An Arresting Cartoon?

Please accompany me to the Police Station...

---

See more of my cartoons at www.nigelsutherland.co.uk

---

If you liked my post, please share via the buttons below. Thanks!

Handy to Have your Solicitor Close By...

This cartoon shows two inmates in a prison cell, with one commenting to the other, “At least I've got easy access to my solicitor – he's in the next cell.”

The humour comes from a sharp twist of irony. Normally, having a solicitor nearby is a positive for a client, but in this case, both client and legal representative share the same unfortunate circumstances. 

The joke highlights the absurdity of the situation and plays on the reader’s understanding of the legal system, turning what might be a serious context into a moment of satirical comedy.

It’s an example of dark humour done lightly, showing how cartoons can comment on real-life frustrations and contradictions with just a single line of dialogue. 

Simple in presentation, it invites readers to appreciate the irony without taking itself too seriously.

N.B. I rarely do this, but I used the same drawing, with an alternative caption some years earlier, which you can see HERE >>

---

See more of my cartoons at www.nigelsutherland.co.uk

Buy this gag on a Coffee Mug

Police Training School – The Early Version

Now we’re going back! This is an earlier version of my Police Training School cartoon, drawn many years before the version I reworked and posted on the blog in 2016. 

It’s always interesting to look back and see how ideas evolve – sometimes the humour is the same, but the drawing style, character design or pacing changes quite a bit over time.

This earlier drawing was published in Revue newspaper on 11th April 1981, back when much of my cartoon work was still produced in pen and ink. 

The humour revolves around police recruits and the slightly absurd world of training exercises – even then, I enjoyed playing with the idea of authority meeting everyday human fallibility.

When I revisited the cartoon in the 2016 version, I kept the same comic idea but refined the visual style – a reminder of how both the humour and the artwork can evolve over time while keeping the same core idea intact.

Cards and Gifts for Police Officers >>

It’s satisfying to compare the two versions side by side. The early one has a loose, spontaneous energy that often comes with deadline newspaper work, while the later version benefits from a more polished composition and digital finish. 

Between them, they tell their own story of how a cartoonist’s approach can change over the years.

You might also enjoy “Firework Display” or my digital-age favourite, “Spider’s Website”.

See more of my police-themed cartoons here...

from Nigel Sutherland