Although not created in the 1980s, the simple little Love Is… cartoons were very much still around during the decade and were loved by many. In fact they still are today! The company in its current form, celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2020, and now have being going for 55 years. Read on for the heart warming story of Love Is… Cartoons by Kim.
As well as the continuing daily cartoon in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, there have been licenced products available since. The cute illustrations have been reproduced on greetings cards, posters, stationery, t-shirts, calendars, pyjamas, playing cards, puzzles, aprons, mugs and more! The couple were also produced as plush toys in the 1980s by Kamar.
When I was a child in the 80s, I loved the cartoons. I also remember the licenced products being around, especially on stationery. I thought they were a bit naughty too, with the naked little characters, but I think it taught my early mind a bit about how love should be. The sentiment was very modern for its day. The male character was regularly shown doing nice things for the girl. In a calendar from 1976 (sadly the year Roberto died, see below) there are cartoons such as ‘Love Is… Being a help to her, instead of a hindrance’ and ‘Love is…getting up first and making her coffee’. These might seem twee and innocent today, but they inspired a generation. See gallery…
The cartoons originated in the late 1960s when cartoonist Kim Casali (was Grove) left little love notes for her future husband Roberto. Too shy to say it, she drew it instead! The notes consisted of little caricatures of herself and Roberto, with a sentimental message beside. The characters were a naked boy and girl; with Kim herself with freckles, large eyes and long fair hair, and Roberto as male figure also with large eyes but shorter dark hair. Roberto kept all of her drawings and inspired her to draw more.
In 1970 Kim and Roberto got engaged and were married in New Zealand the following year. They took their honeymoon in Tahiti along the way. They had two sons, Stefano and Dario, but in 1975 Roberto was sadly diagnosed with cancer and died the following year. Another son, Milo was born via artificial insemination in 1977. After his death Kim stopped working on the cartoons and commissioned British cartoonist Bill Asprey to continue writing and drawing them for her. He still does to this day and when Kim died in 1997, her son Stefano took over Minikim, the company which handles the intellectual rights.
Official website: https://www.loveiscartoon.com/
Bill Asprey Webite: https://www.artfulaspreycartoons.co.uk/love-is/
This blog post is written by Rachel Toy, owner of Rachel’s Vintage & Retro and creator of 80s Kids UK. I have a passion for all things 80s and regularly write blogs about this wonderful decade. I also have an 80s online shop. Why not follow 80s Kids UK on Instagram and Facebook for more updates!
