Tom Gauld's Blog

May 4, 2026

My latest cartoon for New Scientist.

Puzzle time! Image: A stick figure stands before a complicated machine. Flames rise from part of it with containers labelled Lava, Water and Oil above. Tangled ropes lead from the containers to handles labelled A, B, and C.Caption: Professor Mulligan’s apparatus has caught fire! Should you pull rope A, B, C, or schedule a meeting with HR to discuss the professor’s increasingly deranged experiments?

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My latest cartoon for New Scientist.

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Published on May 04, 2026 05:42

May 3, 2026

My latest Guardian Books cartoon

Panel 1 A repulsive voice rises from a hole in the wilderness "Remember when books used to be fun? Before the box tickers and bean counters took over?" Panel 2 to 4 We follow the voice to an cave where an audience watches a fly/demon/monster at a lectern continue "Publishers used to take risks: Books opened portals to hell, drove readers insane, or just moaned in a horrible way! When did you last see a broadsheet review of a book by a mad monk, an evil skeleton or a hobgoblin? My new imprint will challenge the publishing industry's pro-human bias with a ceaseless stream of foul books by malevolent authors." Panel 5 The fly/demon/monster triumphantly finished "Also, we'll be doing it entirely with AI!" The ghouls of the audience shout "Boo!" "Shame!" "Disgraceful!"

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My latest Guardian Books cartoon

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Published on May 03, 2026 02:32

April 30, 2026

From my book of science cartoons ‘Physics for Cats’. Get it here: www.tomgauld.com

Image:Night, three medieval men leave a building cluttered with eccentric glassware, contraptions, equipment, books etc, one says to the others "Maybe the real gold was the friendships we made along the way!"Caption: Palchemists Underneath is the following text: from 'Physics for Cats' by Tom Gauld - order it at www.tomgauld.com

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From my book of science cartoons ‘Physics for Cats’. Get it here: www.tomgauld.com

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Published on April 30, 2026 03:38

April 28, 2026

My latest cartoon for New Scientist

Title: Artemis 2Panel 1: Moon "Hi guys!"Artemis 2"Hello Moon!"Panel 2:Moon "You're not landing"Panel 3:Artemis 2 "Just orbiting this time."Moon "Oh."Panel 4:Artemis 2, leaving "But we'll be back soon."Panel 5:Moon thinking...Panel 6:Moon, sadly "That's what they said in 1972."

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My latest cartoon for New Scientist

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Published on April 28, 2026 04:35

April 27, 2026

Almost reading the greats. My latest Guardian Books cartoon.

Title: Almost reading the greats Panel one: A figure in a bookshop holds a thick book.Caption: I select the first volume of a vast biography of an important american. I appreciate its scholarship and heft. I put it down and pick up something short and funny.Panel two: A figure in a bookshop holds a thick book.Caption: I shiver as the new translation of a russian masterpiece transports Me to the awesome silence of a wintry night on the steode with the exquisite picture on its cover. Panel Three: A figure in a bookshop holds a thick book.Caption: I am moved close to tears as I hold the complete works of a great poet and marvel at the beauty and truth that I would find if I ever got round to reading it.

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Almost reading the greats. My latest Guardian Books cartoon.

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Published on April 27, 2026 05:04

April 24, 2026

A cartoon for #IndieBookstoreDay, which is tomorrow!
Get out to your local bookstore!

Title: Specialist delivery services available from local bookshops A chart showing the services folowing this structure: G. Genre H. How To order M. Method of DeliveryG. Romance H. A trusted servant dispatched with a secret letter M. A brooding Aristocrat on a Black horseG. Murder-mystery H. A telephone call from within a locked roomM. A bookseller/ gentleman detective G. Science fictionH. A robot bearing a holographic MessageM. Teleported from an orbital data platform G. Horror H. Screams. Awful, bloodcurdling screams.M. An evil thing. Horrible beyond Comprehension G; FantasyH. Runes engraved on an enchanted Elven sword M. A postal goblin riding on a talking raven

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A cartoon for #IndieBookstoreDay, which is tomorrow!
Get out to your local bookstore!

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Published on April 24, 2026 05:08

April 23, 2026

Some drawings related to this cartoon:

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Small sketchbook doodles in black ink showing a small child, cloaked figures, an isolated house and a forest.

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A strip cartoon drawn in black ink.Two hooded figures with lamps approach a moonlit, isolated cottage.A woman answers the door.We have come for the child, says the hooded figureSo soon? she asksIt is time, says the hooded figure.The woman is distraught. We should never have got him a library card!What is done cannot be undone, says the hooded figureWe couldn’t see the harm! We just wanted him to enjoy reading! For most, it ends there, says the hooded figure, turning away and walking into the wildernessOh lord, What have I done! says the woman,the child walks past her and out into the darkness with them.Do not cry mother. I am a writer now.

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Some drawings related to this cartoon:

last panel/sketchbook doodles/original art

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Published on April 23, 2026 03:58

April 22, 2026

I designed a tote bag for www.indiebound.org.

It will be available in participating US stores* on #IndieBookstoreDay, this Saturday, April 25!

“Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different.”

*Check the site for details www.indiebound.org/independent-bookstore-day/map

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Published on April 22, 2026 06:22

April 21, 2026

My latest cartoon for New Scientist

Three cool scientists introduce their work "Our new theory has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, but we feel its depths and intricacies are best appreciated on the limited-edition vinyl release."

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My latest cartoon for New Scientist

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Published on April 21, 2026 04:44

April 19, 2026

My latest cartoon for Guardian Books

Two hooded figures with lamps approach a moonlit, isolated cottage. A woman answers the door. We have come for the child, says the hooded figure So soon? she asks It is time, says the hooded figure. The woman is distraught. We should never have got him a library card! What is done cannot be undone, says the hooded figure We couldn’t see the harm! We just wanted him to enjoy reading! For most, it ends there, says the hooded figure, turning away and walking into the wilderness Oh lord, What have I done! says the woman, the child walks past her and out into the darkness with them. Do not cry mother. I am a writer now.

ALT

My latest cartoon for Guardian Books

Tom Gauld | The Guardian

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Published on April 19, 2026 02:47

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