Silly Tilleys, Gutsy Grumets

The results of the 2009 Eustace Tilley contest are in. The bad news is that the cover Deborah Grumet and I submitted (right) didn't make the final cut; the good news is that the final cut managed to be fun anyway.

An interesting mini-trend in the contest (aside from the mega-trend(s) of many Obamas and Lincolns) could be found in the smattering of other submissions inspired by comic books. One of the winners was a Watchmen-inspired "Rorshach Tilley" by Marcus Thiele of Tennessee. Others were this manga-style cover and this "The New Joker" and this one, too.

In other Deborah Grumet news, she's had some fun blog entries lately. Most important, her clever artwork "Studies in Digestion" is being auctioned by the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) in support of the panic-stricken Rose Museum of Brandeis University.

Bidding on this artwork (perfect for the gastroenterologist in your life) ends around 1:37 pm [PT] on February 8, 2009.

Meet The Gothamer

I hope you enjoy this Eustace Tilley parody, conceived by me and rendered by Deborah Grumet for the current contest over at The New Yorker. Because Deborah is so over-the-top competitive, she also entered this Tilley, enabling her to compete against herself. (So far we've held back on submitting Eustace K. Tilley.)

See also: "The Penguin Goes A Courtin'"

IS THIS THE NEXT NEW YORKER COVER?

Hey! Look what artist Deborah Grumet and I happened upon the other day, not very far from the Conde Nast building! Could this be the follow-up to the New Yorker's already infamous July 21 cover? It does seem inspired by that old image of Eustace K. Tilley.

Let us know what you know if you have any inside information!

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

First things first: In honor of this week's New Yorker cover, I replaced the usual illustration with a rare and oddly lit Reconstruction-era portrait of Eustace K. Tilley (right). It's only fitting, don't you agree?


The Cartoon Caption Contest had some trouble revving up today, but now I can tell you that the winner of Caption Contest 149 (Mick Stevens's guy with jet pack) is

"Apparently, American now charges extra for landings."
Steve Hoglund (Auburn, WA)

In Caption Contest 151 (Tom Cheney's desk scene with giant pencils and sharpener), the nominees are

"Let's continue this discussion over a hot barrel of coffee."
Adam Caraher (New York, NY)

"But I have to warn you, carpal tunnel here is a bitch."
Sam Cobean (Falmouth, ME)

"'How many accountants does it take to sharpen a pencil?' you ask? In this case five."
Matt Aucoin (Woodstock, VT)

Note the somewhat complex punctuation of the third candidate. And note that my loser was

"Sharpened properly, these pencils are mightier than pens."

There are no Anti-Caption winners this week, but Dan Radosh did score a Q&A with current contest gatekeeper Farley Katz.


Caption Contest 153 is here, while Anti-Caption Contest 153 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

27 California

22 New York (19 from the Big Apple)

12 New Jersey

7 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Roanoke)

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
5 Texas (three from Houston)

4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Maryland (none named Mary)
4 North Carolina

3 Arizona (two from Tucson)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Ohio

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont
2 Washington

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Portrait of Eustace K. Tilley by David Marc Fischer

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

Before tending to the caption contest results, I'd like to direct your attention to the winners of the Eustace Tilley contest. Fascinating—as is this link to Tilley history.


In Caption Contest 129 (Leo Cullum's patient with figure in diving suit), the winner is

"I wanted you to meet our colon specialist before we miniaturized him."
Thomas Fox (Houston, TX)

That's a fourth win for Texas, and a second win for Houston.


In the coming weeks, you can expect some real drama. Currently California and New York share the top spot in the competition, but in Caption Contest 130 one of the states might take the lead—or Colorado might steal the thunder. Then something's just gotta give in Caption Contest 131 (Mick Stevens's rain of safes), which is exclusively a contest between the two front-runners:

"And tomorrow there's a twenty-per-cent chance of anvils."
Richard Jones (Pasadena, CA)

"Great. Safes everywhere, and I'm on probation."
Blythe Million (Santa Monica, CA)

"Every time I wash the car."
Jessie Birks (New York, NY)

Thanks to Jessie for pointing this out. (See Jessie's comment here.)

My sentimental loser:

"Remember when it only rained pennies?"

In Anti-Caption Contest 132 (Mongol(?) swordsman threatening breakfast toast), the winner is

"It made me hot when you called me 'dirty whore' last night. But this is today, and I'd really prefer it if you just called me mom."
Shawn

My losers:

"You put the 'hun' in hunger, Hunter. Which is nothing compared to what I will put into your country's economy if you'll let me set up brothels there."

"So what if you're gluten-free. A slice of bread won't kill you."

"So the Giants won. No need to take it out on my breakfast, Tom."

Caption Contest 133 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 133 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

20 California
20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

11 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

4 Maryland (none named Mary)
4 Texas (two from Houston)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio

2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone

CARTOON CAPTION/ANTI-CAPTION COVERAGE CONTINUES!

In Caption Contest 128 (Carolita Johnson's big ol' dog in living room), one nominee was from New Jersey and the other two were from New York. A win for New York would push the Empire State ahead of California to claim sole first-place honors for the first time since Caption Contest 1. So which caption won?

"I'll walk, you shovel."
Zachary Phelps (Laurence Harbor, NJ)

Yes, Zachary Phelps: You've played the spoiler and advanced the Garden State while holding New York in check—for now.


In Caption Contest 130 (P.C. Vey's snowman with waving arms), the nominees are

"He has a summer job as a scarecrow."
Parizad Motiwala (Denver, CO)

"It's all the witness-protection program would offer him."
Suzanne Geba (San Francisco, CA)

"It's mostly water weight."
Vincent Coca (Staten Island, NY)

My loser:

"This is much cooler than burying him in sand."

In Anti-Caption Contest 131 (Mick Stevens's safes raining on house), the winner is

"I bet this is killing a tremendous number of people."
Dan McCoy

My loser:

"You think it's safe, kejo? Only if you have no vault insurance! Hyuk hyuk snort!!"

In other New Yorker contest news, you can inspect the contestants in the silly Eustace Tilley contest here.


Caption Contest 132 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 132 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all mapped out here.

20 California
20 New York (17 from the Big Apple)

11 New Jersey

6 Massachusetts
6 Pennsylvania
6 Virginia (three from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville)

5 Connecticut (two from New Haven, three not)
5 Illinois (four from Chicago—two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)

4 Maryland (none named Mary)

3 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 North Carolina
3 Ohio
3 Texas

2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Michigan
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Rhode Island
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Alaska
1 Arizona
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Nevada
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Washington

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Image by David Marc Fischer using Samsung cameraphone