My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #992

In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #992 from the issue of June 1, 2026, two rats stand outside of a laboratory maze. The rat who is speaking opens a jewelry case to reveal an engagement ring. My submission is shown below. The drawing is by Benjamin Slyngstad, whose work is new to me.

"It's lab-grown."

This one was a little too twee:

"Let's try our own experiment."

June 13, 2016 Update:  The Finalists

June 21, 2026 Update:  I voted for the caption from Wicklow.

June 27, 2026 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #851

I completely lost my way in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #851 from the issue of May 29, 2023. My caption, in iambic pentameter, is shown below. The drawing is by Kaamran Hafeez.

"It seems you're not the subject after all."

These captions didn't meet scientific rigor:

"Could you at least give me a hint?"
"There have been some unforeseen developments."
"I'd like to leave the study."
"Which way to the bathroom?"
"Well, did you bring a stopwatch?"
"This was not my original hypothesis."
"Apparently, they've changed the study protocol."
"I've been demoted."
"When did YOU take over the study?"
"What happened to all the paintings?"
"NOW do you think I have empathy?"

June 10, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

 

June 12, 2023 Update:  I voted with Burlington.

June 25, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #841

I'm afraid I got lost in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #841 from the issue of March 13, 2022. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Ed Himelblau.

"I've got to hand it to you. They're well-bred."

March 26, 2023 Update:  The Finalists

April 2, 2023 Update:  I'm moved by the caption from Boston, which I, in my narcissism, consider a similar line of attack to my own, but I am bowled over by the caption from Davis. I voted for the latter.

April 7, 2023 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #807

I found my way to an entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #807 from the issue of June 20, 2022. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Tom Toro.

"This isn't working. Let's try his country cousin."

These captions got lost along the way:

"I don't expect much from the city  mouse."
"We've trained him to avoid carbs."
"This is just like 'Goblet of Fire.'"

July 3, 2022 Update:  The Finalists

July 9, 2022 Update:  I voted for the caption from Roswell, and not just because it followed a similar line to my own.

July 22, 2022 Update:  The Winner

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My Entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #693

Welcome to the caption lab. Here you can see my entry in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #693 for January 13, 2020. The drawing is by Mark Thompson.

"No way he's getting his name on the study."

These captions got lost in the maze:

"It's a Tesla."
"Tell Elon it works."
"What if we buried the cheese?"
"There goes three years of research."
"Well, that didn't come out of MY budget."
"Why shouldn't we take the credit?"
"Stockholm here we come!"

January 20, 2020 Update:  The Finalists

January 27, 2020 Update:  I voted with Riverside. Look, it was going to be the West Coast one way or another. The last caption was the shortest. It struck me as the punchiest and the funniest. 


February 3, 2020 Update:  The Winner

Note:  In last week's Caption Contest, cartoonist Mort Gerberg showed us a wolf trying on sheep's clothing. See if you can fit into Contest #692.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives

Mark Thompson

Mice

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All the Above Cartoon Caption Contests and Then Some

Attempted Bloggery's Labyrinthine Index

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My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #667

See if you can find your way to my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #667 for June 24, 2019. The drawing is by Felipe Galindo but you can call him Feggo. Perhaps the maze is by Ikea.

"What if all this is just a test?"

These captions just couldn't find their way:

"Maybe we're not that smart after all."
"Why can't these geniuses learn English?"
"I'm already lost."

July 1, 2019 Update:  The Finalists

July 16, 2019 Update:  I voted with Ithaca.

July 22, 2019 Update:  The Winner

Note:  Last time around cartoonist Carolita Johnson took us to a psychiatrist's office furnished with what can only be called a modernist love seat. Find more appropriate seating yourself before analyzing Contest #666.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Felipe Galindo

Mice

The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest

The Moment Magazine Cartoon Caption Contest

The Cartoon Collections Caption Contest

All the Above Cartoon Caption Contests and Then Some

Attempted Bloggery's Amazing Index

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Gahan Wilson: Of Mice and Monsters

Cartoonist Gahan Wilson has been in the thoughts of many these past days as his urgent need for expensive memory care has prompted well-wishers to pledge money for his support. Hoping to keep Wilson in our thoughts, Dick Buchanan has put his superlative scanning skills to work and imaged two works of original published art from the mid-1990s by the beloved cartoonist. One appeared in the New Yorker and the other in Playboy. The New Yorker piece requires no caption. It is, incidentally, a superb example of Wilson's use of wash.

Gahan Wilson
Original art
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995, page 64

Verso

The drawing may require no words, but the same can't be said of the editorial comment on the back of the art:

CKG.=Fact Checking?

Overlay

Gahan Wilson
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995, page 64

Now we leave the bizarre world of the commuter railway for the bizarre world of a child's bedroom. In the Playboy cartoon, Wilson achieves shading not with wash but through exquisite hatching. The technique is, if anything, even more remarkable:

"Read me the story again about the Closet Monster!"

Gahan Wilson

Original art

Published as "Read me the story again about the closet monster."

Playboy, October 1996, page 154

Verso

One could comment too on the different editorial approaches of two publications, but then it hardly seems necessary.

"Read me the story again about the closet monster."
Gahan Wilson
Playboy, October 1996, page 154

The cover:

Playboy, October 1996

Dick didn't scan the corresponding New Yorker cover, but equal time is only fair:

Edward Sorel
The New Yorker, September 4, 1995

https://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1995-09-04#folio=CV1

Note:  To support Gahan Wilson's memory care, visit his Go Fund Me campaign here.

My thanks to Dick Buchanan for contributing the outstanding scans of original Gahan Wilson art and for documenting the publication history in today's post. Dick maintains the comprehensive Dick Buchanan Cartoon Clip Files from which he contributes regularly to Mike Lynch Cartoons, most recently a timely post entitled "From the Dick Buchanan Files: Some Gahan Wilson Gag Cartoons 1955 - 1964." You won't find these scans of early Gahan Wilson cartoons anywhere else.

Aside from his Gahan Wilson work, Dick has been quite busy researching cartoonist John Gallagher. Since we last checked in on him, Dick has become an authority on this gag cartoonist. Here's what he has come up with:

John Gallagher Gag Cartoons 1951 - 1970

John Gallagher Part Two: 1000 Jokes! - Gag Cartoons 1954 - 1965

And, to be complete:

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Show Business Gag Cartoons 1945 - 1962

From the Dick Buchanan Files: Caption-less, Wordless Gag Cartoons 1946 – 1963

And there you have it. In case you didn't know, Attempted Bloggery seeks other high-quality scans of original Gahan Wilson art and published rarities.


Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Gahan Wilson

Dick Buchanan

Mice

Monsters

Original New Yorker Cartoon Art

Original Playboy Cartoon Art

Edward Sorel

Attempted Bloggery's Maze of an Index

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