THE NEW YORKER

Venerable weekly magazine established in 1925 as a venue for now-legendary wits like Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, and (slightly later) James Thurber. The New Yorker went through a mere three editors in the subsequent 66 years, during which time its unimpeachable literary standards and sophisticated cartoons claimed a unique place in the genteel culture of East Coast WASPs.

In 1985 mighty media man S.I. Newhouse bought the magazine; in 1992 he handed its editorial reins to Tina Brown, the high-powered Briton who had famously salvaged the 1984 relaunch of Vanity Fair. Many feared that Brown's celebrity- and advertiser-friendly predilections would coarsen The New Yorker's tone, and they were not reassured by the introduction of full-page photographs, ad-rich theme issues, and pious chronicles of the lives of media moguls. Brown, who quickly raised The New Yorker's profile, circulation, and spending, claimed fidelity to the irreverent spirit of magazine founder Harold Ross. Suspicions of professional favor trading between Brown and her husband, Random House head Harry Evans, abound; the couple claims they are more prone to competition than collusion.

When Tina Brown became the editor of The New Yorker, she hired Raw co-founder (and Art Spiegelman's wife) Françoise Mouly as the new art director. The magazine soon became friendlier to comic book and strip artists, both European (Mattotti, Götting, Swarte & Loustal) and American.

The New Yorker is a weekly magazine dedicated to ideas. It is timeles and immediate, energetic and thoughtful, serious and funny. The New Yorker is about good writing, a point of view, and a deeper understanding of the world. A "typical" issue of The New Yorker contains an eclectic mixture of political and business coverage, social commentary, fiction, humor, art, poetry, and criticism. Contributors to The New Yorker include both recognized talents of long standing and newly discovered voices.

An Extremely Preliminary Look at Comics Artists in The New Yorker

Version 3.1, 5/27/1998
by Michael Rhode

When Tina Brown became the editor of the New Yorker in October, 1992, comics artists began working for the magazine. According to Dave Mazzucchelli (Comics Journal 194, p. 72), "When Tina Brown became the editor, the art director, Chris Curry, was able to start using a lot of artists she'd always wanted to use, but hadn't been able to, including artists from RAW and other odd comics." Brown hired Raw co-founder (and Art Spiegelman's wife) Françoise Mouly as the new art director. The magazine soon became friendlier to comic book and strip artists, both European (Mattotti, Götting, Swarte & Loustal) and American. Not everyone seems happy with the reworked magazine; Bill Griffith, who has worked for them, used his Zippy strip on August 2, 1997 to satirize the magazine. Zippy's daughter, Meltdown wanted to see a cartoon on every page of the New Yorker, and Zippy asked, "But then, where would they put all th' deep, insightful articles on O.J. and th' lastest fashions, Melty?" Meltdown suggested, "Maybe in th' National Star or Cosmo, Daddy!" Griffith returned to his theme on April 2, 1998, with a strip character saying, "This isn't about cartoons, Bob. It's about ad revenue!"

This is an index based just on what I've noticed; I haven't looked through every issue to find every piece. In fact, there might be additional artwork in the issues I've listed here. I'd be glad to hear of any corrections or additions. Additions by Chris Pyle of the University of Kentucky marked with a *. Mark Nevins pointed out that Götting's work began appearing in issues in the fall of 1996.

He also notes that European artists (Philippe) Petit-Roulet, Pierre Clement (who signs his work with a small p inside a large C much like the copyright symbol), Dupuy-Berberian, Walter Minus, and possibly Lionel Koechlin among others have done small uncredited drawings. Bart Beatty highlighted Max's work. Alec Stevens pointed out his own work. My memory is telling me that a Peter Kuper

Masks piece appeared, but I couldn't find it. "#" marks the additions or changes made for the current version. Argentinian comics artist "Nine" apparently had a caricature of Bill Clinton sometime in 1997-1998 and I'm trying to find the exact date. As this has grown quite long, I've provided an artist's cross-reference at the end.