







This is the issue with a cover by Till Lauer showing palms trees against deep red, presumably flames. This is about the LA fires, but for me also resonates with other current horrors.
Reminder: this page of reviews is only useful, if at all, if you have a print copy of this issue of The New Yorker in front of you and you want to compare your reactions to ours.
I noticed that nearly all the cartoonists best Google result was to their Instagram pages; that is where most of the links go.
You can use this link to see the cartoons if not a paid subscriber, but after a few visits you will need to subscribe.
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Reaction
Occasionally erudite commentary:
1

Jon Adams has the first cartoon in this issue (batting leadoff?) based on the classic detective office scene. It’s a neat mashup of that hard-boiled thing with a more modern meme of a guy who needs help figuring out what he did wrong with his wife. As someone who often ponders whether I have done something to qualify as “bad boyfriend”, I liked this a lot.
2

Eugenia Viti has the cartoon where the devil is making sure his assistant reminds him to torture the new guy.
I like the idea of combining Hell with a modern office situation, because a modern office situation can seem like Hell.
3

Emily Bernstein‘s cave man cartoon works well for me. I often ponder hunter-gatherer life and this is a great take off on that; cave man restaurant chef explaining his menu to patrons.
4

Diane de Ferran has a cartoon that I really related to: the family photo taker is never in the photos. Not a cartoon that will make you spit out your drink from hysterics, but most everyone will appreciate it. I did.
5

Harry Bliss, who does a lot of wonderful dog cartoons, has a cartoon where the dog is incidental: the guy dealing with the problem of ever finding the continued story in a magazine.
6

Daniel Kanhai has a cartoon that is a bit ribald for The New Yorker, couple talking about their record short time for doing a mini-crossword, while naked in bed. I suspect among the relatively young couples this cartoon will be quite popular; might even go on the frig until there are kids in the house.
7

Hartley Lin has an interesting cartoon about someone finding an old computer at a yard sale or second hand store and feeling nostalgic about the pre-internet days.
Again, not a side splitter, but I totally get it. The internet today can be a nightmare of lost privacy and worse…
8

Roz Chast has yet another charming and sweet cartoon about an odd take on the perils of following a recipe.
As always, I will need a damn good reason to dump on a Roz cartoon; not this one!
9

Edward Frascino has a cat cartoon that I like because I can’t resist scruffy ally cat cartoons, but I love the drawing more than the caption. I get the concept, but doesn’t quite send me.
10

Asher Perlman has another cocktail party cartoon that I like. This is something I have certainly experienced without saying it out loud…
11

Maggie Larson shows us a woman dealing with an exterminator with a very sensitive, empathetic viewpoint on her mouse.
I might have had similar thoughts as I set out poison and traps for the mouse who leaves calling cards in my silverware drawer.
12

Charlie Hankin has a very offbeat cartoon that is actually pretty scary. I get it. I wonder if this is a subtle reflection of the feeling of paranoia that many of us have these days, in view of developments wafting out of DC.
13

Barbara Smaller has a cartoon that does put put me in mind of George Booth: an apartment scene with a wacky person in the other room, and an overall look of entropy encroaching.
I like the cartoon, but I do feel it is what I call a bit “caption heavy”.
There could be 1,000 other captions to this great drawing and one of them might be funnier?
14

Sofia Warren has a strange one. A mix of the old west cartoon thing with a reference to Steely Dan. This has to be a one of a kind.
Again, I would like to see other caption options because the drawing is wonderful, and funny (funnier?) without the caption.
15

Benjamin Schwartz does a take on the doctor office idea. I want to like it more than I do.
I get it, but there is something missing for me, some sort of resonance with the doctor office idea and the hand puppet idea.
Once again, I think the cartoon is funny without the caption, and there might be a funnier caption out there.
16

Drew Panckeri has a self-captioned take on medieval times. I get it, I like the drawing and the reference to Humpty Dumpty, but though I enjoy it I don’t find it quite… funny.
17

Carolita Johnson has a cartoon that really feels genuinely New Yorky: about the express vs the local subway train.
For subway riders in New York, where there ARE express and local, this should land well.
For the farmer in Kansas, probably less of a hit, but the magazine IS the New Yorker.
18

Frank Cotham has the closest thing to a Booth cartoon, two dogs at a restaurant. It has the pure delight of Booth and the cartoon is funny without the caption, which is a hallmark of Booth.
Question is whether the caption is the best match for the cartoon?
Didn’t land that well for me, but when I went back to take another look I noticed the befuddled chef peering through the little round window from the kitchen… that put me over the edge and I have to love this cartoon.
19

Lars Kenseth has a cartoon that very gently invokes the current political nightmares where an idiot president is talking about annex places like Canada and Greenland.
Brings up the question of whether the cartoons in the New Yorker should be an escape from today’s nightmares (which the magazine covers extremely well) or should the cartoons reflect today’s political horrors?
Looking back over the years, New Yorker cartoons have often reflected the issues of the times, but usually like this one, gently.
20

Jared Nangle has a cartoon printed so small, and with such fine lines, that it is pretty hard to take in.
(On computer you can get your browser to enlarge the view, which was necessary on this and some others.)
The cartoon is a take on the shark and swimmer idea, but takes it in an interesting direction that brought Steinberg to mind, which is a compliment to any cartoon.

The Cartoon Caption Contest
The New Cartoon
The whale in the sound studio… I got nuthin’. Can’t wait to see what people come up with.
The Finalists
For the walking into the giant phone, we had to go with “I accidentally clicked ‘Accept All Terms and Conditions.’” which is great.
The Winning Caption
We agree that Roasting Vegetables is the best caption.

Bottom Line
Lotta damn good cartoons this issue! I think if things were this good ongoing I never would have started this absurd project in the first place.
The only useful way to see this page, if there is one, is with a print copy of the New Yorker in hand. You can compare your reaction to each cartoon to ours.