We’re halfway through the two weeks of a double issue (January 2 & 9, 2023), meaning no “Monday Tilley Watch” til next Monday.
The good news for cartoonists is that we’re back to submitting work this week after two weeks “off” (many of us do not stop working and continue on).
In the meantime, here’s George Booth’s fabulous January 9, 1978 cover.
And these are the cartoonists in that issue:
I had a great time looking through the issue — if only I could show you all the work. I will show you one — from the terrific Ed Arno.
Seeing Ed Arno’s drawing again, (I don’t think I’ve seen it since 1978) I began to wonder if it influenced a drawing of mine that appeared in The New Yorker a few years later in the issue of November 30, 1981:
You’ve heard me say it again and again how these issues are master classes in the art of cartooning. Pick any issue and look through and you’ll see a wide field of styles, from Nurit Karlin’s simple line drawing opposite a complex Steig piece (titled — not captioned — The Great Hue and Cry) to a graphically busy Whitney Darrow drawing of a couple in a supermarket to a quiet Jack Ziegler drawing of a fellow standing in front of the Mona Lisa. Take a look at the casual authority of this one from Al Ross:
I have a fondness for this period of the magazine; the late 1970s were my freshman years. Work by these artists (and all of the other artists in the stable of around 40 cartoonists) were studied week after week as each new issue arrived. Without thinking about it too much I took in what I liked of their work, their way of writing captions, certain elements of their styles — or even just a vibe (Addams for instance) and put it all to use in my own work.