The Best Funny And Witty Cartoons By John Atkinson

If you have never seen John Atkinson’s work before, you are in for a treat. John creates witty and sarcastic cartoons about a wide range of topics, such as science and literature. His cartoons are posted to his Instagram account, where he has tens of thousands of followers. The entire series is called “Wrong Hands.” What is the relationship between social media and popular culture? Do not worry, John will explain it to you.

Meet John Atkinson

Wrong Hands is a website run by cartoonist John Atkinson from Ottawa, Canada, who creates smart, humorous cartoons. It was founded by him in 2011. For two reasons, he named his blog “Wrong Hands.” First and foremost, this a play on the expression “falling into the wrong hands” – you never know how anything will be seen or interpreted.

Also, he is left-handed and uses his right hand to sketch all the cartoons on the computer. His unique cartoon style and the witty and sarcastic takes he makes regarding popular culture are what makes him stand out from the rest.

John’s inspirations

John says he has always admired Gary Larson and Roz Chast’s work, but he has also been highly influenced by a slew of other cartoonists and humorists throughout the years. His cartoons about social media and technology have been the most popular thus far.

John says, “Technology changes so rapidly — it can be quite daunting at times. I suppose that is where the technology cartoons come from: a way of slowing things down a little and grounding myself.” The wrong hand is a single-panel cartoon covering everything from anthropology and calculus to xenophobia with a bit of wordplay thrown in.

How it all started

When asked how he started his cartoonist career and how he developed his style, he said, “Well, I’ve always enjoyed drawing, so much so that I studied fine arts at University. Cartooning came much later. When my children were very young, I would doodle with them, and they got a really big kick out of it.

I guess the cartooning grew out of that. I figured if they thought it was funny, maybe other people would too. Over the years, I have slowly been honing and refining the work to develop a particular style.” His cartoon project quickly became popular.

Childhood role models

We inquired about any key influences in the cartoonist’s life that may have aided in the development and refinement of his style. He told us about his favorite childhood cartoonists that he looked up to.

“When I was young, it was most definitely Charles Schultz (Peanuts) and Gary Larson (The Far Side), but there are so many great and talented cartoonists currently working (Roz Chast, Kate Beaton, Tom Gauld) that my list could go on forever. I have always loved British humor (Blackadder, PG Wodehouse, Monty Python), which I think helped shape (warp) my sense of what I find funny.”