Funny Stuff is a tribute to a unique art form: the single-panel gag cartoon. It looks at why so many of us enjoy cartoons, and what makes for a great cartoon. Authors Phil Witte and Rex Hesner consider how cartoonists can present a complex or odd scenario that we immediately grasp, and what enables us to “get” the humor in a flash. Based on interviews with cartoonist legends—Roz Chast, Sam Gross, Harry Bliss, Joe Dator, Mick Stevens, and many others—Funny Stuff will show how cartoons reveal much about the psyches of their creators. For instance: Roz Chast, known for her neurotic cartoon characters, feared she might die taking a bath because the tub could crash through the floor.

The text is abundant with cartoons illustrating the observations of Witte and Hesner. They point to cartoonists who rely on common situations (the desert island, Garden of Eden, hell) and stock characters (the pirate, business executive, scientist), as well as cartoonists who subvert these conventions. They analyze types of humor: absurd, dark, ironic, satirical. They address how the wording of a caption can mean the difference between a cartoon succeeding and almost succeeding, and the extra degree of difficulty required of the caption-less cartoon. They discuss cartooning as an art form, and specifically how the artwork of the best cartoons supports the humor.

This book features a foreword written by Bob Mankoff, former cartoon editor at The New Yorker and a legend in the cartoon world.