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So I’m going to hold off saying anything else, but this: More next time when it’s cooler.

To see more of my work, visit my website HERE.

Stay cool, Bob.

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I went to see the tall ships, so you didn’t have to. I was all excited and planned to share great photos of the famous Tall Ships sailing down the Hudson. But like everything else in this country, the ship-show turned into a shit-show. After a long walk and waiting for hours in the oppressive heat, I realized, ain’t going to be any ships to see. The parks people didn’t know themselves what had happened, and hundreds of neighbors were disappointed.

It’s a tall order, but I am determined to entertain you without ANY cool tall ship photos. And let me add what upset me most about this. I was there at the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge for hours and saw the ships make a U-turn in the far distance yet when I asked online if anyone knew what happened, I got different answers. Someone stated the ships went all the way to the George Washington Bridge, where we all waited, then turned around. Why is it so hard today to have a consensus of facts on anything or something as black and white as to whether 60-foot-tall ships went by us or not. I DID hear from others who confirmed I am not crazy and that there were no ships. One explanation was the schedule was running late—the ships stopped while J.D. Vance made that speech I heard, where he tried to be funny (he is not), and that should have been a red flag to me. Okay, I’m done.

Let’s change the subject, okay?

Happy 4th everyone.

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Things are heating up in the World Cup and the world in general—and in my house where there is no air conditioning. It’s the country’s birthday as well as my mom’s. We got her a watch for the pool. She wants to get back to swimming. Ideally, she said, she would like to swim with sea turtles and string rays. She used to scuba dive and watches religiously that sea TV show with Jacques Cousteau’s grandson, despite her vision being poor. So she wants a watch that’s easy to read and will let her know when she has to get out of the gym pool. She is very excited that the watch that she picked out herself is good for up to 99’ underwater. The pool at L.A. Fitness reaches 5’ deep.

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I’m going to focus on only the most pertinent points, starting with Belgium, where I have many friends;

1. Belgium looks good. Sure, New Zealand is weak and doesn’t know their elbow from their ass, but no squad is passing better. Belgium doesn’t have a selfish superstar so we will find out if they can overcome that, not having a natural scorer with Messi-like magic. They have great players that are too generous with average shot-to-goal ratios. I like (Leandro) Trossard. I’d sit Timothy Castagne. I don’t like his performance. The goalkeeper, whose name I forgot, has been untested but he is world class. But what I like most about Belgium is they do less crying and rolling on the ground for fake penalties and goals than any other team.

2. USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina. This scares me. I have no idea who or where Herzegovina is. A total mystery. The game is Wednesday.

3. Turkey vs. Türkiye. Very excited to see US TV coverage embrace the name change. More exotic and should put an end to all the Dad jokes.

4. I had a lot to say, as usual, about the uniforms but I’m keeping this as brief as possible (I love all the fan-mail The Bob gets and the #1 compliment is that the newsletter is short & sweet.). Norway’s uniform may be the second best (behind’s Spain’s1) but the Nike swish really ruins everything. I cut out the other 6,000+ words on uniform commentary.

I know there are many who don’t care for football and would be interested in any other sport. For them I’m including below a piece I did on baseball and a sneak peek of things I’m working on in the paid subscriber section.

Special Book Promotion Reminder

Yep, I’m still giving every new subscriber a free signed book. This special promotion is for paid subscribers and free subscribers upgrading to paid.

The books included in this promotion are:

For more details of each book and promotion, please revisit the previous issue of this newsletter by CLICKING HERE.

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Attention! New subscribers will get a personalized copy of one of my books as thanks. Details later in the issue.

I am finally able to get off the roof of my house to write a a new issue of the Bob thanks to heavy winds and rain which postponed work. For the past week, I have been closer to God, in proximity at least, having to be stuck on the roof working on a project.1 I was repairing and replacing roof tails,2 and redoing the gutter to eliminate leaks. God got in the last word, again, bringing nasty weather forcing me to work indoors.

I didn’t want to do this fix myself—it is a big job for one person and I must have made about sixty trips up and down the ladder—but I was unable to find anyone willing to take it on—it was hard just finding anyone to return a call. But thank goodness for my new toy that made this all possible, a new innovation called a “Pitch Hopper,” a portable foam step stool for safety—so far, so good.

I’m familiar with house repairs and being up on ladders. Many years ago I worked on a construction crew as I waited for my freelance illustration career to establish in the early years after graduation. I was also writing humor but strangely enough, never combined the two and pursued single-panel gag cartoons until twenty-seven years later when a friend, cartoonist Sam Gross, suggested it to me.

Side-note, I only got to this point writing this edition before the high winds took down our electricity.

And we’re back. This week was also my wife’s birthday. We celebrate birthdays all week long. I didn’t get her anything. I really don’t know what to get and, like me, she doesn’t like surprises. Nowadays, surprises are seldom good. So the best I can do is love her the best I can, go on her daily walk with her, cook her a barbecue dinner, serve the most ornate cake (above), and act as her personal handyman (I fixed our favorite kitchen clock and a hole on the other roof, the garage, to keep out a squirrel who was getting to the bird seed storage.).

World Cup

I love the World Cup and I’m not too proud to admit many of the countries in the tournament I never heard of. As much as I get caught up in the excitement each time a new game begins, I have yet to make it to a halftime without falling asleep. Here are some ideas I came up with to combat that.

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Special Book Promotion!

So, the aforementioned book promotion. Sign up for an annual paid subscription ($50 for a one year subscription) by the end of June and I will send you (with free shipping), a personalized, signed, doodled copy of the book of your choice, among the titles below. Unfortunately, due to exorbitant shipping charges, I am only shipping to locations in the USA.

If you already have a paid subscription, you can still get a book if you give a gift subscription to someone (it is Father’s Day). I will continue this promotion until June 30th. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Here are the choices:

Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores

This collection of 75 evocative paintings and colorful anecdotes invites you into the heart and soul of every community: the local bookshop, each with its own quirks, charms, and legendary stories. The book features an incredible roster of great bookstores from across the globe and stories from writers, thinkers and artists of our time, including David Bowie, Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Lethem, Roz Chast, Deepak Bob Odenkirk, Philip Glass, Jonathan Ames, Terry Gross, Mark Maron, Ann Patchett, Chris Ware, Molly Crabapple, Amitav Ghosh, Dave Eggers, and many more.

NY Times bestseller.

Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums: Stories and Memorable Moments from People Who Love Museums

A beautiful, smart, entertaining new art book that is a love letter to museums and museum-goers, filled with lush and whimsical illustrations paired with stories and anecdotes from curators, museum workers, museum visitors, and more. Inspired by World’s Greatest Bookstores.

ABA bestseller.

“A joyous book featuring the greatest museums in the world.”
—Steve Martin, actor, comedian, and author

“A beautifully written and painted love letter to museums...”
— Max Hollein, director and CEO, the MET

The Illustrated History of the Snowman

By the world’s leading snowman expert, The Illustrated History of the Snowman is a truly original winter classic—smart, surprisingly enlightening, and quite simply the coolest book ever. Over two hundred illustrations,

“Bob Eckstein is a national treasure.” —Atlas Obscura

The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won’t Answer to, Anyway)

Chockful of cartoons and silliness. A must for cat lovers.

“This book is hilarious. Further proof that Bob Eckstein can make anything funny, and apparently also make me want a cat.”
― Marty Dundics, Chief Editor, Weekly Humorist

Inspired by Cats: Writers and Their Mews(es)

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.

The Elements of Stress and the Pursuit of Happy-Ish in This Current Sh*tstorm

“Bob Eckstein is rapidly becoming the Dean of American Cartooning.” — American Bystander

“Hilarious, humorous – this book has it all, and everything.” — The Daily Beast

“Two of the top humorists in America have created a stress-free way to enjoy stress.” — Reader’s Digest

Your choice from the Ultimate Cartoon Book series published by Princeton Architectural Press.

Everyone’s a Critic: The Ultimate Cartoon Book

“Everyone’s a Critic is an intelligent, hilarious discourse on modern-day criticism, featuring everything from judgmental cavemen to altruistic burglars to a police sketch artist with more lofty ambitions. With work from acclaimed contributors like Roz Chast, Bob Mankoff and Ed Koren, Eckstein summarizes the book in his introduction when he declares, “I’m hoping this book can be a life-changing experience for those who up until now have been unable to roll with the punches or simply enjoy a chef's salad.” — Shelf Awareness

The Ultimate Cartoon Book of Book Cartoons

“It is already hands down the best cartoon collection about books. Every selection is a winner....Even the minutiae are handled refreshingly well. I don't think I’ve ever seen this done better anywhere.” —Attempted Bloggery

All’s Fair in Love and War: The Ultimate Cartoon Book

The perfect gift for an anniversary—or your divorce lawyer—All’s Fair in Love and War will woo over hopeless romantics and cynical heartbreakers alike. Find wit and wisdom on love in all its varieties, from a first date to a third divorce. This curated collection features work by over forty of the best and brightest New Yorker cartoonists, including Sam Gross, Liana Finck, and Edward Steed. Many of the cartoons appear in print for the first time.

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Now you are all caught up. Thanks for being here.

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is one of the smartest stand-ups today. His Substack is Myq Kaplan's Arty Har-Hars.

Bob Eckstein’s bestseller Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums makes the perfect Father’s Day gift.

BOB: Hi Myq. I didn’t hear back from you regarding those front row seats. Where are you watching the game?

MYQ: In my heart. And in the hearts of all of us.

BOB: When’s the last time the city seemed so happy to you? I can’t think of any time after he came down that escalator.

MYQ: When things were opening up post-Covid, there was a real beautiful energy in the city. Audiences at comedy shows were laughing like they’d never laughed before, or like they thought they’d never laugh again, which maybe is what they had been thinking.

BOB: Who does this mean more to, you or Rini (Myq’s girlfriend and name of his new special)

MYQ: Me for sure. I mean, we are both very glad for people to be joyful and celebratory, but between the two of us, I think I’m the likelier one who can name the two teams that are playing.

BOB: Prediction—not for the game, but for July 4th and this country.

MYQ: I’ve heard it said that people who have knowledge don’t make predictions, and people who make predictions don’t have knowledge. But since I don’t have knowledge, here are my predictions: Everyone who has harmed another will atone and make amends. Everyone who has more than they need will start sharing it with those who have less. Everyone will love one another and do their best to work towards a world where joy increases and suffering decreases for all sentient beings. All dogs will be protected from scary fireworks noises. I hope I’m right! Thank you for asking.

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“Please add that to our To Do List of Things That We Will Never Do.”

“We don’t have one.”

“Let’s start one.”

My doctor has advised me to go on a news fast for the sake of my blood pressure (and it worked.). If you are under similar advisement, stop reading here.

I just broke my fast a couple of days ago. What happened America? I was away two or three weeks and this is what happens when I leave you alone? Am I to understand the White House has cemented over the South Lawn to build an extreme fighting arena for the country’s 250th anniversary?

This 4th of July feels a lot like when I hear an ex-band members on podcasts talk glowingly about their times with the band despite the breakup being bitter. On the 4th, will we look back at all the good memories, our greatest hits, or harbor resentment and dwell on what feels like an inevitable divorce?1

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Along the way, we visited some museums, celebrated our anniversary, and went to the world’s largest flea market. More in a later edition on The Museum of Bad Art, the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, and the Hull Lifesaving Museum.

I just read a new study that claims having culture and art in your life, adds years to one’s life. Another reason to visit museums.

That’s my wife on the right hand side. For our anniversary, we stayed at a motel that was like Faulty Towers, but if the owner was nice and the cleaning crew was on vacation. We had to leave the room for awhile so they could fix the broken toilet. A light didn’t work, and everything, like a clock, had long been stolen. I won’t name the place but I’m sure some of you know it already. It’s famously bad.

We had no choice as it was the only available room in town due to the high demand of Brimfield (and it was $$$). We figured the reason it didn’t have a lot of reviews was because it was a stop for those on the lam. But my wife felt it was worth it to be back in Brimfield and took it all in stride because the manager was so nice and apologetic. We just never took off our clothes. Or our shoes. Or our face masks.

And now more photos from the Brimfield Antique Show…

Be back soon. Bob

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I decided to make additional leaves out of spinach leaves and sage. I used olive oil and flaxseed meal on bottom of tray. 425 degrees for about 25, 30 minutes. This recipe and idea is all thanks to The Vegan Atlas, Nava Atlas’ Substack.

One of the two actual breads I made Mom for Mother’s Day.

The job search continues. I remember only decades ago being advised that there was good money to be made, “an honest wage,” writing bumper stickers, match book copy, and single panel gag cartoons.

We’ll stop there—you have cooking to do.

Best, Bob.

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I Am Applying Myself

For the Position of the Yankees’ Third Base Coach.

Dear Hal Steinbrenner,

I would like to go to work for your professional baseball team. I cannot think of a better way to put my education and experience of watching baseball to use, and in a way that will best challenge me, professionally and personally, than to coach third base for the storied New York Yankees.

Since I wouldn’t be holding a bat or glove inside the foul lines, I’d like to share

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I am so happy I found The Savvy Museum Visitor Substack—only sorry it was AFTER I published my book, Footnotes From the Most Fascinating Museums because Susan Marie Ward is a museum expert and should have been included in my book. She is a museum consultant (as well as mental health counselor) and was the curator of Biltmore House, home of George Vanderbilt and the largest historic house in America. She’s also worked at Metropolitan Museum of Art and had collections management fellowship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

When I discovered Bob Eckstein’s Substack, The Bob, I realized I had already purchased his book, Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums! Someone else who loves behind-the-scenes stories about museums! From there I learned that he’s also a NY Times bestseller, award-winning writer, New Yorker cartoonist and world’s leading snowman expert (The Illustrated History of the Snowman). Bob’s work has been exhibited in the Cartoon Art Museum of San Francisco, Smithsonian Institution, The Cartoon Museum of London, and many others. He has taught at School of Visual Arts, New York University, and Pratt Institute. I mean, how cool is all that!

Bob Eckstein: Susan, so glad we are finally able to do this. In our own defense, I contend we have the two busiest schedules I know. Without further ado, what are your top 3 museums?

Susan Marie Ward: Number one has to be the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. When I visited Seoul last month, re-visiting this museum was my main reason for the trip. Yes, it’s vast and has a dynamic collection of art, but it also has all of the pieces that create a positive visitor experience: well-done storytelling (labels, audio, deep dive opportunities), friendly staff, plenty of seating options, attention to sensory aspects, and a lovely garden with quiet pathways lined with pagodas, tiny creeks, pieces of sculpture, and a delightful waterfall.

BE: I definitely will have to visit it now. I’m supposed to teach at Yonsei University in South Korea later this year. I remember when I was reading about your visit there on your super cool newsletter while I was visiting Rhinebeck, NY, where I ate in a Korean restaurant…

SMW: I suspect your travels to Rhinebeck and my trip at the same time to Seoul were a tad different. When you walked around Rhinebeck, I bet you didn’t buy a yummy egg bread from a street vendor. And I bet Rhinebeck has trash cans on the street, unlike Seoul! At the same time, I’m confident that we were both annoyed by the travel process. And I’m guessing we both were stopped in our tracks by something new we learned. For me it was how deeply the Koreans still struggle with forgiving the Japanese who invaded Korea from 1910-1945. Oh, the things we learn when we travel…

BE: I have no experience in Asia. I’ve been too afraid to get there despite decades ago doing a lot of work for Japan remotely. I’ve always been afraid of the expense getting there and afraid of the food being too exotic for my spoiled ways. I suppose it’s time I stop making excuses.

I did learn in Rhinebeck it’s hard to get a large crowd to show up at book events on cold, blistering days.

Okay, number two…

SMW: Number two, would be the Detroit Institute of Arts. Not only is it my childhood museum, but it’s an excellent museum. A great collection of art. Amazing architecture. Fun and interesting labels. And lovely little details like Eye Spy labels for kids—of course I used them too.

Number three… gosh, should I say the Met, where I’ve spent a huge amount of time and where I did my internship? No, I think I’ll say the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. I lived in London for a couple years and the V&A was a go-to place for me. It has an excellent collection of late 19th/early 20th century decorative arts (furniture, pottery, glass, etc.) which is a favorite of mine. And I love the quirkiness of the building due to all the additions and expansions over time. And, I’m always delighted to have a cup of tea and a pastry in the cafe!

BE: I plan to visit Victoria & Albert Museum in London later this year. My wife, artist Tamar Stone, has work in their permanent collection.

SMW: What’s a museum on your to-be-visited list?

BE: Since my museum book was released, I have been recommended a dozen museums from readers, but I have to say, I’m obsessed with returning to those I know. MASS MoCA’s Anselm Kiefer exhibit hall has been on my mind. It may be my favorite room I ever been in. I think on the bucket list will be outdoor art in England, like the Goldsworthy trails. The National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh just closed the largest ever indoor exhibition by Andy Goldsworthy so now we’ll have to go to the outside to see it.

SMW: What touched you about the Kiefer Exhibit?

BE: I cannot put it into words. But I went home inspired to finish my book and create more art. The scale and seeing it in person makes a world of difference. It was almost a religious experience to be in that space. I think anyone else who has been there will know what I mean. Your newsletter does a great job of answering that great aspect for each museum you showcase. Can you share again a favorite museum that inspires you?

SMW: Two museums come to mind. The Japanese American Museum of Oregon in Portland, Oregon, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. Both of them tell stories that are both sad and redemptive. Stories about Americans that have been mistreated in distressing ways. Both museums grew my knowledge and also my empathy. Annoyingly, these are the kinds of stories that the current administration wants silenced. What can possibly be wrong with museum visitors learning about other Americans while developing more understanding and empathy?

BE: Exactly. I like to say museums are our giant selfies of what we have accomplished and done in history, both good and bad.

I would love to be able to visit museums alongside you and hear your unique seasoned take on them as I would say you’ve been to many more museums than I—and I’ve been to a lot. Is there a museum you are still hoping to get to?

SMW: Yes! For the last year or two, I’ve been following the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. They have the most interesting sounding special exhibits. And it’s the most visited museum in Australia and the oldest. Maybe next year? Fingers crossed.

Bob, what was your first museum experience like…mine was DIA. Growing up in Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts was my first museum experience, and I love the fact that to this day, it’s an amazing museum that fits my criteria as an exceptional museum - incredible art collection and an exceedingly well done visitor experience. So, what was yours like?

BE: Bad. Washington D.C. My earliest experience with museums was no indication that one day I would be interested in seeing as many museums as possible. Just the opposite—at the time, I was hoping it would be my last museum visit ever. No sooner then we emptied out of the car, words were appearing everywhere. These were words, no longer on paper, but endless sentences and words carved into marble and plaques. I had never seen so much text in my eight years. Mom had us read every plaque on every monument. We were promised if we got through all the buildings, we would be rewarded by going to the top of the Washington Monument. As luck would have it, the elevator in the Washington Monument was busted. Then we learned we were not allowed to swim in the Reflecting Pool.

My next museum experience made everything right—a grade school field to see the large whale at the American Museum of Natural History. It changed my life. Susan, what museum changed your life?

SMW: That would have to be Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. I came straight from graduate school to work in the largest historic house museum in the U.S. It was a big leap. As curator, I was responsible for the art, the books, and all of the furnishings, including opening new rooms to the public. At the same time, I learned about budgeting, strategic planning, marketing, and became the primary spokesperson for Biltmore. It broadened my view of museums to include the visitor experience, not just the art and artifacts. The visitor experience became part of my focus when I became a museum consultant, and to this day it shapes how I relate to every museum I visit.

BE: As someone who has worked in multiple museums, what is a big misconception people have about museums?

SMW: Gosh, it’s different from museum to museum, but I’ll share two things. One is misconceptions about funding. They either think all museums are funded by the government or by rich donors. Second, they underestimate the amount of staffing and hours it takes to collect, display, conserve, research, and display the artifacts. They don’t think about things like pest management, or humidity controls, or storage challenges, or what it takes to conserve just one 17th century frame around a painting by Vermeer.

BE: If you could change one thing about how museums function and what they focus on, what would that be?

SMW: Wellness! Museums have great untapped potential to be a societal source for reducing anxiety, boosting resilience and creativity, and much more. They’re doing small things, but they could do so much more. I think of them as having imaginary signs over their doors that say, “Discover wellness here. Leave stress behind.” Again, some museums have yoga in the galleries, slow-looking tours, and sensory-friendly mornings, but they could do so, so much more.

BE: And they have the best gift shops in the world! I get very excited when I see my books in a museum gift shop.

SMW: Where do you get inspiration for your books?

BE: It’s different every time as each reason is written for a different reason. But if I had to find a common denominator, it would be that I want to raise awareness for any particular subject, whether it be bookstores, great writers, the art of snowman making, or master cartoonists. So, I’m writing with that in mind, trying to shine a good light on whatever and get the reader to fall in love with it that I am talking about. In my museum book, certainly the museums themselves and their collections were great inspiration to me.

SMW: I do love, in Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums, the diversity of types of museums you include. That’s one of the amazing delights about museums across our country. Being that I was a therapist in my second career, I always have to ask at least one question about feelings! What’s one overriding feeling that you have when you think of all the amazing museums you saw and wrote about?

BE: There’s quite a bit of emotions. Awe and admiration. Excitement and motivation (to create myself). But in all honesty, one feeling that is unpredictable, is regret. Why did it take so long? So long to appreciate all these museums and everything out there? So long to explore these institutions i took for granted. So long before I worked on a book that I truly love. So long before I have come to appreciate the beauty and knowledge there is in the world. I have since been racing with morality to get done as much as I can now after seeing what so many in the world have accomplished, how they have left their mark here. Instead of standing back and enjoying the book it has propelled me to drive myself crazy. Any advice?

Please check out Susan Ward’s Substack, The Savvy Museum Visitor.

Please check out Bob Eckstein’s Substack, The Bob, HERE.

Happy Indie Bookstore Day. I tried to help by illustrating some different independent bookstores to raise awareness on their social media (yes, there may be some typos in this newsletter—I am working as fast as possible, creating as many illustrations of bookstores as I can).

Aside from the new ones, I’ve included two involved in today’s Book Crawl, mixed in with a few favorite bookstores from my book, Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores. I’m sorry for not including all my favorite bookstores—I picked a random few out of the 350 bookstores or so I have illustrated.

I’ll say a few words about origins of that book in the paid subscription portion of this newsletter along with a piece author Garrison Keillor wrote for me about indie bookstores.

So, just a word about Footnotes from the World’s Greatest Bookstores, before I share Garrison’s piece. It began as an assignment for The New Yorker, walking around the city drawing the exteriors of some iconic bookstores and thinking of interesting things to say about them. It exploded into its own animal, with my agent being contacted from Penguin Random about turning it into a book and then me, diving into the world of bookstores and learning all about the business.

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Yesterday, I had lunch with my former golf partner, John. He is 96. We ate at our favorite all-you-eat Chinese buffet and I have been sick in the bathroom the past 24 hours.2

We have not been on the course together in years. Golf is very emotional for me, a love-hate relationship. The only real job I ever had was at a golf course as a starter. I got fired after five hours.3 Never again I thought.

The last couple of times I tried playing golf I got tremendous anxiety. First there was the fact I was gone for almost six hours and my clients couldn’t contact me.4 Then there was the performance anxiety. I would stand over my tee shot and putts, unable to relax and start my back-swing.

I don’t have these issues at my drawing board but I do oscillate between encouragement and discouragement. I can get excited about working on a cartoon and then quickly realize the realities in our field. Is there another artistic endeavor where it pivots on the tastes of just a couple of people? Musicians and artists in other disciplines push the envelope, mash genres, experiment as they wish, more—some would argue it’s the same for them, but I don’t see it. I get jealous hearing artists, like Laufey, talk on the Louis Theroux podcast, about constantly changing their work. I have tried to bend the format as to what is expected from a gag cartoon, in a print magazine, but no one will see it, it won’t get published. There is little tolerance in single-panel cartoons to advance the craft (speaking artistically, only.). There are no more alternative weeklies. National Lampoon and others are gone. Perhaps the last cartoonist who really did ground-breaking stuff was the great Jack Zeigler. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

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I got over a lot of emails related to my Jesus cartoon going viral—including from lawyers, providing advice regarding it being used everywhere without permission or re-edited, using AI in some cases, by over enthusiastic people and without crediting me. They seemed not to realize that this behavior is digital theft of intellectual property. Some individuals received over a million Likes and Views. So, I want to briefly discuss this because I address AI questions later as well.

First, many writing me thought I would be very mad or upset. I’m not really. I have even try to bee cordial to the people creating and posting my cartoon illegally, so something can be accomplished. My frustration stems from the fact that the three cartoons that have gone viral in my career, were not published by the large magazine, because, and I’m just guessing, the publication would have provided some legal support if the cartoon was stolen. But that is just speculation.5

Secondly, and I think some would find this interesting; when I contacted the people using and manipulating my work, they don’t see it as stealing. One defense is that any work in the public online, is open to anyone to do what they wish.

Then there’s the religious angle, which has been told to me, twice, that my humor is to be shared. My sense of humor is not mine. It was God given. God is just using me as a vessel to bring humor to others. One, an old high school classmate,6 said I should be ashamed of myself for monetizing humor. So there.

Well, this does touch on the AI discussion. What belongs to who. How to protect your content. My Inbox is filled with newsletters, like Kathryn Vercillo’s Create Me Free, that are frankly too dense for my pea-in-a-soda-can-brain of mine. But check it out if you wish.

Let me share what my friend, Michael Gerber, Editor & Publisher of the humor magazine, The American Bystander, wrote on this subject and specifically about what happened to my cartoon. Excerpt:

The original cartoon, which in some sense combats Main Character Syndrome, was replaced by something in tune with it. In one little film, Jesus strides over to Trump, picks him up, and hurls him over the edge. In another, Trump throws Jesus over the edge, to the delight of a cheering MAGA crowd…

…Bob was, in effect, an unwilling part of a writer’s room. This has happened to Bob before, and other cartoonists I know, and while it is perhaps a signal that they are tuned into the zeitgeist, it has got to be infuriating. Culture can’t be free if it’s how you pay your rent, and what you express is who you are as an artist—someone shouldn’t take your cartoon, with your name on it, and express a different idea, any more than I should be able to make a car out of balsawood and call it a Tesla. Because if that happens, the very concept of a Tesla is blurred—there is no consensus reality. “BOB” changes from Bob Eckstein to some meaningless glyph.

But what happened to Bob Eckstein’s cartoon is simply how social media works; anonymous remixing, a race to the stickiest idea. Unfortunately, the stickiest ideas seem to be simple blurts of emotion, things that bypass the forebrain and take up residence in the amygdala.7 And that’s where the anonymity becomes essential; all of us are free to produce things as @Daddylovesfeet420 that we’d never make or say as ourselves…

If you would like to read the whole opinion piece by Michael Gerber, you can find it, HERE.

Since others are using the cartoon he published without our permission, and additional inquiries have been made about the cartoon for themselves, we agreed to make it available through us. T-shirts, magnets, mugs, etc. Yes, I realize this is not what Jesus would do, but this was a way of assuring our copyrights, laying claim to it, and attempting to take back some control. Please visit here, if you would like any details.

More questions from the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop…

How do you feel about AI? – Yuliya

BOB: I have seen first-hand how AI is changing the landscape in the writing and humor field and the loss of jobs and creativity. We can’t lump this in with other advancements in our history when making the argument for it being just an adjustment on our part (creatives). That’s because AI is not encouraging growth and creativity. It promotes laziness. It spurns shortcuts.

The biggest problem is reshaping society’s standards, in the same way a popular TV in the ‘80s, MAD magazine did for decades, or old radio stars in the ‘40s taught what to laugh at. Now AI is lowering the bar. We are being trained to accept what is good, like AI-produced art. And I already see patterns and repetitiveness surface. How do you feel about AI? Me and AI are not speaking. I feel like the tomorrow’s next New Yorker cover by Christoph Niemann, who I consider our generation’s smartest illustrator.

In the novel I am working on, I have an old historical character who is kind of pompous. I want to make him funny. I do not know if I can pull it off but I am going to try. Two tips as I embark… Thank you! – Maryanne Boyen

BOB: We had shared some exercises in our session (and I will be discussing those tips again but I can’t condense it down here). One we didn’t mention is creating a “Bible” for your character. Start by fleshing he/she out. Create their backstory. It would help you making them funnier if you knew them better.

How had AI changed humor in 2026? – Matt W.

BOB: There’s no metrics to measure or monitor comedy. How it has changed is based on your personal environment and exposure. AI is changing the world. Humor is a reflection of the world we live in. How much AI has changed humor in your life is based on how much AI is in your life.

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To see more of my work, visit my website HERE.

Apologies to “Freewheeling,” whose caption was incorrectly credited in previous issue.

“If we train hard enough we can crawl 26 miles by spring” — Freewheeling

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement I received from the last newsletter. I really appreciate it.

Full disclosure: I don’t use profanity and even when I did cartoons for Playboy, my work didn’t contain any nudity. Hugh Hefner picked cartoons of mine that could run in The Saturday Evening Post. Yet, somehow, I still manage to offend.

Yesterday I got two hurtful comments. One the usual “you’re terrible.” The other said I was “offensive,”—they actually used another word.

It was their reality. I almost responded. Would I be also be guilty of having to get in the last word? Should I at least defend myself? However, the mean comment inspired this cartoon, What would Jesus do? (See below.)

For those reasons, the following—some political stuff. implied violence, and adult content—is behind a paywall to cut down on the negative blow-back.

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I hope my cousin Dayna is reading this. Dayna, I want you to take back all the things you said about Dayton. I had a great time there attending the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Dayton is really beautiful.1 Dayna, I suggest we go to Erma 2028 together in two years (Dayna was a stand-up herself and is very funny).

So, I’m anxious to share my thoughts with everyone who was there with me.2 First a word about how I got here.

Every flight to Dayton requires a change over. Comedian Carole Montgomery and Sona Movsesian both had the same joke I had and I’m guessing everyone at the conference. Sona said in her keynote, “I was shocked to find out this city is the birthplace of aviation because when I was looking at flights to get here from Los Angeles, everything had about six connections. Who knew the birthplace of aviation would be so hard to fly to?”

(Carole runs Funny Women of a Certain Age. The Stadium in Woonsocket, RI, April 25th. funnywomenofacertainage.com. Sona’s new book, The World’s Worst Assistant, is a NY Times bestseller.)

Yep, Dayton is birthplace of the Wright Brothers, and one would think there is a direct flight to Dayton, Ohio. No matter where you started from. Anybody who says it’s all about the journey, didn’t fly last week. I spent a day at LaGuardia where half the Departures were cancelled. It IS a beautiful newly spruced up airport but after 13 hours, it would’ve been nice to see another.

I arrived just in time to speak at my workshop, missing the day before and any pre-conference frivolities. I never made it to the pool or gym.

What I did attend was impressive. I feel like each visit to Erma the classes and speeches get better. And many familiar faces. It was great reconnecting.

And thanks to those who attended my workshop I did with Mark Shatz. A lot of fun and a lot of good ideas were covered. Attendees told me the class really helped. We weren’t able to get to all the questions but will answer them in the newsletter over time. I know some readers are not into the writing advice stuff (or really long newsletters), so the Erma & writing deep-dive will be for just paid subscribers.

After the session, I called my mom to check in on her and to let her know it went well. “Dad would have been proud of me.” I can hear her get a little choked up as I continued, “…I already had six cups of coffee this morning.” My father was addicted to caffeine and pasta.

Eventually I made it home—again my flight was canceled, and my detour included going in the wrong direction for a while to Atlanta. At some point I saw Cuba outside my plane window.

So many told me how exhausted they were from the conference. Me, too. I workshop-hopped and in between sessions, I had many conversations in the hallways, speaking to writers about their projects and talking shop.

It took a couple of days to finally get a chance to discuss with my wife a situation weighing on my mind. She was also decompressing from her West Coast business trip. (I should mention, this aside is solely for Michael Maslin.3 If you are not him, skip story, especially if you have somewhere to go.)

I told my wife we were done—the last two times I ordered from Exclusive Pizza, it was terrible. I have started a strict diet, anyway, to get on a healthy track so the timing was right. She was very supportive and agreed that something between us (Exclusive and us) was off. In the past year, we both agreed that unless Pablo was working that day, ordering pizza was off the table. But now, NO more pizza.

About an hour later, I suggested we get one last slice to confirm they went downhill—if, IF, Pablo was there. Since we were getting it in person, we agreed it didn’t make sense not to order a whole pie (and a side salad to stay on my health kick). I called and said, “Is Pedro working today?”

“No, there is no Pedro here?”

“Who is this?”

“I’m Pablo!”

“I meant Pablo! Sorry. Great! I only order when you’re there.”

“[Ha.] The others don’t know what they doing.”

Well, I think it was the best pizza we ever had. Everything is right in the world, again.4

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Before I do a deep dive into that specific thought, I want to say there’s many who have nothing to complain about regarding Substack. That group includes me. I love doing this newsletter. I also know four at the top, Substackers on the Substack Mount Rushmore, who make this their primary income so that’s a whole other level, but we can all learn from that. Not that I put in the time and as readers know, I’m more likely to have a typo or run on thought. But I do want this to continue to grow—I saw this on a list recently for top humor newsletters. All encouraging.

On the top of that humor list was, and still is, Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac. I’m pretty sure I have already shared my Garrison Keillor stories with you and how we meet through my book Footnotes from the Worlds Greatest Bookstores (he wrote the Introduction as well). His Substack success comes, quite honestly, from being beloved and famously funny. The one takeaway is, his newsletter is exquisitely written. Never feels too long, a natural story-teller.

I first met Heather Cox Richardson, the history professor who writes Letters from an American, when we were stranded at the Miami Book Fair wiring for our Uber. At the time I was clueless about Substack and obvious to her newsletter, which I now read each day, and asked in hindsight, very silly questions. I remember her saying how well her Substack was doing, “beyond her wildest dreams.” She makes more profit than many print and online publications. Her husband is a lobster guy who doesn’t need to work anymore, but his business is crucial to their small Maine town.

Many newsletters I’m sent are definitely do it for the freedom it provides. I love that, too. To be as popular as the four Substacks I’m discussing, I think it needs more giving something to the reader that’s almost a commodity. The Substack Letters a service to millions of her readers who need to feel they can get the truth somewhere not filtered through bias lens. It’s a bonding place for people fed up. It’s group therapy.

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