Twenty-six New Yorker
cartoonists take on aging, retirement, death and “the Great Beyond.†George Booth, Edward Koren, Marisa Acocella Marchetto (creator of Cancer Vixen
) and Gahan Wilson are among those confronting the Reaper. Some cartoons in the book have previously appeared in the New Yorker
, but most are originals. Contributors range in age from their 30s to the 90-year-old Frank Modell. Various cartoons deal with the shock of baby boomers as their old age looms: Roz Chast depicts the “body with a mind of its own,†aging despite its owner's wishes; J.B. Handelsman draws an executive telling an older worker that the company encourages certain employees to die. But many of the cartoons celebrate the continuing vitality of seniors, such as Lee Lorenz's female astronaut who “will be the first Gray Panther to walk on the moon.†The hooded Grim Reaper is a continuing presence, but many cartoons are set in heaven or hell. In the back of the book, most of the contributors say who they would like to meet in the “Great Beyond.†In this life-affirming collection, even death can't halt the momentum of the human comedy. (Nov.)
