Humor is basically a cognitive process. And it's a creative process not only on the part of the cartoonist but on the part of the viewer.
Robert MankoffCartoons are like fruit flies. Biologists use fruit flies because their large chromosomes and short life cycle make them ideal for studying hereditary changes.
Robert MankoffWhen you look back at the older cartoons, they're very much more observational cartoons. And the cartoon, the people in the cartoons are not making the joke.
Robert MankoffThere is humor that's just whimsy, that we smile at, but the humor that we laugh at, someone has to be - someone's dignity has to be reduced.
Robert Mankoff