Cartoonist’s Cartoonists: Influences of Alex Hallatt
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Alex Hallatt, a U.K. cartoonist based in New Zealand, graduated from the University of Kent at Canterbury with a degree in biochemistry and has never strayed far from science. Her syndicated comic strip Arctic Circle, follows three penguins who migrate to the Arctic and provide commentary on environmental and social issues, debuted in newspapers in 2007. In addition to her daily strip, she creates Jack and Joni and the Time-Travelling Shed, a science comic published in Double Helix, the magazine of Australia’s national science agency.
She’s also created seven guide, humor and children’s books. Her latest book A New Zealand Diary – Living in Lyttelton hit bookstore shelves last month.
If you’re new to her work, here’s a sample of her comic strip, books, and illustrations.
And now on to her inspirations and influences with her commentary about them.
Alex’s 10-ish cartoonists who have inspired or influenced her work
Charles Schulz
“I was given a Peanuts collection when I was six years old. It transported me into a world of comics and allowed me to escape from my culturally dull life in 1970s Britain. After that, I immersed myself in cheap British comics like Whizzer & Chips, Buster, Beano, Cor! Krazy Komic and Oink! for most of the 70s and early 80s and I’m sure they are part of what made me the cartoonist I am today (for good and bad!).”
Mordillo
“His full page coloured cartoons appeared in a Sunday supplement when I was growing up in England and blew my little brain.”
Berkeley Breathed, Bill Watterson, Gary Larson
“The holy trinity of cartoonists for me in the mid-80s, when I had a paper round and would read Bloom County, Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side, and dream of being syndicated one day.”
Dan Price
“His Moonlight Chronicles drawings helped me free up my line. My recent books (A Basque Diary, A New Zealand Diary) could not have been done without having learned this looser way of documenting life.”
Paco Roca
“I appreciate his graphic style and the way he works with colour. I may have stolen some of his colour palettes for Arctic Circle Sundays, but they are never as good as his comics.”
Chris Harding
“I love We The Robots so much. I wish he would bring it back as an antidote to AI art.”
Kate Beaton
“Kate broke new ground in webcomics with her literary cartoons (Hark! A Vagrant). Her autobiographical, graphic novel about working in the tar sands of Canada to pay off her student loan is an eye-opener (Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands). And it’s inspiring to me, because she may not be the best artist, but if you have a good story, it will carry the weight of the comic.”
Jonathan Lemon
“A cartoonist who adores the comic strip art form and it shows.”
Jason Chatfield
“I am always inspired by Jason’s work ethic, diversity of portfolio, and preparedness to try new things. Right now, I am loving his two Substack newsletters. One is about his working life in New York City and the other is about the process of cartooning itself. I highly recommend both of them.”
Thank you, Alex for sharing with us your list of influential and admired cartoonists. To keep up with Alex follow her on Substack, Instagram and Arctic Circle on Comics Kingdom.
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