Steve Bell (born February 26, 1951) is an English political cartoonist, whose work appears in The Guardian and other places. He is known for his left-wing views and skilled caricatures.

Born in London, Bell trained as an artist at the University of Leeds and was briefly an art teacher in Birmingham before becoming a freelance cartoonist in 1977. His comic strip Maggie's Farm appeared in the London listings magazines Time Out from 1979 and later in City Limits . In 1981 he started contributing a daily strip called If... to The Guardian. Since the mid-1990s he has also been that newspaper's principal editorial cartoonist. He has won many awards for his cartooning, including both the political and strip cartoon categories at the Cartoon Arts Trust awards in 1997.

Many collections of his cartoons have been published, and he has also illustrated original books in collaboration with several authors. He has made short animated films in collaboration with Bob Godfrey , and a radio programme about the life of 18th century caricaturist James Gillray. He has also drawn the Gremlins comic strip for the British comic Jackpot.

In 2003, he was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.

His style has often been held up as being superior to that of other cartoonists (especially in the ongoing Bell vs Garry Trudeau (and therefore If... vs Doonesbury) debate which exists mainly because both strips are carried by the Guardian next to each other), for its juxtaposition of, at times, complete and total toilet humour with high art: Bell is fond of lampooning famous works such as Goya's The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters (in an editorial cartoon about the UK Independence Party).

External link

• Guardian cartoons by Steve Bell
• Interviewing Robert Crumb, 2005