Caption Contest Commentary

Sarah Morrissette’s cartoon is set in heaven, where St. Peter is standing at the Pearly Gates. Open in front of him is a book containing the names of the deceased, and he’s addressing a caveman holding a club in his right hand. My first caption acknowledges the difficulty of looking up a caveman’s name: “Spell…
Continue Reading…

In Shannon Wheeler’s cartoon, an ape and his son hold hands while looking at a giant unpeeled banana. The father is speaking. I first thought the banana could serve multiple purposes: “And when I die you can bury me in it.” I then thought of the advice given to people who are trying to lose…
Continue Reading…

Mick Stevens’ cartoon is set in a room where a caveman and a cavewoman sit on the floor watching a small fire. The door to the room is closed. The woman is smiling and speaking. My first caption highlights the risk of indoor flames: “Now try inventing a smoke alarm.” My final two captions refer…
Continue Reading…

Liam Walsh’s cartoon is set in a bar, where a bespectacled man—presumably the father of the toddler who’s strapped to his back—is about to have a fistfight with another man. The father’s left hand is balled into a fist, and he’s pointing his right index finger at the other man, who’s assumed the fighting stance….
Continue Reading…

In Drew Dernavich’s cartoon, a young couple stands over a crib. Someone, presumably their baby, has been drawing tally marks on the wall next to the crib. The father is speaking. Convicts mark the passage of time by scratching tally marks on the walls of their prison cells, so all my captions draw a connection…
Continue Reading…

Liam Walsh’s cartoon is set in the Arctic, where one polar bear is standing in judgment of another who’s sitting on the edge of a melting ice floe and dangling his feet in the water while trying to enjoy a cigarette. The smoking bear, who looks annoyed, has turned his head to say something to…
Continue Reading…