The Cartoon Pad

Tom Toro: Soft Lines, Sharp Jabs, and Jokes that Whisper Before They Wallop! This week on The Cartoon Pad, Bob (in spirit, he's away), Shaw, and Marty welcome Tom Toro—the New Yorker stalwart whose gentle washes and calm, cat-like characters set up sneakily subversive gags. We get into process (ideas first, then drawings that don’t overact), the long grind of early submissions, and the craft of making captions optional without losing the punch. We roam the canon and the shop talk: playing with tropes (the Grim Reaper’s better lines), New Yorker fact-checks in the wild (left-handed infields, mayflies, and a note about lion manes you have to hear to believe), and cover art (those Thanksgiving turkeys in Groucho glasses). Tom also dives into kids’ books (Crocodiles Need Friends Too), where the figures get friendlier but the humor still bites. Plus: Barsotti and Ziegler lore, WC Fields detours, accordion-theft home invasions, and Tom’s new collection And to Think We Started as a Book Club (Andrews McMeel; distributed by Simon & Schuster)—a perfect palate-cleanser between your book club’s 500-page epics. Find Tom at tomtoro.com and on Instagram. Buy his book here

Bold Lines, Pocket Gags, and a Cat from the ’70s! This episode of The Cartoon Pad, Bob and Shaw beam across the pond to Margate—15 floors up, sea view included—to visit the brilliantly dry and dangerously efficient Jeremy Banx. You’ve seen Banx’s sharp, caption-light missiles in Private Eye, Punch, the Mail on Sunday, and most famously the Financial Times, where he files a daily pocket cartoon—yes, daily—often with about an hour to nail the drawing after the greenlight. No pressure! We talk the craft, the toolkit, and the grind. Along the way: why tiny newsprint murders fussy cross-hatching, how a “pocket cartoon” wedges perfectly where writers ran out of words, and why simplicity isn’t simple—it’s ruthless editing. There’s Brit-vs-Yank banter, a quick detour through British comedy DNA, and a love letter to gag cartoons that travel without captions. Banx also teases current side quests: a book project called “’70s Cat” (think minimal, mischievous, delightfully mew-sic), plus a film script and a novel collab—because one daily deadline apparently wasn’t enough. Come for the shop talk, stay for the chessboard with no legal moves, and leave wanting to throw away half your lines. Find Banx on Instagram/BlueSky/Twitter at @banxcartoons.

Today’s guest is the great John Cuneo—an illustrator so beloved, his sketchbooks should come with a warning label (and possibly a therapist’s number). You’ve seen his brilliant, bizarre, and sometimes blush-worthy work in The New Yorker, Esquire, and The Atlantic Monthly. Of course, Michael only wants to talk about the naughty bits. Bob tries to keep things classy. Chaos ensues.

This episode of The Cartoon Pad welcomes cartoonist, comic and author Jason Chatfield, His new book with Scott Dooley, "You're not a real dog owner until..." is out now. We chat with Jason about his Process Junkie substack and how his mitigation of social media lets him be much more social! Get the book! https://www.jasonchatfield.com/store/signed-copy-of-youre-not-a-real-dog-owner-until

This time on the Pad we chat with Hollywood go-getter, the multi-talented Don Young! From humble beginnings in Toronto, to NYC for acting in TV & Film, to Hollywood, selling screenplays to Carl Reiner and playing pool with Sammy Davis Jr. (after acting together in Cannonball Run). Hanging out with Hannah & Barbara, and chatting with Fara Fawcett about theater... Don has some STORIES! Plus he wrote for Inspector Gadget, Marty's favorite childhood show. He's got a new YA series called THE 4MIDABLES! GO GO Gadget check it out!

On today’s Cartoon Pad, the award-winning New Yorker cartoonist, author, teacher, TED Talk speaker and film producer and director, Liza Donnelly. Her new film project Women Laughing is a featured kickstarter now, check it out and get some great perks! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/womenlaughingfilm/women-laughing

‘Get Back,’ the episode the public has been hankering for. The boys are back to discuss art and the craft of gag cartooning but never do quite get to it. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

This holiday episode of The Cartoon Pad offers yuletide greetings, lots of myrrh, some occasional chuckles, and a lot holiday cheer!

This episode of The Cartoon Pad, the boys do a solid for the writing & cartooning community by having on Substack superstar, James Breakwell (Exploding Unicorn) share his newsletter tips. https://explodingunicorn.com/

This episode on The Cartoon Pad we chat with cartoonist, playwright, film maker, and author Brandon Hicks. Brandon's cartoons have graced the pages of The American Bystander, National Lampoon, and Weekly Humorist. His new book 'The History of Human Achievement: A Beezle, Buzzle, & Barb Book' is out now.

You asked for it, you got it: Two Aussies who have to both be stand-ups, both work for The New Yorker, and both have a new book coming out…humorists Scott Dooley & Jason Chatfield. Pick up the hilarious book, "You're Not A Real Parent Until..." today! More info at https://yourenotareal.com/

Thurber, Thurber, Thurber. That’s all we talk about. Acclaimed poet, bestseller, illustrator and Thurber scholar, Michael Rosen, joins the podcast for this must listen to for any gag cartoonist.

This episode of The Cartoon Pad welcomes the talented, funny, and so interesting Sarah Morrissette. From California to a Greek island to a hippie commune in Northern CA, then finally to Vienna, Sarah has many fascinating tales and we were happy to get to chat with her about her life and work. Her cartoons have appeared in Air Mail, Alta, American Bystander, Funny Times, Weekly Humorist, and many others. See her lovely paintings and all her cartoons at https://morrissette.at/

Jets, nibs, poop…we cover it all on this very special episode of The Cartoon Pad starring New Yorker cartoonist, Lars Kenseth. See more of Lars' work at https://www.larskenseth.com/

In this episode The Cartoon Pad welcomes author and cartoonist Ali Solomon who shares her secrets of success. Bob and Shaw remember some old New Yorker cartoon editors and how they might have received form rejections from Ali as an intern. Marty adds more sound effects to the show. See Ali's work and links to all her books at https://www.ali-solomon.com/

The guys catch up on all things cartooning. Shaw's interruptions of Bob finally erupt and Marty plays with his new sound effects machine. It's one to miss! Also we praise recent cartoons and mentions by Dave Gomberg, Drew Panckeri, Hilary Campbell, Nick Downes, Sam Gross, and Jason Chatfield. Image is Bob's most recent in The New Yorker!

In this episode of The Cartoon Pad, rocket-scientist-turned-New Yorker-cartoonist, Pat Byrnes chats with Bob and Michael about cartoons and his new business The Drawing Board.

New Yorker cartoonist Drew Dernavich and host of the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Paul Nesja come on the show to talk cartoons and their new project together at Nesja Press! https://nesjapress.com/

The decorated author and New Yorker cartoonist, Ken Krimstein talks about his interesting journey from advertising and teaching to illustrating the most important movements in history.

Special installment sharing memories of the late master George Booth with New Yorker cartoonist David Borchart.