Note: This article was constructed as part of Reporter's experiment in crowdsourcing. For further explanation, go here.

“Mommy, what's a flashmob?”

What makes a good cartoon?

“...I was flattered when I was asked to add to this Wiki-type thing. This is legitimately cool idea that I probably would have mocked in a cartoon.” -- Alex Salsberg, Reporter Cartoonist Emeritus

As with any art form, there is no formal heuristic for “good”. Sometimes a cartoon is good because it imitates life — at other times, the best cartoons do things that no one in real life can do. Cartooning at its best captures the sincere intent of the cartoonist to communicate.

A cartoon is a slice of a story that is moving, yet still. It is a gestural discipline. A few lines can capture a complex, yet immediately recognizable, form. It is the same mechanism you use to recognize an old friend at a distance, just from the way they walk, see a human face in a few well-placed blobs.

“I always knew I'd made a good cartoon when I saw it taped up on campus.” -- ibid.

Another de facto measure of merit is the extent to which a cartoon is shared. The best cartoons about the workplace are hung on cubicle walls (De gustibus non est disputandum. -- collective Ed.) The best cartoons about Bush are hung on the doors of aging hippie professor's offices. The best Far Side cartoons are hung everywhere.

So, for whatever reason, a good cartoon doesn't just make people laugh, or make people think. It also makes people share.

What makes a bad cartoon?

“MARMADUKE.” -- Salsberg

Reporter cartoons, from what appears to be the result of tradition, are awful. They lack a few basic components necessary for proper execution of a cartoon, like coherence, passable art, punchlines and the certain degree of professionalism to make a comic that doesn't look like it was drunkenly scribbled on a bar napkin.

Starting with coherence, what is referred to as “monkey cheese” is the mark of a spectacularly underdeveloped sense of humor. This style is characterized by nonsense words and wacky situations, like dinosaur zombies from a country with a silly name. This is usually indicative of the cartoonist's lack of imagination, a failing they attempt to cover up by cribbing inane phrases from much funnier people and things.

Passable art is self-explanatory. RIT has an art school, folks. It shouldn't look like the cartoon was drawn from a pencil in cartoonist's ass. It must be noted, though, that being able to draw doesn't make a cartoonist funny.

The punchline is the most important part of the joke. Like self-respect and talent, Reporter cartoonists consistently forget about it.

There's a manual on how not to draw comics. It's called Reporter. Feel free to pick it up.