Back when I was a teacher, I’d show my 5th graders Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush each year just before winter break. Despite being 90+ years old, its blend of pathos and slapstick humor won the class over every time. Chaplin’s tramp was the quintessential clown—he embodied the downtrodden everyman who we all could relate to. He made us laugh, he made us cry, and he made potatoes dance.
This week I asked my fellow cartoonists to share cartoons about clowns. Cartoons about clowns have been a perennial trope in the New Yorker. Maybe it’s because we see ourselves in them, their big shoes, and their bad luck. As we enter the third year of the pandemic, we all feel like we’ve been hit in the face repeatedly with a pie. Or a brick, or whatever.
So, ich bin ein Clown.
Whether it’s Patch Adams, the killer clowns from outer space, or John Wayne Gacy, everyone has a favorite clown. These are some of our favorite clown cartoons.
- Navied
I am what happens when in High School you’ve been snubbed as “Class Clown” only to be chosen as “Most Artistic.”
In retrospect, it is probably ok that I didn’t get “Class Clown.” Being a poor student and class clown would have killed my parents. Being a poor student and “Most Artistic” led me to where I am today, a respected draughtsperson constantly striving to be funny for a small audience of people just to show the not-very-funny Nick Racine that I should have been class clown. WHO’S FUNNY NOW NICK?
I’m not one of those people who’s afraid of clowns. Nor am I particularly delighted by them. I have pure clown apathy. Clowns do nothing for me emotionally. They don't make me laugh, I don't’ think they're scary (not even It), I honestly don't quite understand why they have persevered as cultural artifacts. I do however, think that banana peels are the absolute peak of comedy. For whatever reason clowns in The New Yorker are often paired with those slippery yellow fire hazards and that's the only reason I draw clown cartoons. If I could cut out the clown part and just make banana peel cartoons, I would. In fact, If i could make all of my cartoons banana peel cartoons, I would. I would even go so far as to say that I think we should just replace every image in any drawing ever with the picture of a banana peel. Except for Ecce Mono, the only thing in the world that's funnier than a banana peel.
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Hi, my name’s Lars and I’m also not afraid of clowns. What am I afraid of? Snakes. Especially big long snakes. I once saw a snake so long that it took about five minutes to cross a hiking trail. It was like waiting at a railroad crossing for one of those three mile long freights headed west. Needless to say, I never hobo’ed again. This cartoon was inspired by those old photos of explorers holding some giant snake they found. Y’know, relatable. I think this might have been a cartoon trope in the 1930’s, but no more. We found them all I guess. As Plutarch and Hans Grober once said, “When Alexander saw the breath of his domain he wept. For there were no more big snakes to hold up for the camera.”
Back in high school, against the wishes of my mum (who had previously, and with good reason, forbidden me from wearing JNCO jeans and piercing my eyebrow ) I dyed my hair red. It was supposed to be red, I should say, but ended up orange. Like, very orange. Like, if you were to have written a poem about it at the time, you could have written: “His hair was as orange as an orange.” I should also mention that unlike the hair of the titular boys of the boy bands of the time (whose tips were frosted—something else my mom forbade me to do), my hair grew upwards, defying gravity, like the bride of Frankenstein. Like, if you were to have written a poem about it at the time, you would have said: …what rhymes with Frankenstein? All of which is to say:
I looked like a clown.
Thankfully kids in high school are kind and understanding.
My dad was a painter who liked to relax by painting simple shapes, and spheres were a favorite of his. He passed this skill to me and now I draw spheres to relax and entertain myself.
Let's just say that this clown should've hired me.
Do I like clowns? No. Do I respect them? Of course. They humble themselves for a laugh. They’re confident dressers. They carpool. All noble qualities. This cartoon was the first of mine The New Yorker published. Drawing-wise it’s not my favorite, but ah well. Anything for a laugh.
There’s actually no rule that says a clown can’t play baseball. Do you understand that he needed to get those giant cleats custom-made?
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I am with Ellis. I don’t usually find clowns entertaining. Unless they are in comics!