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How about Never--Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons
Memoir in cartoons by the longtime cartoon editor of The New YorkerPeople tell Bob Mankoff that as the cartoon editor of The New Yorker he has the best job in the world. Never one to beat around the bush, he explains to us, in the opening of this singular, delightfully eccentric book, that because he is also a cartoonist at the magazine he actually has two of the best jobs in the world. With the help of myriad images and his funniest, most beloved cartoons, he traces his love of the craft all the way back to his childhood, when he started doing funny drawings at the age of eight. After meeting his mother, we follow his unlikely stints as a high-school basketball star, draft dodger, and sociology grad student. Though Mankoff abandoned the study of psychology in the seventies to become a cartoonist, he recently realized that the field he abandoned could help him better understand the field he was in, and here he takes up the psychology of cartooning, analyzing why some cartoons make us laugh and others don't. He allows us into the hallowed halls of The New Yorker to show us the soup-to-nuts process of cartoon creation, giving us a detailed look not only at his own work, but that of the other talented cartoonists who keep us laughing week after week. For desert, he reveals the secrets to winning the magazine's caption contest. Throughout How About Never--Is Never Good for You?, we see his commitment to the motto "Anything worth saying is worth saying funny."
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2014
59 people are currently reading
1132 people want to read
About the author
Robert Mankoff
39 books13 followersRobert Mankoff is an American cartoonist, editor, and author. He was the cartoon editor for The New Yorker for nearly twenty years. Before he succeeded Lee Lorenz as cartoon editor at The New Yorker, Mankoff was a New Yorker cartoonist for twenty years.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
October 28, 2014
This book started off a little odd--a little too much detail about the early life of someone I'd barely heard of--someone who does seem pretty self-congratulatory and full of himself--but then again, The New Yorker IS The New Yorker.
However, it quickly turned around with chapter upon chapter explaining what makes a cartoon funny (chart included!), how artists develop, how the Cartoon Bank and the cartoon caption contest came to be, how to win the cartoon caption content, that episode of Seinfeld, lots of cartoons, and the chart of what makes something funny again!
Around page 114 I was thinking about how loose and relaxed the prose is (and how mine is always too dense) when there was a sentence which sounded exactly like a line out of one of David Brightman's book reviews: "The batch is the name cartoonists have for the bunch of cartoons they submit every week to the magazine--on the average, about ten. I don't know why it's not called the bunch, but if it were, I guess I'd be wondering why it isn't called the batch." !!
However, it quickly turned around with chapter upon chapter explaining what makes a cartoon funny (chart included!), how artists develop, how the Cartoon Bank and the cartoon caption contest came to be, how to win the cartoon caption content, that episode of Seinfeld, lots of cartoons, and the chart of what makes something funny again!
Around page 114 I was thinking about how loose and relaxed the prose is (and how mine is always too dense) when there was a sentence which sounded exactly like a line out of one of David Brightman's book reviews: "The batch is the name cartoonists have for the bunch of cartoons they submit every week to the magazine--on the average, about ten. I don't know why it's not called the bunch, but if it were, I guess I'd be wondering why it isn't called the batch." !!
August 28, 2016
I received a review copy of this book.
Unsurprisingly, this is a very charming book in which Robert Mankoff, a cartoonist and cartoon editor for The New Yorker magazine, shares anecdotes from his personal life and from his professional life and also shares insights about his craft. He does this with grace, with humility and, of course, with humor. He explores the history of the New Yorker cartoon world and his odyssey in that world and that of his fellow cartoonists--some that preceded him, many of his contemporaries and some new cartoonists added on his watch. The text is generously illustrated with examples from The New Yorker cartoon archive.
When should you start reading this book? How about now? Is now good for you?
Unsurprisingly, this is a very charming book in which Robert Mankoff, a cartoonist and cartoon editor for The New Yorker magazine, shares anecdotes from his personal life and from his professional life and also shares insights about his craft. He does this with grace, with humility and, of course, with humor. He explores the history of the New Yorker cartoon world and his odyssey in that world and that of his fellow cartoonists--some that preceded him, many of his contemporaries and some new cartoonists added on his watch. The text is generously illustrated with examples from The New Yorker cartoon archive.
When should you start reading this book? How about now? Is now good for you?
March 14, 2016
Bob Mankoff has been the cartoon editor for The New Yorker for almost 20 years. This book is part memoir ("you can't have a memoir without "moi"), part history of cartooning and The New Yorker and completely hilarious. His humor pervades his text as well as his cartoons.
He, however, is wrong about one thing. According to him, a three person panel decides which cartoons are selected each work for the magazine because people don't laugh out loud when by themselves. I should have been afraid the people in my vicinity were calling for the men in white coats to take care of the guffawing lady in the corner. Instead, I just thoroughly enjoyed this witty edition.
He, however, is wrong about one thing. According to him, a three person panel decides which cartoons are selected each work for the magazine because people don't laugh out loud when by themselves. I should have been afraid the people in my vicinity were calling for the men in white coats to take care of the guffawing lady in the corner. Instead, I just thoroughly enjoyed this witty edition.
January 30, 2014
I won this book in a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
I don't read The New Yorker Magazine but I know about its famous cartoons. This book is written by the cartoon editor of The New Yorker and he gives lots of tips about creating a good cartoon and getting it published. He also adds a chapter on how to win the magazine's monthly caption contest.
This is a quick, fun and educational read. LOTS of cartoons so I smiled and giggled all the way through. Thanks to Mr. Mankoff and Henry Holt.
I don't read The New Yorker Magazine but I know about its famous cartoons. This book is written by the cartoon editor of The New Yorker and he gives lots of tips about creating a good cartoon and getting it published. He also adds a chapter on how to win the magazine's monthly caption contest.
This is a quick, fun and educational read. LOTS of cartoons so I smiled and giggled all the way through. Thanks to Mr. Mankoff and Henry Holt.
October 9, 2016
Thoroughly personable and effortlessly readable. I mean, could there be a more perfect formula? I give you: humorous writing (good) on humour (good) from a consummate New York (good) Jewish (good) humorist (good), inside the New Yorker (good). You're in pretty world class company, frankly. And what company: Thurber, Addams, BEK... and my own current New Yorker favourite, Edward Steed (who is just stylistically awesome) even gets a mention.
I'd actually seen the documentary 'Very Semi-Serious' earlier this year, which seems to have traced this book quite closely (minus the sometimes very touching Mankoff domestic troubles), so was aware of most of the content. Bob is entertainingly, exasperatingly arrogant and makes no secret of this.
His take on what makes gags and cartoons work is fascinating. The New Yorker 'toon is an odd fish (that quality that is both expansive and rich but also quite, well, conservative and rule-bound). Decent mantras too.
I also love the insight into how some of the cartoonists get to a joke. Mankoff's own set of lenses feel very transferable - dare I say it - the biz world. The idea too of 'head' and hand' cartoonists - lots of truth in this.
The caption competition 'rules' also point to what 'works'. I just don't know. I'm sorry, but I personally have always utterly loathed the idea of that caption competition and have never been able to look it in the eyes. It's borderline heresy (I'm consistently amazed that the New Yorker ever went that way - 'reader engagement' aside). It still feels to me like the Beatles loaning their catalogue to firms that make jingles for second hand auto parts ads. I get how the caption can be all, but that gig is the locker room of the woeful, smirking dad joker and the archetype that Private Eye long ago christened 'Mike Giggler' - a total fucking arse, getting a rise off someone else's work (irony of me saying this notwithstanding). Maybe it all feels less painful in have-a-go, wisecracking America. In the UK, someone tried it for a while and I was delighted it sank.
Still. Smart, breezy, educational read. Bravo, Bob.
I'd actually seen the documentary 'Very Semi-Serious' earlier this year, which seems to have traced this book quite closely (minus the sometimes very touching Mankoff domestic troubles), so was aware of most of the content. Bob is entertainingly, exasperatingly arrogant and makes no secret of this.
His take on what makes gags and cartoons work is fascinating. The New Yorker 'toon is an odd fish (that quality that is both expansive and rich but also quite, well, conservative and rule-bound). Decent mantras too.
I also love the insight into how some of the cartoonists get to a joke. Mankoff's own set of lenses feel very transferable - dare I say it - the biz world. The idea too of 'head' and hand' cartoonists - lots of truth in this.
The caption competition 'rules' also point to what 'works'. I just don't know. I'm sorry, but I personally have always utterly loathed the idea of that caption competition and have never been able to look it in the eyes. It's borderline heresy (I'm consistently amazed that the New Yorker ever went that way - 'reader engagement' aside). It still feels to me like the Beatles loaning their catalogue to firms that make jingles for second hand auto parts ads. I get how the caption can be all, but that gig is the locker room of the woeful, smirking dad joker and the archetype that Private Eye long ago christened 'Mike Giggler' - a total fucking arse, getting a rise off someone else's work (irony of me saying this notwithstanding). Maybe it all feels less painful in have-a-go, wisecracking America. In the UK, someone tried it for a while and I was delighted it sank.
Still. Smart, breezy, educational read. Bravo, Bob.
November 25, 2015
This book was hilarious. I was somewhat familiar with Bob Mankoff, but this gave me a completely different perspective. Mankoff is the epitome of the success story for a cartoonist, at least in the traditional sense, and as a fan of graphic novels and cartoons in general it was neat to see how he made his way to be the editor. There’s a lot more that goes into the creation of those cartoons than you’d think!
I don’t think that everyone will find the biographical aspect as interesting as I did, but the creation and what goes into the cartoon will certainly be interesting for most who have read the magazine.
Who should read it? Highly recommended for cartooning fans and particularly for those who read “The New Yorker”
See all my reviews and more at www.ReadingToDistraction.com or @Read2Distract
I don’t think that everyone will find the biographical aspect as interesting as I did, but the creation and what goes into the cartoon will certainly be interesting for most who have read the magazine.
Who should read it? Highly recommended for cartooning fans and particularly for those who read “The New Yorker”
See all my reviews and more at www.ReadingToDistraction.com or @Read2Distract
April 6, 2017
Mankoff has put together a brilliant biographical account of his own work in this entertaining book spanning his career. The humor is a mix of snide, witty and uproarious at times. I loved the layout and the graphic presentation. It definitely is an interesting book that will keep you turning pages for hours.
What could be more entertaining that following an illustrator capturing his life and career in cartoons? Fabulous!
What could be more entertaining that following an illustrator capturing his life and career in cartoons? Fabulous!
March 31, 2020
This memoir by Cartoon Editor for The New Yorker is both insightful and entertaining with an abundance of comics thrown in to exemplify his points. He covers his formative years, how he got the job as cartoon editor, what the job entails, his formation of The Cartoon Bank, how the caption contest came about (and suggestions on how to win it) and more.
October 27, 2015
Sat Sep 26, update:
Fun, funny film. Interesting to meet Bob Mankoff and see him at work accepting and rejecting cartoons at The New Yorker. We also meet many New Yorker cartoonists, who range in age from twenty something to seventy something. Roz Chast makes several appearances. We also meet the page-layout editor who decides which cartoons run where in each issue. … This documentary screens at the Chicago Film Festival on Oct 18 and 25 before an HBO airing on Dec 7. … http://verysemiserious.com
September 2015, update:
"Very Semi-Serious," a new documentary film, introduces us to Bob Mankoff and the cartoonists of The New Yorker. The film will screen on Sep 25 and Oct 4 during the Milwaukee Film Festival. http://mkefilm.org/very-semi-serious
original comments of 2014:
"If something is worth saying, it's worth saying funny," writes Bob Mankoff, cartoonist and cartoon editor of The New Yorker. And, although he didn't say so, the corollary might be "If something is worth drawing, it's worth drawing funny."
Bob Mankoff, now seventy, offers this as his memoir. He came into this life in Brooklyn and credits his Yiddish-speaking mother for the cradle of his humor.
Georges Seurat, the pointillist impressionist, impressed Bob Mankoff, whose drawing style morphed from lines to dots, using Rapidograph pens. And dotting gave Mankoff a distinctive look. Also, dots take longer than lines. Other cartoonists would not invest that much time in their drawings. The New Yorker uses the term "drawings," not cartoons. These pieces do not need to be funny, but they need to make people think.
After two years of rejection, Mankoff sold his first piece to The New Yorker in 1977. Twenty years later, The New Yorker hired him as the first cartoon editor with that title.
The New Yorker receives over five hundred submissions a week from its regular stable. In 1998, he established Open-Call Tuesday for anyone to come in and show their work. Mankoff screens for intelligent humor with cultural literacy. Out of this, the magazine will publish about sixteen a week.
Punch, the London humor magazine founded in 1841, published the forerunners of the modern cartoon, often using two or three lines of dialogue in dense drawings. The New Yorker, which began in 1925, published cartoons with a more open drawing style and less dialogue, either one-liners or nothing.
In the thirties, forties and fifties, gag writers submitted their cartoon ideas to illustrators. Then those gag writers found more lucrative work in early television. These days, cartoonists fall into two types of creators — the word-firsters and the drawing-firsters, the doodlers and the writers.
To help bring up the next generation of cartoonists, Mankoff gives feedback including the fundamentals of cartooning and the psychology of humor. His assistants, who often come from The National Lampoon, sift the submissions while learning from the professor of Cartoon College.
Need a quick lift? Try this amusing book, chockfull of three hundred drawings plus the inside story from the cartoon editor of The New Yorker. Fun.
Fresh Air http://www.wnyc.org/story/new-yorker-...
Fun, funny film. Interesting to meet Bob Mankoff and see him at work accepting and rejecting cartoons at The New Yorker. We also meet many New Yorker cartoonists, who range in age from twenty something to seventy something. Roz Chast makes several appearances. We also meet the page-layout editor who decides which cartoons run where in each issue. … This documentary screens at the Chicago Film Festival on Oct 18 and 25 before an HBO airing on Dec 7. … http://verysemiserious.com
September 2015, update:
"Very Semi-Serious," a new documentary film, introduces us to Bob Mankoff and the cartoonists of The New Yorker. The film will screen on Sep 25 and Oct 4 during the Milwaukee Film Festival. http://mkefilm.org/very-semi-serious
original comments of 2014:
"If something is worth saying, it's worth saying funny," writes Bob Mankoff, cartoonist and cartoon editor of The New Yorker. And, although he didn't say so, the corollary might be "If something is worth drawing, it's worth drawing funny."
Bob Mankoff, now seventy, offers this as his memoir. He came into this life in Brooklyn and credits his Yiddish-speaking mother for the cradle of his humor.
Georges Seurat, the pointillist impressionist, impressed Bob Mankoff, whose drawing style morphed from lines to dots, using Rapidograph pens. And dotting gave Mankoff a distinctive look. Also, dots take longer than lines. Other cartoonists would not invest that much time in their drawings. The New Yorker uses the term "drawings," not cartoons. These pieces do not need to be funny, but they need to make people think.
After two years of rejection, Mankoff sold his first piece to The New Yorker in 1977. Twenty years later, The New Yorker hired him as the first cartoon editor with that title.
The New Yorker receives over five hundred submissions a week from its regular stable. In 1998, he established Open-Call Tuesday for anyone to come in and show their work. Mankoff screens for intelligent humor with cultural literacy. Out of this, the magazine will publish about sixteen a week.
Punch, the London humor magazine founded in 1841, published the forerunners of the modern cartoon, often using two or three lines of dialogue in dense drawings. The New Yorker, which began in 1925, published cartoons with a more open drawing style and less dialogue, either one-liners or nothing.
In the thirties, forties and fifties, gag writers submitted their cartoon ideas to illustrators. Then those gag writers found more lucrative work in early television. These days, cartoonists fall into two types of creators — the word-firsters and the drawing-firsters, the doodlers and the writers.
To help bring up the next generation of cartoonists, Mankoff gives feedback including the fundamentals of cartooning and the psychology of humor. His assistants, who often come from The National Lampoon, sift the submissions while learning from the professor of Cartoon College.
Need a quick lift? Try this amusing book, chockfull of three hundred drawings plus the inside story from the cartoon editor of The New Yorker. Fun.
Fresh Air http://www.wnyc.org/story/new-yorker-...
December 29, 2015
I'll start with the not-so-good stuff. In my eyes, a little bit of Mankoff goes a long way. (I'm talking specifically about his writing, not his cartooning, which I find top-notch.) It's not surprising that someone who takes Jerry Lewis as a role model might be a bit grating. Mankoff loves the verbal gag, but the book goes a bit too far with it. For those reasons, I wasn't a big fan of the first part of the book which covered Mankoff's early years.
However, besides the biography there's some real gold here. Mankoff loves to explore what makes a New Yorker cartoon and cartoonist. Of course, there's a lot of cartoons that focus on and skewer the upper class readership of the magazine, but Mankoff carefully points out how no one style or content defines a New Yorker cartoon. (Compare the stereotype of the cocktail party cartoon to the surreal works of Roz Chast and James Thurber .) My favorite part was Mankoff and four other cartoonists who broke into the magazine in the 70's describing their first sale. After all five stories, Mankoff shows you the cartoons again so you can see the range of ideas and artwork. There's other great stuff as well --- a description of how each issue's cartoons are picked, an exposition of and reaction to the Seinfeld episode where Elaine complains about a cartoon, and a guide to winning the cartoon caption contest.
It's a short read (because you have so many cartoons and other images among the words), but well worth it if you like the New Yorker.
However, besides the biography there's some real gold here. Mankoff loves to explore what makes a New Yorker cartoon and cartoonist. Of course, there's a lot of cartoons that focus on and skewer the upper class readership of the magazine, but Mankoff carefully points out how no one style or content defines a New Yorker cartoon. (Compare the stereotype of the cocktail party cartoon to the surreal works of Roz Chast and James Thurber .) My favorite part was Mankoff and four other cartoonists who broke into the magazine in the 70's describing their first sale. After all five stories, Mankoff shows you the cartoons again so you can see the range of ideas and artwork. There's other great stuff as well --- a description of how each issue's cartoons are picked, an exposition of and reaction to the Seinfeld episode where Elaine complains about a cartoon, and a guide to winning the cartoon caption contest.
It's a short read (because you have so many cartoons and other images among the words), but well worth it if you like the New Yorker.
August 30, 2016
Bob Mankoff has the enviable job of being the cartoon editor for the New Yorker. This book is part memoir, discussing his own path to becoming first a cartoonist and then an editor, as well as founder of the online Cartoon Bank. It also includes a decent history of the art of cartooning in publishing, tracing its development as influenced by society as a whole and also the quirks of the editors who selected the cartoons.
As one might expect of a book about cartoons, it's pretty enjoyable to read. There are liberal examples of some very funny cartoons scattered throughout the book, which also makes it a pretty quick read. Mankoff spends a fair amount of time talking about his own learning curve in becoming a cartoonist, and also tells the stories of half a dozen contemporaries and the paths they took to getting their first prized published cartoon.
While the book touches only lightly on the subject of social commentary, it was interesting to realize just how widespread the influence of some cartoons has been. In addition to the book's now infamous title, the phrase "Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board" first entered the lexicon in the caption of a cartoon. The book helped me remember just how valuable an art form that entertains as it enlightens can be.
As one might expect of a book about cartoons, it's pretty enjoyable to read. There are liberal examples of some very funny cartoons scattered throughout the book, which also makes it a pretty quick read. Mankoff spends a fair amount of time talking about his own learning curve in becoming a cartoonist, and also tells the stories of half a dozen contemporaries and the paths they took to getting their first prized published cartoon.
While the book touches only lightly on the subject of social commentary, it was interesting to realize just how widespread the influence of some cartoons has been. In addition to the book's now infamous title, the phrase "Well, I guess it's back to the drawing board" first entered the lexicon in the caption of a cartoon. The book helped me remember just how valuable an art form that entertains as it enlightens can be.
February 1, 2017
This is a memoir written by the editor of cartoons at the New Yorker. He uses the history of the magazine's cartoons intertwined with his own personal history and how he became a cartoonist and eventually in charge of the whole deal at the New Yorker.
It was funny and really fun to read. I like that Mankoff was careful to explain (several times, actually) that making cartoons at all, especially for the New Yorker isn't for the faint of heart. It takes lots of people hundreds of rejections before they get one in. Even veteran cartoonists get their stuff turned away regularly. And the caption contest is a real killer - Roger Ebert famously entered 107 times before he got a win. Then many more times after that, with no success. The New Yorker keeps track of who enters and how many times, which I thought was interesting.
The moral of the story is that humor is a slipper thing - you can't define it clearly and if you don't succeed at first the best thing to do is keep trying, like so many cartoonists have done. It was sweet and upbeat and an unusual format for a memoir and I enjoyed it.
It was funny and really fun to read. I like that Mankoff was careful to explain (several times, actually) that making cartoons at all, especially for the New Yorker isn't for the faint of heart. It takes lots of people hundreds of rejections before they get one in. Even veteran cartoonists get their stuff turned away regularly. And the caption contest is a real killer - Roger Ebert famously entered 107 times before he got a win. Then many more times after that, with no success. The New Yorker keeps track of who enters and how many times, which I thought was interesting.
The moral of the story is that humor is a slipper thing - you can't define it clearly and if you don't succeed at first the best thing to do is keep trying, like so many cartoonists have done. It was sweet and upbeat and an unusual format for a memoir and I enjoyed it.
June 21, 2014
This book was a very pleasant change of pace for me. Bob Mankoff is the Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker magazine. Mankoff writes about his experiences as a cartoonist and especially as Cartoon Editor. This is a very funny book. Not only are there numerous New Yorker cartoons throughout, but. Mankoff writes in a very numerous manner. His insights are most interesting. For example, he shows how a cartoon is transformed from an OK one, to one that is good enough to make it into the New Yorker.
I really enjoyed this book and had no idea there was a process to Turing an idea into a cartoon. Especially one that is good enough to make into the pages of the New Yorker.
I really enjoyed this book and had no idea there was a process to Turing an idea into a cartoon. Especially one that is good enough to make into the pages of the New Yorker.
June 1, 2014
Wonderful book. It starts as a memoir, which is really interesting stuff: learn the personality traits of a person who submitted thousands of cartoons to the New Yorker before getting an acceptance and then had the balls to demand somebody else's job ... and eventually get it. But it quickly becomes "New Yorker Cartoon College." This is a must-read for New Yorker readers, people who want to see the inner workings of the place, and cartoonists. Bob Mankoff is one really smart, funny, and determined guy who is also a first-rate teacher. Read and learn.
October 27, 2015
I picked this up after watching (and liking) Very Semi Serious, a documentary about humor and the cartoons in the New Yorker magazine. The book is a fascinating and funny look at the same topic. There were some glimpses of New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff's life, but I would welcome his memoir should he decide to write one.
May 9, 2016
Note to my HR department: it is nice to value the old folks while at the same time developing and encouraging the next generation. You can do both at the same time!
July 24, 2017
Interesting with lots of cartoons
April 11, 2019
I really like good cartoons, so this book was an interesting look at how professional cartooning works. (Some off color cartoons that weren’t necessary.)
July 27, 2021
Workplace memoirs are fun to read when people love their work, and this is no exception. Mankoff was at the time he wrote this the cartoon editor for the New Yorker as well as a cartoonist himself. He tells his personal story, the story of how cartoons get chosen for the New Yorker, does some analysis of the humor in cartoons, and seeds the book with lots and lots of cartoons.
I have subscribed to The New Yorker for most of my adult life and grew up in a house where my parents subscribed to it. I never "got" the cartoons when I was a kid, but I loved them once I moved to NYC. There are a few that I feel are emblematic of certain aspects and times of my life, and some I laugh at every time I see them.
A quick and fun read.
I have subscribed to The New Yorker for most of my adult life and grew up in a house where my parents subscribed to it. I never "got" the cartoons when I was a kid, but I loved them once I moved to NYC. There are a few that I feel are emblematic of certain aspects and times of my life, and some I laugh at every time I see them.
A quick and fun read.
March 6, 2017
Nice- fun to see the drawings, and get the inside story on how the industry works. Sometimes the analysis of why certain things work was a bit too long for my taste, but it was a fun read.
September 10, 2019
Pretty funny and an interesting glimpse into New Yorker cartoon world. A very fast read (many cartoons) and a sense that Mankoff might be kind of an asshat but a funny asshat.
Read
August 22, 2015If you're a reader of The New Yorker then surely you've come across a brilliant cartoon and thought "I could have written that!". Or maybe you've stared at their famous cartoon caption contest and have been unable to come up with anything worthy to say. Or maybe, like Elaine Benes, you've tried in vain to understand the punch line of a particularly obtusely delivered drawing. Anyone who has spent time enjoying The New Yorker cartoons should look forward to reading How About Never - Is Never Good for You by New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff. Named after Mankoff's most famous caption, How About Never is both a memoir and a look at what it takes to create cartoons for one of the few adult periodicals that still offers them.
A mediocre art school student and psychology school dropout, Mankoff, like many of his cartoonist brethren, accomplished the feat of publishing a cartoon in The New Yorker only after years of rejection, though with many other avenues for cartoon publishing around he was able to get his work to the public in other less distinguished magazines. The New Yorker, with its illustrious history of smart cartooning, was the coup de grace and once within the walls, Mankoff became a regular.
The reality of the limits of space in print publishing means that there are bound to be many more cartoons rejected that accepted, which led to Mankoff's later creation of The Cartoon Bank, which offered cartoons that had not been approved for The New Yorker to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, Mankoff ascended to that most prestigious position of Cartoon Editor, in a position to smash young cartoonists' dreams as previous editors had tried with him. Actually, in all seriousness, he became a mentor to young cartoonists, writing how-to books, crediting The New Yorker's newest staff and offering a guide on what makes New Yorker cartoons funny. He even gives the secret of how to win the famous weekly cartoon caption contest, which Roger Ebert claimed to have entered every week, eventually winning on his 107th try.
How About Never is a fast read, filled with Mankoff's humorous asides and many cartoons drawn by the author and his colleagues and predecessors. Beyond being a memoir and history of The New Yorker's comics, it offers a history of comic drawing that you'll probably learn something from. Mankoff also addresses the question of whether the magazine's cartoons have become dumbed down. I do wish that Mankoff would have addressed the question of how the internet ("where no one knows you're a dog", to quote another famous New Yorker comic) has changed the business of cartoon gatekeeping, but mostly this is a very entertaining read.
- Mike
A mediocre art school student and psychology school dropout, Mankoff, like many of his cartoonist brethren, accomplished the feat of publishing a cartoon in The New Yorker only after years of rejection, though with many other avenues for cartoon publishing around he was able to get his work to the public in other less distinguished magazines. The New Yorker, with its illustrious history of smart cartooning, was the coup de grace and once within the walls, Mankoff became a regular.
The reality of the limits of space in print publishing means that there are bound to be many more cartoons rejected that accepted, which led to Mankoff's later creation of The Cartoon Bank, which offered cartoons that had not been approved for The New Yorker to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, Mankoff ascended to that most prestigious position of Cartoon Editor, in a position to smash young cartoonists' dreams as previous editors had tried with him. Actually, in all seriousness, he became a mentor to young cartoonists, writing how-to books, crediting The New Yorker's newest staff and offering a guide on what makes New Yorker cartoons funny. He even gives the secret of how to win the famous weekly cartoon caption contest, which Roger Ebert claimed to have entered every week, eventually winning on his 107th try.
How About Never is a fast read, filled with Mankoff's humorous asides and many cartoons drawn by the author and his colleagues and predecessors. Beyond being a memoir and history of The New Yorker's comics, it offers a history of comic drawing that you'll probably learn something from. Mankoff also addresses the question of whether the magazine's cartoons have become dumbed down. I do wish that Mankoff would have addressed the question of how the internet ("where no one knows you're a dog", to quote another famous New Yorker comic) has changed the business of cartoon gatekeeping, but mostly this is a very entertaining read.
- Mike
August 31, 2019
A bit too much self-love hidden by the jokes.
Enjoyable reading. Mixing the text with the cartoons were very apt and made the reading easier and more fun.
Could have shared some more insights about his kind of humor.
Enjoyable reading. Mixing the text with the cartoons were very apt and made the reading easier and more fun.
Could have shared some more insights about his kind of humor.
February 20, 2014
Bob Mankoff is the cartoon editor for "The New Yorker" magazine, for which he has also personally contributed over 900 cartoons. This is obviously a man who loves his work and is happy to tell you all about it; luckily for the reader, he is very good at both of those things.
Mr. Mankoff states "The New Yorker valued distinctiveness in both ideas and style..." This is also an apt description for his memoir "How About Never -- Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons". Because drawing cartoons is what he does, the format for this book literally is cartoons interspersed with writing. It is, therefore, not only his memoir, but a retrospective of cartoons from "The New Yorker".
I admit to being partial to a good memoir, and this is a good one. His writing style is that of a witty conversationalist. It's not just that his life and job are interesting, but that the soft, sly comedic elements in his cartoons are also evident in his writing. As I read, I pictured him talking at a cocktail party, with his audience smiling as he made his life sound like stand up comedy.
Besides telling the story of the honing of his craft and the road to the editor's desk at "The New Yorker", he also shared stories about various other cartoonists and their work that has been used in the magazine.
Always interesting, this enjoyable book also taught me a lot about cartoons. I learned what makes a good cartoon and how a cartoon editor not only selects the cartoons to be used, but how and why they are edited. It is a tribute to Mr. Mankoff's style that sometimes I got caught up in the story and the cartoons and read it quickly and sometimes I read it slowly and savored it; but it made me think and it made me smile. I enjoyed reading what he wrote as much as the cartoons he drew.
This is a good book and I do recommend it.
I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine Program for my honest review.
Mr. Mankoff states "The New Yorker valued distinctiveness in both ideas and style..." This is also an apt description for his memoir "How About Never -- Is Never Good for You?: My Life in Cartoons". Because drawing cartoons is what he does, the format for this book literally is cartoons interspersed with writing. It is, therefore, not only his memoir, but a retrospective of cartoons from "The New Yorker".
I admit to being partial to a good memoir, and this is a good one. His writing style is that of a witty conversationalist. It's not just that his life and job are interesting, but that the soft, sly comedic elements in his cartoons are also evident in his writing. As I read, I pictured him talking at a cocktail party, with his audience smiling as he made his life sound like stand up comedy.
Besides telling the story of the honing of his craft and the road to the editor's desk at "The New Yorker", he also shared stories about various other cartoonists and their work that has been used in the magazine.
Always interesting, this enjoyable book also taught me a lot about cartoons. I learned what makes a good cartoon and how a cartoon editor not only selects the cartoons to be used, but how and why they are edited. It is a tribute to Mr. Mankoff's style that sometimes I got caught up in the story and the cartoons and read it quickly and sometimes I read it slowly and savored it; but it made me think and it made me smile. I enjoyed reading what he wrote as much as the cartoons he drew.
This is a good book and I do recommend it.
I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine Program for my honest review.
July 20, 2015
It was so hard to actually read this book and not flip through it and just read all the cartoons first! That was of course my introduction to The New Yorker. As a kid, my parents' subscription seemed so dense and difficult I never tried reading any of it... except for the cartoons. Although, to be honest, I'm not sure that I understood even half of them. Later, as an adult living in New York with my own subscription, I did get 99% of the cartoons, and although I read the magazine cover to cover (except for the short story and the poem), the cartoons remained the best part.
So it was fascinating to find out what happens behind the scenes. How different editors over the years have affected the style and type of cartoons featured. How the cartoon marketplace has changed how the cartoon editor mentors young cartoonists. How no one understands how the cartoonists are paid. And Mankoff goes back also to his own childhood to tell of how he got started in cartooning.
This isn't a traditional memoir--you don't find out about his first two marriage except in a throwaway line regarding his third marriage. There isn't a lot of insight or deep thinking about his past. It's fairly strictly about cartooning, all the way. We might not even have heard about the third marriage except that wife helped to found and run The Cartoon Bank, Mankoff's brain-child website devoted to selling cartoonists' other (read: rejected) works so they can more easily make a living (since acquired by The New Yorker and Conde Nast and now also featuring New Yorker cartoons and their other magazines.)
I loved how he used cartoons throughout to illustrate points and to explain who different people in the business are and to show the evolution of The New Yorker cartoons (and this is particular to The New Yorker cartoons, not cartooning in general.) Suffice it to say that if you are a fan of these, you'll love the book, which is an easy read.
So it was fascinating to find out what happens behind the scenes. How different editors over the years have affected the style and type of cartoons featured. How the cartoon marketplace has changed how the cartoon editor mentors young cartoonists. How no one understands how the cartoonists are paid. And Mankoff goes back also to his own childhood to tell of how he got started in cartooning.
This isn't a traditional memoir--you don't find out about his first two marriage except in a throwaway line regarding his third marriage. There isn't a lot of insight or deep thinking about his past. It's fairly strictly about cartooning, all the way. We might not even have heard about the third marriage except that wife helped to found and run The Cartoon Bank, Mankoff's brain-child website devoted to selling cartoonists' other (read: rejected) works so they can more easily make a living (since acquired by The New Yorker and Conde Nast and now also featuring New Yorker cartoons and their other magazines.)
I loved how he used cartoons throughout to illustrate points and to explain who different people in the business are and to show the evolution of The New Yorker cartoons (and this is particular to The New Yorker cartoons, not cartooning in general.) Suffice it to say that if you are a fan of these, you'll love the book, which is an easy read.
August 31, 2014
An insider look at one of the greatest magazines in the United States, a detailed look at the cartooning business, and -- as a bonus -- a lot of great cartoons. What's not to love about this book?
I've heard of cartoonists who spend literally decades submitting dozens of cartoons each week, hoping to get their first one published in the New Yorker. But Bob Mankoff explains that, more often than not, this is normal for most cartoonists. As editor of the cartoons for the New Yorker, Mankoff has a stable of some of the finest cartoonists in the U.S., if not the world. But he still holds what appear to be very open calls for new talent. And he loves to give new talent a chance. So if you want to be a cartoonist, this book is extremely valuable.
But even if you don't (and I have neither a sense of humor nor drawing skills, so I definitely don't), this account of cartooning and life at the New Yorker is interesting. The New Yorker is one of the last places for good cartooning in the country, if not the world. Mankoff doesn't provide information on current pay rates, but based on the historical statistics in the book, I'm guessing that the New Yorker today probably pays around $1,500 a cartoon. Which is why the cartoons are so great, and the competition is so stiff.
I particularly liked this quote from the book:
"Nowadays, on Tuesdays, when new cartoonists come into the magazine's offices, I tell them to submit at least ten [cartoons]. They ask me, "Why ten?" and I tell them because in cartooning, as in life, nine out of ten things don't work out."
Mankoff himself is a cartoonist, with an alternately weird, corny, and sharp sense of humor, so the book is easy to read and has lots of pictures. So why not give it a try? Five stars!
I've heard of cartoonists who spend literally decades submitting dozens of cartoons each week, hoping to get their first one published in the New Yorker. But Bob Mankoff explains that, more often than not, this is normal for most cartoonists. As editor of the cartoons for the New Yorker, Mankoff has a stable of some of the finest cartoonists in the U.S., if not the world. But he still holds what appear to be very open calls for new talent. And he loves to give new talent a chance. So if you want to be a cartoonist, this book is extremely valuable.
But even if you don't (and I have neither a sense of humor nor drawing skills, so I definitely don't), this account of cartooning and life at the New Yorker is interesting. The New Yorker is one of the last places for good cartooning in the country, if not the world. Mankoff doesn't provide information on current pay rates, but based on the historical statistics in the book, I'm guessing that the New Yorker today probably pays around $1,500 a cartoon. Which is why the cartoons are so great, and the competition is so stiff.
I particularly liked this quote from the book:
"Nowadays, on Tuesdays, when new cartoonists come into the magazine's offices, I tell them to submit at least ten [cartoons]. They ask me, "Why ten?" and I tell them because in cartooning, as in life, nine out of ten things don't work out."
Mankoff himself is a cartoonist, with an alternately weird, corny, and sharp sense of humor, so the book is easy to read and has lots of pictures. So why not give it a try? Five stars!
April 4, 2016
Growing up in New Jersey I knew nothing of The New Yorker. My parents were from the Midwest. Many of my neighbors where from Brooklyn and some were Jewish so I grew up hearing Yiddish words often but the mystery remained in that few of the kids my age could explain it to me. So, i did enjoy the explanation of sorts which lies within these illuminating pages (with pictures - I only read for the pictures).
"Oy gevalt is Yiddish, loosely translated into English as "Oh goodness," but you really can't translate Yiddish into English without losing something important - its humor. "Oy gevalt!" is funny; "Oh goodness" isn't. Mishegas, bupkes, kvetch are funny; their English equivalents - "craziness," "nothing," and "complain" - aren't."
and
"...are best defined through a joke: a schlemiel (bungler) is someone who spills his soup on a schlimazel (unfortunate person)."
and
"All of those terms, both endearing and insulting, are the kind of two-faced communication Yiddish excels at, combining aggression, friendliness, and ambiguity, a basic recipe for humor that my mother was excellent at cooking up and on which I was spoon-fed."
It was this last quoted part which helped me with my lifelong confusion and made me laugh in recognition. This book is fun, informative and a lesson in doing what you love. We would all love to be included in the New Yorker world by maybe winning the caption contest at least once. Most of us wont probably due more to not having a calling and not being diligent enough to enter week after week which seems to be a prerequisite for success in all forms.
A good read with fun pictures. What more could one want?
"Oy gevalt is Yiddish, loosely translated into English as "Oh goodness," but you really can't translate Yiddish into English without losing something important - its humor. "Oy gevalt!" is funny; "Oh goodness" isn't. Mishegas, bupkes, kvetch are funny; their English equivalents - "craziness," "nothing," and "complain" - aren't."
and
"...are best defined through a joke: a schlemiel (bungler) is someone who spills his soup on a schlimazel (unfortunate person)."
and
"All of those terms, both endearing and insulting, are the kind of two-faced communication Yiddish excels at, combining aggression, friendliness, and ambiguity, a basic recipe for humor that my mother was excellent at cooking up and on which I was spoon-fed."
It was this last quoted part which helped me with my lifelong confusion and made me laugh in recognition. This book is fun, informative and a lesson in doing what you love. We would all love to be included in the New Yorker world by maybe winning the caption contest at least once. Most of us wont probably due more to not having a calling and not being diligent enough to enter week after week which seems to be a prerequisite for success in all forms.
A good read with fun pictures. What more could one want?
January 5, 2016
I watched an HBO documentary called Very Semi-Serious, about The New Yorker cartoons and the process behind choosing them. In it, this author, Bob Mankoff was featured throughout. He's The New Yorker cartoon editor and also one of their cartoonists. This was the book he was working on at the time, and in the documentary you see him and his editor discussing it.
Okay, so I find New Yorker cartoons funny in an amusing, clever way, not a laugh-out-loud way, and I always also end up somewhat baffled by New York humor in general, having never been there. New Yorker cartoons seem so specific and narrow, so unlike anything else that there is no frame of reference but its own.
The documentary, though, was fascinating. Bob Mankoff felt very real there, the heartbreak of his dead son, he and his wife and daughter moving out of their home and into another because the memories were just too fresh and they just had to do something to alleviate that pressure. My god, seeing his wife trying to hold back tears was one of the most touching things I've ever seen on television. And he's a CARTOON editor -- how do you do that? Mourn and be a cartoon editor at the same time? That was fascinating and real and heartbreaking and something I will remember for a long time.
The book feels the opposite of that in that it is very talky, chatty, and "jokey" and I didn't particular care for its tone, especially in comparison to how guttural the documentary felt. That isn't fair to the book, I know. The cartoons included were fun. It was a nice diversion, this book. But if you are looking for it to deliver or expand on the heartbreak of the documentary, it does not.
Okay, so I find New Yorker cartoons funny in an amusing, clever way, not a laugh-out-loud way, and I always also end up somewhat baffled by New York humor in general, having never been there. New Yorker cartoons seem so specific and narrow, so unlike anything else that there is no frame of reference but its own.
The documentary, though, was fascinating. Bob Mankoff felt very real there, the heartbreak of his dead son, he and his wife and daughter moving out of their home and into another because the memories were just too fresh and they just had to do something to alleviate that pressure. My god, seeing his wife trying to hold back tears was one of the most touching things I've ever seen on television. And he's a CARTOON editor -- how do you do that? Mourn and be a cartoon editor at the same time? That was fascinating and real and heartbreaking and something I will remember for a long time.
The book feels the opposite of that in that it is very talky, chatty, and "jokey" and I didn't particular care for its tone, especially in comparison to how guttural the documentary felt. That isn't fair to the book, I know. The cartoons included were fun. It was a nice diversion, this book. But if you are looking for it to deliver or expand on the heartbreak of the documentary, it does not.
May 26, 2014
Bob Mankoff, the “The New Yorker‘s” cartoon editor since 1997, has written a new book with a title inspired by his own most popular cartoon: “How about Never? Is Never Good For You: My Life In Cartoons.”
It’s part memoir, part cartooning how-to, part (dishy!) behind-the-scenes look at the magazine, and 100% fun.
Mankoff not only shares the story of his own life and cartooning career, but throws in a concise and illuminating history of cartooning itself, with a special focus on the evolution of the “New Yorker“ cartoon. (During the Tina Brown era? Sex cartoons were in! During the William Shawn era? Not so much.)
We get a nuts-and-bolts look at what makes a cartoon work, with “do” and “don’t” examples from popular “New Yorker” cartoonists. Plus a wealth of sound advice for any creative person. “To get good ideas in any field,” Mankoff suggests, “the best method is to generate lots of ideas and throw out the bad ones.“
“How About Never?“ describes the editorial process used to select the 17 cartoons that appear in each issue. Mankoff even includes tips for winning the Caption Contest! (With entertaining examples of submitted captions, both inspired and abysmal.)
There’s a laugh on just about every page, including terrific work by Mankoff himself, as well as other “New Yorker” pros, both old-timers and up-and-comers. James Thurber! Roz Chast! Liza Donnelly! Sam Gross!
What’s not to love? Once you’ve picked “How About Never?“ up, when will you want to stop reading this gem? The answer should be obvious.
It’s part memoir, part cartooning how-to, part (dishy!) behind-the-scenes look at the magazine, and 100% fun.
Mankoff not only shares the story of his own life and cartooning career, but throws in a concise and illuminating history of cartooning itself, with a special focus on the evolution of the “New Yorker“ cartoon. (During the Tina Brown era? Sex cartoons were in! During the William Shawn era? Not so much.)
We get a nuts-and-bolts look at what makes a cartoon work, with “do” and “don’t” examples from popular “New Yorker” cartoonists. Plus a wealth of sound advice for any creative person. “To get good ideas in any field,” Mankoff suggests, “the best method is to generate lots of ideas and throw out the bad ones.“
“How About Never?“ describes the editorial process used to select the 17 cartoons that appear in each issue. Mankoff even includes tips for winning the Caption Contest! (With entertaining examples of submitted captions, both inspired and abysmal.)
There’s a laugh on just about every page, including terrific work by Mankoff himself, as well as other “New Yorker” pros, both old-timers and up-and-comers. James Thurber! Roz Chast! Liza Donnelly! Sam Gross!
What’s not to love? Once you’ve picked “How About Never?“ up, when will you want to stop reading this gem? The answer should be obvious.
June 26, 2015
The art form of cartooning holds a special place in my heart. From a young age, Calvin & Hobbes, The Far Side, and The New Yorker illustrations instilled my young mind with a deep appreciation for one-liners, absurdist visual humor, and intellectual comedy. From third-grade onward, I knew I would one day work in comedy. I was hooked.
As Bob Mankoff's memoir reminds the reader, talent is only half the battle. Tenacity is paramount to success. Mankoff, in his younger years, spent over two years submitting 10 cartoons a week to New Yorker magazine, receiving rejection letter after rejection letter. Many would understandably buckle under these daunting odds, but Mankoff's mentality was simple: cartoon for the joy of cartooning. Keep your eye on the prize, but don't become discouraged by the seeming insurmountability of the task at hand.
To this day, I dream of publishing a cartoon in The New Yorker and this book is -- at its core -- a wonderful instruction manual to that end. There is no "secret" to publishing cartoons in the magazine. Hard work, tenacity, and -- to a certain degree -- talent are required to work hand-in-hand. Playing in the big leagues requires a steely exterior. Expect to hear "NO" often, but keep plodding forward.
Mankoff's brain is an encyclopedia of cartooning history. Unfortunately, the book spends little time discussing the evolution of the craft. Meaningful career/life reflection is also pushed to the background. All-in-all, though, an enjoyable read.
As Bob Mankoff's memoir reminds the reader, talent is only half the battle. Tenacity is paramount to success. Mankoff, in his younger years, spent over two years submitting 10 cartoons a week to New Yorker magazine, receiving rejection letter after rejection letter. Many would understandably buckle under these daunting odds, but Mankoff's mentality was simple: cartoon for the joy of cartooning. Keep your eye on the prize, but don't become discouraged by the seeming insurmountability of the task at hand.
To this day, I dream of publishing a cartoon in The New Yorker and this book is -- at its core -- a wonderful instruction manual to that end. There is no "secret" to publishing cartoons in the magazine. Hard work, tenacity, and -- to a certain degree -- talent are required to work hand-in-hand. Playing in the big leagues requires a steely exterior. Expect to hear "NO" often, but keep plodding forward.
Mankoff's brain is an encyclopedia of cartooning history. Unfortunately, the book spends little time discussing the evolution of the craft. Meaningful career/life reflection is also pushed to the background. All-in-all, though, an enjoyable read.
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