Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at fashion and its faux pas. Kate Spade reportedly said, “Playing dress-up begins at age five and never truly ends.” There’s much truth in that. Fashion is undeniably part of…
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“Shark Therapy” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
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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“Crime Scene” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
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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Anatomy of a Cartoon: Cats in Cartoons
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at our feline friends. Cats are lazy, crazy, demanding, and undependable. Yet, many of us love cats. Perhaps it is their air of mystery and indifference to us—qualities we associate…
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Interview: Everyone’s a Critic editor Bob Eckstein
Bob Eckstein has been a New Yorker cartoonist since 2007. His new cartoon collection, Everyone’s A Critic, comes out Oct. 22nd and includes many of the esteemed cartoonists from CartoonStock. We talked with Bob about his journey from illustrator to writer to cartoonist and the ways he continues to bring those talents together today. How…
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