Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    

>Edward Gorey, actually, another odd talent who would have fit
>in well with the New Yorker, but I don't think ever contributed
>to it.

In fact, he did. A Christmas cover in 1992:

<http://bit.ly/1zLDvDu>

There were other contributions as well, although no links I could find
quickly that aren't behind the paywall. But there were a few pieces for
The Back Page (including one published just weeks before Gorey's death),
at least one or two multi-page things I can recall, and I think some
illustrations for articles by other writers.

On the subject of favorite New Yorker cartoons - way too many for me to
decide, although one that always seemed quintessential to what the
magazine represented to me comes to mind, perhaps because it was one of
the first that really made an impression on me (along with a few
gloriously odd Charles Addams panels). The one I'm thinking of is this
Peter Arno classic:

<http://bit.ly/163ePc0>

I first saw it in the collection of cartoons from the magazine's first
quarter-century (1925-1950), which we had in our home for almost as long
as I can remember (I think my brother still has it). I probably first
saw that Arno page sometime in the late 1950s, about two decades after
it was drawn, and when I was somewhere between 5 to maybe 8 years old.
Needless to say, my grasp of politics was limited at that age, but as an
elementary-school boy with an interest in American history, I could
figure out this much:

1. Roosevelt was known for helping the poor.
2. It was clear from their dress and surroundings that these people were
rich.
3. The Trans-Lux was a movie house on the swanky Upper East Side.

And that was all I needed. Based on that much information, the cartoon
made me laugh.

Richard already knows how much I like the book, and I asked him a bunch
of questions about it on my radio show not long ago, so I'll leave the
interrogation to others.
  

    
That is an example of a topical cartoon that still stands up, where
the topicality of the caption isn't so finely focussed that it'll be
a mystery two years later. I wish I could remember some that are
guilty of that, although when I lived in Europe and was somewhat out
of touch with American culture, I saw plenty of them. 

And thanks, I didn't know Gorey had made it in. 
  

    
I only knew Gorey through KQED's Mystery intro.
  

    
Oh, my. Edward Gorey's collections, "Amphigorey" and its sequels,
contain some of the best and oddest cartoons ever. On the one hand,
while "if you like Charles Addams and Gahan Wilson, you'll love Gorey"
is true, his work is also sui generis.

Search out "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" as a starting place.
  

    
His Epiplectic Bicycle was a favorite book for our daughter when she
was learning to read. 
  

    
An interesting aside (at least to me)is: Gorey was a friend of Frank
O'Hara's since they were at Harvard.
  

    
I can still recite "A is for Alice", the Gorey alphabet.
  

    
Our kids loved the Comfy Couch and the Beastly Baby--loved!
  

    
Thanks for jumping in, Gary. I wouldn't be surprised if E. B. White
wrote that Arno cartoon. Incidentally, current TNY cartoonist
Michael Maslin is writing a biography of Arno, which I for one can't
wait to read. 

And on a similar note, I believe Mark Dery is writing a Gorey bio,
which seems a little odd since Alexander Theroux published one only
a few years ago. But Gorey is larger than life and contains
multitudes, so why not? 
  

    
Are there other publications which, for a while or (if they're not
American) still do New Yorker-like cartoons? I'm quite sure there
are some in France (and no, Charlie Hebdo doesn't really count). But
what about America's recent past?
  

    
I want Richard to answer Ed's question, but I also want to thank
both Richard and Ed for a wonderful interview and conversation.
Today is the official last day of this conversation but it will
remain open if people want to continue the conversation.

Again thank you to Richard and Ed and everyone who contributed.
  

    
I read the book. Made me want to get put my sketch pad and see how
I'd do as a cartoonist. Not like I'd do it seriously. I haven't
asked anything cause the questions all got asked.
  

    
Yes, awesome. I too am checking in late, but enjoying reading along, even if
I don't have anything to add. Thanks to da both of youse (Ed and Richard)!
  

    
Yes, thanks y'all.
  

    
Thank you for the use of the hall, Julie, and thanks to everyone who
participated.  And special thanks to Ed for his moderation skills –
although I'm pretty sure there's little that's moderate about him
elsewhere. 

Shout-out to my eons-ago OG Spin colleague Chris Carroll. 
  

    
Thanks so much for participating here. The book was a fun read, and
a reminder once again of the genius of The New Yorker. 
  

    
Coming in last to thank Richard for putting up with my moderation
skills, when I've been spending most of my days on my own book
(Inkwell interview sometime late '16, I hope) and having to shift
gears to get to his. But it's a topic near and dear to my heart, and
I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to read this and talk to
its author!
  

    
Wah. I'm late to the party but my alltime, alltime favorite NYer cartoon 
is a two-pager by Steinberg from the early fifties, showing various 
musical instruments being played with Steinberg's brilliant visual 
interpretations of how they sound (and hown the musicians look). It has a 
conductor, a pianist, a flautist, a bassist, a violinist and a cellist, a 
harpist, and a tuba player. It is supremely excellent. I used to pore over 
it as a child and luckily I found a book that includes it a few years ago 
so I can still pore over it now.

Every issue since childhood, there are one or two I don't get at all and 
one or two that make me laugh. I used to love Arno and Addams and 
Geo.Price and several others. 
  

    
It's funny, I haven't followed him closely but I really don't think
of Steinberg as a cartoonist. I mean, obviously he was, but he seemed
to be working on such a different level. Not generally about gags,
or even humor.

William Steig approached that with "The Lonely Ones," but he was often
more grounded and accessible -- I saw Steinbergs that seemed more like
abstract expressionism.
  

    
>>Are there other publications which, for a while or (if they're not
American) still do New Yorker-like cartoons? I'm quite sure there
are some in France (and no, Charlie Hebdo doesn't really count). But
what about America's recent past?

Apart from Playboy, The Wall Street Journal, and, I dunno,
Penthouse, cartoons are disappearing as fast as paper magazines
everywhere are going. I hold the hope that some wise online
publishers will pick up the baton and run with it. The form could go
in so many interesting new directions without the grid restrictions
of trad magazines. Maybe they'll become the new vinyl!
  

    
>>I really don't think of Steinberg as a cartoonist.

He didn't either, and apparently considered himself above most other
cartoonists, with the possible exception of Charles Addams. But both
Steinberg and William Steig proved beyond a doubt that cartoons,
like comics, can be art no less than any other vernacular
expression. I think Steig, who eventually drifted away from the
cartoon section, actually had a gag man's sense of humor, which I
don't think anyone could accuse Steinberg of possessing. PS: I LOVE
"The Lonely Ones."
  

    
>>my alltime, alltime favorite NYer cartoon is a two-pager by
Steinberg from the early fifties, showing various musical
instruments being played with Steinberg's brilliant visual
interpretations of how they sound (and hown the musicians look)

I don't recall this cartoon specifically, <fom>, but I know what you
mean about being able to pore over almost any Steinberg drawing and
discovering something new with each dip. He was like Picasso or Klee
in being able to make still images seem almost animated by
constantly shifting perspectives within the frame. He didn't sound
like a very nice man, however, as Deirdre Bair's biography
demonstrated. 
  

    
This is the first inkwell I've followed in a while.  Thank you.

I hope I'm not too late, but I went into my 1966 tin trunk, and
found some of the cartoons I was referring to.

The John MacGlashan was in  an English magazine called Lilliput. But
I could only find my redrawing if that cartoon in my university
magazine: I know that I cut out the original, pasted on a piece of
cardboard.

I also found a cartoon panel I made up (hanging on threads),
inspired by a JmG cartoon.

I'll upload pictures in a few minutes.
  

    <hidden>
  

    
As explained in the hidden post -- John Glashan