It’s publication day for the Bob Eckstein edited cartoon collection, All’s Fair In Love & War, the third Ultimate Cartoon collection edited by Mr. Eckstein, published by Princeton Architectural Press. Here’s the back cover listing all the contributors (including this cartoonist):
I reached out to Mr. Eckstein today with a few questions, and he was gracious enough to respond:
Michael Maslin: All’s Fair is your third cartoon anthology.** Did you set out to do a series, or did having a series sort of snowball?
Bob Eckstein:The series snowballed but I do know something about snowballs.* The second book was considered because the first was a success for the publisher and the contributors and I were more than pleased with the job they did. Initially the first book, all about books and bookstores, was a thank you to bookstores who helped make my previously book a bestseller and they were asking for my next book. I figured they would enjoy a a book about them again but at the same time make it a love letter to the best cartoonists who had inspired and helped me become a cartoonist myself.
Left: Cartoon By Joe Duffy from All’s Fair In Love & War
The third book, this one about love, marriage and divorce, was a personal request from one of the heads at the publisher who liked the first two books and wanted a gift to give those he knew he wanted to cheer up because they were going through a painful divorce. Ultimately it was decided that we wanted to broaden the subject matter to make it less dreary and more universally enjoyed. Despite that, we added marriage cartoons in the mix.
Michael Maslin: You’ve taken the torch from Sam Gross who edited a number of great cartoon anthologies some years ago***. I know you’re friends with Sam (his work appears on the cover of two out of three Ultimate anthologies — what have you learned while hanging out with one of our cartoon gods?
Bob Eckstein:
We met when I was buying cartoons through the New Yorker CartoonBank for my first book. We were in touch and he was friendly and helpful to me and before I knew it I was invited to join him and his comrades for one of the fabled weekly lunches the cartoonists gathered at. I had a wonderful time and thought out loud I’d like to join the group again one day. Sam then dared me to try doing gag cartoons. Up until then, I had zero interest in that nor did I closely follow the magazine or its cartoons. But as a goof I did and when I showed up with a batch of ten cartoons to the Times Square offices (this was 2007), Sam then introduced me to the then Cartoon Editor, Bob Mankoff. I naively assumed everyone in attendance made up the cartoon pool and everyone sold multiple drawings (mathematically, to me, that must be the case). So I was a bit embarrassed when Mr. Mankoff bought only one, actually the first cartoon I drew for The New Yorker (I’ve been very well humbled as one can argue it’s been downhill since).
Mr. K began contributing to The New Yorker in 2014.
____________________________________________________
Video Of Interest: Emma Allen And Liana Finck
In the latest of what’s becoming a series of in-house videos (pun intended?) here’s “How to Draw Feelings”s with The New Yorker’s cartoon editor, Emma Allen, and cartoonist, Liana Finck.