Everyone's a Critic: The Ultimate Cartoon Book

by Bob Eckstein (Editor), David Borchart (Contributor), Pat Byrnes (Contributor)

We are all critics now. From social media "likes" to reviews on Yelp and Rotten Tomatoes, we're constantly asked to give our opinion and offer feedback. Everyone's a Critic is a curated collection of the best and brightest New Yorker cartoonists celebrating the art of the drawn critique, whether about restaurants, art, sports, dates, friends, or modern life. Featuring the work of thirty-six masters of the cartoon, including Roz Chast, Sam Gross, Nick Downes, Liza Donnelly, Bob Mankoff, Michael Maslin, and Mick Stevens, over half the cartoons in this book appear in print for the first time.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Art, Graphic Novels, Cartoon, Anthologies

144 pages, Hardcover

Published October 22, 2019

About the author

Bob Eckstein is an award-winning illustrator, NY Times bestseller, New Yorker cartoonist, and world's only snowman expert. His fields of expertise are museums, bookstores, cartoons and humor.

He is editor of the popular Substack newsletter, The Bob and host of The Cartoon Pad podcast. His cartoons, OpEds, and short stories appear regularly in the New York Times, New York Daily News, MAD magazine, Readers Digest, The Spectator, Prospect, Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Atlas Obscura, LitHub, among many others. He was a columnist for the Village Voice, New York Newsday, and TimeOut New York. He has been interviewed in over 200 TV, radio, podcasts and magazine spots, including Good Morning America and People magazine. He was selected Erma Bombeck Humorist of the Month.

Follow him on Facebook Bob Eckstein and Instagram at bob_eckstein.

Bob Eckstein spent seven years traveling the world researching and attempting to answer the age-old question, who made the first snowman?

He has spoken publicly at many venues like The Norman Rockwell Museum, Miami Book Fair, The Grolier Club, Milford Readers & Writers Festival, and the Cooperage Theater and at the Erma Bombeck Workshop and Writer's Digest Annual Humor Conference.

He now lives in Manhattan. He has taught Writing & Drawing at N.Y.U., Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, Yonsei University in South Korea and many other places.

Reviews

[Rod Brown]

A collection of cartoons -- mostly from The New Yorker -- around the theme of being critical or judgmental. There are a few chuckles to be had here and there, but it's mostly pretty disposable in my opinion -- as other people's opinions usually are.

[Cathy]

My aunt's already requested to read this book when we're done with it, as she's a New Yorker comics fan. I have to admit I enjoy them, too.

The introduction, not a cartoon itself at all, was as funny as the cartoons within, about how dating has changed in society now that "Everyone's a Critic," as the book title goes.

But this book of cartoons is not just about dating, but about critics in every aspect of life.

I loved the comic with the rendering of "The Scream," the sketch of the suspect (which looks like it was sketched by Picasso), the bust of Mozart on top of the piano, the aliens, the first child, the shopping trip, the heavenly coffee. In short, there were plenty of things to laugh at.

Glad I got it.

As with any New Yorker comic book, there might be one or two that are with parental discretion and conversation.

[Pat Libling]

I loved this collection of cartoons. I have placed it on my coffee table for everyone to enjoy.

[John Wood]

A great little collection of one-panel cartoons.

[Danny Butler]

A very important book, I’m sure.

[David Erkale]

Read from front to back in less time than it'd take me to read an Archie digest. So, one word to describe this book: LAME.