The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker

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Editorial Reviews

The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called "indispensable" and "a transfixing study of American mores and manners that happens to incorporate boundless laughs, too" is finally available in paperback—fully updated and featuring a brand new introduction by Adam Gopnik.

Organized by decade, with commentary by some of the magazine's finest writers, this landmark collection showcases the work of the hundreds of talented artists who have contributed cartoons over the course ofThe New Yorker's eight-two-year history. From the early cartoons of Peter Arno, George Price and Charles Addams to the cutting-edge work of Alex Gregory, Matthew Diffee and Bruce Eric Kaplan (with stops along the way for the genius of Charles Barsotti, Roz Chast, Jack Ziegler, George Booth, and many others), the art collected here forms, as David Remnick puts it in his Foreword, "the longest-running popular comic genre in American life."

Throughout the book, brief overviews of each era's predominant themes—from the Depression and nudity to technology and the Internet, highlight various genres of cartoons and shed light on our pastimes and preoccupations. Brief profiles and mini-portfolios spotlight the work of key cartoonists, including Arno, Chast, Ziegler, and others.

The DVD-ROM included with the book is what really makes the "Complete Cartoons" complete. Compatible with most home computers and easily browsable, the disk contains a mind-boggling 70,363 cartoons, indexed in a variety of ways. Perhaps you'd like to find all the cartoons by your favorite artist. Or maybe you'd like to look up the cartoons that ran the week you were born, or all of the cartoons on a particular subject. Of course, you can always begin at the beginning, February 21, 1925, and experience the unprecedented pleasure of reading through every single cartoon ever published in The New Yorker.

Enjoy this one-of-a-kind protrait of American life over the past eight decades, as captured by the talented pens and singular outlooks of the masters of the cartoonist's art.

Customer Reviews

Low resolution?, 2008-12-04
by sengssk (Neue Amsterdam)

I have no idea what the other reviewers who see a "low resolution" image are talking about. The cartoons on the CD in PDF format and anyone who can run Adobe Reader can easily increase the zoom level. The pics are quite clear in all their glorious hilarity. The introductions for each decade are basic but to "get" some of the puns, one may need to research a bit into the parlance of that era especially those of us born a generation or two after the publication date.

A word on 'New Yorker cartoons', 2008-10-06
by Shalom Freedman (Jerusalem,Israel)

How many times have I looked at a New Yorker cartoon and burst out laughing, and then thinking about this understood that the cartoon perfectly embodies a current mood, or social fashion or foible. Witty, sophisticated, insightful. But the laughter given in a moment does not lend itself to unending, endless repetition. Reading through Cartoons like this cover to cover is a different experience from catching one rare one at a time.
A good chunk of American social history is in these cartoons, but perhaps most importantly many are miniature pieces of brilliance , and delight.
Thus the recommendation. Dip in and dip out, enjoy here and there what happens to catch the eye. Forget the misses, and there are misses, whether through being made stale by Time or not. There is enough really good stuff here not to be disappointed.

Good for many laughs, 2008-04-01
by Susan M. Giblin (San Pedro, CA)

I am really happy that I purchased this "Collectible" for myself. My friends go through it whenever they visit me. Excellent humor and I just ordered the "Reject" version. Cartoons go back to the 1920s. Wonderful book for many ages.

Amazing. Best buy ever!!!, 2008-03-23
by luij (South America)

I just bought this book(the hard cover version) and think it's brilliant. The book itself is quite large but it's packed with cartoons from 8 decades. I like the fact that you have a real solid book. I've read some of the reviews about people complaining about the size of the book but unless you don't intend to read it while you're on the toilet, it is perfect for reading on a table or even your lap.
The quality of the CDs are good as well. I don't know what everybody is complaining about. The book WITHOUT the CDs is worth much more than what I paid for. Having 2 CDs with over 68000(!!!) additional cartoons included make it the best book I ever bought.

Sophisticated humor at its best, 2008-01-19
by May V. Ray (Mogollon, NM)

I bought this book because last year I bought a New Yorker cartoons page-a-day calendar and enjoyed all 365 days of thought-provoking, timely humor. When my book arrived, I decided to savor the humor by reading four pages of cartoons every night before bed; sometimes, my husband thinks I'm going to bust a gut laughing.

The included CD is fabulous, and allows you to search for cartoons by topic and keyword. Type in "therapist," and you'll find some of the wittiest commentary you'll ever see on the topic. Cartoons on the disc are printable, and as a result, may result in my office needing a much bulletin board.

This book is a gem and a chronicle--in humor--of the American Zeitgeist of the last 80 years.