A cartoon of three people sitting at a bar. In the centre, a person wearing a red and white striped shirt, glasses and a bobble hat looks sad. A caption below the image reads, “Nobody ever asks ‘How’s Waldo?’”

Illustration: Hilarious one-liner cartoons from The New Yorker's Paul Noth

Words: Liv Siddall
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Date: 21 January 2014; Work
Illustration

From Modern Toss to The Far Side, to breakfast newspaper staples Matt and Banx, there’s nowt better than seeing a universal truth represented with a funny one-liner cartoon. We don’t often put this kind of thing on It’s Nice That, which seems odd considering what a wonderful and spectacularly niche skill it is. Paul Noth is up there with the greats, and his witty gags grace the pages of the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal on the regular.

As well as condensing huge news stories into tiny, beautifully illustrated jokes, Paul has guest-written for shows such as Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Late Late Show, something not many artists would get the chance to do. May this rare and joyous art form live on for much more time to come.

A black and white cartoon of two dogs lounging on a floating mattress in a swimming pool. A large mansion and palm trees stand in the background under a sun umbrella. A caption below reads, “YouTube’s one thing, but cats will never make it on the big screen.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A cartoon of an airport boarding gate where a staff member stands behind a desk, addressing a crowd of waiting passengers. A Christmas wreath hangs on the wall behind them. The caption below reads, “We’ll begin by boarding anyone who needs a little extra time or who has a little extra money.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A black and white cartoon of colonial soldiers marching with muskets. In the centre, a person plays a fife while another beats a drum. A caption below reads “You don’t bring a fife to a gunfight.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A black and white cartoon of a person in handcuffs sitting at a table in an interrogation room. Two police officers stand on either side under a single hanging lamp. A caption below reads “ ‘Complimentary’ or not, you can’t take ninety million dollars’ worth of mints.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A cartoon illustration of the Pied Piper leading four children in a line. A person in a suit stands before them holding a briefcase. Text below reads “Facebook will give you five billion dollars for that flute.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A cartoon of a person sitting up in bed, looking at another person standing in the doorway holding a briefcase. Clothes and shoes are scattered across the floor between them. A caption below reads “O.K. Where is he?”. — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A pencil sketch of a mechanical arm holding a glass sphere over a half-full glass of water. A thought bubble above the arm reads “OK, one more, but that is it.” — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

A black and white illustration of a doctor performing an ultrasound on a pregnant person. The monitor shows a recursive loop of the same scene, repeating infinitely into the distance. — Above
Paul Noth: Daily Cartoon

Further Info

www.paulnoth.com

About the Author

Liv Siddall

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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

Illustration: Hilarious one-liner cartoons from The New Yorker's Paul Noth

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