Worse Job in America?
Congratulations To All Single Panel Gag Cartoonists
Do you crave high stress, low pay and lack of job security? Pick up a pen (or a Wacom tablet) and join the cartoon community! I’m not referring as much to animation, graphic novels, freelance illustration or other disciplines but SINGLE-PANEL GAG CARTOONS—broken dreams, talking to yourself, unpaid cartoons, stolen work and so much more. I will elaborate further down in Shop Talk but let’s first get to the new list everyone has been waiting for:
Top 10 Most Difficult Occupations 2023
Corrections Officer
Roadhouse Inspector
Logger, Intern
Rodeo Clown
Bug Cuisine Reviewer
Ghost-Hunter
Driving Instructor For Narcoleptics
Mime College Gym Teacher
Single-panel Gag Cartoonist
Single-panel Gag Cartoonist Assistant
So, how did you do? How many of these jobs have you held?
(The following was written by AI ChatGPT.)
One of the joys of the profession of single-panel gag cartooning is the assurance you will be taken advantage of. Even when I hired a lawyer to protect me in one instance (I was trying to chase down approximately $35,000 for a job back in the ‘90s, which you already know had to be from way back then because that’s the last decade jobs like that existed), I was not only able to get the lawyer to accomplish anything (I paid four figures) but he took my signed book I gave him and saw it appear on ebay.
Getting ripped off is part of a single-panel gag cartoonist’s job description. Say that five times fast. A right-wing Catholic Facebook page stole one of my cartoons the other day, removing my name from the cartoon. The post now has 70,000 Likes, 6,800 Comments and close to 40,000 Shares. Their next post about how much our country should be grateful to Donald Trump had 35 Likes.
I wrote to them, explained I was an altar boy raised Catholic and taught Catholics don’t steal, I was disappointed in them. I got no answer yet. Surprisingly, the Catholic Trump site did not steal this recent cartoon I did for American Bystander:
I contacted the CartoonStock.com which represents the rights to my cartoons but they explained not much could be done. They did share I may be the most frequently stolen cartoonist. Along with my Rubik’s Cube cartoon below, I know it has reached over a million Shares. The images have been used in various ways for businesses around the world, especially at yoga studios and mediation centers. You would think all that good karma would come back to me.
(Many tell me they me these are their favorite all-time cartoons and originally saw them in The New Yorker. For the record, they never appeared there. I DID pitch them both to the magazine a couple of times but I could get neither even held for consideration. They later ran in Reader’s Digest and The Antiques & Arts Weekly (as the cover for $50. They fired me as their “cover artist” the following week.). The Rubik’s Cube cartoon then appeared as the back cover to my book The Elements of Stress, co-written with cartoonist Michael Shaw (LitHub magazine ran a nice piece about that book here.). The hoarder cartoon appeared on television on the TODAY With Hoda & Jenna Show. They sent me $100.)
I used to do cartoons for the largest Catholic magazine in the world, America and those were the days. Rates were reasonable. And I totally understand the dire situation today. A Catholic magazine, Holy Moses Monthly* recently purchased a cartoon from me for $25. After the PayPal fee, I received only $17.50. They were kind enough to send my the difference when I pointed this out. Now there are some good Catholics and i would work again for them. But other publications subtract that fee out of you. That’s totally unfair.
*not real title
Sadly, there are cartoonists even ripping off each other. You may have noticed that there are more than a couple of cartoonists producing work that is uncomfortably close in style to other cartoonists. I am compelled to point this out having just returned from Sam Gross’ funeral, someone who had a lot to say on this subject and who himself was a true original. Putting aside how many jokes are rehashed old jokes from cartoons––that’s too much time and work for me to lay out right here and gets very subjective as well––I’ll stick to the obvious right-in-clear-air crime and that would be those who are copying acclaimed cartoonists Ed Steed and the late Charles Barsotti, both personal favorites of mine. I give them credit for chatzpah. Welcome to America’s Top Most Difficult Job, 2023.
Three Questions. This month’s guest is Hilary Price, an award-winning cartoonist (Rhymes with Orange) and teacher. She will be conducting Writing and Drawing Single Panel Comics, this June. Details in Soapbox.
Bob Eckstein: Are you getting funnier?
Hilary Price: Are we referring to the Banana Peel Index, by which every cartoonist is rated? I'm waiting for their quarterly report. Here's what I'll say––I think I understand the structure of humor, both visually and in storytelling, better than before. That has come from both practice and study.
BE: Many pros feel that social media and other outlets drown out their work. Is this a good thing and has it made you better?
HP: Yes, it's a good thing. I think the world would be a better place if even more people sat down with a pencil and paper, worked to express themselves, and then were brave enough to share it with others. The internet offers cheap real estate. The rest of the publishing world has historically been a gated (and segregated) community.
BE: What was the last time you laughed hard?
HP: At an improv show.
But there was this one magical evening at The Toronto Comics Arts Festival when I was having drinks at an Irish pub with newspaper cartoonists Dave Coverly, creator of Speedbump, Rina Piccolo, my partner on Rhymes With Orange and Paul Gilligan, creator of Pooch Cafe. It started with a comment about Rina spitting up in an elevator, and went from there. We laughed the whole night. I’ll never forget it.
BE: Who do you think is the funniest person in the world at this time?
HP: I’m not into superlatives, but seeing comedian Eddie Izzard perform live was fantastic. To the uninitiated, one of her best known sketches is Death Star Canteen.
BE: Izzard is a favorite and I’ve seen him live a couple of times.
HP: Cartoonist Sam Gross, who just passed away, was a big influence on my cartooning. I loved his simple ink lines and quick punchlines.
BE: What is the best tip you can give someone who is trying to get funnier?
HP: For storytelling: The back story is much less important than you think it is! Start with the joke or the action.
For cartooning: The fewer words the better, and try to end on the strongest word. Never have a second character comment on the punchline. You’re stealing that job from the reader.
BE: Excellent advice. You’re actually doing a week-long workshop. What will that cover?
HP: I firehouse my students with prompts and exercises, and we have a blast. We work on idea generation and I teach them what goes into a successful single panel cartoon. The focus is not on mastering drawing, but I try to stretch each student out of their comfort zone. We laugh a lot and ruin lots of paper. There’s always a range of people— from those cartooning for the first time to published cartoonists. We all learn from each another. I look forward to it each summer.
I will be promoting different cartoon and humor people and events each issue:
Michael Rosen was a recent guest on my Cartoon Pad podcast as a James Thurber scholar. He has written and /or illustrated over 150 books, including children's picture books, adult poetry, novels, and was the editor of many anthologies. His books and work can be found at his website here.
Cartoonists Jason Chatfield and Scott Dooley have a new book out called You’re Not a Real Parent Until…. You can get 15% off preorders with code REALPREORDER15. I have a copy of the book. It’s beautifully produced and they did a great job. Jason’s funny newsletter is New York Cartoons.
There’s a new cartoon collection coming out called, Hold That Thought: 12 Cartoonists on Their Worlds of Humor featuring cartoons by Isabella Bannerman, Suzy Becker, David Endelman, Jun Frogosa, David Gomberg, Theresa Henry, Ed Himelblau, Catherine Holmes, Beverley Kort, Sam Lay, RoseAnne Prevec, and Jim Shoenbill.
Hilary Price will be conducting Writing and Drawing Single Panel Comics, which includes lectures, exercises, and studio. There are still openings and fees & details can be found here. Writing and Drawing Single Panel Comics is for both beginner, advanced adult and college students and will be held in-person on campus at The Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, June 19th to 23rd, 2023.
I am speaking and giving a class at the 2nd Annual Humor Conference. This event is June 24th and is virtual. From the website:
All participants will benefit from:
FOUR all-new, one-hour webinar presentations provided by award-winning and bestselling humor authors, all examining different aspects of writing humor. Each session will include an opportunity for live Q&A with the authors!
A critique (with written feedback) of your query letter by a literary agent.
The ability to network with fellow humor writers via discussion boards that will be open throughout the day. Share ideas, and even your work if you choose.
Unlimited OnDemand viewing! All conference sessions will be made available for download in the week following the live presentations. Even if you can’t attend every session live, you will be able to view each lecture on your own whenever you choose.
Drumroll….this issue The Felix goes to Roz Chast.
Here is Roz’s website.
To order online at Bookshop, CLICK HERE.
And with that, this ends another issue of The Bob. I do appreciate anyone sharing the newsletter and helping me get the word out. And thank you for all the very nice feedback I’ve gotten from the newsletter so far, it’s greatly appreciated.
The Bob is published monthly. Paid subscribers receive additional issues which include longer humor pieces and deep-dive into humor advice.
(Writing down those tips...) Single panel cartooning is HARD. I've tried it. Rarely successfully. Hilary is one of the best in the business.
And Death Star Canteen with animated Lego is the best thing on the Internet (are we still capitalising that, or am I showing my age?).
Your candid report on the state of the cartooning biz is much appreciated. Good grief. If it’s any consolation, your rant did have me laughing out loud.