Mail & Guardian reporter
Hansie Cronje’s revelation of supporting bribery and corruption have shaken more than just the cricket establishment. The normally languid world of satirical cartooning also received a jolt on Tuesday as the Madam & Eve creative trio was putting the final touches to this week’s Mail & Guardian cartoon. The cartoon’s basic tenor- “hey, give him a break, don’t jump to conclusions about Hansie” – become less appropriate as the full import of Cronje’s confession broke.
“We work to very tight deadlines,” Stephen Francis, co-creator of the strip revealed. “Tuesday afternoon, 3pm, is the normal cut-off time for the weekly strip to be fully pencilled. That means it has to be written, plotted out, drawn – in fact 90% ready to go. The finished cartoon itself has to be with the M&G, fully inked, by Wednesday afternoon.” At 3pm on Tuesday, just as Rico, who draws Madam & Eve, had finished pencilling the cartoon, he turned on the radio. At 3.05 pm, Rico dryly commented to his partners: “@#(((!!@%$!!Hansie.”
The struggle to come up with a new idea was then on. Harry Dugmore, co-creator of the strip, recalled “We had to decide – did we go for another take on Cronje, or did we make a quick switch to another topic, like Robert Mugabe? We finally settled on Cronje, mostly because of the incredible import of what he has done.”
Some new Cronje ideas were needed – fast. “I was chatting to a friend, who reminded me that Cronje occasionally gave motivational speeches – kind of like Mike Lipkin stuff, but with the sporting twist,” Francis said. “We thought, what if despite the scandal, Hansiedecided to continue on the speaking circuit. He’d certainly get big crowds, but the meaning of what he was saying might take on a whole new gloss.”
And thus was born this week’s emergency replacement cartoon (on page 30). Artist Rico had to work through the night, pausing only to call his partner’s answering machines to leave the message “@#$%*@#! Hansie” at regular intervals. The new cartoon was delivered, on time, to the M&G offices on Wednesday.
For those who still have a soft spot for Hansie, frames of the first cartoon – about what might really have happened in that infamous telephone call in India – are reproduced here in their rough, but final, pencil form.
See www.mg.co.za for daily M&G cartoons, and the Madam & Eve complete archive