[Stanley McMurtry] signed off from daily newspapers in December 2018 with a cartoon depicting himself being pushed reluctantly through the front gate of a home for retired cartoonists with the caption ‘Oh, come on, Mac! You’re supposed to walk happily into the sunset’ – he has yearned to return.
Last night, Mac said: ‘I found that I was sorely missing the sheer joy of drawing, and my head was still brimming with ideas.’
MAC is back!
Old cartoonists never die, and in Mac’s case they don’t fade away either.
The peerless cartoonist Stanley McMurtry – better known to millions as Mac – has picked up his magical pencil again to join The Mail on Sunday.
Edinburgh-born Mac started his career as a cartoonist on Punch magazine, following in the footsteps of his heroes William Hogarth and James Gillray. He joined the Daily Mail in 1971 and has won countless awards, including Cartoonist Of The Year seven times.
Sir Tim Rice, the West End lyricist, has said: ‘Day after day, he brightened the morning with wit and superb draughtsmanship, sometimes making a serious point, sometimes a hilarious one, often both at once.’
The Daily Mail rejoices with the news of Mac’s return.
Mac’s new work will appear in every Mail on Sunday from next week. As a taster, he has drawn one cartoon for each month of 2020 for today’s edition, all published on the next two pages.
© Stanley McMurtry
