EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 8 © 2014 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

74 John Haslam Peter Richardson examines the work of an artist whose love of technical drawing combined with a flair for cartooning has produced some of the most off the wall illustration of recent times. John Haslam is an illustrator whose work is suffused with life, energy and fun. His quirky retro style evokes memories of UPA cartoons, vintage comics, joke shops and bubble gum wrappers—in fact all the ingredients of a culturally rich childhood circa 1950s, which pretty much encapsulates Haslam’s upbringing and early influences. Born and bred in Bolton, the same town as one of his favourite illustrators Denis McLoughlin (see illustrators issue 1), he grew up surrounded by the iconography of early TV shows and comic strips, where coffee tables hosted magazines such as the Radio Times , Woman’s Own and The Sphere , all of which featured contemporary and cutting edge illustration. Not that any TOP: Turbo Dog . Created for Promethian Interactive White Boards. The agency wanted to avoid the expense of using a licenced character, so Turbo Dog was designed to fit the bill. Several characters and a couple of variations of Turbo Dog were designed for the agency. RIGHT: Wrexham County Council in north Wales approached Haslam to create a series of ‘Alien Encounter’ murals. The 8 designs were screen printed onto canvas and hung around the Waterworld pool side. FAR RIGHT: ‘Jazz’. Haslam’s homage to Gene Deitch and Jim Flora.