Here are two of this week's free weekly papers here in the Northeast: The Hippo and The Edge. Both feature caricatures. The Hippo (top; yes, that's its real name) has them on the cover and The Edge (bottom) has some on an interior page. They are drawn by two different men. That's nice. It's good to NOT have a photo as usual. The rotten thing is that the drawings are badly executed.
I mean, really. Look at them. Maybe these might do as roughs, but for an editor to go with these as finishes is praising bad drawings.
I'm very unhappy about the work here. I'm not mentioning their names, but I suppose they are easy to figure out. Both are local artists who have worked in this area. But both have produced some bad drawings this week, and the editor went with it and that bothers me.
The Hippo was paying $35 a cover, but most covers are produced in-house using photos which they may or may not pay for.
That second feature, from The Edge, the "Take a guess, win a prize" page is a contest where you, the reader, is asked to guess who the caricature portrays. The small drawing on the left hand side is last week's and the answer is there and, well, gosh darn it, there was no winner. If anyone ever does win, the editor will send the winner "a piece of EDGE swag (a CD or book we've been sent)." So, the prize is something from their review slush pile. Ugh! Talk about cheap.
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2 comments:
On the one hand I agree that the caricatures aren't great and the second example doesn't even warrant being called one. But in the case of The Hippo's cover, there is at least an attempt at it - especially with Cruz - and it's a fair effort.
Is it publishing quality? That depends on the publisher's budget, I suppose. You can pick up a passable caricature for cheap on freelancing sites. And if the effect was a parody of politicians, not just a trace job, it does the job. Decent caricaturists are expensive and I'd rather have a magazine run a bad cover than not do it at all. Ultimately it just generates more appeal for caricatures.
As a writer, let me assure you that there is nothing in Hippo to suggest that they're any more picky about their proce -- which they could at least edit into semi-acceptable form if they cared. I grabbed an issue or two when they were briefly distributing over here in Leb, and then realized there's equally good reading in the rack at the grocery store.
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