Trade Journal Cartoons | McHumor & TheKomic Cartoons

How to Become a Slightly Warped Cartoonist: Part 10

Gag-cartoonists call the big magazines most have heard of The Majors. That’s where everyone wants to be published. I don’t know how many Majors there are now. Maybe fifty.

The odds that someone starting out will have a cartoon selected from the first batch of cartoons she’s drawn is – well, I don’t know what the odds are, but I believe the odds of winning the lottery are better.

There are hundreds of other magazines and trade journals to submit to, though.

Thousands of people submit cartoons to the New Yorker every week, but not many, if any, submit to Automotive Cooling Journal, a journal for people who install radiators,

License Accident Cartoon 6708
Get it Printed on Stuff @ CafePress

or to Chemtech, a scientific journal,

License Astronomy Cartoon 5928
Get it Printed on Stuff @ CafePress

or to American Bee Journal, a magazine for beekeepers.

License Restaurant Cartoon 4381
Get it Printed on Stuff @ Zazzle

There is hardly a trade, hobby or interest that doesn’t publish a newsletter or magazine, or at the very least have a web site devoted to it.

Writing gags for a narrow audience is easier than you might think. By changing the characters and the props in a cartoon, you can tailor it to a publication.

Here’s a cartoon I drew with a general audience in mind that uses the ultimate cartoon cliché: a desert island.