Scary Times

The Bob's Halloween Issue

Courtesy of Weekly Humorist

I hope this issue provides some relief and relaxation to what has been a difficult time for so many.

I appreciate everyone is overwhelmed with stuff in their Inbox (and I hear from some that they are sick of so many newsletters). That said, I kept the free version of this issue brief. For paid subscribers and those hoping for a full issue, behind the paywall is a lot more material including a Shop Talk touching on The New Yorker and Dana Carvey and David Spade’s podcast Fly on the Wall, the Brooklyn Museum’s scrimshaw exhibit, more writing tips and more cartoons. Not for everyone but if you are a comedy geek and a humorist you’ll probably enjoy it. I give free paid subscriptions to students, seniors and anyone on a tight budget (writers!) or I provide a coupon for those who decide to subscribe.

OY/YO, 2015, Deborah Kass, Brooklyn Museum

Some house-cleaning: Last month the Cartoon of the Month went to Glen LeLievre. I learned that for some people, the cartoon did not appear due to a computer glitch. The same is true for the movie of Barry, the Bear. But you could be able to see Barry by going to the archive here and scrolling to the bottom. It works for me and others and then others tell me it still doesn’t work for them and it has something to do with whatever browser you use, sorry. As for Glen, let me just encourage people to visit his website here and I will share another great cartoon of his here.

Courtesy AirMail Weekly

Courtesy Weston Group magazines

The always funny Barbara Smaller appears on the latest New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast.

Jess Zafarris has a new great book out called, Words from Hell: Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology.

So does artist John Kascht. The Mysteries, created with Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbs) is beautiful and already a worldwide bestseller.

The CartoonStock is the encyclopedia of cartoons and here you can get cartoons to use in your next presentation or publication.

“You can’t learn how to be funny,” James Burrows (Frasier) said. “That has to be instinctual in you.” Jason Chatfield and Hilary Campbell both had a face-to-face encounter with Frasier himself, Kelsey Grammer, and write about it in their respective newsletters: New York Cartoons and Cartoons by Hilary.

Head’s up, the Albert Brooks HBO documentary by Rob Reiner comes out November 11th.

I will be doing an event with New Yorker cartoonist, Roz Chast at the Miami Book Fair (Miami) Nov. 12-19. Her new book is I Must Be Dreaming.

The following piece I submitted to The New Yorker first. After rejected there, I pitched it to AirMail.

Backstory…

Initially there were a couple of other lights but cartoonist Robert Leighton took a look and rightfully suggested cutting two. Here is the sketch from my notebook when I first thought of the idea (which was there could be funny auto warning lights and then I realized I didn’t need to stay with cars but go into an area which has problems and really push the envelope.)…

Drumroll….this issue The Felix goes to Pat Byrnes. This cartoon appeared in the new AirMail on Saturday. It’s an example of one of those cartoons I wish I came up with myself and the best cartoon I saw in the past couple of weeks.

If you follow cartoons, you might notice that like movies now, the captions are getting really long. Often this is just a lack of storytelling skills. Pat’s a pro. His caption is succinct with each word carefully chosen. He once said to me, “Say the joke and get off the stage.” It sounds like something that’s been said for decades and passed down. I contend the best cartoons are caption-less if you can pull it off.

Pat studied rocket science (who said cartoonists are not smart?) and heads up the company The Drawing Board, which trains business and organizational teams how to visualize change in ways that make a visible difference. His work has appeared in all three editions of my Ultimate Cartoon Book series (available in the gift shop). More of his work can be enjoyed here, at his website, and he is represented by The CartoonStock.

To order online at Bookshop, CLICK HERE.

“Hilarious, humorous.” – The Daily Beast

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

And for just subscribers, I am doing a special holiday deal of signed and doodled copies of the whole critically-acclaimed Ultimate Cartoon series, 3 volumes, for only $40. Free shipping (for the continental U.S.). Retail, with shipping, this would normally be $75.

Here are some website tips I’m collecting I’d like to share with artists and writers — obvious stuff perhaps but good reminders:

• Update your Bio page and include different lengths to accommodate the press’ needs as well as specific markets. Ex., a cartoon bio, a different writer bio, etc. For samples, you may check at mine.

• LinkTree is free and it’s what professionals use to organize all their links on all your social media profiles.