My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #967

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #967 from the issue of November 10, 2025, we see Noah's Ark passing an iceberg. Noah speaks, or perhaps shouts. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Jerald Lewis.

"I forgot lifeboats."

These captions wouldn't hold water:

"We must have missed the Holy Land."
"I can't build a zoo here!"
"And on the other side there's a great white shark."
"Why did I take the transatlantic route?"
"Any chance that's Mount Ararat?"
"Let's stay here until the icemaker is fixed."
"Thank goodness this will never happen again."

November 22, 2025 Update:  The Finalists

November 28, 2025 Update:  I voted for the caption from Toronto.

December 1, 2025 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #953

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #953 from the issue of July 28, 2025, a lion pays a visit to a dentist's office and the dentist has something to say about it. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Mark Thompson.

"My dental assistant was here when you came in."

These captions missed their check-ups, or at least their marks:

"Maybe not quite so wide."
"I'd prefer to use gas."

August 10, 2025 Update:  The Finalists

August 16, 2025 Update:  I voted for the caption from Rocklin, if I remembered to vote at all.

August 18, 2025 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #932

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #932 from the issue of February 10, 2025, two zebras are observed by a lion crouching in the grass. One zebra speaks. The drawing is by Lonnie Millsap.

"I'll go get help. You look for a snake in the grass."

March 1, 2025 Update:  The Finalists

March 8, 2025 Update:  I voted for the caption from Corona.

March 16, 2025 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #864

A well-meaning gazelle helps to prepare a nervous colleague for a speech to be given before an auditorium full of lions. This is not the veldt but The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #864 from the issue of September 4, 2023. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Meredith Southard.

"See if you can put them to sleep."

These captions were easy meat:

"They're used to plain speaking."
"You may want to speed read."
"Try to run through it quickly."

September 17, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

 

September 24, 2023 Update:  I voted for the caption from Mount Horeb.

September 30, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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Richard Oldden: Call Me George

The final quartet of original drawings by Richard Oldden were sold on eBay earlier this month. The artist visits several well-traveled cartoon tropes and puts a new twist on each of them. One of the gags is wordless and in four panels on two sheets of paper. We aren't told where any of the cartoons were published.

          "My name is Kenzaburo Toramichi . . .           "At first we thought we would be swamped with tourists,

                 You may call me George."                           —but somehow it never caught on."

"What's this you've been telling my daughter?"                        Hunting the Lion                  

Versos with Dick Oldden's New York and Laguna Beach stamps

Richard Oldden
eBay listing ended May 6, 2023

https://www.ebay.com/itm/374666219984?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

Richard Oldden
eBay item description

Richard Oldden
eBay bid history
Three bidders make seven bids over seven days. It's the last one that counts.

Note:  It's likely that many or all of the Dick Oldden cartoons in these eBay groupings of four were published somewhere in a mainstream magazine. But where? And when? It's questions like this that cry out for answers. Help if you can.

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #824

Let's bungle in the jungle with The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #824 from the issue of October 24, 2022. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by David Borchart.

"Wild cat got your tongue?"

October 31, 2022 Update:  The Finalists

November 7, 2022 Update:  I voted for the caption from Baltimore.

November 14, 2022 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #743

Even I can't swallow my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #743 for February 8, 2021. The drawing is by P. C. Vey.

"Hey, leave a little something for his trophy wife."

These captions were too off the wall:

"I warned you not to get into taxidermy."
"Well, do they have tonsils?"
"This is a little too off the wall."

February 25, 2021 Update:  The Finalists

March 1, 2021 Update:  I voted for the caption from, appropriately, Trappe.

March 13, 2021 Update:  The Winner

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Columbia Magazine Caption Contest Fall 2016

It's always good to see a new caption contest in town! The Fall 2016 issue of Columbia Magazine, a publication of Columbia University, presented a cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz that cried out—roared actually—for a caption. I submitted three, because that's what I do.

"You haven't been flossing."
"You're not getting enough gazelle."
"Tell me, why does the ringmaster want to see your toothprints?"

Columbia Magazine

December 17, 2016 Update:  Winning Caption

http://magazine.columbia.edu/finals/winter-2016/mane-event

Note:  It's a good thing I'm not compulsive about these things.


Attempted Bloggery's quick links:

Benjamin Schwartz

Lions

Caption Contests

Halloween

Attempted Bloggery's Lion-Hearted Index

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Whitney Darrow, Jr.: Tiger Tamer

They're big cats for sure! Illustration House identifies the subject of this drawing by Whitney Darrow, Jr. as a lion tamer, which seems reasonable enough. Still, both big cats are drawn with stripes, and--let's face it--nobody draws a lion with stripes. So let's identify our circus performer as a tiger tamer, and one who is not getting much cooperation.

EBay Listing Ended August 4, 2013

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Whitney-Darrow-Jr-CARTOON-Lion-Tamer-1950-s-Signed-Listed-Illustration-NR-/130958390267?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e7dba73fb&nma=true&si=UB68sj2DvLx%252F9kdb54zXrlCgzYs%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

EBay Item Description

EBay Bid History
It was a five day auction, but only the last four seconds mattered.

There were no bids at $149.99.

Note:  If you'd like to see more about Whitney Darrow, Jr., you've come to the right blog.

There just might be some more original cartoon art as well. Who'd have guessed?

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William Steig's Mirror Image

This drawing of a well-dressed donkey gazing coolly at his vanity mirror and a reflected angry lion staring right back at him is by none other than the brilliant William Steig. It's a simple enough composition, but everything works delightfully well here: shading, body language, facial expression. This is the work of a master.

William Steig, Donkey at Vanity Mirror, Private Collection

Note:  My previous call for owners of original artwork by William Steig to share their drawings right here on the blog has resulted once again in a rare and beautiful find. Given this unexpected success, I would be a fool not to repeat the request. Here goes:  if you have original artwork by the great William Steig in your collection and you would like to see it gloriously displayed on this blog, please contact me at my email address.

I am also always eager for information on the publication history of any original artwork that appears on this blog. So if you are aware of when and where this drawing was published, or if you know the publication history of any other original work that appears on this blog, please let me know. I generally come right out and say whatever I know about a given piece, so if you notice I have been silent about something, well, I simply must not know. I also have a special label, published?, on this and every blog post where I have some question of this nature.

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