Caricature Books

Ken Muse's book on cartooning offers quite a few pointers on what it takes to become a professional cartoonist, but as this book is around thirty years old, a lot of things have changed. For example, the rub-on tone screen sheets commonly used years ago are no longer available, and the book pre-dates the use of computers in cartooning. Still, you'll find a wealth of methods for coming up with ideas for gags, and the interviews with established professional cartoonists are quite informative.

The flavor of McPherson is something akin to Larson's The Far Side strips, with the caveat that the animals are fall less likely to speak and behave sentiently. Always good for a chuckle, and great to pass the time, the Silence of the Lamberts starts with a couple who has re-discovered pleasant dinner conversation by means of two connected sound-proof bubbles while their children rage around them wildly, and it only gets better from there. Quite clever.

I bought a copy of Star Jaws sometime after I'd seen the movie Star Wars. I was in full blown SW frenzy at the time and anything even remotely connected to space caught my eye. The single page comics in the book are parodies of either Star Wars or Jaws or often (and oddly) both. I was 10 or 11 when I first saw the book and even then the jokes were mostly lame and silly. It wasn't until years later when I learned about Will Eisner that I was rather shocked that HE was the author behind this. All in all, it's a silly book that young kids might like.

Pretty dumb, bought this as a gag present for my boss's b-day, as she has 6 dogs and was pretty anti-marriage....

that I did not actually buy this book. I looked at the cover (you can see it above) and said to myself "God, it must get funnier than that". Guess what? It didn't. Read the lame comic on the cover right now. Did you laugh? Was it funny in anyway? Didn't think so. That was the best joke of the whole book. If you don't trust me just ask yourself if you believe that an editor would choose to put a lame comic on the COVER rather than a funny one (in order to "hook" the consumer). That sad truth is that that is the best Judd has to offer. Your money can be better spent elsewhere on this site.

...I read this strip book and found it boring... It is not "witty"... "Thinking man's comic"?!? Please... For those of you who don't know, this book is full of those stupid cartoons you see in the "Idiot's guide to" books... If that's your idea of "witty" or "intelligent humor" then buy this book otherwise save your hard earned $$....

I read this book on a flight to Chicago and it was a lot of fun. Judd's humor is dead-on when it comes to the absurdity of the modern day workplace (and society of that matter). While this book is just "quickie" one panel strips, they are extremly funny. People who find strips like Dilbert, the Far Side and Bloom County will want to check this book out.

Judd Winick, creator of "Frumpy the Clown" is back in the cartoon sphere of life, where by his fans he has been sorely missed. Most know Winick from his time on MTV's "the Real World." But, this book helps to illustrate that his talent was not allowed the spotlight it deserved on that show. Being a fan of Frumpy, and missing my daily dose of humor, this book provides me with the laughter Winick's art has always provided me. Winick unlike all other cartoonists has new ideas and thoughts on our world and has not become a sell out Jim Davis. It is thinking man's humor and Winick's sardonic wit is much appreciated in the world of commercialized cartoon art. Thank you Judd for not creating a Dilbert!!!

In the steel-caged match of Dilbert vs. Winick, I'm amazed that more people haven't noticed Winick. The guy's got a true talent for going after the "smart-joke." Yes, there are a few that fall short, but a lot of these cartoons give me that same feeling that used to come from reading Bloom County. I don't know what the other reviewers were reading, but they're missing the point. Of course, if you're a cranky whitebread little surburbanite who's jealous that they weren't on the Real World, and you prefer something unchallenging, then naturally this book isn't for you. But if you want to see raw, new cartoons that don't go for the obvious joke, this is the one to buy.

I wonder if the previous reviewer actually read the book, or got in a snit just over its title. Oliphant's next book should be "102 Things to Do With a Conservative". By the way, can conservatives do anything besides moralize themsevles into hopeless knots?

The title of this work indicates that Mr. Oliphant is suffering from a severe double-standard. Seeing that he has two (one for his friends - tolerance is good; and one for his enemies - "I will not tolerate a logical point of view and will denegrate the holders thereof"), one can hardly trust his bleary point of view. It is typical of a liberal to insist on a cordial discourse and then to slander his opponent.

I am a big Pat Oliphant fan. I have nearly every cartoon book he has ever published. (parenthetically to the reviewer who assumes Oliphant only goes after conservatives take a look at some of the stuff he did to Teddy Kennedy and Jimmy Carter). Pat Oliphant remade political cartooning in America. Pre Oliphant political cartooning in the US was cliched symbols of Uncle Sam and tired homilies defending the American way of life.

Ok enough praise of Pat. This book has plenty of venom but no bite. It's not funny or particularly hard hitting. A good cartoon should prove its point, this one just uses a tired symbol in 101 different ways almost all equally boring, the only exception, the Jeanne Kirkpatrick allusion in one panel. For heaven's sake Pat, these guys are such easy targets it should be simple to come up with some decent cartoons instead of tired mildly risque word play like cork socker, or coke soaker. If you want to see somebody who does a good job skewering the rich and powerful in america, take a look at Tom Toles' work Your fans deserve better.

I've been a big fan of political cartooning for a long time, dating from reading Pogo in the daily papers back in the 1950s, and acquiring Bill Mauldin's two published wartime collections when I was in college. Dewey is a general writer of popular nonfiction, not a specialist in this field, but he does a pretty good job of surveying the history of the editorial cartoonist's art in U.S. history, from Ben Franklin and Paul Revere and Thomas Nast to Herblock and Pat Oliphant and Gary Trudeau. He seeks not only to present telling examples of each artist's work but also each man's influence, why those being lampooned sometimes tried to bring pressure to bear (Patton hated Mauldin and many papers relegated Doonesbury to the editorial section under pressure from advertisers), and how the public's attitudes changed over time. There are some reservations, however. First, not all artists lived or worked in New York or Washington, but you would think so from the selection in this book. Second, he doesn't seem to quite "get it" when he's discussing certain periods of American history, especially the age of imperialist expansion at the turn of the 20th century. (Maybe because, as noted, he's not an historian.) Many of the drawings in the very lengthy introduction are too small to read the text, but don't worry -- they all seem to appear again in the body of the book, which is divided into thematic chapters.

This is a fantastic collection of political cartoons wonderfully presented. A beautiful coffee table book.

But, upon reflection, all this celebration and I ended up with a question instead of answers.

What have political cartoons ever done?

On second thought, maybe I do have an answer because the answer is nothing. Political cartoons appeal to the converted but have never converted. Political cartoons amuse those who agree and anger those who don't. But can anyone name a single political cartoon that has changed anything?

Even the politicians who have tried to pass laws against political cartoons have BEEN elected despite those cartoons.

So, while this collection is very interesting and historical, I have to say that the entire field of political cartoons amounts to absolutely nothing.

A very good title, a very good subject, but ultimately a mediocre book.

Donald Dewey starts strong about the early history of political cartoons, but then fades into boring personal views in his overlong "Introduction."

The actual cartoons are the guts of this book, and most interesting on their own. Unfortunately the author is not a real historian and this collection suffers from a lack balance. For example, very few local editorial/political cartoons are presented in the chapter on "Local and Domestic Politics": most are from the L.A. or New York papers.

I think American political cartoons are more important than does Mr. Dewey and hope that this subject is taken up by another author in a more comprehensive and positive way.

Why cant we see any cartoon? How can we know if this book is something we like or not? I am disappointed.

Seriously. In the sample all you get is the book cover and a meaningless page or two and the question "well how did you like it". Not funny. Would it hurt to show one cartoon? Hey you can remove the text if you got to be greedy. I am considering not buying this just because of the poor quality of the sample.

The cure for those who take their spirituality too seriously. Like the laugh of the Dalai Lama, the cartoons uplift and enlighten and teach us to lighten up. Page 27 , the cartoon by Mari Gayatri-Stein, depicting two dogs at a Vipassana retreat, questioning whether they are at a zombie convention is precious and worth the price of the book!!!!

We found this book to be VERY VIOLENT. There are several disturbing photographs and sketches that are inappropriate for any child. One of the sections is about Chinese tortures and states "The 'lightest' penalty was beating - 4 to 100 blows . . might also be condemed to have his ears cut off or be shut inside a tiny cage. The frame torture consisted of placing a piece of wood weighing over 80 pounds around the convict's neck. He was not able to sleep or rest, and the slightest fall could break is neck and kill him." This is accompanied by a VERY DISTURBING photograph of men and a child being tortured! A children's book?

Also, of the many photos, only one is of a woman or girl. She is working in a silk work factory.

Overall, my opinion of the book was very negative - especially in its depiction of China and it's people.

This book was not violent. There were many pictures of woman and children and there was nothing disturbing about it. The reviewer from Boston obviously did not read this book. There is one picture referring to chinese torture. It is realistic and tasteful. Children need to understand history and the world around them. This book helps.

The art does not represent Manga drawings at all, in my opinion. This book was a big disappointment to me and a waste of money.

My experience drawing Manga/Anime figures is that of a beginner. I bought about 10 different books to get started as I have zero drawing experience. Of the many fine works that have helped me improve my sketching in a very short time, this one was one of the two most helpful. The "tutorials" in the beginning of the book are great, especially helping a novice draw figures from different angles. The second half of the book is devoted to examples of various manga-style(and yes, in response to another comment...they ARE MANGA) figures for inspiration.

I am sure the book may not offer much to veteran manga artists...but this newb really appreciated the leg up offered by Mr.Galea's book.