'Love Is...'.
Bill Asprey is a British newspaper cartoonist, poet and composer, often using the pen name Leon. He specializes in cute, gentle and heartwarming daily gag comics such as 'Love Is...' (1978 - ...), 'Moebius', 'Wheel Nuts', 'Only Human', 'Pooch' and 'Bees'. Scripted by Brian Lee, he created a long-running newspaper comic based on Roald Dahl's classic children's novel 'The BFG' (1986-1998). A stylistic break was Asprey's cheeky erotic humor comic 'Aphrodite'. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Asprey, as Leon, created the weekly comic 'It's All Greek!' for The People and the gag comic 'Mr. Nine Per Cent, The Loser Agent' for the music magazine Melody Maker. Bill Asprey should not be confused with British football player William "Bill" Asprey (1936), or the Belgian cartoonist Léon Van Roey (1921-1990s), who also made cartoons under the pen name "Léon".
Early life and career
Bill Asprey was born in India, but eventually settled down in London, where he had an apprenticeship in a local cartoonist studio. After working in the advertising industry, he became an independent cartoonist, often using the pseudonym Leon. Throughout his career, Asprey made designs for Bedford Brewery and Vinopolis and published cartoons in most English newspapers and magazines. Apart from The Telegraph, his cartoons appeared in Hugh Hefner's Playboy.
Mr. Nine Per Cent, The Loser Agent
In the fall of 1968, Bill Asprey - as Leon - launched a weekly gag comic in the British music magazine Melody Maker. The title was 'Mr. Nine Per Cent, The Loser Agent', a reference to a recent British comedy film at the time, 'Mister Ten Per Cent' (1967), directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring popular comedian Charlie Drake. The movie revolves around a dramatist who tries to write an extremely bad play in the hope that it will fail, so he can collect the insurance money. Unfortunately, it becomes a huge hit and a bad contract deal leaves him in an even worse financial situation than before. 'Mister Ten Per Cent’ flopped at the box office and was quickly forgotten. A year later, Mel Brooks released his cult movie 'The Producers' (1967), which coincidentally has a very similar plot and reduced Charlie Drake's movie to a mere footnote in the history books.
'Mr. Nine Per Cent, The Loser Agent' (Melody Maker, 5 October 1968).
Given that 'Mister Ten Per Cent’ wasn't a success, it is odd that the cartoonist Leon deliberately spoofed the film title in his 'Mister Nine Per Cent’ comic. Either way, the comic strip has nothing to do with the movie, except for a similarly unsuccessful businessman in the arts. 'Mister Nine Per Cent' centers on a cigar-smoking, sunglasses-wearing music agent. In each episode, he tries to promote a musical act through professional advice, press conferences or concerts. Usually something goes terribly wrong. Despite the title, Mr. Nine Percent isn't always a complete "loser agent". When confronted with unforeseen circumstances, he could still give a situation a different, positive spin.
Love Is...
In 1975, Asprey met Kim Casali, a New Zealand cartoonist, best known for her internationally successful 'Love Is...' cartoons, which debuted in 1970 in The Los Angeles Times, syndicated by Tribune Media. 'Love Is...' appeared in a daily cartoon format of just one panel, yet was technically not a "gag" cartoon. All episodes starred a miniature version of a nude man and woman in romantic situations, which, according to the author, defined the concept "love". The feature had no intention to make people laugh, just to be heartwarming. At the time, Casali's husband was terminally ill with cancer and she looked for someone to continue the feature in her place. At first, Dale Hale took the job, but his heart wasn't really into it and he quit after a year. From that moment on, Asprey took over and became the series' official artist.
In 1978, Asprey also created a weekly gag comic around 'Love Is...', which appeared in The Mail on Sunday. At the insistence of the newspaper editors, it differed from the one-panel cartoons by depicting the couple fully clothed. It featured them in actual humorous narratives with punch lines. Otherwise, not much was changed. The couple still remained devoid of any personality, except that they are a loving pair. They didn't even receive names. Casali was scriptwriter for both cartoons and helped oversee the merchandising until her death in 1997. Since then, her son Stefano Casali has taken care of the writing.
On 14 October 2014, an Asprey-drawn episode of the otherwise so innocent 'Love Is...' caused controversy when it ran in the Chicago Sun. The panel stated: "'No' means 'maybe' and 'maybe' means 'yes'." While referring to partners who love to tease, a large number of readers interpreted it as glorification of sexual harrassment and rape. In reaction to the huge and sudden outrage, the Chicago Sun instantly released a public apology for the cartoon.
'The BFG'.
The BFG
In 1986, Bill Asprey and journalist Brian Lee created a newspaper comic version of Roald Dahl's classic best-selling children's novel 'The BFG' (1986-1998), which ran in Mail on Sunday. Originally, it was a straightforward adaptation, but after a few months, the authors had told the entire story. Lee received permission from Dahl to write his own scripts, which were read and approved by the novelist afterwards. Rather than mimic Quentin Blake's original illustrations for the book, Asprey drew the Big Friendly Giant, Sophie and the other characters in his own style. After Dahl died in 1990, the comic still ran new stories for another eight years.
Aphrodite
Asprey's most adult comic series was 'Aphrodite' published around 1972 under the pseudonym "Leon" in Tit-Bits. It featured the Greek goddess of love in hedonistic gag situations on Mount Olympus. The comic also ran in the Scottish Daily Record for a while, but was banned because readers complained about the erotic atmosphere and frequent nudity. In January 1972, it ran under the title 'It's All Greek To Me' when published in The People magazine.
'Moebius'.
Other gag comics
Another gag comic by Asprey's was 'Moebius', made in collaboration with American physicist Edgar Edelsack. It stars the absent-minded professor Cranius, Robert the dog and Moebius, a character who originated from a Möbius strip (the scientific concept, not the Moebius moniker of Jean Giraud). Asprey also created the gag comic 'Wheel Nuts', starring anthropomorphic cars, and 'Only Human', an one-panel gag cartoon series about people in everyday embarrassing situations. Asprey is additionally the man behind the cute puppy dog 'Pooch' and the romantic one-panel cartoons 'Bee Lines'. He also created the comic 'Freida and Freddy', about a cat and a dog. The pets became mascots for Football for Friendship, an international organization that brings children, worldwide, together through football.
Other activities
In 1981, when Prince Charles (the later King Charles III) and Diana married, Asprey received the honor of designing a wedding souvenir for the royal couple. He is also the founder of the Internet site 'Cartoon World', which promotes cartoon art by various artists. Since November 2020, Asprey has lived in Oswestry, England.
'Pooch'.