Synopses & Reviews
Available for the first time to
The New Yorkerand#8217;s one million-plus readers: a volume dedicated to the individual careers of the magazineand#8217;s cartoon superstars.
Widely considered to be the pantheon of single-panel cartooning, The New Yorker cartoonistsand#8217; styles are richly varied, and their personal stories are surprising. For example, did you know that Arnie Levin is a seventy-three-year-old former Beatnik painter with a handlebar mustache and a back decorated by Japanand#8217;s foremost tattoo artists?
Gehrand#8217;s book features fascinating biographical profiles of such artists as Gahan Wilson, Sam Gross, Roz Chast, Lee Lorenz, and Edward Koren. Along with a dozen such profiles, Gehr provides a brief history of The New Yorker cartoon itself, touching on the lives and work of earlier illustrating wits, including Charles Addams, James Thurber, and William Steig.
Synopsis
At lastand#8212;a spotlight on the flesh-and-blood cartoonists whose sensibilities have helped define The New Yorker.
About the Author
Richard Gehrandnbsp;has been writing about music, books, film, television, and other aspects of popular culture for more than two decades. He has contributed to several books and written for Rolling Stone, Vibe, O,andnbsp;the New York Times Book Review, and Spin.
Table of Contents
Foreword: View of The New Yorker from Portland, Oregon by Matt Groening ixIntroduction: How to Read a New Yorker Cartoon xii
1. The Editor with a Horn: Lee Lorenz 1
2. Sex, Death, and Frogs Legs: Sam Gross 21
3. The Exurban Everymom: Roz Chast 40
4. King of the Scrapyard: George Booth 59
5. The Beastly Beatitudes of Edward Koren 75
6. The Kansas City Curmudgeon: Charles Barsotti 94
7. Hep-Cat Cartoonist Arnie Levin 111
8. The Coupled Cosmos of Victoria Roberts 129
9. Auteur dHorreur: Gahan Wilson 145
10. The Belated Middle American: Jack Ziegler 162
11. Neckless: The Short, Sharp World of Zachary Kanin 181
12. The Doctor of Dots: Robert Mankoff 197
Acknowledgments 215