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Barbara Shermund's Open Door Policy
The eBay description for this original cartoon art by Barbara Shermund has two pieces of information regarding its publication. First the listing states that this is a New Yorker cartoon. Second it...
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Barbara Shermund's Wedding Plans
A 1940 cartoon by Barbara Shermund from Collier's inquires whether it's ever too soon to begin to plan a wedding. The gag shows us the sort of independent-minded woman that Shermund was so skilled at...
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Helen E. Hokinson Strikes a Balance
Helen E. Hokinson's delightful cartoons reflect a bygone patrician age. Here one of her plump, well-to-do matrons reveals a surprising insecurity.Helen E. Hokinson, "I never realized it was going to...
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Helen E. Hokinsons for the Flit
Today the advertising campaign for Flit insecticide is remembered mostly for the fanciful artwork of Dr. Seuss and the effective tag line "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" At first bite, Helen E. Hokinson, who...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #419
Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #419 for March 17, 2014. The medical cartoon is by P. C. Vey but the diagnosis is all mine."Good news! Â Guess what your health insurance...
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Seth: A Funny Dream
Canadian artist Seth--why Seth? If I had an alliterative name like Gregory Gallant, I wouldn't call myself Seth. All right, sorry for the early digression.Canadian artist Seth produced this original...
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Ivan Brunetti: When Things Were Better
Last year, Ivan Brunetti sold his original comic strip artwork for the New Yorker on eBay. The artwork was altered in Photoshop prior to publication. The proceeds from the sale were put toward the...
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Hal Foster's Prince Valiant: Preparations for Escape are Interrupted
This weekly comic page of Hal Foster'sPrince Valiant presents the artist with the challenge of depicting great depth convincingly. He pulls it off well. Prince Valiant's comic pages are often gorgeous,...
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The Ruin of the Spirit
"Pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." That's what my fortune says. Tell it to Lewis Carroll. Tell it to Mr. Spock. Actually, the fortune cookie is quoting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry without...
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A Chon Day Brother Sebastian Sketch
Pity Brother Sebastian. His hood and tonsure are so essential to our recognizing him that cartoonist Chon Day frequently drew him from behind. Here's an original sketch of Brother Sebastian that was...
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Saul Steinberg: Wedding Document
From the Bliss Collection comes this very official-looking Wedding Document by Saul Steinberg. Steinberg dated this October 15, 1966. As with any Steinberg document, the writing, the signatures, and...
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MoCCA Arts Fest 2014
The 2014 MoCCA Arts Fest is right around the corner, coming to New York City on April 5th and 6th. The 2012 Festival was the first comic art convention I ever attended, and I had a surprisingly good...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #420
If it please the Court, I present my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #420 for March 24, 2014. The dynamic cartoon is by Drew Dernavich. The sedentary caption is by me."I miss the old...
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Blog Post No. 1100: The Power of Google
January 7, 2012 was the very first date this blog received 1,000 page views. It turns out that day was the centennial of Charles Addams, the creator of the Addams Family and many great and ghoulish...
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Bernard Schoenbaum: The Baseball Stats
Cartoonist Bernard Schoenbaum sees to it that the baseball stats are dutifully recorded. This rough cartoon was probably submitted to the New Yorker. It is most likely unpublished anywhere.Bernard...
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James Stevenson: Manager's Warm-Up
One year ago on eBay, this cartoon rough by James Stevenson was sold. It is in all likelihood an unpublished gag. We're all familiar with how baseball players warm up, but what of the managers?James...
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Peter Arno: The Market for Ball Players
You may have noticed that the 2014 baseball season has begun. Way back in 1947, Peter Arno explained the market for baseball players with this clever New Yorker cartoon.Peter Arno, "Sometimes we sell...
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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #421--Almost
The unthinkable has happened. I neglected to submit my caption this week owing to a herd of rhinoceroses occupying my local internet cafe. Here then is my intended entry in the New Yorker Cartoon...
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Leonard Weisgard: How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
In December, ten illustrations by Leonard Weisgard for Rudyard Kipling's "How the Rhinoceros Got his Skin" along with a related production archive sold for $4,000. The tale is one of Kipling's Just So...
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A Year of Captioning
Today, April 4, marks the first anniversary of my entering a cartoon caption contest. It all began rather inauspiciously with Danny Shanahan's drawing of a pig sommelier, a cartoon to be captioned on...
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