Rich Sparks<\/a>, whose band, The Last Afternoons, just released their latest album, \u201cDeadfall.\u201d You should buy it, along with Sparks\u2019s cartoon collection, \u201cLove and Other Weird Things,\u201d which Roz Chast blurbed even though she says she is \u201ctrying to get out of the blurb game.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nSparks\u2019s cartoon is set in a wrestling ring, where an evil clown is facing off against his more traditionally-attired opponent. The clown is speaking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSparks\u2019s original caption\u2014<\/span>\u201c<\/b>I\u2019m the one who made Emmett Kelly so sad<\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/b>\u2014is a reference to the actor who created the sad clown character \u201cWeary Willie.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nLike Sparks, several of you had the clown trying to intimidate his opponent with trash talk, most of which involved balloon animals:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cI\u2019m going to twist you into the shape of a poodle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI twisted my last opponent into a poodle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cReady to see how balloon animals are made?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m gonna twist you into a balloon animal.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m gonna twist you like a balloon animal.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Those entries are all very similar\u2014the last two are identical except for one word\u2014but the last caption is, in my opinion, the best because it\u2019s a direct threat and the word \u201clike\u201d is punchier and therefore superior to the word \u201cinto.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThis month\u2019s best sex joke is another reference to balloon animals: <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s technically a balloon. She\u2019s still my wife.\u201d<\/i><\/b> I took a lot of heat for including that entry among my top ten, and Bob Mankoff questioned whether it even made sense. I think it does. The idea is that the clown\u2019s opponent slept with a sex doll, which is technically a balloon because one must inflate it. The clown, who is practiced in the art of making things out of balloons, created and then married the sex doll that the wrestler slept with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI hope you find that explanation satisfying. Bob did not. He suggested that <\/span>\u201cI don\u2019t care\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/b> is just the latest in a series of sex jokes I champion every month, and that the drawings we feature in our contests are now like Rorschach tests that provide unwanted insight into my perverse obsessions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSome other trash talk captions allude to the fact that evil clowns are often the stuff of bad dreams:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cI\u2019m the nightmare you won\u2019t be able to interpret.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI\u2019m your worst nightmare.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Here are two more references to the fear of clowns, a phenomenon known as coulrophobia:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cKudos to Dr. Fishbein\u2014he knows how to treat a phobia.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI was told you have a phobia.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I love the way that last entry suggests that the clown is using information about his opponent\u2019s debilitating fear of clowns to his advantage in the ring.<\/span><\/p>\nBob liked this entry\u2014<\/span>\u201cI\u2019m starting to believe this isn\u2019t Jimmy\u2019s birthday.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u2014but it doesn\u2019t match the clown\u2019s sinister expression. It would work better if the clown looked apprehensive.<\/span><\/p>\nThis caption explains why the clown appears so confident: <\/span>\u201cI ain\u2019t afraid of you. I used to do kids\u2019 birthday parties.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThis next entry transforms an ordinary statement into a fitting caption by playing on the double-meaning of the second-to-last word: <\/span>\u201cFinally, some serious competition.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nThis entry replaces the last word in a common expression with a word that ties everything in the drawing together: <\/span>\u201cThis is gonna tickle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nAnd this entry takes a common expression and twists it just a little to make it work: <\/span>\u201cIt\u2019s funny until someone gets hurt.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nFinally, we have a reference to a comedic prop that clowns often use: <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m not just made. I\u2019m honking mad.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nCongratulations to frequent contest finalist and winner PAUL NESJA, who co-hosts The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast. He won this contest with, <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m gonna twist you like a balloon animal.\u201d<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe five runners-up were:<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n- \u201cI ain\u2019t afraid of you. I used to do kids\u2019 birthday parties.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cIt\u2019s funny until someone gets hurt.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cFinally, some serious competition.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cI was told you have a phobia.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n
- \u201cThis is gonna tickle.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Watch the Judging Process<\/h3>\n
We recorded the deliberations with Rich Sparks and you can find it below<\/p>\n
![\"CartoonStock](\"https:\/\/www.cartoonstock.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/smallparks_finals.jpg\")
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