Call Mr. Delivery: Cartoons from Sowetan, Mail & guardian, and Sunday times

by Zapiro

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1999

About the author

Jonathan Shapiro, born 1958 in Cape Town, is a South African cartoonist, famous as Zapiro, whose work appears in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally on many occasions. He is the nephew of British magician David Berglas and cousin to Marvin Berglas director of Marvin's Magic.

Reviews

[Coenraad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zapiro remains one of the most important and influential people in our (the South African) democracy. In this collection, ranging from 6 September 1998 to 17 September 1999, he reflects on the last months of Nelson Mandela's presidency and the start of Thabo Mbeki's time as president. His main focus, as political cartoonist, remains the shenanigans from politicians and others related to the political process: the final publication of the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, preparation for the 1999 election (where the lacklustre interest of voters is strongly satirised), the scramble amongst the opposition parties, and corruption in several national and provincial government institutions. Sometimes he turns his sardonic eye on sports (the swimmer Penny Heyns set 11 new world records within three months - Zapiro wonders about the effect on her sponsor) or the economy (the new Reserve Bank president, Tito Mboweni, is seen taking the springbok / rand for a walk). More seriously, he comments unambiguously on social violence and crime, about international organisations responding differently to similar crises in different parts of the world, and insensitive Ministers of Health. He even puts himself in the picture: his joy when Louis Luyt forms a political party, and his sense of being useless when reality proves to be more bizarre than anything he can make up. Even worse: when the headlines of crime, violence and corruption make it impossible for him to find any amusing angle to depict. His collections of cartoons should be bought and kept and read and reread: they form a priceless part of the recording of our recent history, and will provide useful (albeit irreverent) insight and comment to future students of this period. Zapiro has drawn himself into South Africa's collected consciousness (like Pieter Dirk Uys / Evita Bezuidenhout) and is as such a national treasure.

Zapiro se snydend fyn spot met politieke, sosiale en ekonomiese aspekte van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing is reeds klassiek en maak hom 'n bate in die nasionale gesprek wat, juis weens sy sketpsinnige benutting van humor én pynlike erns, nie geïgnoreer kan word nie. Hierdie boek met spotprente van tussen 6 September 1998 en 17 September 1999 is so waardevol vir toekomstige studente van hierdie tydperk as enige ander geskrif wat hierdie geskiedenis opteken.