The Best of the Rejection Collection: 293 Cartoons That Were Too Dumb, Too Dark, or Too Naughty for The New Yorker

This collection gathers 293 cartoons rejected by The New Yorker, selected from the magazine's rejection pile. The cartoons were deemed too edgy, raunchy, or outrageous for publication by one of the world's most esteemed magazines. The book features work by New Yorker cartoonists including Roz Chast, Gahan Wilson, Sam Gross, Jack Ziegler, David Sipress, and others. It showcases a different side of their work—dark, juvenile, naughty, sick, or simply weird. The collection includes cartoons about ventriloquist dummies, operating rooms, and "bring your daughter to work day" scenarios (featuring a stripper and a death row prison guard). It also contains numerous depictions of couples in bed, coffins, and wise-cracking animals, with no editorial restraint applied. According to The New York Times, the submissions were set aside not because they lacked humor, but largely because they were too funny.