delight in the
absurd even more extreme. In cartoons like The One Note Man, Getting a
Document Stamped at Somerset House, Something Wrong-The Plumber fixes It
or The Possibilities of a Vacuum Cleaner the strips would cover three or
four pages, something never seen before. These are the very best of
British comic art, the most inventive, the most delightful - logical
impossibilities that became instant icons of their time. His
contemporaries understood this entirely, knew that they were witnessing
something quite unprecedented. When The Tatler printed Getting a
Document Stamped at Somerset House in 1923, it billed the cartoon as a
“Masterpiece” - no other work was ever heralded in such a manner.
Getting a Document Stamped at Somerset House (1)
The Tatler started to sell Bateman’s strip cartoons as little separate
booklets, and flicking through their pages it is at once apparent how
cinematic they are, how nearly they approach animation. No wonder Walt
Disney was a great admirer. Though Bateman continued to produce original
and new work in many different forms, and though his “Man Who...”
cartoons are perhaps his most famous creations, his strip cartoons are,
in many ways, the most extraordinary creations of his particular genius.
They are as vivid today - absurdist pieces of theatre of astonishing
design – as they were when they were created, nearly a century ago.
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