Matthew Diffee

The Best of the Rejection Collection is a fun look at the cartoons that were rejected by The New Yorker. In addition to the cartoons there are brief Q&As with the cartoonists.

The style, if not the content, of the cartoons is pure New Yorker, so that for me is a positive. Most of the rejections were for content rather than whether they worked or not. By that I mean either too lewd or potentially offensive. So while these are rejections they aren't all because they weren't humorous. That said, there are some real stinkers in here. My guess would be that our opinions on which were stinkers and which weren't might differ, but that is the nature of humor.

The short Q&As with the cartoonists left a bit to be desired but if they had gone with a couple pages of straight background it would have been disruptive visually and flow wise, so I can live with what was done. Some were fun, some just plain pointless, but they did offer a glimpse into each artist. Maybe not what each intended to show but there it is.

If you enjoy New Yorker cartoons and don't mind topics that are a little more lewd or dark, this will likely offer more laughs than groans.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (more)