The Lost Art of Zim: Cartoons and Caricatures

Eugene ‘Zim’ Zimmerman pioneered the comically exaggerated “big foot” style of cartooning in America’s earliest humor magazines, Puck and Judge. After drawing tens of thousands of gags, caricatures, and illustrations, he set his pen to helping the young aspirants who desired to follow in his wake by producing a series of correspondence course books. The distillation of those lessons ultimately resulted in the book Cartoons and Caricatures. More than a simple collection of “how to” lessons, Zim outlines an entire philosophy of life for the would-be cartoonist, sage advice from over 30 years of experience that stands as true today as when he wrote it. Beyond the expert cartooning instruction throughout this book, Zim also offers advice on a variety of esoteric subjects, including: Swiping! Booze and bohemianism! Dealing with editors! Cartoonists and marriage! Esperanto! …and much more! Zim approaches all of these subjects with a generosity of spirit and boisterousness that was the hallmark of his cartooning. In the end, Zim’s aim with this book was simple: to help young cartoonists better understand how to make the world laugh. And laughter is something that never goes out of style.… (more)