SURVEY SAYS!
Cartoons about Game Shows
You’ve just been selected as a contestant on a hit new game show called TOONSTACK. The rules are easy. You simply have to read this newsletter and laugh really hard at each cartoon. But we have to believe your laughter. None of that fake, insincere shit. A panel of judges are standing by to rip apart your laughing technique. Who will win? ONLY THE LORD (ME) KNOWS!
My name is Hilary and I love game shows, but I do have to admit, I in particular love old game shows. New game shows try too hard. They've got all these fancy lights and dramatic music and some host who's about to get canceled for something pretty predictable. Old game shows like Super Market Sweep didn't need all that schmutz. It was just good ol' fashion competition on a studio set in Burbank. Who is the best American consumer? Who knows what isle the detergent is in? Is it Cindy or Tanya? I could watch reruns of this show FOREVER. Do you have a favorite old game show? What about it holds a special place in your heart? Another one of mine is one of the original dating shows on MTV, Singled Out. The decor was so simple! A person behind a heart! Who are they?! Can you answer the questions right!!!? Will you be singled out as... the one?
I was recently imagining an updated Singled Out except it was me and a mosquito and he like reaallllly loved me. Not you. ME.
Here's some more game show cartoons for you to compete for -- remember the judges are watching and if you laugh wrong, you will be dropped into the firey pits of melodramatic hell!!
Ellis Rosen
Guess how many gameshow cartoons I have sold to the New Yorker! The winner will get NOTHING. YOU GET NOTHING.YOU THINK THIS IS GAME? YOU THINK WE'RE HAVING FUN? GO TO HELL. leave your guesses in the comments!
Navied Mahdavian
There is a Japanese game show where men are strapped into something called a "Legendary Chinko Machine," which then repeatedly hits them in the balls. The winner is the person who can withstand the most pummels to their...er, pommel.
TL;DR, I will never draw anything as funny as that.
My father hates TV. We technically had one, but he installed a lock on it, such that when you turned the key, the wires inside would disconnect, and it wouldn’t turn on. This was clever of him, but I was cleverer: I would sneak down to the unfinished basement, crouch among the broken furniture, cobwebs, and half-empty paint cans, and pick the lock with two unwound paperclips (and yes, that was me, an eight year old, sticking metal into a live, plugged-in electrical appliance). After many minutes of labor, I rewarded myself by sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor watching the one channel available, which was usually playing Supermarket Sweep. Ah, how sweet it was to watch Sharlene go straight for the ham.
In celebration of America's biggest game... and show... the Superbowl, I've drawn a cartoon featuring three of the most important people in the sport. (My friend Darren, who is a choreographer, was excited to pose for the last one.)
Kendra Allenby
It's the horrifying, real-life game show of politics! This time it's Romanian politics, as you can obviously tell by the Romanian Palace of Parliament in the background. The original line was far darker, but the client decided to drop some humor and spring for a bit of hope in humankind. Feel free to make up your own caption, but make sure it's in Romanian.
But wait, there's more!
Jason Chatfield has a new Substack launching about the creative process called Process Junkie. You can sign up for free at www.process-junkie.com
Amy Kurzweil’s graphic memoir, Artificial: A Love Story, was named a best book of 2023 by The New Yorker, NPR and Kirkus - give it a read!
Hilary is teaching a Cartoon Workshop Feb 24th in Manhattan!
Navied Mahdavian’s graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America is out, and it’s getting rave reviews.
Ellis Rosen’s DINK! is the perfect gift for the pickleball enthusiast in your life.
Check out Jason Katzenstein’s Patreon
Amy Kurzweil teaches cartoon classes on Patreon! Sign up now to get the recording of every past class!
Subscribe to Jason Chatfield’s weekly Substack at NewYorkCartoons.com
I think the process junkie link is incorrect.
My guess is 0 game show cartoons sold by Ellis to the New Yorker.