Inked

"""If you peek under the sofa cushion or into the mind of a cartoonist, mostly you will find crumbs, a couple of cheap ballpoint pens, some candy wrappers, a remote you lost in 1998, and a few greasy pennies. But every once in a while, you will find something that is really, really funny, like an anteater or a pair of jodhpurs. Joe Dator's wonderful book illuminates the idea-path to an actual cartoon. It's hilarious, too."" --Roz Chast, #1 New York Times best-selling cartoonist and author ""Joe Dator's Inked is full of cartoons that make me laugh. What's more, he tells you how you, too, can be a top cartoonist, sort of, but not really. Which also makes me laugh."" --Ron Hauge, writer and producer of The Simpsons ""Joe Dator likens pitching New Yorker cartoons to getting fired every week and applying for the same job again the following week. We are thankful for his perpetual nightmare--one that includes squirrels with nut allergies, palindromic dinosaurs, and breakfast plates arranged as happy faces. This welcome collection of his cartoons and rough sketches had me laughing so hard I snorted Pepsi out my nostrils [and I was drinking milk at the time]."" --Barry Blitt, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and illustrator ""I enjoyed this look at how Joe's particular brand of sausage is made, but it didn't do much to quell my deep-seated resentment at just how damn good he is. If I see a gag and hiss, 'I wish I'd thought of that, ' chances are pretty good it's one of his. It's enraging. Go to hell, Joe."" --Emily Flake, New Yorker cartoonist and author of That Was Awkward: The Art and Etiquette of the Awkward Hug ""What a strange, brutal world Joe Dator inhabits! Who needs it? Why do he--and other gag cartoonists--put themselves through such pain and frustration, week after week, late-night-hour after late-night-hour? I guess because they have to. And thank goodness for that. Better them than me. I loved this book."" --Mike Sacks, author of Poking a Dead Frog, Here's the Kicker, and Stinker Lets Loose ""Joe Dator doesn't look like a man whose mind spirals into the realms of sarcasm, obscure thoughts and twisted imagery. He looks like just a regular dude with a day job. He has the 'cartoonist's disguise.' Looking normal allows us to disappear into the crowd and to communicate what we see . . . undetected. A cartoonist's talent goes beyond the ability to draw well. A successful cartoonist is astute, sarcastic, irreverent, and stupefyingly silly. Cartoonists are 'actors' on their own two-dimensional stage. Joe Dator's stage is about 8 inches square, I'd guess, Strathmore Bond, perhaps. Maybe he uses Windsor Newton ink. Whatever it is that propels his wonderful imagery into the universe is just a tool. And, one could say, that Joe is a tool himself. For a man of few words, he is a talented writer: a rare bird who ruffles feathers and doesn't mind laying an egg once in a while. He is an observer, a postulator, an inquisitive who pushes the envelope--and he deserves every honour he has received. I am honoured to be one of his colleagues in this creative, curious, and often complicated industry, and it is a privilege to be asked to contribute to this book. This is a great book! Even his rejects make me laugh out loud. I like his art, I like his humour, and I too, wonder where in the world he gets his ideas. He looks like such a regular guy!"" --Lynn Johnston, creator of For Better or for Worse"