One Drawing, Twelve Captions

This is an embarrassing story. There’s probably a lesson in it somewhere, maybe, so that’s why I’m gonna tell it. Or actually there probably isn’t but I’m gonna tell it anyway. All cartoonists have that one cartoon that we want to sell so badly that we submit it and resubmit over and over. Sometimes it works! Usually it doesn’t. This one didn’t work twelve times.

Another thing about all cartoonists is that we all have our favorite topics or situations that we want use as cartoon fodder. I like Agatha Christie. I like her detective, Hercule Poirot. I especially like when he gathers all the suspects into one room at the end and reveals the killer. That’s one of my favorite tropes in fiction. That set-up feels ripe for something funny. The only problem is I never figured out what that is.

Pre pandemic, anyone could waltz into the offices of The New Yorker on a Tuesday and get a quick one-on-one with the cartoon editor, pitch your batch, get some feedback and waltz out of there. Early 2019 I waltzed in and submitted this cartoon:

Keep in mind that “This could have been an email,” now an overused phrase, was still sorta maybe fresh in 2019. Not fresh enough, however, because Emma Allen, the cartoon editor, told me that they had just sold a cartoon with that same caption. She also told me, regrettably for both of us, that she liked the picture and that I should try to come up with a new caption for it, and I, regrettably for both of us, took that to heart.

I have submitted twelve different versions of this cartoon in the last six years. None of them have sold, which is fair because none of them are particularly good. Here are the eleven other versions of this cartoon which either had minimal or no changes to the drawing. Every version of it is a lateral change, meaning that it’s just as funny, or in this case, not funny, as the previous version. That’s usually a sign not to resubmit a cartoon, as lateral changes aren’t going to magically make the cartoon sell. The trick is to find a truly fresh take on it, which I did not. Anyway, here are the toons:

The proposal angle was the last one! I was finally told to let it go. And so I have. Unless I can think of a good one. I think my favorite is the “can’t I just invite some friends over…” one, but I don’t think it’s great. Let me know if you have a favorite that you don’t think is great.

What Else?

I drew yesterday’s Daily Cartoon for The New Yorker. It’s a similar story to the Poirot one, in that “Christmas trees merchants on the sidewalk” has been a set up that I’ve tried in various ways to sell over the years. Unlike Poirot, I finally did it.

Also, if you have any last minute shopping, I’ve got a shop where I sell Cartoon Prints and Hats!

Also, over at Cartoonstock.com you can buy customizable cartoons, where you can add a name of your choosing! Great for making fun of you relatives.

They can be mugs too!

Okay that’s all for today! Thanks so much. As ever, please press the button, comment, and subscribe if you don’t already! Have a great weekend!