Cartoons that especially moved me in the latest — 6/1/26 — issue of the New Yorker: two by artists who are old acquaintances on this blog (Drew Dernavich and Frank Cotham), trafficking here in their brands of absurdity (their gags made me laugh out loud); plus one by British cartoonist, illustrator, and writer Sara Akinterinwa (whose work, all recent, explores dating, relationships, identity, politics, and navigating adult life as a young woman of color) that gave me not a great laugh but a shiver of self-recognition: that’s not funny, that’s my life strategy!
Two absurdists. First from DD:
(#1) “Our Pet Chameleons”, showing two visitors entering a living room with elaborately patterned floor, walls, and furnishings, into which chameleons (Old World lizards famous for their abilities in color- and pattern-shifting for camouflage) could easily become undetectable
Then from FC:
(#2) “The Hockey Puck”, in which a dentist’s patient expresses astonishment that a hockey puck came out of nowhere to smash his teeth; absurdly, no attendance at or participation in an ice hockey game has any part in the story. VAGRANT HOCKEY PUCK / FELLS PEDESTRIAN!
From Forbes magazine, “USA Hockey’s Golden Grin: What Happens When Hockey Players Lose Teeth” by neurosurgeon and political scientist Richard Menger on 2/23/26:
In the heart of the 2026 Olympic gold-medal clash, USA Hockey’s Jack Hughes embodied USA Hockey’s now golden grin. A brutal high stick shattered his front teeth late in the third period, yet the 24-year-old star stayed on the ice — bloodied, toothless, unbreakable.
… But as any dentist or concerned parent might ask: What will actually happen to his teeth?
… Post-game, Hughes flashed his toothless grin in interviews, joking about America’s top-notch dentists and his pride in representing the country. His resilience turned him into an instant legend, but it also underscored the physical toll of hockey.
… Hockey’s reputation for toothless grins isn’t just folklore; it’s backed by data. Studies show that up to 85% of NHL players experience tooth loss or severe dental damage over their careers, with an average of about 1.5 teeth lost per player. Overall, 31.4% of ice hockey participants — across amateur and professional levels — report oral injuries, with lacerations being the most common (61.5%), followed by contusions, fractures, and avulsions. In the U.S., sports-related injuries knock out an estimated 5 million teeth annually, and hockey tops the list due to its contact nature and equipment risks.
Akinterinwa’s Psychiatrist strip. For so it is, though that’s not the way it struck me. SA’s cartoon:
(#3) The therapist recommends, as a relief from anxiety, the familiar comfort of rewatching the same series until its outcomes feel more knowable than your own: a very common strategy for dealing with the terrible burdens of the daily news — and one I regularly employ
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