Culture

Just A Reminder That Leunig Has A Sister Who Is Also A Cartoonist And Heaps Better Than Him

She drew a picture of her shooting her brother.

by Joseph Earp  24 October 2019
Mary Leunig

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There’s a Leunig back in the news. But unfortunately for the general public, it’s not the good one, Mary, but the anti-vaxxer, Michael.

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Bad News, Leunig Has Made Another Cursed Boomer Cartoon, And People Are Angry

Despite being something of an icon, Michael has a habit of glancing up against contemporary issues with all the grace of four bears taped together trying to make it through a glasswares shop. His work, beloved by boomers everywhere, is not known for its tact, and when he deigns to wade into contemporary affairs, it’s usually in a way that pisses off pretty much everyone.

Hence his newest time in the media spotlight, a fracas prompted by his very strange, very middle-aged take on mothers using mobile phones while pushing prams. Never mind that the entire planet is dying, evil politicians are in power across the world, and everyone’s trying to suppress the rising realisation that nothing means anything. Michael Leunig reckons that women shouldn’t use phones so much.

It’s a slog. But a slog that can easily be remedied by spending time with his sister, Mary Leunig.

See, while her brother crafts vaguely sociopolitical doodles with uplifting, somewhat twee messages, Mary is a fan of blood, guts and shit.

Her comics are stridently political, albeit in the most unsubtle way. Her work is a kind of reckoning against the straight white men in suits who are fucking the planet into chaos, and it has all of the power of a curse.

Unlike Michael’s work, Mary’s shows a sensitivity to the way people really live. The self-described reclusive artist knows that existence is tough. Her work is dedicated lovingly to the struggle of just getting by, and she elevates the act of keeping the house clean to the work of saints. Her heroes aren’t the warble-faced martyrs of Michael’s work. They are ordinary people, trying their hardest to live well in a world run by bastards.

Better still, Mary is firmly anti-capitalist. She’s reluctant to sell prints of her work, or to part with originals. In a rare ABC interview, she revealed that when a fan got in touch asking to buy a work, she insisted on giving them one for free. In response, they sent her some salami.

Oh, and lest we forget, Mary is also the creator of the final word on the legacy of her brother — a cartoon where she shoots him square in the bum.

Wonderful.