The New Yorker cartoon dept. takes us behind the scenes, revealing stunning cartoon secrets

"This island isn't big enough for two clichés."

by Ken

They're a pretty tight fraternity, those New Yorker cartoonists. Which makes it all the more remarkable that this week the cartoon dept. is taking us behind the scenes and revealing some of their most closely held secrets: the locations of some of the most heavily used cartoon settings. (It's said that to be admitted to the guild every cartoonist has to produce a successful cartoon using at least one of these locations.)

"Yhis week," says cartoon editor Bob Mankoff in his e-newsletter-slash-blogpost, "The Secrets Behind Cartoon Tropes," "the cartoonist David Borchart takes us behind the scenes to view the real scenes underpinning some of our most enduring cartoon clichés. O.K., David, open that vein." Yes, the floor is yours, David.

DESERT ISLAND

The desert island featured in hundreds of New Yorker cartoons actually exists. You can see it in Eastchester Bay, about forty yards from City Island, in the Bronx.

It's virtually a stone's throw from the Bronx.

THE GRIM REAPER

The Grim Reaper in New Yorker cartoons has been portrayed since the nineteen-seventies by the veteran character actor Vera St. Croix. She took over the role from longtime reaper Marjorie Breek.

Vera is the magazine's second Grim Reaper.

THE ANALYST'S COUCH

That well-worn analyst’s couch is actually a custom-made cat bed. It’s twenty-five inches long and stands just four inches off the floor.

My gosh, it's a custom-made cat bed!

GURU ON THE MOUNTAIN

The guru on the mountain is a private-cave owner named Olmer Sky, and the location, as many alert readers have noted, is Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. While not a guru, Olmer is a lay speaker in his Methodist congregation.

Olmer S is a committed Methodist.

THAT TRACKLESS DESERT

And those sun-addled wretches crawling through the trackless desert wilderness, painfully dragging themselves toward a distant punch line? With selective framing, no one needs to know that they’re in Brighton Beach.

Son of a gun, that's Brighton Beach!

PLUS THERE'S -- WHAT ELSE? -- A SLIDE SHOW

I've never been to a party with Bob M, but I would be at all surprised if he does this there. Guests are invited to throw out subjects, and when they agree on one, Bob produces a slide show. This one, of course, is a gallery of New Yorker cartoons that have used the secret settings. The slide show leads off with the doozie at the top of this post. Among the offerings is this one of Bob's own:

"And this is my cousin Dave, who
handles the conventional wisdom."