Countdown To A Godfather

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Think of the great expanse of cartoons in the New Yorker as the Redwood Forest.

This forest began with five seeds.

The names of those seeds are–hyperlinks notwithstanding–James Thurber,
Charles Addams, Peter Arno, Saul Steinberg, and William Steig.

Let us not call them "seeds" but think of them as
the Godfathers of Gotham Guffaws.

Below, numbered in reverse order, are five select New Yorker cartoons
from their "Godchildren."

Think of it as a countdown because the pages that follow will exclusively
be dedicated to the "Godfather" known as William Steig:

Decade by decade, commencing with his first New Yorker
appearance in 1930, the cartoonery (and covers) of Mr. Steig
will be given their own page.

However, what William Steig is most famous for has more to do with
Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers than the New Yorker.

Myers provided the voice of SHREK and Murphy was his loyal sidekick.
The film and its sequels were based on the book of the same title.  

The author of the book has the same title as the "Godfather" cartoonist
whose eight-decades worth of New Yorker cartoons + his own books
will be featured after a countdown...

 


William Steig was only eighty-three years old
when SHREK! was published in 1990.

He was ninety-four years old when
the film was released in 2001.


And now: THE COUNTDOWN

George Booth

5.

Sidney Harris

4.

Lee Lorenz

3.

Zachary Kanin

2.

Mick Stevens

1.

Ladies & Gentleman,
let William Steig receive
his rightful due, starting
just about right here

Lord Whimsy & Mother QuickPage notwithstanding
the STEIG-by-Decade
pages will be
consecutive

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