Jeremy Nguyen’s cartoon is set in a library, where cadavers—their bodies covered with sheets, their left toes tagged—are stretched out on every available surface. Two librarians, one male and one female, are looking at a cadaver that’s on a bookcase in front of a “new arrivals” sign. The female librarian is speaking. Because corpses need…
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“Library Cadavers” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
“Sheep Herding” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
A few weeks ago, we featured a Lars Kenseth cartoon that was set in an office building, where a wizard carrying a banker’s box (implying that he had just been fired or laid-off) was addressing his colleague. It therefore had two strikingly disparate frames of reference—downsizing at the workplace, and the wizard’s magical powers—and the…
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“Peter’s Rabbit” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
In Peter Kuper’s cartoon, a man on the sidewalk is looking up at a gigantic rabbit, and the rabbit is talking. Peter and I have collaborated on several cartoons, three of which have been published in The New Yorker, and we already tried collaborating on this drawing. Peter’s original caption (“I’m not invisible, and I’m…
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Cartoons are for Learning
Read any good textbooks lately? My guess is they’re probably not crowding your nightstand. Even a good textbook is not what I’d call a real page-turner. And yet, it might surprise you to know that many textbooks sort of double as cartoon anthologies, using cartoons to provide comic relief naturally while reinforcing and making memorable…
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Anatomy of a Cartoon: Outside the Box
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at unusual toons. Many cartoonists rely on cliches, that is, setups that can be relied upon because they are familiar yet durable enough to vary in almost infinite ways….
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“Curious Dog” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
In Kaamran Hafeez’s cartoon, a dog is on his hind legs and resting his front paws on a counter under a sign that reads “Information.” Behind the counter is a woman. The dog is saying something to her. Since he’s at an information booth, I assume he’s asking a question. Dogs are incredibly affectionate and…
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