Toby Morris (cartoonist) explained

Toby Morris
Birth Place:New Zealand
Nationality:New Zealander
Area:Cartoonist, Illustrator
Cartoonist:true
Artist:true
Alias:XTOTL
Notable Works:On A Plate, The Day The Costumes Stuck
Nonus:true

Toby Morris (born 1980) is a New Zealand cartoonist, comics artist, illustrator and writer, best known for non-fiction online comics that often highlight social issues.

His work has reached worldwide audiences. On A Plate is an online comic Morris created to explain privilege by contrasting the lives from infancy to adulthood of two imaginary people: one wealthy, the other poor. It was shared globally and has been translated into several other languages.[1] [2] Animated graphics created in collaboration with Siouxsie Wiles for The Spinoffs coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic were similarly widely shared and translated. In 2022 Morris won the Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize.

Life

Morris has attributed his love of comics to his family having moved frequently for his father's army career. He started making his own comics at the age of seven, during an extended break from school caused by a broken leg.[3]

After unsuccessfully applying to study design at Massey University, Morris did a BA in English literature and political science at Victoria University of Wellington. During that time his comics were published in the magazine of Victoria University's students' association, Salient, and he worked for Salient in 2002.[4]

During his early twenties, Morris played bass for Wellington band Batrider and moved to Melbourne with them. He later got hearing aids and was relieved to learn that his hearing loss was hereditary and not due to loud music. After leaving the band he relocated to Amsterdam with his wife, freelance photographer Sonya Nagels. They had their first child in Amsterdam and later returned to New Zealand.[5] [6]

Morris lives in Auckland with Nagels and their two sons.

Work

Morris's comic On A Plate was part of his series of non-fiction comics The Pencilsword, published by Radio New Zealand (RNZ) on its website The Wireless.

Since moving on from RNZ, Morris has been creating non-fiction comics for online magazine The Spinoff, including a series titled The Side Eye. The Spinoff has also published a web series Two Sketches in which Morris interviews another illustrator while they each complete a drawing. Interviewees for Two Sketches included Sharon Murdoch and Metiria Turei.[7] [8]

He has published several books, including two collections of his cartoons depicting daily life: Alledaags: A Year in Amsterdam and Don't Puke On Your Dad: A Year In The Life of A New Father; and two children's books: Capsicum, Capsi Go and The Day The Costumes Stuck. The latter was nominated for the Russell Clark Award for Illustration in the 2017 NZ Book Awards.

Morris was the illustrator of a special edition of the School Journal focused on Te Tiriti O Waitangi, which was supplied to schools in 2018.[9] A book version of the School Journal work was subsequently made available for purchase by the general public, and sold well.[10] [11] The latter was nominated for the Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction in the 2020 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults, and also for the Scholastic New Zealand Award for Best Children’s Book in the Publishers Association of New Zealand Book Design Awards 2020.[12]

Flatten the Curve, a slightly animated comic that Morris created in 2020 with Siouxsie Wiles for The Spinoff to describe how simple citizen actions could vastly reduce the death toll, went viral during the Coronavirus disease 2019 viral pandemic and was seen worldwide (including in Wikipedia). Called "the defining chart of the Coronavirus", it was based on earlier graphics by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rosamund Pearce of The Economist, and Thomas Jefferson University professor Drew Harris.[13] [14] [15] The World Health Organization (WHO) hired The Spinoff to deliver content in support of the global effort to combat the pandemic, after WHO's communications director encountered some of the work Morris and Wiles had produced. Morris was creative director for the WHO contract,[16] and went on to become the creative director of The Spinoff.[17]

Siouxsie Wiles has credited Morris for his part in the work that contributed to her being named New Zealander of the Year for 2021.

Awards

In May 2022 Morris was selected as the winner of the 2021 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize.[18]

Newspaper Publishers' Association awards

The New Zealand News Publishers' Association awards are given out annually under varying brand names and Morris has been a nominee or recipient since 2016.

Canon Media Awards

Voyager Media Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Reading between the lines: Cartoonist Toby Morris. French. Ricky. 22 May 2017. Bauer Media Group. en. Originally published in the September 2016 issue of North & South magazine. 27 January 2019.
  2. News: Kiwi cartoonists on what mattered in 2018. Bruce. Greg. 15 December 2018. The New Zealand Herald. 27 January 2019. en-NZ. 1170-0777.
  3. Web site: Spell binders: How Juliette MacIver, Toby Morris, Mary-anne Scott and Lisala Halapua write their acclaimed children's books. Monk. Felicity. Page. Emma. 9 July 2017. Stuff. en. 27 January 2019.
  4. Web site: All things being equal (or not) that is the question. Wastney. Melissa. 21 March 2013. NewsWire.co.nz. en-US. 27 January 2019.
  5. Web site: 22 March 2018. 'People with hearing aids – that wasn't me'. 14 August 2021. RNZ. en-nz.
  6. Web site: Cartoonist Toby Morris on being a dad and coming home. Simpson. Emily. 31 August 2016. Stuff. en. 27 January 2019.
  7. Web site: Toby Morris: Drawing talk and the power of the pen. 21 April 2019. RNZ. en-nz. Radio interview. Interviewed by Noelle McCarthy. 12 May 2019.
  8. Web site: Watch: Metiria Turei opens up on a life in politics, art and activism in Two Sketches. 6 August 2019. The Spinoff. 5 October 2019.
  9. Web site: School Journal teams up with Toby Morris to create graphic novel about the Treaty of Waitangi. 4 August 2018. Stuff. en. 27 January 2019.
  10. October 2019. Little. Paul. The books that are making us laugh, cry and reflect. North & South (New Zealand magazine). 20 December 2019.
  11. Web site: Māori book sales in te wiki o te reo Māori suggest Kiwis increasingly eager to learn te reo. Desmarais. Felix. 25 September 2019. Stuff. en. 20 December 2019.
  12. Web site: McKirdy. Aaron. 20 October 2020. 2020 PANZ Book Design Awards: What takes a book from good to great?. 10 May 2021. Kete Books. en-NZ.
  13. News: Covid-19: All arrivals to NZ must self-isolate for 14 days. Here's what you need to know . The Spinoff . 14 March 2020 . Toby Manhire . (NZ Prime Minister) Jacinda Ardern with a print-out of the Spinoff 'Flatten the Curve' visual by Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images).
  14. News: What is 'flatten the curve'? The chart that shows how critical it is for everyone to fight coronavirus spread. . . 11 March 2020 . Denise Chow . Jason Abbruzzese.
  15. News: The story behind 'flatten the curve,' the defining chart of the coronavirus . . 13 March 2020 . Mark Wilson.
  16. Web site: Edmunds. Susan. 20 June 2020. How a Kiwi media company became the World Health Organisation's latest Covid-19 weapon. 22 July 2020. Stuff. en.
  17. Web site: Greive. Duncan. 1 April 2021. How Siouxsie Wiles became 'the Covid lady', then New Zealander of the year. 10 May 2021. The Spinoff.
  18. Web site: 2021 TE PUIAKI WHAKAPĀ PŪTAIAO SCIENCE COMMUNICATION PRIZE The Prime Minister's Science Prizes . 2022-05-31 . en-NZ.
  19. Web site: 23 May 2016. Canon Media Awards 2016: winners, losers, drunks, takeovers, new players and golden gods. 10 May 2021. stoppress.co.nz. en-US.
  20. Web site: 22 May 2017. Canon Media Awards: the Weekend Herald claims glory for 2017. 10 May 2021. stoppress.co.nz. en-US.
  21. Web site: Spinoff. The. 12 May 2018. Exclusive: The Spinoff wins everything at Voyager Media Awards 2018. 10 May 2021. The Spinoff.
  22. News: 18 May 2019. Newshub's Tova O'Brien named NZ's best political journalist at Voyager Media Awards. en. Newshub. 10 May 2021.
  23. News: 22 May 2020. TVNZ wins big at annual Voyager Media Awards. en-NZ. TVNZ. 10 May 2021.
  24. Web site: 24 May 2020. 2020 Voyager Media Awards Announced News Publishers' Association. 10 May 2021. NPA News Publishers' Association. en-NZ.
  25. Web site: 28 May 2021. Newsroom wins five national media awards. 14 August 2021. Newsroom. en-AU.
  26. Web site: 2021 Winners. 14 August 2021. NPA News Publishers' Association. en-NZ.
  27. Web site: McGregor . Catherine . 2022-05-27 . Spinoff scores multiple Voyager Media Awards nominations . 2023-05-31 . The Spinoff . en.
  28. Web site: Spinoff . The . 2023-04-14 . Weird: The Spinoff only outlet nominated for Voyager Media Awards . 2023-05-31 . The Spinoff . en.

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