I’ve been a cartoonist for more than forty years and a Jew my whole life. Truth be told, I observe Judaism from afar. Religion’s not my thing. Humor is, and, in that respect, being Jewish is definitely a plus. You don’t have to be Jewish to be funny, but, hey, it doesn’t hurt. Although I…
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Recent Posts
“Office Ventriloquists” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
Robert Leighton’s cartoon is set in an office, where all but one of the employees is carrying his or her own ventriloquist’s dummy. One of these employees is saying something to a co-worker who does not have a dummy. I first thought about ventriloquists who use their dummies to make insulting or vulgar comments, a…
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“Pilloried Octopus” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
Brooke Bourgeois’s cartoon is set under the sea, where a disgruntled octopus has been put in a pillory with nine holes, one for each of his eight tentacles and one for his head. Swimming around the octopus are several fish, one of whom, in the lower-left corner of the drawing, is speaking. Here’s a pun…
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“Lyft Stork” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
In Evan Lian’s cartoon, two storks are making their deliveries. One is carrying a baby. The other has a pink mustache—a reference to the ride-sharing service Lyft—and carries a young man with a backpack on his lap. The stork with the mustache is speaking. This cartoon has three frames of reference: baby-delivering storks, the young…
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Anatomy of a Cartoon: Fairy Tales
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 fairy tale cartoons. We first hear fairy tales at an impressionable age, usually before we can read. The characters and their magical stories are part of our collective…
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