In the tumultuous 1970s, as Queensland groaned under the oppressive thumb of Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a scruffy band of radicals, cartoonists, and writers spawned a satirical magazine from the febrile underground of Brisbane. It was christened the Cane Toad Times (CTT), an irreverent rag that gleefully skewered the absurdities of the era. After a riotous 13-year run, the warty provocateurs went into hibernation in 1990. Now, 34 years later, they’ve been jolted back to life — but can their caustic wit survive in today’s hypersensitive, post-truth world?
The Toad Awakens in the “End Times”
The CTT collective, a bit grayer and more wrinkled but no less irreverent, has assembled to unleash their “End Times” edition upon an unsuspecting populace. Fueled by the absurdities of the modern age — rampant misinformation, corporate greed, looming climate catastrophe — they’ve emerged from their long slumber with a renewed sense of purpose.
“Mostly it’s a commentary on the ludicrous, the age of misinformation and disinformation, the climate crises, corporate greed, the post-truth world and the many, many things that we as young activists thought we would have fixed by now,” says Deborah Brown, a CTT veteran turned philosophy professor. “Like gender equality and racism and so on.”
The Power of Ridicule
In its heyday, the CTT was a vital outlet for budding writers and artists to hone their craft. As co-founder Stephen Stockwell recalls, “It was a pretty positive environment to get your work out into the public eye.” But it was also a potent weapon against the oppressive forces of the day.
“Ridicule is very powerful against oppressive forces.”
– Deborah Brown, CTT contributor and philosophy professor
The reborn CTT wields that weapon with gusto, taking aim at everything from academic pomposity to the dizzying absurdities of the post-truth era. Armed with AI-powered art generators, they’ve conjured a horde of mutant, fire-breathing toads to serve as apocalyptic harbingers.
New Toads, Old Tricks
The revived CTT is a multigenerational affair, blending old stalwarts with fresh blood. Stockwell tracked down CTT alumni scattered across the globe, like illustrator Lisa Smith, now based in Berlin. But he’s equally enthused about the new generation of “keen young things” who’ve hopped aboard, like cartoonists Jack Daly and Mic Smith.
“Jack Daly’s done a couple of strips about ‘The Enlightened Centrist’,” Stockwell notes with a chuckle. “And Mic Smith has these wacky ibis characters getting into all kinds of shenanigans.” It’s a continuation of the CTT’s legacy of nurturing new talent while tweaking the nose of authority.
Embracing the Physical
In an age where online snark and memes dominate, the CTT is stubbornly analog. Stockwell and crew are committed to producing a physical magazine to capture “the joys” of print.
“It looks great on the eye and has its own distinctive smell. Those are the sorts of things you don’t get on the internet.”
– Stephen Stockwell, CTT co-founder
Will the reanimated Cane Toad Times find an audience in a radically transformed media landscape? Can its barbed satire pierce the cacophony of online outrage? The grizzled veterans of the CTT are eager to find out. As they revel in the joys of their rekindled iconoclasm, their journey promises, if nothing else, to be a wild and warty ride.
