453. Cats as Writer's Mews, A Live Cartoonist Podcast, & Comedy in a Bomb Shelter
#453: Plus! An interview from Carly Valancy, Drawing Dogs in Madison Square Park, A Pupper Sketchbook, & of course, Morris
I’m just typing this on my phone as I slip through the police barricades and small battalions of NYPD officers holding Manhattan hostage for the foreseeable, until the big important orange feller leaves town. Every year on my birthday week, the UN General Assembly takes place— this means I can never have a proper birthday party lest everyone be waylaid en route.
To that end, I had a very nice, very small birthday weekend doing all of my favourite things (mainly staying indoors) but enjoying all the things New York has to offer— great comedy (Comedy Cellar), great food (The Odeon), and great jazz (The Django). Thank you to all the readers who sent birthday wishes. (Also to the one who sent a birthday card in a sneaker through my window. That was interesting.) As always, I got to scribble on the tables in chalk at the Comedy Cellar— one of many of the reasons it’s the best place in the world.
On the night of my birthday, I performed at the Bomb Shelter comedy show in a bomb shelter basement in Manhattan, which should prepare me well for when comedy is outlawed and we have to put on secret underground shows in speakeasies and tunnels.
Getting on with this week’s issue: First and foremost, Happy Pub day to my pal, Bob Eckstein, whose book “Inspired by Cats” just came out in stores. It’s an illustrated book about the great “Mews(es)” to some of the world’s greatest novelists, poets, humorists, short story writers, and memoirists.
I got an advance copy from Bob a couple of weeks ago, and it’s just perfect; It’s got all my favourite topics: creative process and pets. Honestly, unless you’re allergic to joy or covered in cat scratches from a failed foster experiment, what’s not to love?
The book publisher writes:
Cats and writers are a match made in book heaven. Throughout history, our feline friends have served as trusted desk mates from the composition of a single poem to the creation of the first English dictionary. In Inspired by Cats, author Nava Atlas and illustrator Bob Eckstein capture these endearing, enduring relationships in a witty, sophisticated collection featuring 60 famous authors and their beloved companions. Novelists, poets, humorists, short story writers, and memoirists from all eras are represented, from Mark Twain, Colette, and Ernest Hemingway to Ray Bradbury and Toni Morrison. Stylishly illustrated and full of charming, touching, and sometimes humorous anecdotes from history’s most notable cat-loving writers, Inspired by Cats will charm both cat enthusiasts and literature lovers alike.
Crackin’ wise over dumplings with some of my favourite New Yorker cartoonists
We celebrated the book’s release in the only appropriate way— eating dumplings, crackin’ wise, and talking shop at Nom Wah Tea Palace in Chinatown. Because of course we did.
I got to meet Nick Downes and Robert Leighton, two cartoonists whose work I’ve loved for a long time. I have a Leighton on my wall above my drawing board, which hits pretty close to home…
Chast & Rosen Recapped
For anyone wanting to see the video of the event I wrote about last week at the NYC Transit Museum with Roz Chast and Ellis J Rosen, you can now see the full thing online here.
Listen to me ramble to cartoonists about making a living as a cartoonist!
Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar hosted a live episode of their hit podcast ComicLab at the 79th annual National Cartoonists Society Conference and Reuben Awards. Joining them onstage to talk about the business of comics were two marvellous cartoonists (and me.)
Sean Wang, the creator of Runners, a wonderful sci-fi comedy about alien smugglers. Its most recent Kickstarter launched a couple of days before the recording of the show, and was funded shortly thereafter — which is 100% a coincidence, but I’ll be claiming full credit nonetheless.
Cassidy Wasserman, whose debut graphic novel, On Guard, was published by Random House earlier this year to rave reviews. She has also illustrated no fewer than three delightful children’s books.
On the show...
What's working — and what's not working — in your comics business?
What should you do when subscriptions stagnate?
What's the best way to use Patreon without burning out on complex rewards?
What is the best use of Print On Demand?
How can I use Substack to publish/monetise my comic?
Is social media declining? — And if so, how are you compensating?
Listen to the full episode here!
I was interviewed by Carly Valancy for her Substack, “a good omen” — take a read below:
Sometimes I wonder what my life would’ve been like if I’d committed to drawing when I was nine. Because of Steve, there will always be a version of me that flips through newspapers looking for cartoons and wondering who drew them.
So when I found Jason Chatfield, I had to reach out.
Jason always knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. He used to carry around a little pen and a clipboard with paper and draw everything, which is the cutest thing I can imagine.
When he was in eighth grade, his history teacher, Mr Cook, gave him detention for drawing him in class. “I did a funny caricature of him in my workbook. It was pretty bad. I mean, it was pretty mean,” he said.
During detention, Mr Cook told Jason the school gardener was retiring and commissioned him to draw him for $20. “That was the moment something clicked. I was like, alright. Cartooning. This is what I’m going to do.”
Can you imagine a better origin story?
Continue reading below…
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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.
I got to attend the exhibition opening of the 100 Years of New Yorker Dog Cartoons this past week. I’ll be sharing my report, complete with cartoons and photos, later this week
I got to draw a bunch of New Yorkers’ dogs in Madison Square Park last Thursday. Thank you to everyone who came out! I’ll be posting about these later this week…
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:
The Comedians in the Coal Mine
"Comedians and Editorial Cartoonists are from the same family- We are all satirists."
Ohh, I am so restacking this one.
Happy birthday. Glad you had a good 🎊 celebration.