Why You Should Start Joking Around.
The World’s Oldest Media is Still Worth Your While.
This week in OUTLINED we’re taking an (admittedly fairly biased) dive into the power of comics and cartoons. Let’s go!
It’s difficult to say when the first real funny cartoon was made…
The Lascaux cave paintings are around 17,000 years old, and while a petroglyph of five hunters attacking an ibex might not seem funny or political, who’s to say there weren’t six hunters and that cave painting was, in fact, a comment on Gary, the one hunter who never turned up for the hunt?
In a number of cases, cave paintings have been found with certain figures supporting limb-sized members between their legs, suggesting that both humour and an ingrained human desire to draw phalluses go all the way back to our very earliest days of artistic expression.
All of which is to say; we’ve been making funny drawings well before any other form of media.
(And yes, calling a cave painting ‘media’ hurts my soul as well)
So drawing stuff is old, what’s your point?
The point, is that cartooning and comic drawings have been around ever since; from Egyptian graffiti to Romans bragging about their victories on large columns, to artists utilising the relatively new printing press to satirise and ridicule those in charge.
(I’ve briefly covered all that in another article)
And the thing is, despite all our new technology, it’s still one of the most graphically efficient and effective means of conveying a message.
An ad on social media will be treated as no more than an ‘attention tollbooth’, its very existence an annoying but necessary means to keep the platform free for users.
Yeah, But Why is That?
Well, let’s do a list…
1. Your Inner Child is Still Strong.
Illustrated images feel weirdly accessible and familiar, a visual safe space in a world full of slick photography, sharp graphics (and now) slightly off-putting AI-generated images.
2. Living is Hard Right Now.
As the title of this post suggested, some levity is what we all need. We’re staying at home more, and generally avoiding reality by scrolling endlessly through mindless Instagram reels. And with that constant stream of depressing often sponsored content, an advertisement in the guise of a fun comic is very much seen as welcome relief.
3. They Travel.
This might be the most important point.
An ad on social media will be treated as no more than an ‘attention tollbooth’, its very existence an annoying but necessary means to keep the platform free for users. But what if that ‘ad’ was a visually different, accessible, and a (crucially) funny comic?
From experience, a funny comic created by a brand is far more likely to be shared between friends than a standard traditional ad, and so suddenly your ad is reaching a far wider audience, and all without having to pay for it to float to the top of the dreaded algorithm.
4. Pattern Recognition.
As humans we’re attuned to pattern recognition, we love a simple call-back in a standup comedy gig for instance. This also applies to high school maths classes and so a simple chart or Venn diagram is immediately understood by an audience. In short, the heavy lifting of the work has been done, and is already deeply engrained in our knowledge, ready to be unleashed by a simple prompt in comic form:
5. They’re Affordable!
As a comic artist, I hate to have to admit this, but employing a comic artist to make a funny, sharable cartoon extolling your business is (particularly for smaller brands with a limited ad budget) a financially palatable investment when it comes to creating that kind of content.
6. Contrast.
Do you have a pretty serious brand? or perhaps one that doesn’t lend itself to fun? people might expect comics and cartoons from, say a children’s toy company, but (for example) your insurance company or bank is likely sorely lacking on the ‘fun and accessible’ stakes. Comics are a great way to bring some heavy topics a bit of levity and then crucially, accessibility.
7. Narrative.
Did you enjoy those caveman comics earlier on? The last one wouldn’t have been funny by itself, but once you’ve started creating comics and cartoons, you can establish reemerging characters, effectively further capitalising on the comics that came before them.
So, (I can hopefully hear you ask) where are all these cartoonists?
Time for another list…
1. Right here.
Substack has a growing number of cartoonists and comic artists, I’d sugest starting with the ‘Comics’ Tab to more easily narrow down the search.
Another option (and personal favourite) is to check out
who have a revolving roster of wonderful cartoonsists covering a new topic each week.2. Instagram.
Unsurprisingly, Instagram is a good place to start. Just about every comic artist will have an Instagram presence, and I can guarantee they’ll be following fellow cartoonists, so do what we all do best these days and hit the couch, dive into that algorithm, and begin seeking them out! Most will have online portfolios and a means to contact them, and then you can take it from there!
Happy hunting!
As always, thanks for reading and/or subscribing to OULINED. All the various easy links for commenting, sharing and subscribing (it’s FREE!) are all packed in below, so have at it. See you next week!
Love it!
Thank you for all you do!
Love this!