Gag cartoon
Encyclopedia
A gag cartoon is most often a single-panel cartoon, usually including a hand-lettered or typeset caption beneath the drawing. A pantomime cartoon
carries no caption. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech balloons, following the common convention of comic strip
s.
As the name implies—"gag" being a show business term for a comedic idea—these cartoons are most often intended to provoke laughter. Popular magazines that have featured gag cartoons include Punch, The New Yorker
and Playboy
. Some publications, such as Humorama
, have used cartoons as the main focus of the magazine, rather than articles and fiction.
, drawn by Carl Rose
and captioned by E. B. White
, shows a mother telling her daughter, "It's broccoli, dear." The daughter responds, "I say it's spinach and I say the hell with it."
in college bookstores. Single-panel cartoons have been published on various products, such as coffee mugs and cocktail napkins.
Traditionally, newspapers and magazines printed cartoons in black and white, but this changed in the 1950s when Playboy
began to feature full-page, full-color cartoons in every issue.
From 1942 to 1971, the cartoonist-novelist Lawrence Lariar edited the annual Best Cartoons of the Year collections.
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
carries no caption. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech balloons, following the common convention of comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s.
As the name implies—"gag" being a show business term for a comedic idea—these cartoons are most often intended to provoke laughter. Popular magazines that have featured gag cartoons include Punch, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
. Some publications, such as Humorama
Humorama
Humorama, a division of Martin Goodman's publishing firm, was a line of digest-sized magazines featuring girlie cartoons by Bill Ward, Bill Wenzel, Dan DeCarlo, Jack Cole and many others....
, have used cartoons as the main focus of the magazine, rather than articles and fiction.
Captions
Captions are usually concise to fit on a single line. Gag cartoons of the 1930s and earlier occasionally had lengthy captions, sometimes featuring dialogue between two characters depicted in the drawing; over time, cartoon captions became shorter. For instance, a well-known 1928 cartoon in The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, drawn by Carl Rose
Carl Rose
Carl Rose was an American cartoonist whose work appeared in The New Yorker, Popular Science, The Saturday Evening Post, and elsewhere. He received the National Cartoonists Society's Advertising and Illustration Award for 1958....
and captioned by E. B. White
E. B. White
Elwyn Brooks White , usually known as E. B. White, was an American writer. A long-time contributor to The New Yorker magazine, he also wrote many famous books for both adults and children, such as the popular Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, and co-authored a widely used writing guide, The...
, shows a mother telling her daughter, "It's broccoli, dear." The daughter responds, "I say it's spinach and I say the hell with it."
Markets
In the mid-1950s, gag cartoonists found a new market with the introduction of highly popular studio cardsStudio cards
Studio cards were tall, narrow humorous greeting cards which became popular during the 1950s. The approach was sometimes cutting or caustic, a distinct alternative to the type of mild humor previously employed by the major greeting card companies....
in college bookstores. Single-panel cartoons have been published on various products, such as coffee mugs and cocktail napkins.
Traditionally, newspapers and magazines printed cartoons in black and white, but this changed in the 1950s when Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
began to feature full-page, full-color cartoons in every issue.
Books
There are numerous collections of cartoons in both paperback and hardcover, notably The New Yorker collections.From 1942 to 1971, the cartoonist-novelist Lawrence Lariar edited the annual Best Cartoons of the Year collections.
Notable gag cartoonists
- Charles AddamsCharles AddamsCharles "Chas" Samuel Addams was an American cartoonist known for his particularly black humor and macabre characters...
- Peter ArnoPeter ArnoPeter Arno was a U.S. cartoonist.-Biography:Born Curtis Arnoux Peters, Jr. in New York, New York, and educated at the Hotchkiss School and Yale University, his cartoons were published in The New Yorker from 1925–1968. They often depicted a cross-section of New York society from the 1920s through...
- George Booth
- Roz ChastRoz ChastRosalind "Roz" Chast is an American cartoonist and a staff cartoonist for The New Yorker. She grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, the only child of an assistant principal and a high school teacher who subscribed to The New Yorker. Her earliest cartoons were published in Christopher Street...
- George ClarkGeorge Clark (cartoonist)George Clark is an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated cartoon panels The Neighbors and Side Glances. For both, Clark employed a loose, naturalistic drawing style to illustrate minor human foibles and familiar family situations...
- Sam GrossSam GrossSam Gross is an American cartoonist. He began cartooning in 1962.His cartoons have appeared in numerous magazines including The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Esquire, Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping.He was cartoon editor for National Lampoon and Parents Magazine...
- Gary LarsonGary LarsonGary Larson is the creator of The Far Side, a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to newspapers for 15 years. The series ended with Larson's retirement on January 1, 1995. His 23 books of collected cartoons have combined sales of more than 45 million...
- George LichtyGeorge LichtyGeorge Lichty was an American cartoonist, creator of the daily and Sunday cartoon series Grin and Bear It. His work was signed Lichty and often ran without mention of his first name....
- Virgil Partch (aka VIP)
- George PriceGeorge Price (New Yorker cartoonist)George Price was a United States cartoonist who was born in Fort Lee, New Jersey.After doing advertising artwork in his youth, Price started doing cartoons for The New Yorker magazine in 1929...
- James ThurberJames ThurberJames Grover Thurber was an American author, cartoonist and celebrated wit. Thurber was best known for his cartoons and short stories published in The New Yorker magazine.-Life:...
- Gluyas WilliamsGluyas WilliamsGluyas Williams was an American cartoonist, notable for his contributions to The New Yorker and other major magazines.Born in San Francisco, California, he graduated from Harvard in 1911...
- Gahan WilsonGahan WilsonGahan Wilson is an American author, cartoonist and illustrator known for his cartoons depicting horror-fantasy situations...
Popular themes
There are some well-established themes which recur regularly in gag cartoons. These themes are often adapted to suit the context of the cartoon. Popular themes include:- DesertDesertA desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
- Desert islandDesert islandA desert island or uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of "paradise". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves and...
- Talking animalTalking animalA talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
s - Take me to your leaderTake Me to Your Leader"Take me to your leader" is a cartoon catchphrase, supposedly said by extraterrestrial aliens who have just landed on earth in a flying saucer to the first human they happen to meet...