Year-End Laffs Dept: Gag Cartoons That Won’t Make You Gag– I Hope!
I started out as a gag cartoonist, submitting one-panel gag cartoons to magazines “on spec” (as in speculation: maybe the cartoon editor would like one enough to buy it). Years ago, one sent them via snail mail. You had to enclose an SASE (= self-addressed stamped envelope) if you wanted them back.
There was actually a time (roughly 1930’s thru mid-60’s) when, once a week, on “look day,” cartoonists in big cities like New York would drop by brick-and-mortar magazine offices and show their latest gags to cartoon editors in person. I don’t go back quite that far.
Some magazines still require hard copies and an SASE, but many now accept submissions online. I hadn’t submitted cartoons on spec for many years. I decided to jump back in this year and submit some electronically (my SASE days are over).
Here are a few that made me laugh anyway. Hope you enjoy them.
Note: You’ll notice that a couple of the cartoons say No Caption. That’s because it’s standard practice to indicate to a cartoon editor that a particular cartoon does not have a caption. I wanted to include that information for any aspiring gag cartoonists out there– it’s not because I don’t think my readers are smart enough to “get” a captionless gag!!
Also FWIW: one of the cartoons (“Recycling”) has a non-spoken caption. That’s a fairly standard device in modern cartoons. You don’t see it as often in pre-1970 cartoons.
Happy New Year, see you all in 2012!
What do you think? Have a favorite? Anything make you laugh out loud? Groan? Slap your forehead?? Hope you’ll leave a comment.
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