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What is WittyWorld?
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For
the Fan
WittyWorld International Cartoon Magazine, the forerunner of a variety of publications and activities
that later touched the hearts, minds, and imagination of tens of thousands
of people worldwide, reported from 110 countries. Featuring the creative
wit and art of many of the world's best cartoonists, along with interesting
articles, interviews, and profiles, WittyWorld dedicated itself to
the fine representation of comic art. It's eye-pleasing, thought-provoking,
entertaining, yet always informative content quickly built a multi-faceted
intercultural bridge around the world, with a readership in 103 countries.
Out of a magazine, through books, syndication,
the internet, and a major international festival that attracted visitors
from nearly three dozen countries, grew a well-respected entity and a leading
provider of the most comprehensive cartoon-related coverage.
For the casual reader, the abundance of viewpoints
and food for thought, the intriguing behind-the-scene stories, and the quality
of entertainment and presentation have long been the reason for falling
in love and staying with WittyWorld. Some prominent American figures
that WittyWorld has showcased, have been "Calvin and Hobbes"
creator Bill Watterson, legendary New York caricaturist David
Levine, the masterful Mort Drucker of Mad Magazine, Jim
Unger, who dreamed up "Herman," Pat Oliphant, perhaps
the most respected American contemporary political cartoonist, Jim Davis,
the creator of "Garfield," and the late Charles Schulz
of the most widely syndicated comic strip "Peanuts" and Friz
Freling, the last of the great animators. Others of fame featured from
around the world have included star political cartoonists Mikhail Zlatkovsky
of Russia and the late South African Jock Leyden, celebrated Malaysian
and Spanish comic book artists Lat and Carlos Gimenez, gag
cartoonists Miroslav Barták of the Czech Republic, Ares
of Cuba, Roland Fiddy of Great Britain, assassinated Palestinian
political cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali, China's Liao and animation
legend Tong Zhan, and, just before his untimely death, France's flamboyant,
controversial, but almost always widely admired, Roland Topor.
We endeavor to provide a high level of coverage
and diversity in introducing the world's infinite pool of talents and their
sometimes light-hearted, sometimes heart-stopping, work of art.
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For
the Cartoonist
WittyWorld
publishes not only an array of works by some of the world's best cartoonists,
but also unique information normally difficult or impossible to find elsewhere.
There are announcements of international exhibitions, festivals, and competitions;
general cartoon news covering the world by staffers in 54 countries, and
an extensive review department dealing with animation, comics, cartoon books,
periodicals, and videos, all of which have made WittyWorld an invaluable
resource for cartoonists and publishers.
Beyond the publishing duties,WittyWorld
initiated and organized a number of projects to the benefit of the profession.
Among them have been a major worldwide survey; various exhibitions, an internationally
syndicated panel, competitions, books, assistance provided at a variety
of cartoon festivals; international conferences on three continents, and
pioneering research on the dangers cartoonists face in their jobs. Some
of WittyWorld's efforts have brought recognition by The Washington
Post, The New York Times, The European, Time Magazine,
international radio and television programs, and the White House.
We are pleased to see that WittyWorld's
wide range of activities has made a noticeable impact on the cartoon industry
in general. Cartoons are better respected today, and for the first time,
WittyWorld convinced a European national fine art gallery, housed
in a former royal palace, to mount a major exhibition of cartoon art. Effects
of the magazine's ideas, quality orientation, and even layout can be clearly
detected in various American and international newsletters and magazines,
as well as cartoon organizations and museums. WittyWorld did much
pioneering research, caught and fought against plagiarism, built a worldwide
database of over 6,000 cartoonists, introduced the works of many international
talents, advocated freedom of expression, and stood by the rights of creators
around the world.
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For
the Businessman
WittyWorld
embodies a wealth of talent and a source for ideas and enlightening information.
It is an invaluable tool in reaching a specialized market hard to find by
other means. No other cartoon magazine, print or electronic, has been so
widely read by the profession, media people, academia, and fans throughout
the United States and globally, from China to Italy, and from Israel to
Brazil.
Advertisers
have always been appreciative of the fact that, because of its comprehensive
coverage and elegance of design, issues of WittyWorld have become
and remain collector's items, thus having a virtually limitless shelf life.
Many have been bound and copies appear widely at auctions. The web site's
effectiveness, with its instant reach and wealth of information, will be
a sharply enhanced improvement over what the magazine was ever able to do.
If the printed version was subscribed to by people and various institutions
and organizations in 103 countries, one can only imagine its impact on the
internet.
When a publication is this comprehensively read,
it carries a great potential to help make things happen. Advertisers are
not the only business people who realize this. Ad agencies can find new
talents for art with specific styles. They also may get inspiration from
some cartoons they could use in campaigns. Syndicates that normally sign
up domestic talents can take a closer look at a new, expanded horizon. WittyWorld
gives book publishers and merchandisers too, an opportunity to browse for
new ideas, discover fresh talents for illustration, and develop new concepts
for production. Creative ideas can be used in almost every area of life
from film making to engineering, teaching, and political campaigns. The
potential for benefiting from what WittyWorld can offer, is, indeed,
limited only by imagination.
| Fan
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For
the Scholar
WittyWorld,
as entertaining as it is educational, treats cartooning from both research
and artistic perspectives. Many articles give in-depth treatments of the
comics profession on all six continents. They touch on issues such as censorship, "cheapening
of the comics," graffiti, literacy, and the use of comic art for social
change. Included are interviews and profiles, historical and contemporary
analysis, and critiques.
In our print and electronic publications, one of
the most popular sections is "Focus," which juxtaposes the works
of cartoonists from various countries on internationally relevant themes
such as terrorism, environment, the Third World, AIDS, peace, overpopulation,
and the Middle East.
WittyWorld
can pride itself in an impressive list of institutional subscribers including
Harvard, Cornell, Temple, Columbia Universities, the New York's School of
Visual Arts, the Annenberg School of Communications, the San Francisco Art
Institute, the National Archive of Canada, the Popular Media Association
of Tanzania, the Korean Kongju, the German Bremen, the British Kent, and
the Chinese Normal universities--proof that WittyWorld is considered
a valuable resource widely used and respected around the world.
Among its many activities, WittyWorld has
conducted a survey of international cartoonists that addresses professional,
social, political, gender, and financial issues. The survey results appeared
in a series of articles and later in a book form. One of WittyWorld's
first major undertakings was the organization of the first international
cartoonists conference and festival, held in Budapest, Hungary, in August
1990. A strong advocate of literacy, First Lady Barbara Bush commended the
festival organizers for their role in helping to educate people through
satiric art. The exhibition included over 900 pieces of original art from
72 countries.
WittyWorld
and its editors, many of them highly accomplished in their own right, have
also been responsible for organizing conferences, academic presentations,
panel discussions, exhibitions, and visual demonstrations pertaining to
cartoon/comic art in Argentina, Canada, China, Cuba, France, Hungary, India,
Ireland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Macedonia, Slovakia, South Africa, Turkey,
the former Soviet Union, and the United States.
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