The Cartoon & Poem Supplement
The Cartoon & Poem Supplement
"LOOK IN YOUR BAG"
Come one, come all! (Subscribe to get the Supplement every week.)
Poems:
“Barbershop” by Clarence Major: Boy, this is really nothing much. And as a response to the present moment, it feels glib. And yes, this is the third or fourth time recently I’ve called the magazine’s response to the present moment glib, but gee whiz, people, there’s a billionaire Nazi dismantling the government!! “This too shall pass” does not suffice!
“The Tribute” by Jameson Fitzpatrick: Really interesting. I initially read this as a fairly literal piece imagining a daughter, and it read quite well that way – moving, earnest. Then, after finding out the writer is trans, the whole thing shifted – it’s about the past self reimagined, projected backward. This fills it with air, reveals it fully – and it’s big, strange, the kind of poem worthy of being its writer’s only poem of the year. Some things stand alone.
Cartoons:
Here's where to find the cartoons, with credits, in order.
Cover: Draws the eye nicely. (Yellow sun to yellow jacket to dog to far-right jacket to other dog.)
Pg. 9: What If… Frasier Was Copaganda?
Pg. 11 [Sketchpad]: Not totally sure what tone this is even trying to strike – is it an (awfully thin) ironic critique of glibness, or just straight-up glib? Either way that’s where it lands.
Pg. 14: Well… it beats “Better Than Bouillon” Keurig cups.
Pg. 20: The drawings elevate this from its pretty basic observation. Weak batch, but this is the Best of the Week.
Pg. 22: Too many gags!!
Pg. 27: This is itself cringe.
Pg. 32: There sure have been a lot of “man draws a woman on a bad date with a man” gags lately. Projection?
Pg. 34: MPJ today stands for Must Partake in Joggers. I guess.
Pg. 38: I like the drawing more than the gag but the gag is fine!
Pg. 42: Zany joke or MAGA joke?
Pg. 45: Trying too hard.
Pg. 49: Not sure why there’s a goony fellow manning the stand.
Pg. 50: Does this qualify as a MPJ? I think it does, barely.
Pg. 53: Slow walkers are the airline food of New York City. Just go around!
Pg. 62: What’s going on with dude’s right arm?
20 Years Ago Today
sooner or