A cat reaching for the moon.
The design shows a silhouette of a cat on a chimney reaching out to capture the moon.
Designed as a wall print or a greetings card.
Original version created: 1998
Reference number: a891
Moon cartoons
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Galileo cartoon
Galileo cartoon.
The cartoon shows Galileo describing the discoveries that he has made about astronomy using his telescope to the pope.
Original version: 1996
This version: Sept 2020Cartoon reference number: rel014b
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Super moons are not as super as the media make out
Cartoon about the media’s distortion of the visual impact of a super moon
Super moons were unheard of in the media until the last few years. Now every time the moon gets close to the earth in its orbit the press is full of it, with misleading photographs to make the moon look huge and spectacular (taken with telephoto lenses so that the moon looks large compared to objects such as people or buildings in the distance).
Cartoon reference number: a755
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The moon as an egg (or chrysalis)
A cartoon of a butterfly hatching from the moon
The moon as an egg or a chrysalisI drew a version of this cartoon in pen and ink back in the late 1980s or early 1990s. This digital version was done in the late 1990s.
I was reminded of this cartoon while watching a recent episode of the science fiction series Dr Who, called Kill the Moon, in which the moon was a giant egg that hatched into a creature that looked a bit like a cosmic dragon.
There’s obviously nothing new under the sun (or moon).Cartoon reference number: a673
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Moon cartoons
Moon cartoons
This image is from my selection of cartoons about the moon, all available on this site.
This illustration is a variation of a cartoon of mine showing the explorer Thor Heyerdahl travelling to the moon on a balsa wood raft.
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Moon cartoon. A woman in front of the full moon, a man in front of the crescent moon
Moon cartoon.
A woman in front of the full moon, a man in front of the crescent moonThe woman looks as though she has a halo, while the man looks as though he has devil horns
This cartoon isn’t meant to imply that women are saints and men are devils – just that there are definite gender differences between male and female and that women are generally thought of as being nicer than men. There are biological reasons for that of course, but I haven’t the space to go into it here!
The cartoon refers to some extent to the supposed power of the moon to affect people’s personalities, here turning people into saints and sinners. Again, I haven’t the space to go into this here.Original version dreated: 1997
Reference number: a574
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Apollo moon mission cartoon – coffee break time
Cartoon about a coffee break during an Apollo moon mission
An Apollo astronaut and a woman with a coffee trolley.
The scene is a mock up of the lunar surface for an Apollo training exercise. Or is it?
A cartoon about NASA and the US space program
Cartoon reference number: a355
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Who was the third man to walk on the moon? Cartoon
A cartoon about the nature of fame
Who was the third man to walk on the moon?
It was Pete Conrad.
A cartoon about the transience of fame and celebrity, and the judgement of achievement.
Most people know that Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, and that Buzz Aldrin was the second.
But no-one remembers who the third man on the moon was.
Or the fourth.
The fourth man to walk on the moon was Alan Bean.
Pete Conrad and Alan Bean were the lunar landing crew of Apollo 12, the second moon mission to land on the moon.Cartoon reference number: a354
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Apollo lunar excursion module (lem) design cartoon.
Apollo lunar excursion module cartoon – so 1960s
Cartoon showing an Apollo moon mission lem (lunar excursion module) in a museum.
A person is commenting on the seemingly antiquated design, saying that it’s ‘so 1960s!’It’s a cartoon that comments on the fact that the Apollo moon missions took place in a time that is now history, although when they happened they felt like (and were) a symbol of the modern age – the space age.
In Britain the prime minister used the expression ‘the white heat of technology’ to describe the progress of the era.
It also comments on the fact that in the early 21st century we live in a design obsessed age (look at Apple products), where design is often appreciated before usefulness.I first drew this cartoon in 1999, when the 1960s weren’t so far in the past!
This is a redrawn version prompted by the death of Neil Armstrong.Cartoon reference number: a353
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Neil Armstrong dies – cartoon
The first man on the Moon, Neil Armstrong, dies
Obituary cartoon
To mark the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, this cartoon shows the Apollo landing craft coming in to land at the pearly gates of heaven.
Apollo 11 reached the moon in summer 1969. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon, followed closely by Buzz Aldrin. Who remembers who the third man to walk on the moon was? (Charles P. (Pete) Conrad, who died in 1999, aged 69, following a motorcycle accident. I don’t recall hearing about it in the news. Such is the measure of achievement).
Just for the pedantic amongst you, I know that the lunar landing craft (or lem – lunar excursion module) would have had Buzz Aldrin in it in real life rather than just Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin hasn’t yet died – but this isn’t real life, it’s a cartoon (There are no pearly gates in real life either).
I’m very pleased to say that one of the first requests to use this cartoon came from NASA. You can see it here.Drawn: 2012
Cartoon reference number: a350
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Moon cartoon – following sat-nav to the moon
From my selection of moon cartoons
Following sat-nav on the moon
A cartoon about following a sat-nav to the wrong destination – a car has been following the directions given by its sat nav system and has ended up on the moon.
This is a joke about the way that people can reach the wrong destination by unthinkingly following the directions given by their sat-navs (or any other imparter of false knowledge).Cartoon reference number: a322
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Moon cartoons
Welcome to my selection of cartoons about the moon
To see my moon cartoons please click the image on the right, or the link below
Moon cartoons.
Some of the cartoons deal with the moon scientifically, while others deal with it mythologically or spiritually (or pseudospiritually).
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A cartoon about aspiration, achievement and happiness. A “Chinese proverb” about the moon
A cartoon about aspiration, achievement and happiness.
Proverbs about the moon.This aspirational cartoon is titled “A Chinese Proverb” although I actually thought it up myself.
The saying is: “Aim at the moon and you will harpoon a fish. Aim at a fish and you will harpoon a fish. So you may as well aim at the moon.”The cartoon is suggesting that it might be a good idea to set your sights on something higher than you expect to achieve in order to achieve the lesser goal. The important thing is not to be disappointed when you don’t achieve that higher goal.
A cartoon about aspiration, drive, ambition, foresight, optimism.Cartoon drawn: 2011
Cartoon reference number: mon810
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Cartoon. A person looking through a telescope and a person looking through a microscope
Telescope cartoon
Microscope cartoon
A cartoon about our place in the universe
A person looking through a telescope and a person looking through a microscope. Both seeing the same thing
A cartoon to illustrate the fact that we as humans occupy a position in the scale of things that is part way between the really big and the really small, and that to a large extent both extremes are inaccessible to us.
I’m not implying that the really small is actually the same as the really big by the way (as in the common game of imagining that atoms are planetary systems and that our solar system is actually an atom in a more gigantic scale of reality), although it’s a fun concept
A cartoon about perception, our place in the universe, stars, bacteria, size, scale.
Cartoon reference number: mon910
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Galileo cartoon
Galileo cartoon
Galileo discussing the discoveries he made through his telescope with the church
The representative from the church (the Pope?) is thinking of hitting Galileo on the head with his telescope in order to shut him up.
The joke is that Galileo’s telescope made the discoveries and the church wants to use Galileo’s telescope to silence him
A cartoon about anti-scientific religious thinking, anti-science, suppression of knowledge, fundamentalism, religion, doctrine, the Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Galileo Galilei, pope Urban VIII.
Original version drawn: 1996
Cartoon reference: rel014
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Moon cartoons: the moon as a kite with stars as the kite’s tail
A cartoon from my selection of moon cartoons
The moon as a kite – with stars as the kite’s tail
A man flying a kiteAn illustration that would make a very nice greetings card
Drawn: 1998
Cartoon reference number: mon013
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Moon cartoons – desert island
Moon cartoon – or desert island cartoon (or spaceflight cartoon)
Moon mission or space exploration joke.
A manned space mission to the moon crash lands on earth in the ocean. The astronaut is washed up on a desert island shaped like the moonA twist on the cartoon cliche of the desert island joke.
Drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference number: mon012
Moon cartoons. Moon with electricity pylons
Moon cartoon
The moon with electricity pylons
Electricity pylons looking at the moon. The moon in the cartoon is made from metal struts like the pylons
The pylons are anthropomorphic and suggest human figures
A cartoon about anthropomorphism, surrealism.
Cartoon drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference number: mon011
Moon cartoons. A monkey reaching for the moon – or is it a banana?
Moon cartoons
A monkey reaching for the moon, or is it a banana?
An illustration or design showing a silhouette of a monkey trying to grasp the moon
The illustration is about reaching for things that are out of reach (as in reach for the stars).
It is also about the way that people interpret things to fit in with their experience and interests – hence the monkey sees the moon looking like a banana
Drawn: 2009
Cartoon reference number: mon010
A cartoon about apathy about learning and education
A child who is not interested in learning anything
Cartoon showing a boy who has no sense of wonder or curiosity about the world, and who isn’t interested in learning anything about how the world works.
The cartoon shows someone trying to impart knowledge to him about how the moon orbits the earth.
The cartoon was drawn in the 1990s, but is relevant in the 2020s due to the rise of ‘post truth’ attitudes where knowledge is not valued.
A cartoon about intellectual apathy, ignorance, dumbing down, under achievement, illiteracy, low attainment, knowledge, teaching, inspiring teachers, scientific literacy.
Cartoon reference number: uni001
Moon cartoon or art cartoon – painting a landscape painting of the moon
Moon cartoon
Art cartoon
A painter painting a landscape painting featuring the moon in the sky, while another artist paints a picture of the moon that’s a close-up of the lunar surface featuring the craters
The first artist says to the second artist “You’ve got very good eyesight”
Cartoon reference number: mon008
Jigsaw puzzle cartoon. Jigsaw puzzle of the night sky. How difficult is that?
Moon cartoon
Jigsaw cartoon
A man doing a jigsaw puzzle of the starry night sky. So far he’s only managed to put together the two pieces that make up the image of the moon.
Obviously a jigsaw puzzle of the stars in the night sky would be a very difficult jigsaw to put together
The cartoon may be interpreted as a warning about not judging tasks by how easy they seem to be at the beginning.
A cartoon illustration on the subjects of deluded optimism, futility, hubris, astrology, jigsaws
Cartoon reference number: mon006
Moon cartoon. Macdonald’s logo replaces the moon in the sky
Moon cartoon
Ronald MacDonald stealing the moon from the sky and replacing it with the MacDonald’s logo (the golden arches)
A cartoon about the spread of the fast food consumer culture and the domination of transnational companies and global corporations
Cartoon reference number: mon005
Space exploration cartoons. The space shuttle deploying a key to unlock the secrets of the universe
Space exploration cartoon
Space shuttle cartoon
The space shuttle deploying scientific instruments (a key) to unlock the secrets of the cosmos.
The keyhole in space is meant to evoke the shape of a cosmic phenomenon such as a galaxy, nebula (the Keyhole Nebula?) or perhaps the moon.
Original drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference number: mon004
Moon Cartoon. Thor Heyerdahl voyaging to the moon in a version of the Kon Tiki craft
Space exploration cartoon
Thor Heyerdahl reaching the moon in a Kon Tiki type balsa wood raft
Cartoon featuring Thor Heyerdahl voyaging to the moon in a version of the Kon Tiki craft – to prove that people may have first reached the moon that way.
Kon Tiki was the craft used by Thor Heyerdahl in 1947 in a voyage to prove that people from South America could have reached Polynesia and settled there.
Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer who was extremely famous during the 1950s (especially among schoolboys like myself).
Cartoon reference number: mon003
Moon cartoon. A couple under romantic (artificial) moonlight
Romantic moonlight cartoon
Cartoon – a courting couple or lovers looking at a romantic moon. The crescent moon is actually just a cut-out model that they’ve put on the top of a pole
A possible valentine cartoon featuring a lovers’ moon
Cartoon drawn: 2009
Cartoon reference number: mon002
Moon cartoons. Moonbeams and moon beans.
Moon cartoon
Moonbeams and moon beans. Moon beans are (fictitious) beans in a pod shaped like the crescent moon.
A cartoon perhaps about astrology, lunar myths, lunar folk law
Original version drawn: 1999
Cartoon reference number: mon001
Cat reaching for the moon – illustration
Illustration: Cat reaching for the moon
A stylised design of a cat sitting on a roof reaching for the moon
Cat sitting by a chimney at night with the moon in the sky
Drawn: 2011
Reference number: cjm003