Helene De Klerk Book order

Reg Smythe was the first British cartoonist to break into the American market. His world famous character, Andy Capp, was his "dancing bear." The character that attracted attention and left Reg free of the burden of recognition and fame. This story charts his impoverished childhood and formative relationships through to international recognition and his last years as a semi recluse in the North of England. The story gives an insight into the man behind the cartoon, linking childhood and adult experiences to the development of the strip's main characters, describing how he worked and what fame meant to him - often in his own words.

This is the story of Reg Smythe, creator of the world famous Andy Capp cartoon by his niece and former journalist Hlne de Klerk. Reg was the first British cartoonist to break into the American market and the first one to offer what journalist Paul Slade called a brutal kitchen sink realism. The story charts his impoverished childhood and formative relationships through to international recognition and his last years as a semi recluse in the North of England. The memoir gives an insight into the man behind the cartoon, linking childhood and adult experiences to the development of the cartoon s characters, describing how he worked and what fame meant to him often in his own words, and featuring his early work and many never before seen cartoons.