My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #842

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #842 from the issue of March 20, 2023 is ready for takeoff, but am I? My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Akeem Roberts.

"These new planes fly themselves. I'm just the mascot."

These captions weren't airworthy:

"Guess which brand of flight insurance I'm selling?"
"As for the flight plan, I'm just going to wing it."
"I can land just as well on water."
"I hope that luggage floats."

April 2, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

April 7, 2023 Update:  I winged it and voted for the caption from Springfield.

April 17, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest #90

For its 90th contest, Cartoon Collections continues its recent practice of explaining the caption contest cartoon scenario while abandoning its former practice of proofreading: "This week’s cartoon of a business floating in a duck pond comes from Kaamran Haffeez." A business? No one is going to believe that—I'd better include a screen shot.

Sure, I suppose I could have Photoshopped this, but I don't know how to do that and why would I want to anyway? Another thing I don't know how to do is get into the top three of the caption contest. Here are my six entries, which should either double my chances or disqualify me altogether.

"They've finally developed their own decoy."
"Don't be silly. Everyone needs a lawyer."
"Is it rush hour already?"
"I don't see any harm if we aim for the tube."
"It's a good strategy. Let the ducks imprint on him."
"Professionals are ruining the sport."

September 10, 2020 Update:  Oh, the image's jpeg file is labeled Duck-Blind. And the winning caption is...

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Kaamran Hafeez

Ducks

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

All the Collected Cartoon Caption Contests

Attempted Bloggery's Just Ducky Index

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #592

Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #592 for November 13, 2017. The drawing is by Mick Stevens.

"There's not a Shakespeare in the flock."

Or maybe I should have gone with one of these...

"This time we have all our ducks in a row."
"I thought we agreed on penguins."

November 20, 2017 Update:  The Finalists

November 27, 2017:  I voted for the second caption, the one most similar to my own.


December 4, 2017:  Winning Caption

Note:  Last week cartoonist P. C. Vey gave us a Freudian bath. Take a deep dive into Contest #591.

See whether Mick Stevens has all his ducks in a row in the blog archives.

And, the question on everyone's mind, why a duck?

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Gahan Wilson's Favorite Duck

A copy of Gahan Wilson's 1988 novel Everybody's Favorite Duck is inscribed by Mr. Wilson with an original drawing of the duck. This book received a single bid on eBay in August. The most collectible copies of this book have a drawing, of course.

There is a considerable tradition of New Yorker cartoonists writing novels. James Thurber, always a man of letters, wrote a short novel or two, shorter fiction being his specialty. James Stevenson published some six novels. More recently, Peter Steiner published his fourth novel. There must be other examples I'm not aware of. Cartoonists by nature have to be good storytellers. Many who write well probably can't resist the allure of the longer narrative.

Gahan Wilson, Everybody's Favorite Duck, Inscribed, "For/Bill Claire/with all best/wishes/from/Gahan/Wilson/and/the/duck"
with a drawing of the duck

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gahan-Wilson-Full-Page-Drawing-by-New-Yorker-Artist-on-First-Edition-/290962160891?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item43beb23cfb&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

A more expensive copy is available on eBay--more than ten times more expensive--which is lettered copy M of the slipcased limited edition.

Gahan Wilson, Everybody's Favorite Duck. Lettered copy M of the limited edition, signed with a drawing of the duck.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SIGNED-GAHAN-WILSON-Deluxe-Letter-Edition-EVERYBODYS-FAVORITE-DUCK-1988-Slipcase-/120764840762?pt=Antiquarian_Collectible&hash=item1c1e253b3a

March 17, 2014 Update:

Note:  Check out more of my blog posts on Gahan Wilson here.

Don't miss Gahan Wilson's New Yorker work in the Cartoon Bank here.

The website for "Gahan Wilson:  Born Dead, Still Weird," a documentary by Steven-Charles Jaffe about the cartoonist, is here. The New York City premiere is tomorrow.

Gahan Wilson presents the 2009
Ignatz Award for Best Artist

Gahan Wilson's 2009 radio interview on the Leonard Lopate Show is here.

News about Gahan Wilson on Ink Spill is here.

A couple of Gahan Wilson illustrations are on The Pictorial Arts blog here.

This is the last day to vote for a favorite caption in the Moment Cartoon Caption Contest. I am one of three finalists. You can read all about my very first captioning success here.

The basketball preseason has begun. I have one recent post on the sport here.

I have nothing to say about the government's partial shutdown beyond what I've already said about sequestration and the debt ceiling, so don't ask. You can read it in the archives.

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Donald Duck from "The Band Concert" (1935)

Last week we saw how a rare piece of animation art featuring the oldest color Mickey Mouse cel in existence was purchased from Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills and resold at a huge profit at Profiles in History in Calabasas Hills, California. This sort of thing does happen every now and then, but lest you think it's easy to pull it off, here's a cautionary tale.

This original animation art of Donald Duck with matching production background from Walt Disney's "The Band Concert" (1935) was also purchased at Heritage Auctions in Beverly Hills, possibly by the same individual. After selling for $10,755, it was relisted at Profiles in History with an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. All well and good, but it did not find a buyer the second time around.

So the extraordinary seven-fold profit on the Mickey Mouse animation art has to be weighed against the real risk of not being able to resell artwork at all. Put another way, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Still, the Donald Duck isn't by any means an unworthy piece of animation art to be stuck holding.

Original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from 
Walt Disney Studios, "The Band Concert" (1935)
Heritage Auction Listing

http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

Framed original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from 
Walt Disney Studios, "The Band Concert" (1935)
Heritage Auction Listing

http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

Walt Disney Studios, original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from "The Band Concert" (1935)
Heritage Auction Listing

http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

[End of Heritage Auctions listing]

No longer framed original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from 
Walt Disney Studios, "The Band Concert" (1935)
Profiles in History Auction Listing
http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

Donald Duck original production cel with production background from The Band Concert - (Walt Disney Studios, 1935) An extremely rare and early original production cel of Donald Duck with the matching original background from The Band Concert. In a 1994 poll of animators, this short was rated as the third greatest cartoon of all time, and for many years a setup from this cartoon held the record for the highest amount paid in auction for animation art. The particular scene pictured appears at the end of the short when Donald plays his flute for the last time. Image measures 8 ¾ in. x 11 ½ in. with overall dimensions 10 in. x 12 ½ in. A phenomenal piece of animation history.
This item WAS NOT SOLD, auction date was 2011 Dec 17 @ 11:00UTC-8 : PST


Profiles in History

Walt Disney Studios, original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from "The Band Concert" (1935)
Profiles in History auction listing

http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

[End of Profiles in History Auction Listing]

Walt Disney Studios, original production cel of Donald Duck with production background from "The Band Concert" (1935)
Heritage Auction Listing

http://bid.profilesinhistory.com/Donald-Duck-original-production-cel-with-production-background-from-The-Band-Concert_i11538238#.TulhdnIt57k.blogger

Note:  My most recent Disney post, the one with the earliest color Mickey Mouse cel from "Parade of the Award Nominees," can be found here.

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