Darryl Cunningham (born 1960) is a British author and cartoonist who has written the books ''Science Tales'' (also known, in the US, as ''How to Fake a Moon Landing''), ''Psychiatric Tales'', ''The Age of Selfishness'' and ''Billionaires: The Lives of the Rich and Powerful''.
Biography
Cunningham graduated from
Leeds College of Art
Leeds Arts University is a specialist arts further and higher education institution, based in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a main campus opposite the University of Leeds.
History
It was founded in 1846 as the Leeds Scho ...
in
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
, West Yorkshire. He has stated that his influences include
Gustav Klimt,
Egon Schiele, and
George Grosz.
[ The book ''Psychiatric Tales'' was partly inspired by Cunningham's years spent working as a health care assistant on an acute psychiatric ward in his native England, as well as his own experience with acute depression.
]
Books
Cunningham's books include ''Psychiatric Tales'' (2010, Blank Slate Books
Blank Slate Books (BSB) is a publishing company based in the UK. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections, with an emphasis on new work by British artists and translated work by European artists. The book ...
) and ''Science Tales'' (2013, Myriad Editions
Myriad Editions is an independent UK publishing house based in Brighton and Hove, specialising in topical atlases, graphic non-fiction and original fiction, whose output also encompasses graphic novels that span a variety of genres, including me ...
). The foreword for the American edition of ''Science Tales'', entitled ''How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exploring the Myths of Science Denial'', was written by Andrew Revkin
Andrew C. Revkin is an American science and environmental journalist, author and educator. He has written on a wide range of subjects including destruction of the Amazon rain forest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, sustainable development, climate chan ...
.
''Psychiatric Tales'' received a positive review in ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' from Rachel Cooke
Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer.
Early life
Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer.
She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...
, who wrote that it was "an unsettling but rewarding experience." Cian O'Luanaigh also reviewed the book favourably, writing that it provides "an enlightening look at mental illness."
''Science Tales'' also received critical acclaim, for instance from ''New Scientist
''New Scientist'' is a magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publish ...
'', who wrote that Cunningham's "charming artwork complements his concise arguments". The book was also called "fantastic" by Cory Doctorow
Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog '' Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...
, who wrote that Cunningham "has a real gift for making complex subjects simple."
''Billionaires'' describes the lives and influence of Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...
, Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
, and the Koch brothers
The Koch family ( ) is an American family engaged in business, best known for their political activities and their control of Koch Industries, the 2nd largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2019 revenues of $115 billion). ...
.
Cartoons and comics
In addition to his books, Cunningham is well known for his cartoons, which have appeared on the website of Forbidden Planet
''Forbidden Planet'' is a 1956 American science fiction film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, produced by Nicholas Nayfack, and directed by Fred M. Wilcox from a script by Cyril Hume that was based on an original film story by Allen Adler and Irvi ...
, and have also been featured in the Act-i-vate collective.io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
, and his strip about global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
, posted on his blog in December 2010, has been featured on Phil Plait
Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objec ...
's blog Bad Astronomy, with Plait saying that Cunningham is "careful to present the facts, and to be balanced where called for." He has also created several webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be c ...
strips, including ''Super-Sam and John-of-the-Night'' and ''The Streets of San Diablo''.
References
External links
darryl-cunningham.blogspot.co.uk
— Cunningham's blog
British cartoonists
1960 births
Living people
British writers
People from Keighley
British sceptics
{{UK-cartoonist-stub