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How About Never – Is Never Good For You? My Life In Cartoons (Book) Review

 
Capture d’écran 2014-03-20 à 15.33.43
Capture d’écran 2014-03-20 à 15.33.43
Capture d’écran 2014-03-20 à 15.33.43

 
At a Glance...
 

Page Count: 285
 
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4/ 5


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A unique take on the traditional memoir.

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The cartoons included are previously published works, used as an illustration of various points in Mankoff's life.


Final Fiendish Findings?

Bob Mankoff is a man of many talents, not the least of which is his unique style as a cartoonist, and he’s led a genuinely interesting life. Most know him as the Cartoon Editor for The New Yorker, a prestigious magazine that has been around for nearly a century. With a publication known for its […]

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Posted April 14, 2014 by

 
Full Fiendish Findings...
 
 

Bob Mankoff is a man of many talents, not the least of which is his unique style as a cartoonist, and he’s led a genuinely interesting life. Most know him as the Cartoon Editor for The New Yorker, a prestigious magazine that has been around for nearly a century. With a publication known for its cartoons, the job of cartoon editor takes on an importance not seen in other magazines. How About Never – Is Never Good For You? My Life In Cartoons follows Bob Mankoff from his time as a doodling child to his current post as cartoon editor, with plenty of stops along the way for college, marriage, that coveted first New Yorker sale.

How About Never – Is Never Good For You? is an interesting memoir for many reasons. First of all, Bob Mankoff is a quirky guy who tells his story with both humor and realism – and it’s a story that contains a lot of twists and turns along the way to his current state of being, from achieving near PhD status to launching a successful online business in a time when such things were not the norm. He’s lived an interesting life. But that isn’t the only thing that makes his memoir unique – no, the fact that it’s told half in cartoons does that quite nicely.

In a book about a cartoonist, one can expect they’ll see a few doodles here and there, but in this case they are used as a tool to help tell the story. With over 250 cartoons featured, hardly a page goes by without a cartoon by some truly great cartoonists, including Saul Steinberg, James Thurber, and of course, Mankoff himself. The cartoons are not original artwork created specifically for this book. Rather, the author uses cartoons old and new to illustrate different stages in his life, as well as what was going on in the world around him at that time. From the humble beginnings of the first published cartoons, to the advent of an online cartoon database, the style and message of the cartoons may vary – but their essence of providing a quick dose of humor in just a few words and a scribble remains.

How About Never – Is Never Good For You? is truly Bob Mankoff’s life in cartoons – in more ways than one. Written in a conversational tone with a fair does of humor, both the lightheartedness of the author and the liberal amounts of cartoons spread throughout its pages make it an easy and enjoyable read.


Amy

 
U.S. Senior Editor & Deputy EIC, @averyzoe on Twitter, mother of 5, gamer, reader, wife to @macanthony, and all-around bad-ass (no, not really)


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