First published 2019
Bob Mankoff presents his favorite Jewish cartoons in this collection that draws from decades of cartooning experience. The former New Yorker cartoon editor grew up in Queens during the 1950s and 1960s, absorbing the comedy of Jerry Lewis, Buddy Hackett, and Rodney Dangerfield in the Borscht Belt. After abandoning his psychology PhD in 1974, Mankoff submitted over 2,000 cartoons before The New Yorker accepted his work. He went on to publish more than 950 cartoons and founded The Cartoon Bank. In his foreword, Mankoff explores how Jewish heritage shaped his cartooning career and examines the role of cartoons within Jewish humor's rich tradition. He traces the evolution from "The People of the Book" to "The People of the Joke" and discusses how Jewish culture's argumentative nature influences his religious cartoons. The book offers readers Mankoff's curated selection of Jewish-themed cartoons alongside his insights into what makes us laugh.
Genres: humor, comedy, graphic-novels-comics, jewish
Vibes: thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Borscht Belt, Queens
Period: 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
112 pages · paperback · MomentBooks