#AtWitsEnd #NetGalley
Melding words with art creating snapshots of thought provoking moments.

That’s what New Yorker cartoons represent.

With this book, we learn of the creative minds behind those cartoons. It takes talent to use a limited space and leave lasting impressions. Hearing who they were inspired by as well as what they motivated the final result that landed in the weekly magazine was eye opening.

This book belongs on the shelves of New Yorker fans, and lovers of graphic art.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Clarkson Potter/TenSpeed Press, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is always joyful to review a book on New Yorker cartoonists. There have been well over 700 of them in its century-long history They have produced thousands of cartoons to choose from. The author merely has to select some subset of the cartoonists, pick out some sterling examples of their work, and pull it altogether in a fun book. This one is called At Wits’ End, written by Michael Maslin, with photos by Alen MacWeeney.

The book is a little different. For one thing, photographer Alen MacWeeney has added a couple of full page black and white portraits of most of the cartoonists. And there are a good 50 of them in the book. Cartoonist Michael Maslin has known them all, and has been able to write up their profiles in a very personal way, including the first time they met, how long they’ve known each other, how their art differs from others, was inspired by others, has evolved and so on, plus a couple of representative cartoons from each. He even married one of them.

One thing that comes up again and again is how the business has changed. As in so many other careers, it is all but impossible to make a good living selling cartoons to The New Yorker any more. Many of them have other jobs. They all seem to write books – mostly autobiographies and cartoon collections. And incredibly, they all have to go through a terribly debasing rejection ritual every week.

New Yorker cartoonists spend their work weeks devising and drawing cartoons. Then once a week they bring a folder of ten or 20 of them to the office, where the cartoon editor rejects them, possibly buying one. And that’s it for income that week.

It is not only humiliating, but fans never get to see all the rejects. And judging by the editor’s tastes, the best are not necessarily the ones that get published. This comes out in the stories that make up each profile. One New Yorker cartoonist, David Sipress, had his work rejected every week for 25 years, until the editor retired and was replaced by someone who appreciated his cartoons more. Another kept track, and found acceptance for his 610th submission, throwing out 609 other cartoons before being accepted into the club. Even the supreme, nationally recognized cartoonist of National Lampoon and Playboy Magazine, Gahan Wilson, well into his 80s, had to take the bus into town from Long Island every week, to have his work rejected by the cartoon editor. It is a brutal career choice, requiring a very thick skin.

And it clashes so badly with the cheery, oddball characters the cartoonists make themselves out to be, as they pose with their toys and their cluttered workspaces, clowning for Macweeney’s camera.

Not to put too fine point on it, but Maslin says outright: “It’s especially difficult in the early years, when the pressure to get a foothold at the magazine seems all-consuming (by the way, that pressure never lets up).”

The book is laid out artfully and cheerily, with slim columns of text in different places for each profile, two huge portraits of the artist, (none of them a straight on headshot) and a couple of cartoon examples, usually at the end, after readers learn what to expect. Because this book is more about the artists than the laughs. Though clearly, if not for the laughs, they wouldn’t be featuring these artists.

I can’t imagine Maslin does not know this, but in the early years of the magazine, some of the luminaries (including its founder) hung out together down the street at the Algonquin Round Table. In the evenings and on weekends (outside of summer when they were all away somewhere in the world), they would then hang out at the apartment of one of them, which the tenant named Wits’ End. in their honor. I initially thought that was what the book would be about, what with having the same name as the book about the apartment, and the era, and the magazine. Why this volume is called At Wits’ End is never discussed nor is the apartment mentioned.

I like that Maslin appreciates their artwork, far more than I do. He explains in detail how each artist is different, finding his or her own style, and making The New Yorker cartoons their own way, rather than trying to make “New Yorker” cartoons. He looks at them a lot more closely, to the point of what pens or brushes they employ, and takes seriously the matchup between the caption and the artwork.

It’s an education, and a very pleasant one.

David Wineberg

(At Wits’ End, Alen MacWeeney and Michael Maslin, November 2024)

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From start to finish, this is a beautifully arranged book with all the character of a New Yorker cartoon. The handwritten drop quotes and unconventional layout are genius. Many bios had repetitive information, but I assume this book is not going to be read linearly, so it may not be an issue. The portraits are so uniquely posed and fun!

My thanks to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an advance copy of this book that turns the camera eye to the the people who make us laugh, or leave us wondering what this series of doodles is supposed to be doing, along with ideas about creativity and loving what one does.

Two things that have always interested me are creativity and cartooning. I love to read how creators get there ideas, be it buying them wholesale from a store in Schenectady, as Harlan Ellison used to quip, a chance conversation, or just sitting at a table and sketching one's way to brilliance. As a person who can't draw a straight line with a ruler, I have always loved cartoons, especially single panel works. The idea that the story, the setup the punchline and a picture take place in one drawing is always astonishing to me. This love took awhile. I grew up with the funnies, Dick Tracy, Dondi, Broom Hilda, and loved the stories, the places the panels would take you. My father was subscriber to The New Yorker and started sharing the cartoons with me. I must admit I was a bit like a Seinfeld character in the beginning, not getting the one panel sketch, nor the jokes. Soon though I came to appreciate it, the work involved, and would pick up cues that told me who various illustrators were, and what I could expect. This is why I loved this book so much. At Wit's End: Cartoonists of The New Yorker features photographs by famed photographer Alen MacWeeney with words and commentary by cartoonist and historian Michael Maslin featuring over 50 cartoonists from The New Yorker, from the past, the present and future up-and-comers.

There have been about 700 cartoonists who have had work appear in the one hundred years that The New Yorker has been published. Many have been lost to time or produced works in anonymity. The cartoons were started as a way to fill in spaces in the magazine, as their was not much money in the beginning and articles could only be stretched so far. The book features 50 cartoonists, with photos taken by MacWeeney. Accompanying this photos are essays either featuring commentary on the art, interviews with the artist, or a bit of both. These are written by Michael Maslin, a cartoonist whose work has appeared in the magazine, and who also has a website about the history of The New Yorker's cartoons. These photos show the cartoonists at rest, at play, and sometimes at work. Along with the essays are panels of some of their works, so one gets an idea of the creative sparks these people have within them.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. I loved putting names and faces to cartoons that I have enjoyed over the years. The writing I thought was quite good, knowledgeable and understanding about being a cartoonist, and full of interesting tidbits. The idea that there was a time when cartoonists would travel from magazine to magazine, selling single panel pictures, meeting for drinks, and going home to draw is seems like from a far distant world. Many cartoonists have five or six jobs to keep the lights on in their studio. What also becomes clear from the interview is the love they have for what they do, and the pride they take in their work.

I love to see people living their dream, and this book is full of that. There might be a lot of struggling to do so, but one can see they really love what they do. That is rare. A great book for burgeoning cartoonists, people who love portraits, as the photos are really quite good. And people like me who loved to read about creativity no matter where it comes from, or what it creates.

What a delightful book! It is so great to meet the many cartoonists from the New Yorker! The photos of them are wonderful and I loved learning about them as well as seeing some of their work (It was cool to recognize some of the cartoons and laugh again!). This would be a great gift for those who love cartoons (especially from the New Yorker) or interested in artists in general. This is a fun and quick read and really enjoyed learning about what goes into the cartoons.

Thank you to Netgalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I learned from this book that The New Yorker has had over 700 cartoonists, and they seem to be as funny in real life as in their cartoons. The chosen artists get a section where they pose in unique, funny ways, and we get to learn more about them, their inspirations, and other parts of their lives. Humor can be difficult, and each of these artists had such an interesting view of the world. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

At Wit’s End is such an interesting book, all of the artists are beautifully photographed and reading about each of them is fascinating. What I really enjoyed was recognizing the styles of the cartoons and matching them to the cartoonist, it is like meeting a whole room of people!
Obviously getting a good laugh at each cartoon is also a big plus!