448. Dogs in Bars, Pigeon Mugs, & A Nun Taking a Selfie
Plus! Tom Toro and Hilary Campbell, New Yorker beats Rolling Stone, Another Jazz Album Cover, Puppy Sketchbook, & Morris gets engaged!
Here’s a toon that former MAD Editor John Ficarra and I pitched around the traps years ago (to no avail) … I feel like it still has legs today.
Welcome to issue #448 of New York Cartoons!
Summer in New York is a very particular vibe. You spend most days sweating through your favourite shirts and somehow tolerating the fact that everything smells of wet garbage. I've learned to navigate these steamy months ducking between air-conditioned bodegas like checkpoints, timing Morris’ walks to avoid the afternoon death march across Hell's Kitchen where your boots melt into the sidewalk (Yep, that actually happened this year), and developing an almost religious devotion to the handful of trees that provide three seconds of shelter along 9th Avenue (if not from the sun, then from the spontaneous torrential downpours and ensuing floods.)
This was me on the 1 train on the way to dinner this summer:
By August, we New Yorkers have all adopted the same defeated shuffle, the universal gait of people who've accepted that we'll be damp until October, united in our misery and stubborn refusal to admit that maybe, just maybe, our ancestors were onto something when they settled small towns with a sea breeze.
Oh! And by the way, if you need something to hold your coffee in, I now have official “New York Cartoons” mugs for ten bucks! Take a look in the store and pick which one(s) you like. (Click image below to see more)
But enough of this palaver. Let’s get on with this week’s edition…
If you want to support my work, please take out a premium subscription (just $1 per week).
The Sketchbook I’m sharing with you this week is a selection of the sketches I did of peoples’ dogs as gifts this past week. If you have a friend with a dog, send me a photo and I’ll draw them into the book for you.
Here’s a sketch from a tablecloth at dinner this week. (I shouldn’t be let into nice places with pens.)
I was excited to finally play in the New Yorker’s softball team for the first time this season. We beat our longtime rivals at Rolling Stone amid the blistering heat in a 9-7 victory, followed by gigantic celebratory buckets of beer and pizzas bigger than my apartment.
New Yorker Softball Team 2025 We shall seek further glory this Tuesday at 7 p.m., against Harper’s Magazine. I’ll report back next week on how we fare.
On Sunday, I thought I saw a nun reading her bible, but when I looked closer, it was just her phone case, and she was taking a selfie.
After a few rounds at George & Jack’s, I turned to find a dog-walker who had brought some good boys and girls into the bar. I immediately bought them a round of treats. And pats.
4. Don’t forget! The excellent New York-based Substacker Alexa Weiser is hosting an IRL meet-up this coming month! Join us on August 21st for a happy hour at my old local bar, Porchlight in West Chelsea (w28/11th Ave) from 6—8pm.
From City happenings: something fun to do everyday in New York
Meet fellow readers & lovers of the city, enjoy a drink and light bites, and take home your very own NYC-themed portrait drawn live by New Yorker cartoonist Jason Chatfield.
I never imagined this little hobby would grow the way it has, and my favorite part has been meeting readers + supporting some of my favorite NYC businesses. So join us for a casual hang! Come solo or with a friend. Whether you’re just stopping by or staying for 2 hours, at worst you’ll leave with a cartoon, a yummy cocktail, and some NYC recs. At best, you might make some new friends.
*The $16 ticket just helps her cover event costs
New Yorker Cartoonist Double-Header!
Next week I’ll be chatting with my ooooold pal and fellow cartoonist Hilary F. Campbell, but first: This week’s DMA guest will be none other than the very talented New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro! Tom is a prolific cartoonist and author of one of my all-time favourite NYer cartoons:
We’ll be talking (and live drawing) about cartoons, the creative process, and probably a bunch of stuff that we never planned on chatting about. That’s the best thing about these things! The live stream will be free, and the replay will be available for premium subscribers to watch.
…and follow Tom Toro for more of his great New Yorker cartoons.
Those of you who remember me sharing my process of coming up with an album cover for Ryan Burns a while back may be interested in seeing my latest illustration for his new album. It’s a parody of the famous Oscar Peterson Trio album ‘We Get Requests’—
…except this one is called:
The album is a Classic Jazz Piano Trio format in the style of Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Bill Evans with an exploratory modern twist. You can buy the album online below for $9.
While I’m plugging jazz performers, my pal Eviatar Slivnik and his quartet will be performing this Thursday at Ornithology Jazz Club in Brooklyn. See you there!
If you’re new here, or you haven’t had a moment to wander back through the archives of profound genius I’ve shared up to this point, take a peek at the following scribblings:
I am very happy to announce the engagement of Morris Chatfield and his new fiancée — my shoe. I wish them all the very best together.
Morris has a love for leather; too!
OMG I love the nun thing!