Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Exciting announcement

Well, I think it's exciting. My first cartoon is in this week's NEW YORKER.  I can now eat at the Algonquin.  Many thanks to Julia Suits, Emma Allen, and Colin Stokes.  It seems a talking mouse is a good way to start a cartooning career.  In a few weeks on my podcast I'll talk about my journey as a cartoonist. But for now, enjoy.  



54 comments :

Mike Barer said...

Very nice. You are talented in so many areas.

Matthew said...

Congratulations Ken! My pet rats and I are proud and delighted to have such a pro-rodent writer published there.

MikeKPa. said...

Congrats, Ken. I know this is a longtime dream finally realized.

DublinerIRL said...

Wow, congratulations!

Rick Wiedmayer said...

Congratulations Ken

Scottmc said...

Congratulations.

estiv said...

Congratulations! You've got a good track record when it comes to pursuing your dreams and actually achieving them. Next: heavyweight champion of the world!

Brian Phillips said...

Hopefully the first of many!

Back to the...y'know.

https://www.art.com/products/p15063519259-sa-i6848738/peter-arno-well-back-to-the-old-drawing-board-new-yorker-cartoon.htm?upi=PGR6M00&PODConfigID=8419447&sOrigID=704673

Necco said...

I had to look up - "Is there electricity in a cable cord?" I really still don't know...

Nate L. said...

Well done, Sir. Congratulations.

VincentS said...

Wow! Congratulations, Ken. I know that was a long-time dream of yours.

Jeff Weimer said...

Only took a few decades....

Chuck said...

Writer, Director, Producer. The Jeffersons, MASH, Cheers, The Simpsons, Frasier. WGA Award, Emmy Award. Mariners announcer.

What's that? A cartoon in the New Yorker? Well, now I'm listening.

Congratulations, Mr. Levine!

Pizzagod said...

OMG!!!! How great is that?

Congratulations!

Jeff Weigel said...

Congrats! I seem to remember this is a long-sought goal of yours. Good for you. (Hey, I’m a cartoonist, too. I draw the Phantom Sunday comic strip for King Features Syndicate. I’ve been reading your blog for many years.)

Sean R. said...

Friday Question

In your recent post on West Side Story bombing in theatres, you wondered if blame could be laid on the pandemic and people not wanting to go to theatres. Many in the comments seemed to back up this idea. My own comment was that young people just don't go to see musicals and wait until we see the returns from Spider-Man. Well, Spider-Man crossed the $1 billion mark already. I know there seems to be, at least in the comment section, superhero movie fatigue, but since Spider-Man had huge returns and when I saw it the theatre was full, does this blow a hole in the "People are afraid to go into a theatre" theory? Can we just admit that even Speilberg couldn't save a musical?

Bob Waldman said...

Congrats Ken!

My dad was also a cartoonist. He was a head animator for the Max Fleischer cartoon studios and later Paramount. He did more Betty Boop cartoons than any other animator and created her little dog, Pudgy. Among his other credits were Popeye, Superman, Little Lulu and Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Hope you love cartooning as much as he did!

Steve in Toronto said...

You have made it to the cartoonists' pantheon!

Congratulations!

Kim T. Bené said...

Well now you join Steve Martin in a cartoonist career. Wow 🤩 good going!

Roseann said...

Congratulations. Your second act is far more fruitful than mine.

MW said...

Congrats!

Greg Ehrbar said...

This is a very big moment Ken -- congrats!

Joe Barbera's first big break was getting a cartoon published in Collier's. So now you're on your way!

As my mom said every year, "Maybe this year will be better." Thanks for sharing this great news as one of the best things about 2022.

Andrew said...

Congratulations, Ken. How amazing is that! You're a true renaissance man.

My reaction to your cartoon:
https://youtu.be/bY-h3spBAgI

JK. It's very good.

Buttermilk Sky said...

New Yorker cartoons will be funny again!

richfigel said...

"It's a Ziggy!"

Michael said...

Congratulations! I am envious of all of your talent. If I tried to draw a cartoon, it would only work as a satire on stick figures out of proportion to each other.

Do you enter the Cartoon Caption contest? I still do although I know it's fixed. How do I know? One week, the cartoon showed a string quartet with three of them crushed by a monster truck, and the violinist saying something at the microphone. The winner was "We will now play 'Pimp My Ride of the Valkyries.'" Mine was, "Will the music critic from Motor Trend please report backstage?" Now, come on. I wuz robbed.

Fred said...

Congratulations!
And by featuring a fascist rodent, look for the film version to lure a certain Disney star out of semi-retirement!!

Brian Fies said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
C Horse said...

Hooray!
And you may now have as many New Yorker cartoons as E. B. White !

https://render.fineartamerica.com/images/rendered/medium/poster/5.5/8/break/images-medium-5/new-yorker-april-23rd-1932-eb-white.jpg

Kevin FitzMaurice said...

Congratulations, Mr. Levine! And may we all enjoy a New Year that sees peace, good health, and the return of commonsense and sanity.

Fed by the muse said...

Congrats, Ken. Could a new animated sitcom being in the offing?

Call Me Mike said...

Congrats, Ken!

Darwin's Ghost said...

Most people have one career. You've been a TV writer and director, screenwriter, baseball announcer, DJ, playwright, author, and now a cartoonist in the New Yorker.

All that's left is for you to release a song.

jcs said...

Chapeau!

Lemuel said...

"It's been on my list for years!"

Mike Bloodworth said...

Danm you, Ken! Now I'm going to have to buy that issue. What a sneaky way to get me to read that publication. How much did they pay you to shill for them? Damn you!

M.B.

Kevin from VA said...

Ken

A big Thumbs up!!

Liggie said...

Next step: Sic this mouse on Zuckerberg and Bezos.

Victor Velasco said...

Great news. Congraulations

Steve said...

Congratulations!

John said...

Oh, this is amazing! Congratulations, Ken!

Brian said...

Wow, love the humor.

Pete Grossman said...

Miss Parker's ghost nods with approval. Congrats.

Kirk said...

You are quite the renaissance man!

Fred C said...

Congrats Ken!!

As far as the FQ above on Westside Story. I believe people are saying "seniors" are not going to theaters. Seniors were a good part of the target. Too bad, this senior went to see Westside Story and loved it!!!

Barry Traylor said...

Congratulations Ken.

Mibbitmaker said...

Great job there, Ken!

I finally found web comics a few years ago - well, almost a full decade ago - as a way to get my cartooning out there. Granted, unpaid, but still something.

Jahn Ghalt said...

Good One Ken,

This one is "of a kind" with this CLASSIC:

"On the internet no one knows you're a dog" (1994).

JessyS said...

@ Fred C

The statement about seniors not seeing West Side Story and that they are the target audience, means that the movie should have never been greenlit. But I am glad you enjoyed it.

@ Andrew

That Seinfeld clip shows that Elaine violated one of the rules of comedy. That rule is that comedy should be grounded in reality. While it is true that not being tall is a complaint, it is something that shouldn't be taken by a complaint department. Note that complaints usually take a build-up and result in multiple lines in a comic strip. Blondie does them to perfection.

@ Michael

You weren't robbed. There is no way Motor Trend would have a music critic.

Charles H Bryan said...

Just seeing this after being away from online life for a few days, so congratulations!

Spike de Beauvoir said...

I looked up Myron Waldman, what an amazing list of credits. I'm fascinated by the Fleischer studio cartoons and the surprising emotional pull of the stories. I see your dad is credited for Hawaiian Birds, that's one of my favorites. PlutoTV has a 24/7 vintage cartoon channel and they often show Fleischer classics and Betty Boop. Apparently the Fleischers wanted a 3-D effect in the animation and it's striking how some of the 30s work achieves that effect.

Mae Questel is featured as Rosalind Russell's neighbor in the 50s drama A Majority of One, also with Alec Guinness, and she's wonderful.

I'm also a longtime fan of Little Lulu comics and the daffy stories of John Stanley. I recently read the new bio of John Stanley and it's a great overview of his life and comics-making of the time. Sadly he profited very little from his storytelling magic and inventiveness in creating new characters since the companies who hired him owned the work, I hope your dad fared better.

Spike de Beauvoir said...

Very nice, dare I say "cute" too? And I love your little signature in a bubble under the caption.

Jack West said...

I think that's great. I had an aspiration at the age of 14 to be a single-panel gag cartoonist, later in college submitted some to the National Lampoon. So, well done.

Spike de Beauvoir said...

In the Seinfeld episode The Cartoon, Paul Benedict (who played Bentley on The Jeffersons) is the New Yorker editor Mr. Elinoff. Delightful actor, did you ever meet him, Ken?

Quotes
Mr. Elinoff : Miss Benes, cartoons are like gossamer, and one doesn't dissect gossamer.

Elaine Benes : Well, you don't have to dissect it if you could just tell me why this is supposed to be funny.

Mr. Elinoff : Oh, it's merely a commentary on contemporary mores.

Elaine Benes : But what is the comment?

Mr. Elinoff : It's a slice of life.

Elaine Benes : No, it isn't.

Mr. Elinoff : A pun?

Elaine Benes : I don't think so.

Mr. Elinoff : Vorshtein?

Elaine Benes : That's not a word. You have no idea what this means.

Mr. Elinoff : No.

Elaine Benes : Then why did you print it?

Mr. Elinoff : I like the kitty.