Bob Mankoff Named Cartoon and Humor Editor of Esquire Magazine

Press release from the Association of Magazine Media:

NEW YORK, NY (May 1, 2017) – Hearst Magazines today announced that Bob Mankoff has been named to the new role of cartoon and humor editor for Esquire. The announcement was made by Jay Fielden, editor-in-chief. Mankoff begins his new role today.

Mankoff will be responsible for reviving the decades-long tradition of cartoons in Esquire, which numbers more than 13,000 cartoons and dates back to the 1930s when they were published regularly until the early 1970s. will also edit humor pieces, provide editorial story ideas, draft cartoons himself, and recruit a new generation of humorists to Esquire and Esquire.com. In addition, he will develop ways for Esquire to make its trove of original cartoons available for prints and licensing.

“Bob is one of the funniest, most creative people I know,” said Fielden. “What he’s going to do is invent an entirely new look and sensibility in cartooning by upping the aesthetics and embracing a wide set of fresh voices. La La Land proved an old form can become a new sensation. That’s the ambition here.”

Mankoff was cartoon editor of The New Yorker for 20 years until this past April, where more than 950 of his cartoons have been published, including the best-sellingNew Yorker cartoon of all time (the harried businessman at his desk with a phone to his ear, reviewing his calendar and saying: “No, Thursday’s out. How about never—is never good for you?”). Mankoff has also edited dozens of cartoon books and published four of his own, including the memoir How About Never–Is Never Good For You?: My Life in Cartoons (Henry Holt  and Co., 2015), a New York Times bestseller. In 2014, an offbeat documentary about humor, art and the genius of the single panel featuring Mankoff called Very Semi-Serious premiered on HBO. The film won a 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Programming and was nominated for Outstanding Documentary Editing. Mankoff is also founder of The Cartoon Bank, a business devoted to licensing cartoons for use in newsletters, textbooks, magazines and other media.

“Esquire was home to some incredible cartoonists and humorists over the years, and it’s a real thrill to be able to reintroduce and reinterpret that legacy for a new audience,” said Mankoff.

When asked what that really meant, he drew this cartoon [above] as a hint to the direction the cartoons and the humor would be taking.

Don’t get it? Mankoff will be happy to explain it to you. He’s been doing that sort of thing for years.

Under Editor-in-Chief Jay Fielden, Esquire’s satirical and humorous nature has re-emerged, first with the launch of the SPY pop-up website during the last 30 days of the 2017 presidential election and, more recently, with the reappearance of the “Dubious Achievements Awards,” a perennial favorite for decades.

Mankoff said that re-emergence under Fielden caught his eye, making him think that it was time for another great American magazine to have great cartoons.

He added, “I’ve known Jay for 20 years and have always admired his wit, style, and choice of hair products. I’m looking forward to bringing the funny back to Esquireand having fun in the process.”

About Esquire

Esquire [1]creates engaging conversations that drive the culture, with a unique mix of intellectual showmanship, hilarity, impeccable style, visual punch and extraordinary writing. Esquire is the most-honored monthly magazine in America, with 26 National Magazine Awards, including one for its iPad app, and 88 nominations. In its digital expressions, Esquire.com has an audience of 11.3 million (comScore), and a social media following of more than 2 million. In addition to its U.S. flagship, Esquire publishes 27 editions around the world. Follow Esquire on Instagram and Twitter at @Esquire.

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-- Hat tip to Keith DuQuette. Thanks, Keith!