43 Brilliantly Absurd Cartoons From The New Yorker’s Paul Noth (New Pics)

Paul’s journey into cartooning started long before it became a career. “I’ve been obsessed with cartoons since further back than I can remember,” he shared. “It may be because I have attention problems, so little bite-sized chunks of narrative art were perfect for me. The first strip I really loved was Peanuts, but I read every old comic and cartoon book I could find, even the terrible ones. I liked a lot of the classic New Yorker artists, especially Charles Addams and George Booth.” What began as a personal fascination gradually turned into a profession, though Paul emphasizes it wasn’t planned: “I’ve always cartooned just for fun. Eventually, and despite my best efforts, it became my job. Though, like most freelancers, I do all kinds of things.”

Paul's creative process is a mix of structured writing and free exploration. Paul explained, “I write down lots of ideas and then draw the best ones. I try to write 100 new jokes a month, though I don’t always succeed. I also spend a lot of time doodling aimlessly, though that seldom leads directly to jokes. It’s more of a way of exploring characters and designs and situations.”

At the heart of his cartoons is a desire to connect through laughter. “My hope for the work is that people find it funny. I want to do good jokes that hold up well over time. The patterns that emerge beyond that aren’t so much deliberate themes as my personal issues laid bare. If someone had never seen my work before, I’d probably just show them some cartoons and hope for the best,” Paul noted.

For Paul, seeing his cartoons make an impact is a special reward. “I really love it when I see that someone has clipped out one of my cartoons and put it on their refrigerator or office cubicle. That makes me happy. Though it’s intimidating from an artistic point of view. It’s a reminder that in addition to being funny, I should strive to do work that’s visually nice enough to decorate a stranger’s personal space. Though a good enough joke can cover a multitude of pictorial sins,” he said.