Caption Contest Commentary

In Chris Weyant’s drawing, a man is showing off to his friend or neighbor an upright vacuum cleaner that’s on the mantle above the fireplace. After a loved one is cremated, some people put the ashes in an urn and display it on the mantle. Because vacuum cleaners also hold ashes, I thought of the…
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In Bob Eckstein’s Halloween-themed cartoon, a woman dressed as a witch is holding a bowl of candy and saying something to a child dressed as the Capitol. A couple pieces of candy have fallen out of the bowl, perhaps to indicate that the woman was truly startled. To the left of the kid dressed as…
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I was twelve years old in 1974, when I first saw a paperback copy of “Jaws.”  On the front cover a great white shark rose from the depths toward a naked woman swimming on the surface.  And there, together, were my two greatest fears: sharks and naked women. My fear of naked women was complicated—it…
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In Pat Byrnes’ crime scene, a detective is looking at the chalk outline of a dismembered body and saying something to a uniformed officer. My first idea was to have the detective state the obvious: “I suspect foul play.” “I’m ruling out suicide.” Then, because the six body parts look like puzzle pieces, I considered…
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“Rapid Fire,” a 1992 action film starring Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon, is not a great movie—the late film critic, Gene Siskel, declared it a disaster—but Powers Booth has one great scene in it. He plays Lieutenant Mace Ryan. While bowling with his colleagues he tries to get a spare and leaves just one pin standing….
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In P.C. Vey’s drawing—which is bizarre even by his standards—a man is walking his dog near a fire-hydrant with legs. The fire hydrant is on the move, and man is talking. I first had the man suggesting to the dog an easier alternative to the moving hydrant: “Let’s look for a nice, stationary tree.” I…
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