The CartoonStock Cartoon Caption Contest No. 202

In the CartoonStock Caption Contest number 202, a creature I take to be Bigfoot is giving a statement to the news media. He is the speaker. The cartoonist is Bill Whitehead.

The rules of the monthly cash prize contest have not changed: Five dollars buys up to three entries. Real cash prizes are $500 for first place and $100 for each of five runners up. As of this writing, I've put $235 into the first forty-seven pay-to-play contests and this forty-eighth challenge brings my total cash outlay up to $240. Having achieved runner-up status with three previous entries, I've collected $300 from CartoonStock, so I'm playing with the house's money, thank you very much. In fact, so few contestants enter that the odds may generally be considered favorable even for less-gifted caption writers. My three entries this round are shown below, above the break.

"I don't know my shoe size. Why?"
"If you want to see more of me, I'm on OnlyFans."
"I ask that you leave Nessie and me alone."
* * *
"Is it any wonder I don't come out of the woods?"
"Again, no comment."

05195

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #977

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #977 from the issue of February 2, 2026, a couple walking on the beach spots a fish half out of water reading a book. The woman speaks. The drawing is by P. C. Vey.

"The poor thing can't wait to evolve legs."

These captions were all washed up:

"I was looking for a good beach read."
"Because otherwise the ink would run."
"Why can't WE find the time to read?"
"But what if they ALL read Isaac Walton?"
"Isn't that cute? He's reading Kilgore Trout."
"I could never manage such small type."
"It's probably just some fish story."

05194

W. B. Park: Two From Bakery Business

Two illustrations from the children's book Bakery Business (1983) by cartoonist W. B. Park were sold on eBay last fall.

This eBay seller, sellallucan, quirkily likes to photograph both the left and right sides of a given original. In this case, where allowance is made for the crease between the pages, that almost makes sense.

According to Park's biography on the book jacket flap, he resided in in Winter Park, Florida. The eBay seller is today located there. Of the many magazines his work appeared in, The New Yorker is, of course, listed first, followed by Smithsonian and Fortune. Surely TV Guide would have been worth a mention here as well.

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended September 25, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/126632557218?_skw=

W. B. Park
eBay item description

W. B. Park
eBay listing ended October 3, 2025

https://www.ebay.com/itm/116295562231?_skw=

W. B. Park
eBay item description

05193

George Price: A Wartime Letter

Original New Yorker art by cartoonist George Price is prized by collectors for its depiction of an assortment of characters—sometimes eccentric, often of limited means—living out their lives among the bric-a-brac they have accumulated. This sort of humor, mingling as it does personalities, settings, and objects, requires a deft touch. A drawing of his from early 1943 shows Price in great form, delivering equal parts humor and poignancy, capturing some of the true emotions experienced on the home front during World War II.  

"He's homesick."
George Price
Original art
The New Yorker, February 6, 1943, p. 19

He wrote the two-word caption at the upper left; it was to be printed underneath on the wife's side of the drawing. The economy of words among the proliferation of lines is striking. The blue coloring indicates where the Ben Day process would produce shading in the printed cartoon.

Detail with caption

The signature in black india ink remains bold, but the inscription to John, the original giftee, has faded considerably over eight decades.

"All best wishes
to John —
George"

One might very well ask why, on December 10, this exceptional framed and matted drawing sold at auction in Philadelphia for only $100. To be fair, the auction house Barry S. Slosberg's estimate started out low, $100 to $200, and it proved accurate. The piece, which so well reflected the mood of the country during the Great War, may not resonate so strongly with many today, although any parent should understand. Finally, the market is inefficient, and some collectors who love this kind of art may not have seen this piece come to auction. For them, they may just have to wait eighty-three more years for another chance.

George Price
Barry S. Slosberg, Inc., listing of December 10, 2025

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/Framed-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Signed-1651-c-7ECAE3D607?utm_term=new%20yorker&utm_source=alerts&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=keywordalerts&utm_content=365084&utm_term=365084

George Price
Barry S. Slosberg, Inc., item description

For all its complexity, the drawing looks very clean on the printed page. Price knows how to tell a story visually: the couple seated apart but sharing the news from overseas, the photograph of the son in uniform on the wall, the peeling plaster, the hungry cat, the nailed floorboards, and . . . everything else.

"He's homesick."
George Price
The New Yorker, February 6, 1943, p. 19

"He's homesick."
George Price
Original art
The New Yorker, February 6, 1943, p. 19

With cartoons by Leonard Dove and George Price

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1943-02-06/flipbook/018/

* * *

On the page opposite, Leonard Dove's cartoon about obtaining credit in time of war provides an interesting contrast with Price's. The shading is heavier, the setting is less surprising, and the caption is, of course, a lot wordier. 

"Frankly, Mr. Courtney, it isn't only the government regulations—we like prompt payment also."
Leonard Dove
The New Yorker, February 6, 1943, p. 18

In one of those quirky mistakes that pop up from time to time in the database, The Complete Cartoon of The New Yorker (2004) erroneously attributes the Price cartoon to Dove as well. The confusion persists to this day in the Condé Nast Store's online listing of "He's homesick."

https://condenaststore.com/featured/hes-homesick-leonard-dove.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqAEp6OdKoOp33ltwKx4lrtL49yjtqFAxLPfgJ6MLemwS6zPlyM

Newsbreak Q&A:

Whenever I enjoy a given snappy rejoinder such as this one, I wonder if it was perhaps written by E. B. White.

05192

My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #976

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #976 from the issue of January 26, 2026, two waiters sit holding covered serving trays and two others walk by with trays holding champagne and beer. The sitting waiter with the bow tie makes a wisecrack. The drawing is by E. S. Glenn.

A similar image, reversed and with some basketball gear on two of the trays, was put forth by Glenn in late 2020 for the Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #107. Here are the three winning entries from that iteration of this cartoon:

https://attemptedbloggery.blogspot.com/2020/12/cartoon-collections-caption-contest-106.html

My entry in the current contest is shown below:

"Whatever it is, I hear it's best served cold."

This caption went down a little too easily:

"Who the hell decided drinks go first?"

05191

Sidney Harris: A Signed Copy of Kafka Does Stand-Up

At a local bookstore earlier this month, I found a signed copy of Kafka Does Stand-Up: Cartoons on Books and Writers (2023) by Sidney Harris. It's a little scuffed but at $9, I figured why not? It's fairly new and, truthfully, I had not heard of it. The book lists twenty-five other cartoon collections by Harris, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised that I haven't kept up.

The book is signed by Harris, not perfectly, mind you—there's some overwriting on that final s.

A copy listed on Amazon at $14.95 gives a publication date of May 12, 2023. My copy's very specific date is May 27, 2023. No publisher is listed other than ScienceCartoonsPlus.com, the author's website. So now we know what we have: a self-published book that is printed on demand. 

05190

Edward Koren: The Need for Entertainment

Heritage Auctions initially described Edward Koren's The Need for Entertainment (1986) as original illustration art.

It is a signed print, of course, an artist's proof. Furthermore, the listing had stated, "It's been said of the various cartoons published in the New Yorker over the years that they seem to be whimsically obtuse, and this illustration by Ed Koren is no exception. Produced in ink on paper . . . " When it was sold yesterday in the Wednesday Comic Art & Illustration Select Auction, the item description had been substantially corrected, although not the part about New Yorker cartoons being "whimsically obtuse."

Again, the art was originally described as an illustration:

By the time of the sale, the updated description correctly identified the piece as an artist's proof aside from the numbered print edition:

Still, the revised description maintained the odd implication that this print is somehow a New Yorker cartoon. It isn't, of course. The new description did correct the notion that what we have is an original illustration in ink on paper. And the description continues to suggest that New Yorker cartoons have been described as "whimsically obtuse." By whom? All of the cartoons, or just some?

Four days before the sale, bidding was at only $25 despite the incorrect description. Very likely then, no one was fooled. 

Edward Koren
Heritage Auctions Wednesday Comic Art & Illustration Select Auction #322603 listing accessed 1/17/2026

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/edward-koren-the-need-for-entertainment-illustration-original-art-1986-/a/322603-48143.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515#

The sale price:

Note:  Feel free to share original art by Edward Koren here whether cartoon, illustration, or original print. Whimsicality and obtuseness are always welcome.

05189