arts & entertainment

Jews, Judaism And Joking

Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor at The New Yorker, will introduce his new memoir
and speak about his life in cartoons at this year's Jewish Book Fair.

I

Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer

mostly dissatisfied with what they do."
To help transition amateurs into professionals, the book
gives tips on winning the magazine's caption contests and
fireworks, a marching band and Yiddish songs
explains why some cartoons draw laughs and others do not.
entered into the humorous imagination of Bob
Readers will find about 250 cartoons in the book. With
Mankoff as he joked about his upcoming presen-
attention given to those done by Mankoff, as well as others,
tation at the 63rd annual Jewish Book Fair.
different ways of looking at cartoons are expressed.
Mankoff, cartoon editor at The New Yorker, earns his
"My world view is shown in the cartoon with three fishes
living by lightening serious subjects
in sequence — a little fish, middle fish
with humor and continued the routine
big fish:' he said. "The second fish is
HOW ABO UT NEVER and
during a phone conversation about his
ready to eat the first fish, and the third
planned visit, new book and outlook.
fish is ready to eat the second fish.
IS N EVER
How About Never — Is Never Good for
"The little fish is thinking there is no
GOOD F OR YOU?
You? My Life in Cartoons (Henry Holt)
justice in the world. The second fish is
will be spotlighted at 6 p.m. Thursday,
thinking there is some justice, and the
Nov. 6, at the Jewish Community Center
third fish is thinking the world is just
in West Bloomfield. The title comes
"That expresses a philosophy and the
from his best-known cartoon.
idea of relativism. Our opinions are very
"My presentation is going to be
much bound up in our own interests and
focused on Jewish humor, my ethnic
positions so objectivity is very difficult.
roots, my secular Jewish roots and how
"Subjectivity is the order of the day for
all that informed the life I lead and the
life, for us and for these fishes. It should
type of humor that I do:' he explained,
make us humble about our opinions —
EDITOR
BOB MANKOFF CARTOON
THE NE TOMER
getting serious. "There will be a lot
even the ones we hold strongest:'
about Jews, Judaism and joking."
newest book follows
Mankoff, 70, has spoken about com-
The Naked Cartoonist, which is about
edy to other Michigan groups. Over
creativity.
four years, he taught a mini-course,
Although starting another writing
"The Art and Science of Humor;at the
project between the two published
University of Michigan. He also has
books, he had to stop. It seemed too dif-
given many talks to the Knight Wallace
ficult to cover the history of humor and
Fellows, chosen for mid-career journal-
be funny at the same time.
- Bob Mankoff
ism programs at the school.
The need to return part of an advance
"The book is a fuller expression of both my philosophy and payment brought him to How About Never, originally
my comic personality:' said Mankoff, who has come up with
planned as a collection of his cartoons. Editors liked the
more than 900 cartoons used by the magazine and developed
long introduction and asked that it be expanded into a fuller
the online Cartoon Bank to include the more than 75,000 car- memoir.
toons that have appeared in The New Yorker.
"It wasn't that difficult to do a history of my own humor
"The book is about my life, and part of my life is express-
and be funny," said Mankoff, who linked the approach to a
ing myself:' he said. "It's a privilege that I worked very hard
blog he was writing for The New Yorker.
to get:'
Mankoff, influenced by the cartoons of William Steig and
Working hard meant submitting more than 500 cartoons
Saul Steinberg, attributes their success to the ways they could
to the magazine before the first was published in 1977.
express humor as representing ideas.
While Mankoff enjoyed drawing as a youngster, he studied
"Discontent means annoyance and unhappiness, and that's
for a career in psychology. As it worked out, he was able to
the root of all humor," Mankoff said. "The humor of cartoons
apply analysis of behavior to illustrations, without and with
reflects on the seriousness of life.
captions.
"Life can't be understood without humor, not any humor
In one without captions, for example, he shows a man
at all but a serious humor that reflects on it. There's so much
reaching into a bathroom medicine cabinet filled only with
sorrow that we need humor to counteract it:'
apples. In one with a caption that reads, "Three Out of Four
As New Yorker cartoon submissions have passed across
Doctors:' he shows the zany Marx Brothers in lab coats.
Mankoff's desk, he has noted that younger cartoonists are
Mankoff actually traces his comic approach to observa-
more absurd and affected by the minute-to-minute stimuli of
tions of Jewish entertainers drawing crowds at resorts in the
the Internet.
Catskills. He was able to take a longer-range view of rejection
"The future of cartoons is online because that's where
once he became The New Yorker's cartoon editor.
everything will be in one form or another; he said. "How
"Rejection is the engine that spurs improvement:' he said.
much money there will be and how that will be distributed,
"Through rejection, people learn the good from the bad.
nobody knows.
Rejection for the sake of rejection is nothing. Rejection with
"I think there will be more cartoons than ever before
some philosophy, some criteria, is the way to get better.
because of the ability of people to access and distribute them.
"The difference between amateurs and professionals is that
Making money is difficult, and it's not clear what that model
amateurs think everything they do is good. Professionals are
will be."

F

—

What Lemmings Believe

Of

@Robert Man koffkartoon ban k.com

"The humor of
cartoons reflects on
the seriousness of life."

Three Fish expresses the idea of relativism.

Wow, that's product placement!"

Product Placement

The Jewish Book Fair hosts speaker Bob Mankoff
at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Jewish
Community Center in West Bloomfield. $12.
(248) 661-1900; theberman.org .

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October 9 • 2014

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