And The Award For (Possibly) Most UnThurberlike Book Cover Goes To…

The 1974 Czechia edition of Thurber’s The 13 Clocks.

Originally published in the US in 1950 by Simon & Schuster, and illustrated by Marc Simont:

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James Thurber’s A-Z Entry:

James Thurber Born, Columbus, Ohio, December 8, 1894. Died 1961, New York City. New Yorker work: 1927 -1961, with several pieces run posthumously. According to the New Yorker’s legendary editor, William Shawn, “In the early days, a small company of writers, artists, and editors — E.B. White, James Thurber, Peter Arno, and Katharine White among them — did more to make the magazine what it is than can be measured.”

Key cartoon collection: The Seal in the Bedroom and Other Predicaments (Harper & Bros., 1932). Key anthology (writings & drawings): The Thurber Carnival (Harper & Row, 1945). There have been a number of Thurber biographies. Burton Bernstein’s Thurber (Dodd, Mead, 1975) and Harrison Kinney’s James Thurber: His Life and Times (Henry Holt & Co., 1995) are essential. Website

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The New Yorker’s 1st Basketball Cartoon and 1st Basketball Cover

With basketball fever gripping Gotham City, I thought it was time to take stock of New Yorker basketball 1sts (cartoon and cover). According to the magazine’s database, the very first New Yorker basketball cartoon appeared in the issue of December 23, 1933. The artist: Robert Day.

Robt. Day’s A-Z Entry:

Robert Day (photo from This Week anthology, 1954) Born, 1900, San Bernardino, California. Died, February, 1985, Gravette, Arkansas. New Yorker work: 1931 -1976. Collection: All Out For the Sack Race! (Random House, 1945).

And according to the database, the first basketball themed cover appeared March 10, 1951. Cover artist: the great Abe Birnbaum:

Abe Birnbaum’s A-Z Entry:

Abe Birnbaum Born, New York City, 1899. Died June 19, 1966, New York City. New Yorker work: 1929 -1974. Mr. Birnbaum began at the New Yorker as a cartoonist, contributing a handful before switching to cover work, of which he produced 141. He also provided spot drawings and illustrations. According to Mr. Birnbaum’s New York Times obit, his work was exhibited at The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Carnegie Institute.

 

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MAD‘s Addams & Peter Arno Parodies

Thanks to a Facebook post by the EC Fan-Addict Club, this 1955 MAD Magazine parody of Charles Addams famous Family came to my attention. When I sought out the entire magazine online (MAD No.26 1955), I found this great site that allows us to see every page of back issues. What I found, when paging through, was a Peter Arno parody sitting right next to the Addams parody. Both drawings were executed by MAD artist, Will Elder.

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My Own “I Like The Kitty” Moment

Many of us recall the famous Seinfeld episode, “The Cartoon” (written by my New Yorker colleague, Bruce Eric Kaplan) that includes the scene where Elaine Benes goes into “The New Yorker” to confront the editor (“Mr. Elinoff”) about a cartoon she doesn’t understand.

Here’s the dialogue:

• Mr. Elinoff: Miss Benes, cartoons are like gossamer, and one doesn’t dissect gossamer.
• Elaine Benes: Well, you don’t have to dissect it if you could just tell me why this is supposed to be funny.
• Mr. Elinoff: Oh, it’s merely a commentary on contemporary mores.
• Elaine Benes: But what is the comment?
• Mr. Elinoff: It’s a slice of life.
• Elaine Benes: No, it isn’t.
• Mr. Elinoff: A pun?
• Elaine Benes: I don’t think so.
• Mr. Elinoff: Vorshtein?
• Elaine Benes: That’s not a word. You have no idea what this means.
• Mr. Elinoff: No.
• Elaine Benes: Then why did you print it?
• Mr. Elinoff: I like the kitty.

I had my own “I like the kitty” moment yesterday when a Mr. Cooper from Victoria, Canada wrote in asking me to explain a drawing of mine that appears in the 1987 collection (edited by Sam Gross), Cats! Cats! Cats!. 

Here’s the drawing:

My immediate reaction was to write Mr. Cooper back saying, “Vorshtein.” But instead, I admitted I had no idea what the cartoon meant. This morning I showed the cartoon to my wife (who is also a long time New Yorker cartoonist). She immediately furrowed — not a good sign.

If any cartoonist out there has had a similar experience (that is: not “getting” one of your own drawings) I’d love to hear about it.

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The Tilley Watch Online, June 1-5, 2026

An end of the week listing of New Yorker artists whose work has appeared on newyorker.com features

Daily Cartoon: Matt Reuter(twice), Elisabeth McNair, this cartoonist, Jorge Penne.

A Cartoon Soccer Selection: “Kicking It” 

A Cartoon Basketball Selection: “Full-Court Press”

Barry Blitt’s Kvetchbook: “Data Centers Bring The Buzz”

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Exhibit (In Spain!) Of Interest: Andrea Arroyo and Felipe Galindo

An exhibit of work by this married duo. Andrea Arroyo first contributed to The New Yorker in 1992; Felipe Galindo began contributing to The New Yorker in 2002.

Andrea Arroyo’s website.

Felipe Galindo’s website.

–photos courtesy of Ms. Arroyo and Mr. Galindo

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  Another in a series of quick looks at an artist’s very first New Yorker cartoon and their last. 

 

Looking through the Spill’s A-Z this morning, my attention turned to Richard Oldden (1931-1995).  A search immediately turned up this entry on Lambiak Comiclopedia. The entry included a number of things I hadn’t known before including this:

“On 14 May 1973, Oldden and gag writer Sam Gross launched their daily newspaper comic ‘The Genius’ (1973-1977) through King Features Syndicate.”

Reading this brought memories of speaking with Sam on the phone — sometimes long conversations about cartoonists I knew little about. I can still hear Sam, in his distinctive voice, saying “Dick Oldden” this and “Dick Oldden” that (oddly, Sam never mentioned “The Genius” strip).

Checking The New Yorker’s database, I found that the magazine published 72 Oldden cartoons. Here’s the first, from the issue of July 23, 1966:

And here’s the last Richard Oldden New Yorker cartoon, published in the issue of September 6, 1993:

 

 

 

 

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The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker

The Cartoonists and Cartoons

Fifteen cartoons, fifteen cartoonists. No newbies. One duo, that we know of (the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). The longest active cartoonist contributor in the issue is Roz Chast, whose first New Yorker cartoon appeared in the issue of July 3, 1978.

This week’s cartoons (in a slideshow).

The Cartoon Caption Contest (Hartley Lin provides the drawing for this week’s contest).

The Rea Irvin Talk Watch 

This week marks the 9th “anniversary” of Rea Irvin’s perfect Talk heading (above) disappearing from The New Yorker (only to be replaced — if you can believe it! — by a redrawn version courtesy of a contemporary illustrator). Using the word “anniversary” seems like a bad fit…here at the Spill it’s head shaking time. The abandonment of Mr. Irvin’s work continues to haunt. Read more here.

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Rea Irvin’s A-Z:

Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.

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Fave Photo Of The Week

The above group photo was taken the other day in Washington, D.C., at DC/Dox, where Women Laughing was screened. The film, directed by Kathleen Hughes (third from left) and Liza Donnelly second from left), has been popping up at numerous festivals this year.

New Yorker cartoonists, Sara Lautman (second from right), and Emily Sanders Hopkins (first on the right) participated in a panel discussion following the screening.

Also pictured: Women Laughing producers Judith Mizrachy (first on the left), and Nathalie Seaver (fourth from left).

Photo by (New Yorker cartoonist) Marshall Hopkins

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And In Other Donnelly News…

Check out the latest in the series, Talk & Draw With Heather Cox Richardson and Liza Donnelly here (the subject this time ’round is Watergate).

 

 

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The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists has announced they are taking entries for the 2026 Rex Babin Memorial Award for Excellence in Local Cartooning. The award recognizes the best in political cartooning focusing on state and local issues. The award is named after the late The Sacramento Bee cartoonist Rex Babin who was influential in […]

The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker

The Cartoonists and Cartoons

Thirteen cartoons, thirteen cartoonists. No newbies. No duos, that we know of. The longest active contributing cartoonist in the issue is this cartoonist (my drawing of a fife-playing bear appears on the Cartoon Caption Contest page with this week’s winning caption).

This week’s cartoons (in a slideshow)

This week’s Cartoon Caption Contest (Robert Leighton provides the latest contest drawing).

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The Rea Irvin Talk Watch

Way back in 2017, Rea Irvin’s 92 year old Talk design (shown here) was yanked and replaced by…I can’t even believe I’m writing this: a redrawn version by a contemporary illustrator. The Spill continues to hope that Mr. Irvin’s work returns. Read more here.

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Rea Irvin’s A-Z Entry:

Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.

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Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast Celebrates Its 250 Episode

Congrats to the fine folks at the Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast on their 250th! Listen to their special episode here. 

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Paul Noth Cartoon Collection Cover Revealed

The collection by Mr. Noth, who has been contributing to The New Yorker since 2004, will be out this October.

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Knicks Covers…

After Game 1 of the Knicks/Spurs game the other night, The New Yorker went live on Substack to dissect the evening. The magazine’s editor, David Remnick, was joined by two contributors, Vinson Cunningham and Louisa Thomas.

Mr. Remnick, talking about the reading public’s demand for Mark Ulriksen’s recent New Yorker cover (above, left) said (jokingly): “Well, my grand plan is to just put the Knicks on the cover for the next 20 weeks.” 

Knicks fans will recall John Cuneo‘s great cover of December 9, 2024:

 

 

 

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The Monday Tilley Watch takes a glancing look at the art and artists of the latest issue of The New Yorker

The Cartoonists and Cartoons

Fifteen cartoons, fifteen cartoonists. No newbies. Two duos, that we know of (the Spill counts duos as one cartoonist). The longest active contributor in the issue is this cartoonist (I began contributing in 1977).

This week’s cartoons (in a slideshow)

This week’s Cartoon Caption Contest (Avi Steinberg provides this week’s contest drawing)

The Rea Irvin Talk Watch

Once again, Rea Irvin’s perfect Talk design (shown here) has not returned to the magazine. Every Monday morning, since May of 2017, when a redrawn(!) version by a contemporary illustrator replaced Mr. Irvin’s work, I’ve opened up the newest issue hoping to see the original, but alas…

Read more here.

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Rea Irvin (pictured above. Self portrait above from Meet the Artist) Born, San Francisco, 1881; died in the Virgin Islands,1972. Irvin was the cover artist for the New Yorker’s first issue, February 21, 1925. He was the magazine’s first art and only art supervisor (some refer to him as its first art editor) holding the position from 1925 until 1939 when James Geraghty assumed the title of art editor. Irvin then became art director and remained in that position until William Shawn officially succeeded Harold Ross in early 1952. Irvin’s last original work for the magazine was the magazine’s cover of July 12, 1958. The February 21, 1925 Eustace Tilley cover had been reproduced every year on the magazine’s anniversary until 1994, when R. Crumb’s Tilley-inspired cover appeared. Tilley has since reappeared, with other artists substituting from time-to-time. Number of New Yorker covers (not including the repeat appearances of the first cover every anniversary up to 1991): 179. Number of cartoons contributed: 261.

 

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