Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons

by Phil Witte, Rex Hesner, Bob Mankoff (foreword)

Funny Stuff is a tribute to a unique art the single-panel gag cartoon. It looks at why so many of us enjoy cartoons, and what makes for a great cartoon. Authors Phil Witte and Rex Hesner consider how cartoonists can present a complex or odd scenario that we immediately grasp, and what enables us to “get” the humor in a flash. Based on interviews with cartoonist legends—Roz Chast, Sam Gross, Harry Bliss, Joe Dator, Mick Stevens, and many others—Funny Stuff will show how cartoons reveal much about the psyches of their creators. For Roz Chast, known for her neurotic cartoon characters, feared she might die taking a bath because the tub could crash through the floor.

The text is abundant with cartoons illustrating the observations of Witte and Hesner. They point to cartoonists who rely on common situations (the desert island, Garden of Eden, hell) and stock characters (the pirate, business executive, scientist), as well as cartoonists who subvert these conventions. They analyze types of absurd, dark, ironic, satirical. They address how the wording of a caption can mean the difference between a cartoon succeeding and almost succeeding, and the extra degree of difficulty required of the caption-less cartoon. They discuss cartooning as an art form, and specifically how the artwork of the best cartoons supports the humor.

This book features a foreword written by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor at The New Yorker and a legend in the cartoon world.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Art

145 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 16, 2024

About the author

Phil Witte is a cartoonist and author. His cartoons have appeared in dozens of publications in the U.S. and U.K., including Alta, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, San Francisco Chronicle, The Times (of London), New Statesman, Private Eye, and, in collaboration The New Yorker.

His humor books, What You Don’t Know About Turning 50 and the sequel on turning 60, have sold 175,000 copies to date. His latest book is Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons, co-written with Rex Hesner with a foreword by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor of The New Yorker. His humor writing has appeared in The American Bystander, Slackjaw, and many other print and digital publications. He has also written straight journalism articles for newspapers ranging from The Washington Post to The Bangkok Post.

Reviews

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes a cartoon? What comes first—the drawing or the caption? Should you be more of a writer or more of an artist to be successful?

Find the answers to all these questions and more in “Funny Stuff”. Philip Witte and Rex Hesner have been analyzing cartoons for many years, and in this book, they take deeper looks at the one panel gag cartoon. You’ll see many examples of previously published cartoons, and you’ll learn *why* they were chosen for publication.

This is fascinating stuff, whether you want to be a cartoonist, or whether, like me, you’re just interested in expanding your knowledge base.

Pick up a copy on July 16th!

Thank you to NetGalley and Prometheus for the advance copy. I am writing this review voluntarily.

[Giovanni García-Fenech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two cartoonists dissect the single-panel gag cartoon as a medium and attempt to pin down what makes the best of them great.

The authors’ admiration for the craft is clear, and I love that they treat cartooning as a legitimate art form. The book is filled with great cartoons and is peppered with quotes from legendary New Yorker cartoonists such as Roz Chast, Sam Gross, and Mick Stevens.

One of my favorite parts is the overview of recurring themes and stock characters in cartoons, from desert islands to pirates, and the peek at how cartoonists subvert these conventions. The authors also provide a nuanced discussion of different types of humor—observational, absurd, satirical, etc.—and break down the importance of wording in captions vs. the unique challenges of cartoons without captions.

My only qualm with the book is that the authors seem to think that Edward Steed can't draw when he's clearly a fantastic draftsman. Well worth reading nonetheless.

[Speedbumpcomic · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many books have been written about cartoons and cartoonists, but very few have focused on single panel magazine cartoons. To squeeze a complicated idea into one simple drawing is a very specific skill, and Funny Stuff really dives into how these cartoonists' brains work. Reading about the process behind the humor is fascinating - Phil has done an excellent job of asking them the right questions - and, of course, the book is full of brilliant, hilarious examples. Highly recommended!

[Harold Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny Stuff is a gem of a book. It is a must read for anyone who enjoys single-panel gag cartoons. Based on
the ubiquity of these cartoons, there are many of us who
love these New Yorker type cartoons. Funny Stuff is very funny while also being scholarly and insightful. The authors are clearly experts in these cartoons and display
their great love and tremendous knowledge of this combo art and comic form on every page. If you enjoy this type of cartoon, this book is for you.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The humor in this book had me in stitches. The cartoons are absolutely side-splitting. What really hooked me, though, was the fascinating insight into cartoons published in magazines like the New Yorker. The way the authors break down the various styles and structures of the cartoons made it accessible.

[Fred Raker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came to "Funny Stuff" for the gags and ended up staying for the insights about what makes a successful cartoon and what drives cartoonists to create them. Very well written with a great cross-section of humor. I learned a lot and I laughed a lot.

[L.D. Kirshenbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading this book a second time. I already raced through my copy to laff at the expertly selected cartoons.

Now I'm going through to get the behind-the-scenes explanations and the breakdown of the genre, learning about my own sense of humor along the way.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

More classification than enriching analysis. Good selection of cartoons to illustrate the text.

[Kaamran H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any aspiring cartoonist and a special treat for fans of New Yorker cartoons. Witte and Hesner have culled valuable insights from both the current and older generation of New Yorker cartoonists, adding to that their own astute analyses of the cartoonists' work. As a cartoonist and contributor to this book, I learned more about my profession, and these insights from my cartooning peers have inspired me to work a little harder and even try some new things.

[Phil Witte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny Stuff, which I cowrote with Rex Hesner, is an analysis and appreciation of single-panel gag cartoons--the type you see in The New Yorker. In fact, Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor of that magazine for 20 years, wrote the foreword.

The book considers what makes a cartoon great: type of humor, drawing style, and caption writing, among other elements, with over 100 classic cartoons to illustrate our points, all done with a light touch. Also included are pages from the notebooks of great cartoonists, such as Rox Chast, and sketches showing the stages that a cartoon takes from rough to finished work. Many legendary cartoonists explain how they come up with ideas and reveal techniques that put them in a frame of mind to create funny stuff.