Exploring Jewish Humor: The Latest Cartoons by Mankoff

Recipient of the Indie Awards Silver Medal for Nonfiction, this book features humorous cartoons by the renowned Jewish cartoonist, Mankoff. With a unique blend of wit and insight, these cartoons offer a fresh perspective on everyday life, inviting readers to laugh while questioning the world around them.

Bob Mankoff's Jewish upbringing in Queens, NY during the 1950s and 1960s played a pivotal role in shaping his comedic sensibilities. Experiencing the vibrant humor of iconic Jewish comedians like Jerry Lewis, Buddy Hackett, and Rodney Dangerfield in venues such as the Borscht Belt sparked his passion for humor. This early exposure laid the foundation for Mankoff's journey to becoming a celebrated cartoonist and humorist. In a bold move, he left a Ph.D. program in experimental psychology at The City College of New York in 1974 to pursue his cartooning dreams, eventually landing his work in The New Yorker after submitting over 2,000 cartoons. With over 950 cartoons published to date, Mankoff has dedicated his life to unraveling the mysteries of laughter. From spearheading The New Yorker’s online presence to establishing The Cartoon Bank, a platform for licensing cartoons, he constantly explores what tickles our funny bones.

In this exciting new guide, "Have I Obtained a Cartoon for You!", the esteemed cartoonist, speaker, and author, Mankoff, shares a collection of his top Jewish cartoons. Through a captivating foreword, Mankoff delves into how his Jewish background influenced his successful cartooning career. He explores the significance of cartoons in the rich tapestry of Jewish humor, while drawing upon Jewish wisdom and wit to provide amusing and insightful perspectives.

Mankoff has written: “I all the time suppose that it’s unusual that the Jews, The Individuals of the E book, ultimately turned a lot better generally known as The Individuals of the Joke. Unusual as a result of laughter within the Outdated Testomony just isn’t an excellent factor: When God laughs, you’re toast. If you happen to say, ‘Cease me when you’ve heard this one,’ he does for good.” A serious affect on his cartoons about faith derives from Jewish tradition’s disputatiousness, the questioning all the things only for the hell of it after which the questioning of the questioning to be much more annoying.

He recollects: “When, I used to be first relationship my spouse, who just isn’t Jewish, we as soon as have been having what I assumed was an strange dialog and he or she stated, ‘Why are you arguing with me?’ I replied, ‘I’m not arguing, I’m Jewish.’ I assumed that was intelligent. She didn’t. Some humor students declare this stems from the follow within the Talmud of pilpul, which Leo Rosten has described as ‘unproductive hair-splitting that’s employed not a lot to radiate readability … as to show one’s personal cleverness.’ I associate with that besides I wish to suppose that some readability and cleverness are usually not mutually unique. Anyway, that’s my purpose in cartoons like these. Now, am I frightened that these jokes will convey His wrath down upon me down with a bolt from the blue. Not likely, however each time there’s a thunderstorm, I disguise within the cellar.”