Don't forget, DMA#47: 'The American Bystander' with Michael Gerber

If you try to launch a print humor magazine in the 21st century, most financial advisors will tell you to just set your money on fire instead... it’s faster and it keeps you warmer.

If you try to launch a print humour magazine in the 21st century, most financial advisors will tell you to just set your money on fire instead- it’s faster, and it keeps you warmer.

But if you’ve been reading this newsletter for more than five minutes, you know I am obsessed with the messy, unglamorous back-end of making a living as an artist. I love pulling back the curtain on the artists who look at the “churn,” laugh, and figure out how to keep the lights on without selling their souls to the algorithm.

This week, I’m bringing in a guy who built his own lifeboat:
I am excited to announce that my guest on Draw Me Anything this Thursday is Michael Gerber, the founder, publisher, and editor of The American Bystander.

If you aren’t familiar, The American Bystander is essentially the spiritual successor to legendary publications like National Lampoon, SPY, and Punch. Newsweek literally called it “the last great humour magazine.” Before that, Michael was the mastermind behind the mega-bestselling Barry Trotter parodies and the resurrection of the Yale Record. But here’s the bit that absolutely fascinates me: Michael didn’t go begging to corporate overlords to fund this thing….

We’re going to dive deep into the innovative, super-lean publishing model he now uses at The Bystander. There are no advertisers breathing down their necks and no SEO-driven clickbait. Instead, he built a direct, reader-supported lifeline between world-class comedy writers, cartoonists, and the people who actually want to hold a physical, high-quality humour magazine in their hands. We’re going to talk about why this “slow food” approach to comedy is surviving the deluge of AI slop.

We’re also going to chat about my fellow New Yorker cartoonist Baron Von Schoogenheimer himself, Tom Chitty. A few weeks ago on the show, Tom and I discussed his brilliant new book, The Nooks & Crannies of New York City.

Tom’s book is the first original book published under The Bystander’s new model, so Michael and I will be talking about exactly how that project came to life -and, as always, while Michael and I are dissecting the ruthless mechanics of independent publishing, I will be live-drawing whatever absurd requests you throw at me in the chat.

If you care about the survival of human-made art and the grit it takes to actually publish it right now, you need to be in the chat.

Putting these live streams together, wrestling with glitchy broadcasting software, and trying to convince the internet to pay attention requires a unique cocktail of caffeine and sheer willpower. If you want to join the live stream, request a drawing, and help repay the labour of making this digital monastery run, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription for just $1 a week.

So. Grab a coffee, locate your favourite fineliner, and tune in tomorrow (Thursday) at 2:30pm Eastern time.

‘til then!
Your pal,

PS. Look, if this actually did something for your brain (or at least distracted you from the creeping dread of your own inbox for six minutes), please consider restacking this and sharing it with your people. It’s the only way the word spreads.