In This Economy Everything is Dropping


Economy is dropping cartoon
I spend a lot of time on little things in my cartoons. You’ve only got a few seconds to present the scene, the characters, and your gag, so little things count.

For this cartoon, I labored over the number in the caption. If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” what would be not only a low value, but the all time low? And is that number funny? (Trust me, some numbers are funnier than others.)

Looking back now, I think 873 might have been better, but as much time as I spend on details, you can’t spend all day on them either.

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Mark Anderson, professional cartoonist

About the Author: Mark Anderson’s cartoons appear in publications including The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. Anderson is the creator of the popular cartoon website, Andertoons.com, where he licenses his cartoons for presentations, newsletters and other projects. He blogs at Andertoons cartoon blog.

12 Comments ▼

Mark Anderson Mark Anderson's cartoons appear in publications including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Harvard Business Review. His business cartoons are available for licensing at his website, Andertoons.com.

12 Reactions
  1. Very clever! I completely agree with you that some numbers are funnier just as some paint a better picture than others. I thought I was the only one!!

    842 is perfect! I tend to see even numbers as more palatable than odd numbers.

    I love it…

  2. 842 is sooo specific that it’s funny.

    Words with “K” in them are funny, too.

  3. I think the fact that it’s so specific is what makes it as well. Funny to see the price of abstract matters dropping these days as well, ha ha! Good one . . .

  4. Good stuff indeed 🙂 I love hearing how you come up with such creative and unique cartoon ideas. It’s never the same old, same old that you see with other cartoons. Awesome!

  5. OK, so it sounds like I hit ti right with 842! Hooray!

  6. Mark, i love your cartoons like most everyone, probably.
    I have been sending out messages with here’s my .0008 cents worth of advice (since my two cents has been reduced…). So this resonates, for sure.

    So my tactical question to you is — is sharing in communities like Anita’s and others working to keep your business from dropping? I would think so, but have you seen a specific pattern? I just posted a Centers of Influence in the research section that i found fascinating and while it doesn’t precisely address what you’re doing by posting and participating in communities, it kind of does apply.

    Many people say they don’t get value out of social networking (and i include participating here as social networking). But this content and idea sharing is a piece of networking, of spreading your expertise. Does it drive sales you can see or track? I have heard many of the arguments related to you just gotta do it; you can’t track it or expect a specific return, but i do it because i care about the network, the community AND my company.

    Keep up the awesome work. It is often inspiring as well as funny.
    TJ

  7. A picture is not a complete solution for an argument, so you have come up with a closer figure than the more common description of 1,000 words! 😉

  8. 842 (eight forty-two) has a nice cadence to it. Definitely funny! 🙂

  9. TJ – I know that I’ve gotten a number of sales directly from my social networking efforts, but I think that may be a specific strength of cartoons. I mean, when have you seen a really good cartoon and not wanted to show it the person next to you?

    More about that 842 – I remember thinking I didn’t want anything that sounded too much like an area code either. We cartoonists are an odd lot.

  10. You are rite. Some figures are really funny. Well during my child hood i was into this number stuff, but these was not into much. Now you have reminded me of the old days…:-)

  11. Hi, if you don’t mind, what 842 means? I’m sorry but did not get it. 🙁