Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at literary cartoons. Well-meaning English teachers have assigned classic plays and novels to teenaged students for generations. The archaic language and stilted social conventions, however, alienate all but the…
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“Ball-Shaped Businessman” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
First, today is my twin-daughters’ 16th birthday. Happy birthday, girls! Now, on to the commentary. In the late Charles Barsotti’s cartoon, a businessman has just been knocked off his feet by a ball-shaped doppelganger who’s happily rolling along the ground. The man who’s been knocked off his feet is speaking. This contest highlights the difference…
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“Levitating Patient” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
Carolita Johnson’s cartoon is set in a psychiatrist’s office, where the patient is being levitated above the couch by a magician. The magician is passing a hoop over the patient to show that there are no invisible strings. The psychiatrist is speaking. I first tried to reconcile the disparate elements—magic and psychiatry—by referring to a…
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Anatomy of a Cartoon: Vaccination
Cartoon critics Phil Witte and Rex Hesner look behind the gags to debate what makes a cartoon tick. This week our intrepid critics take a look at covid vaccines. They’re coming, they’re coming! No, not redcoats or Russians—vaccines, and not a moment too soon. Many Americans have already rolled up their sleeves to do their…
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“Fish Room” Caption Contest Commentary with Lawrence Wood
This contest, featuring a cartoon by Ernio Hernandez, may be the most challenging yet. I stared at the drawing for an hour, trying to figure out what was going on. There are two fish; that much I know. Though they appear to be on the outside of a fish tank—more on that in a bit—they…
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