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 the more eccentric among us. Single-panel cartoons are executed in an astonishing range of styles; however, most share artistic conventions—such as perspective—that render the image intelligible to the reader….
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“Robber and Therapist” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
Charles Barsotti has drawn a robber on a therapist’s couch. Next to him is a huge bag of stolen money, and the therapist is sitting in a chair. The robber/patient is talking happily. There’s always a temptation when captioning a Barsotti cartoon to reference his classic drawing of a piece of pasta saying into the…
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“Cowboy” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
In Kim Warp’s drawing, a cowboy on a horse is consulting a book and addressing a fallen cowboy he’s lassoed around the ankles. I first thought about the trope—common in old westerns—of dragging a cowboy behind a horse. In Warp’s drawing, of course, the lassoed cowboy is in front of the horse. Maybe, then, the…
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Anatomy of a Cartoon: From Staid to Steed
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 how cartoons (and comedy) have changed. The generational upheaval in the late 1960s affected more than morals and politics. Stand-up comedy metamorphosed from snappy one-liners to the observational humor…
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Alex Gregory Cartoons: EXCLUSIVELY on CartoonStock.com
We’re thrilled to announce that licensing for New Yorker cartoonist Alex Gregory is now exclusively available on CartoonStock! Alex Gregory published his first cartoon in The New Yorker since 1999. A Hollywood screenwriter by day (and quite successful, he’s an Emmy winner for his work on Veep) his cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire,…
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