My "Women Laughing" Postproduction Kickstarter Reward

On June 16, I was truly enthralled by a short preview of the documentary film "Women Laughing." This was shown at a Swann Salon, an event the night before the most recent Illustration Art auction at Swann Galleries. The film's subjects are the women cartoonists of The New Yorker. The short film was then a work in progress by a talented team led by cartoonist and author Liza Donnelly. 

The following month I made a pledge of $200 towards the film's postproduction Kickstarter campaign (plus $5 to ship the reward I readily accepted in exchange). My feelings toward crowdfunding have softened over the years. It has now become clear to me that many worthy projects could never see the light of day without it.

"Women Laughing" Postproduction
Kickstarter Campaign accessed July 19, 2025

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/womenlaughingfilm/women-laughing-post-production?ref=recommendation-ended-project-1&category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktMzA=

No one who reads this blog regularly will be surprised by the wonderful reward I chose for myself. Only fifteen of these signed books were available and they were grabbed up quickly.

Now the film has been completed. And here is my beautiful, new copy, decorated on the half-title with a drawing from each signer. They are (clockwise from the center) Liza Donnelly, Liana Finck, Roz Chast, Amy Hwang, Emily Flake, and The New Yorker's cartoon editor Emma Allen.

Finally, good mothers always say to send thank you notes.

05084

Emily Flake: Hallowe'en Costumes for Babies

"Hallowe'en Costumes for Babies" is an installment of cartoonist Emily Flake's Lulu Eightball. The comic strip ran in alternative weeklies from 2002 to 2016. This example was published on October 30, 2013. The original art from ten Halloweens ago was sold at Weiss Auctions on November 15. Its estimate was $150 to $300, but the actual realized price was $65.

Emily Flake
Weiss Auctions, November 15, 2023

https://weissauctions.nextlot.com/auctions/1497215/lots/22686910

04535

Emily Flake Drew These

Last month at Parsons School of Design I attended a panel discussion which dared to ask, Is The American Bystander "The Last Great Humor Magazine?" The short answer is yes.

During the panel, New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake unobtrusively made some pencil sketches on a folded sheet of paper. At the conclusion, illustrator and collagist Stephen Kroninger sagely suggested that she donate the sheet to a worthy cause: this blog. She seemed surprised that I would be interested in publicizing these fanciful images but she was willing to humor me by writing "Emily Flake drew these" across the top.

"Emily Flake drew these"

At the panel discussion, Ms. Flake can be seen putting pencil to this sheet of paper.

Panel, left to right: Sam Gross, Steve Young, Drew Friedman, Emily Flake, Stephen Kroninger, and Michael Gerber

Is The American Bystander "The Last Great Print Humor Magazine?"

April 16, 2019
NY Comics & Picture-story Symposium
Parsons School of Design

https://nycomicssymposium.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/the-american-bystander-april-16-2019-at-7pm/?fbclid=IwAR1jlre9kjB8KtcTEDKU3uG-JGNZCVn2UUdVaJbiMQv14riOeAf2gRnqaYQ

Note:  My thanks to illustrator Stephen Kroninger for spotting Emily Flake's page of whimsy and brokering my acquisition of it. Stephen remains a strong supporter of Attempted Bloggery and is the only contributor to have had his work exhibited at MoMA.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Emily Flake

Pencil Sketches

Stephen Kroninger

Drew Friedman

Sam Gross

The American Bystander

Attempted Bloggery's Sketchy Index

02913

The Rye Arts Center Caption Contest

I am quite at home in the world of the arts and even in the world of the sciences, but in the world of politics I cannot be said to tread lightly. Now recall if you will that today nearly every arts institution in the country is significantly underfunded, and it should be obvious that it would not be politically savvy of me or indeed of anyone to enter a promotional cartoon caption contest sponsored by a leading arts center with a joke poking fun at every art institution's Achilles heel: its finances.

Yet witness what I blundered into in the recent Rye Arts Center Caption Contest. The drawing is by Benjamin Schwartz, himself a man of the arts and of medicine, and, for all I know, of shrewd and cunning politics as well. The caption contest was judged by Dr. Schwartz, by New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake, and by former New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff, each of whom contributed original work to the current exhibition. The winning caption has been on display at the Rye Arts Center gracing the original artwork since the opening on April 28. "Turn the Page: The Evolution of Cartoon and Comic Art" will remain on view at the Rye Arts Center through Saturday, June 9.

"I sense there's a fund drive coming."

Did I really submit that? Say it isn't so! These captions, on the other hand, just weren't artsy enough:

"I knew I forgot something."
"Quick, hand me a Sharpie!"
"It takes me back to the refrigerator door I had as a child."
"It's more fun to be a critic."
"I just don't get it."
"It was all I could come up with."
"The curators are getting lazy."

Note:  Those who find themselves seeking artistic fulfillment in Westchester might greatly oblige me by stopping in at the Rye Arts Center prior to June 9 and snapping a photo of the winning caption (which should now be permanently appended to the original cartoon). Help me to report the outcome of this contest to my readership and to protect it from the sort of political bumbling some of us—ahem!—might otherwise be prone to. 

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Benjamin Schwartz

Emily Flake

Bob Mankoff

Caption Contests

Attempted Bloggery's Politically Incorrect Index

02548

A Signed Copy of Glen Baxter's Almost Completely Baxter from the Brooklyn Book Festival

Glen Baxter appeared last fall at the Brooklyn Book Festival to promote his new collection Almost Completely Baxter. He joined a panel with cartoonists Emily Flake and Ben Katchor moderated by Connie Sun. At the conclusion of the discussion at the Brooklyn Historical Society, he signed books outside. He is one of those signers who crosses out his printed name, replacing it with the signature.

Panel with Emily Flake, Ben Katchor, and Glen Baxter
Brooklyn Book Festival, September 18, 2016

Glen Baxter, Almost Completely Baxter, 2016

Signed by Glen Baxter

From moderator Connie Sun's Twitter feed

https://twitter.com/cartoonconnie/status/777935772792020992

02266

A Signed Copy of Emily Flake's Mama Tried from the Brooklyn Book Festival

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried.

—Merle Haggard, "Mama Tried"

Emily Flake, Ben Katchor, and Glen Baxter promoted their new books
at the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 18, 2016

http://bkbfcomics.tumblr.com/post/150492808057/bkbfcomics-can-you-stand-it-ben-katchor-glen

Last fall at the Brooklyn Book Festival, Emily Flake gave a presentation along with fellow cartoonists Glen Baxter and Ben Katchor entitled “Hey, Some Comics are Still Funny!”—or was it renamed “Short But Sweet” prior to the festival? Anyway, Connie Sun moderated. Afterwards, outside the venue, Ms. Flake signed and inscribed copies of her 2015 book Mama Tried: Dispatches from the Seamy Underbelly of Modern Parenting.

Emily Flake, Ben Katchor, Glen Baxter, and moderator Connie Sun
The Brooklyn Book Festival, September 18, 2016

Emily Flake, Mama Tried, 2015

Signed and inscribed by Emily Flake
She's right.

A page from Emily Flake's Mama Tried, 2015

http://www.emilyflake.com/mama-tried/

Merle Haggard, "Mama Tried" Live

Note: As reported here on Ink Spill, Mama Tried is being produced for television by IFC.

02265