Jonathan Shapiro (born 27 October 1958), known professionally as Zapiro, is a South African political cartoonist whose work has appeared in numerous South African publications and has been exhibited internationally. He is the nephew of British magician David Berglas and cousin to Marvin Berglas, the director of Marvin's Magic.
Jonathan was born into a Jewish family in Cape Town, South Africa to Gershon and Gaby Shapiro. An early influence was the English cartoonist Carl Giles, whose work inspired him to become a cartoonist when he was a child.
He studied architecture at the University of Cape Town but found it unsatisfying and moved to the art campus, Michaelis. Shortly after this he was conscripted into the army for two years, where he refused to carry arms. In 1983, he became active in the newly formed anti-apartheid movement, the United Democratic Front, and as a result was arrested under the Illegal Gatherings Act and, subsequently, monitored by military intelligence. Zapiro was an important participant in South Africa's End Conscription Campaign, designing its logo. After his military service he applied for and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study cartooning at the School of Visual Arts in New York for two years.
The name Zapiro was derived from the nickname of a fellow pupil at Rondebosch Boys' High School, Martin Szapiro, whose friends called him Zap. After Martin's death in a mountaineering accident, Zapiro chose this name. The first Zapiro character was named Preppy, whose main characteristic was his fringe, and who commented on issues that occurred around school.
Shapiro started out as the editorial cartoonist of South in 1987. In 1988 Jonathan was detained shortly before leaving on a Fulbright scholarship to study media arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York. There he studied under the comics masters Art Spiegelman, Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman.
Zapiro started out as the editorial cartoonist for the South newspaper in 1987, and after his stint in New York, he was the editorial cartoonist for the Sowetan from 1994 to 2005. His cartoons appeared in the Cape Argus from 1996 to 1997. He has been the editorial cartoonist for the Mail & Guardian since 1994, for the Sunday Times since 1998, and has appeared since September 2005 three times a week in the Cape Times, the Star, the Mercury, and the Pretoria News.
In 2010, Zapiro’s cartoons were featured in South African journalist Alexander Parker’s book, 50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa, about people who had contributed most to the ruination of the country’s government, culture, politics and daily life. His illustrations continued to be featured in three more books published in the series, including a revised/updated version of the first volume.
Since 2017, Zapiro has been the editorial cartoonist for the publication Daily Maverick.
Zapiro's caricatures also appear in the form of puppets on the satirical television and web show ZANEWS, a Spitting Image-type of programme he helped launch in 2009 alongside producer Thierry Cassuto.
Zapiro has published 29 annual cartoon collections:
The Devil Made Me Do It! (2000)
Dr Do-Little and the African Potato (2003)
Is There a Spin Doctor in the House? (2005)
Take Two Veg and Call Me in the Morning (2007)
The Mandela Files (2008) – Large Format Hardcover
Don't Mess with the President's Head (2009)
But Will It Stand Up in Court? (2012)
The Big Fat Gupta Wedding (2013)