Ah, booze.
That easy-to-get, very legal, bringer of fun and ruiner of lives. In the classic New Yorker cartoon setting of a cocktail party, drinks are often used as a prop, the better to scrutinize an inherent tension in being human - we’re social creatures, but damn, you’re not the only one who finds it hard or annoying to talk to people.
And drinks in cartoons are more than a prop wine glass in a hand. Here are some toons about this drug we invite into our lives to cope with being alive. The long and the short of it: being human is hard, and you can choose to figure it out with a glass of merlot, a pinch of humor, or, of course, you can combine the two.
The first week of lockdown in New York rivaled a frat house for the amount of booze that was consumed. The heady stew of ceaseless sirens and horizonless dread led to the active adoption of the term 'Breakfast Wine'. Things got pretty gnarly. Add a garnish of local bars doing 'to-go' cocktails to stay afloat, with a sprig of mint, and you've got yourself a full-blown alcohol use disorder! Symptoms may include: Weeping spontaneously on the sidewalk, clumsiness, and several near-death experiences. In sum, 2020 feels like one long, blurry Hunter S. Thompson-esque cocktail of misery. Pass the Heineken 00.
Like all women I have a collection of all the cups I’ve drank from throughout the day on my nightstand, unlike all women, I bathe in them.
Elephants do, in fact, have great memories. They can recognize and keep track of hundreds of family members and associates and remember past events, like a drought that lasted from 1958 to 1961, or the time they tried taking off their sweater in the 5th grade, but their shirt came off too and both sweater and shirt got stuck over the head, the worn cotton muffling their soft whimpering as they patiently waited for the teacher to come over and help, and she promised that no one will remember this, but you're 38 now and you still think about it, and sometimes, as you lay awake at night, you're certain that the other elephants still think about it, too. Elephants can also retrace their steps to find water holes in the savanna, even during droughts.
Did you know that the top 10% of American drinkers consume 60% of all alcohol sold? And did you know people under 40 command 7% of household wealth, while those over 70 command 30%? This is me making conversation at your dinner party… and no this is not relevant to the wine I brought — I just chose the one below eye level with the pretty horse on it.
The thing about drinking is it is totally unpredictable. Probably, you'll become really smart and witty and charming and stay that way and you won't at all become annoying or weepy or angry or insufferable or vomity. But there's really no way to know what will happen. Unless you pay some sort of attention to your life. Then you might have a pretty good idea.
But wait, there’s more!
Hilary releases
every Friday!- ’s graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, was named a best book of 2023 by The New Yorker, NPR, and Kirkus!
Check out Navied’s critically acclaimed graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America.
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- has a new Substack about making art called Process Junkie! And Subscribe to Jason’s regular weekly Substack at NewYorkCartoons.com
- 's got an advice column! Read it here.
I love your witty reflections on booze and its role in our social lives. The cartoons add a wonderful touch, perfectly illustrating the complexities of human interaction and the unpredictability of drinking. I especially enjoyed the anecdote about the early lockdown days in New York.