Cover Image: The Best of the Rejection Collection

The Best of the Rejection Collection

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Member Reviews

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a mixed collection.

There's some funny cartoons I think could have been posted. Others I don't understand or are genuinely offensive. The book is broken down by artist with some information about each of them followed by the comics that were rejected. The book also talks a bit about why certain comics were rejected.

I can see why a lot of these didn't make it. The humor was not for me and felt like it was catering for older white men, which is likely why these didn't resonate with me.

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3.5 stars

A collection of cartoons submitted to the New Yorker that didn’t make it into the magazine but are still worth the while, along with a charming intro by the editor & interviews with the cartoonists whose work appears in the book.

[What I liked:]

•I really enjoyed the introduction, where the editor gives insight into his creative process & how magazines generally choose what type of cartoons to publish or not publish. It’s interesting, & helps set up the main content of the book.

•The book is organized by cartoonist. There’s a brief interview with each cartoonist, followed by a handful of their cartoons. The interviews give a little insight into what the different artists like to draw, their influences, & add some personality.

•And yes, of course, I should mention that I enjoyed the cartoons!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I did enjoy the interviews, but the ratio of interview content to cartoons was a bit heavy on the interview content.

CW: off color & politically incorrect humor (used as examples of what doesn’t get published) in the introduction; more off color & dark humor in the main collection

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

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The book opens with the most common reasons cartoons and examples (except political cause none get rejected for that apparently).

Each cartoonist has a little blurb of a mini interview about their work and some silly question, followed by a collection of their rejected works.

Most are honestly not that funny just kinda weird. I can see why many didn't make it to publication. Teresa Burn Parkhurst's were my favorite personally.

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Well this is a fun coffee table book to have around. I liked seeing into the process of these artists and the editors for how cartoons are picked for the newspaper. While most of the rejected are funny it is apparent why some didn't make the cut. The best part was the questionnaire that they gave to the different artists. It was amazing to see how creative minds like theirs can differ so much on the different prompts given.



I will post closer to the publication date to retailers and Goodreads.

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I would like to thank the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this eBook.

New Yorker rejects tonnes of cartoons every year for various reasons and this book has some best amongst them. While some were funny, many failed to hit the mark or maybe I just didn't get the humor.

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I wouldn't really consider this a graphic novel? It is more on the informative side. Very hit and miss with some of the artwork. Not very memorable.

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I liked the cartoons in the book, but I found the questions to be kind of silly and pointless, because very few of the cartoonists took them seriously enough to give advice or insights into their craft. To be fair, I don't think that was the point of these questions, but after reading them over and over, it became dull to read. Overall though, it was good to see the collection of cartoons.

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A collection of;hilarious cartoons by New Yorker cartoonists that were rejected by the magazine. Each group of cartoons is introduced by a short question & answer interview of the cartoonist.

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Thank you for the E Arc. This book is full of artist “interviews” and their cartoons that didn’t make it into print.it was a little tedious to reread the same set of questions over and over but the cartoons were mostly entertaining. Most of these people would fully be “cancelled” for one reason or another if these had been printed by the MSM so have an open mind and a good sense 0f humor if you are going to pick this one up.

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Wish it were able to be sent in kindle instead of having to use the shelf app, but still funny and worth the download

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307 cartoons that were rejected by The New Yorker magazine. I have always loved the small cartoons scattered around the New Yorker, they reminded me of when, I my youth, I read Mad magazine. In the margins are small cartoons that can be funny, political, even poignant. The cartoons in this collectionwerenot suitable for the New Yorker, and I read it because I wanted to know why.
I5 didn't take long to see why. Some, many actually, are sophomoric humor more fit for the 14 year old boy who loves Mad magazine.
I found a few of the cartoons funny in a grin to myself way, and a few are laugh out loud funny.
Unfortunately not as many of the 307 as I would have liked. With the exception of Graham Wilson, who I have always loved did much for me.
So these were rejected because they were gross, filthy, (way to many penis jokes for my taste), weird or just not funny.
Not my cup of tea,but I am sure some of you will love it, so check it out.
Thanks to @netgalley, Matt Diffee, and Workman Publishing Company

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The Best of the Rejection Collection made me question my own sense of humor as I laughed way too loud at some seriously inappropriate and distasteful New York Times cartoon rejects. Definitely check this book out to see a little glimpse into the creative minds of some of the funny men and women behind the cartoons. Each section provides a question/answer session with funny, enlightening, and always interesting perspectives from each artist. While I may not leave this book out on my coffee table for my mother to flip through, it's a great conversation piece for the similarly twisted.

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A collection of clever in shortened style. Perfect for readers of The New Yorker and readers who enjoy the comics form.

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I loved these. For many of them it’s clear why they were never published as they are totally incorrect but I loved it.

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What an enjoyable coffee table book! I laughed out loud so many times. I enjoy the New Yorker cartoons but also edgier humor, so this was right up my alley. I also enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at how the cartoons are created and chosen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

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This book is perfect for fans of the New Yorker but wish it was edgier. It is part interview and part cautionary tale.

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Updating and enlarging a previous edition that allegedly took the best of two earlier books showing the cartoons rejected by the New Yorker magazine, this kind of shows why they didn't run. Some are fine, but many just have no effect whatsoever. And the wannaba light-hearted questionnaires with each and every relevant 'comedian' seem a wasted opportunity, too. One and a half stars.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun collection of cartoons, and I could definitely see it on coffeetables across America. If you know someone who has always dreamed of getting a cartoon published in the New Yorker or just someone who is interested in what goes on in the minds of New Yorker cartoonists, this is the book to get.

The back cover copy mentioned that Jeremy Nguyen would be included in the book, but he and his cartoons were not featured in this ARC.

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Big fan of The New Yorker cartoons. This collection is a great idea and would recommend it as a gift for other folks who enjoy this. Wasn't a home run - the FAQs with the cartoonists had a lot of potential, but many times felt like they were just trying too hard.

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