At Witte’s End

At Witte’s End

Piedmont-based cartoonist uses his wit to make readers chuckle.

Phil Witte’s chortle journey has had its share of twists and turns. After selling his first cartoon at age 15, he didn’t sell another one till he hit 45. In the interim he became a lawyer, married, and raised a daughter—all in Piedmont. Witte first turned to gag writing with two highly successful joke books about getting older. He also began writing gags for other cartoonists including Dan Piraro of Bizarro fame. After taking an art course to hone his drawing chops, though, Witte was ready to draw and write his own stuff. Today his single-panel cartoons appear in Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, and the British satirical mag Private Eye, to name a few. His work also appears in The Monthly, and his cartoon strip Flip is in the Piedmont Post.

Paul Kilduff: The typical career trajectory of a cartoonist starts at about age 12 when you take the “Famous Cartoonist’s Correspondence Course.” You’re thinking, “All I have to do is develop a few characters, buy some postage, and I’m in.” Then the reality of how impossible it is hits you, and you go to Plan B. Eventually the joy of cartooning for its own sake rears its head again. You realize it’s fun to go from idea to sketch to finished drawing. Even if it doesn’t get published, here it is. Behold, the cartoon.

Phil Witte: Yeah, there’s something to be said for that. It’s an act of creation.

PK: This is like a cartoonist’s therapy group.

PW: We could use one, I’m sure. If you’re doing it as a living, it’s really tough these days, even for syndicated cartoonists. So you really have to do it for the love of it.

PK: I guess the word is cathartic. Agree?

PW: Yeah, I think it is. I’m sometimes working on a cartoon and thinking, “This is funny.” Or I’m happy with the way a cartoon came out. But as far as selling it, I can never predict which ones are going to sell. I’ll think, “Man, that’s a good one, and I can’t sell it anywhere.” And then others are like, “Yeah, we want this.” A greeting card company wants to license one of my cartoons, which is an OK cartoon. I’m happy for it. But, man, I sent them a bunch of other ones. They should take those and they didn’t.

PK: Isn’t it weird how the stuff that you really, really like, editors don’t? You actually went to New York to meet with probably the ultimate gatekeeper of single-panel cartoons, The New Yorker cartoon editor Robert “Bob” Mankoff. What did you accomplish?

PW: I’ve been submitting to The New Yorker for a while. Years. I’ve sent probably a few hundred cartoons to them at this point. So I felt I owed it to myself to not just submit, but to actually go in, because he does have open meetings with cartoonists.

PK: Did you fly first class?

PW: Sure, The New Yorker paid for it. Absolutely. And drinks, of course. It was a private jet. The New Yorker/Conde Nast jet. They picked me up at JFK. Each cartoonist gets their own limo, which is really generous of them.

PK: That’s nice.

PW: Just a standard Town Car. But it had ample legroom. After a few drinks, Bob called me in. No, it wasn’t like that at all. It was just you sign in.

PK: Sort of like seeing a professor during his “office hours.”

PW: Yes, exactly. So you go up there, and there’s a bunch of cartoonists including George Booth, who’s 89 years old, I believe. He comes in with his cartoons, just like anybody else.Sam Gross also comes in. He’s well into his 80s and kind of holds forth while you’re sort of held in a conference room. It’s like a holding pen of cartoonists. Farley Katz was there, if you know him. He’s a younger guy. Then a bunch of unknowns, at least unknown to The New Yorker. You sign up based on when you come in, and then he calls you in, and you bring your portfolio, which I did. So I sat down with him. I talked to him for maybe 15 minutes, and he had some constructive criticism. He gives each cartoon a quick look. Then he said, “OK, I’m going to hold these five, and I’ll let you know.” I probably had 18. He was somewhat encouraging, but I know other people who’ve gone through this, and it was pretty much what I expected. He doesn’t burst out laughing at your cartoons. He looks at thousands and thousands of cartoons, so he’s not going to spend a lot of time examining your work. He did make some suggestions about the artwork. He said, “We don’t have characters mugging.” He doesn’t want exaggerated facial expressions. If you look at New Yorker cartoons, sometimes you can’t tell who’s speaking. He wants the facial expression to be really muted and certain other pointers like that. Use more ink wash, who knows? And now I can use his personal email so I guess that was a plus.

PK: So the upshot of the whole thing is he took a few, and you also were able to get his personal email so that you’re sending to him directly?

PW: And I expect the same silence that I’ve been getting. We actually exchanged a few emails.

PK: What do you get out of being a cartoonist? An aura?

PW: If you can create something, put it out in the world, and people get enjoyment out of it, that to me is very satisfying and very fulfilling. Making people happy is really an important thing.

PK: Is it more satisfying than filing a motion?

PW: The satisfaction of being a litigation lawyer is winning. So you have to have that drive and type of personality that feels that way. But if you’re a cartoonist, it’s not like you’re winning. You’re spreading joy, and most litigation lawyers don’t spread much joy.

PK: Do you think everybody has at least one decent New Yorker cartoon idea in them?

PW: I think a lot of people do. I know people who have told me, “Oh yeah, I submitted ‘a’ cartoon to The New Yorker once.” One cartoon. But people do approach me and say, “I have an idea for a cartoon.” I’ve never used one.

PK: But you appreciate the gesture.

PW: Certainly. I’m not sure everyone has one good idea for a cartoon, let alone a New Yorker cartoon. But I think a lot of people do have ideas; they just don’t think someone could turn it into a cartoon. I don’t think people necessarily have that frame of reference even. But people are funny and can intentionally be funny and come up with ideas. They just don’t think someone could turn it into a cartoon. But I think for some people, it just comes naturally to them. I don’t really work at thinking of ideas at all, so if you’re fortunate that you don’t have to work at it, you’re going to come up with a whole bunch of ideas. I think most people don’t have that. I don’t know if it’s a gift or whatever you want to call it.

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For more Kilduff, visit the “Kilduff File Super Fan Page” on Facebook.


PHIL WITTE Vital Stats

Age: 58

Birthplace: Harrisburg, Pa.

Astrological Sign: Gemini

Book on nightstand: Does the current New Yorker count?

What you will do in the coming zombie apocalypse? Offer my left brain, ’cause I need my right brain for cartooning.

Motto: The older I get, the less seriously I take myself.

Website: www.PhilWitte.com

The following three cartoons are Phil Witte’s favorite cartoons that have run in The Monthly, (September 2015, January 2013, and September 2010). Click on the cartoons to view a larger version.

Faces of the East Bay