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For Mathrubhumi, cartoons are also a powerful medium of communication. The daily has been publishing cartoons since 1940s. Earlier, Mathrubhumi carried cartoons published by international media. But by the 1950s, Mathrubhumi started publishing cartoons sketched by its own cartoonists. Later, pocket cartoons started in the 1960s. Since then, Mathrubhumi has been publishing pocket cartoons without any break for more than four decades.
The first cartoon was published on May 9, 1954. It featured Hitler’s defeat in the second world war. The cartoonist sketched an image of Hitler who was trapped inside his autobiography ‘Mein Kampf’. The interesting cartoon was viewed in different ways by the readers. During those days, the name and details of the cartoonist were not published.
The first pocket cartoon model series was published on September 18, 1950. Muralidhar was the cartoonist who got the credit to publish the first pocket cartoon in Mathrubhumi.
In July 1951, Mathrubhumi carried a cartoon published on Sanker’s Weekly by giving credits to the magazine. The cartoon portrayed an image of Nehru who is all set to face his enemies with a stick and torch. It also carried his quote saying ‘fight against communalists is inevitable'.Later, Mathrubhumi continued to publish cartoons of Sanker’s Weekly.
On November 17, 1953, Mathrubhumi published Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s first cartoon. MV Devan’s cartoon strip ‘Aanamutta’ was first published on December 6, 1953. It was a narration of a story with 8 sketches that carried dialogues.
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In 1953, Mathrubhumi started publishing Sivaram’s pocket cartoon series ‘Kunjammaman’. It was published every Sunday on the last page till September 22, 1957.
In 1958, Mathrubhumi published a cartoon titled ‘Latha’. A cartoon strip titled ‘Membodi’ was also published in Mathrubhumi weekly during this period.
From 1961 to 73, Mathrubhumi weekly published Aravindan’s ‘Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum’ regularly.
MV Devan’s first cartoon was published on July 3, 1959. Devan’s cartoon portrayed an upset EMS who is anxiously sitting on a chair when the central government was gearing up to suspend his government. Its title ‘Anthyakalam’ also grabbed attention.
Cartoonist A.S who joined Mathrubhumi as Devan’s predecessor published his first cartoon in July 1960. His cartoon series on ‘Vimochana Samaram’ (Liberation Struggle) was published in Mathrubhumi for 13 continuous days.
The first landmark pocket cartoon in Mathrubhumi was ‘Naniyammayum Lokavum’ by Namboothiri. The first cartoon in this series was published on July 20, 1960.
On July 13, 1962, Mathrubhumi published OV Vijayan’s cartoon on the front page for the first time. It was the beginning of a new cartoon era that communicated politics, satire and concerns. When Kerala Varma’s pocket cartoon titled ‘Bharatha Darsanam’ got placed on the first page, ‘Naniyammyude Lokam’ shifted to the inner page.
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BM Gafoor, who sketched pocket cartoons for half-decade, published his first cartoon in Mathrubhumi in January 1966. He started a cartoon strip titled ‘Kuttante Lokam’ in 1975. On November 3, 1980, Mathrubhumi started publishing Gafoor’s pocket cartoon titled ‘Kunjamman’. ‘Kunjamman’ which featured some regular characters turned the major pocket cartoon in Mathrubhumi as it got published in a specific size on the first page.
Mathrubhumi started publishing ‘Kakadrishti’ by Gopikrishnan on December 6, 2003. Mathrubhumi has been publishing Gopikrishnan’s cartoons for the past 19 years.
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