Tom Toro compares the magazine cartoon to passing a note to a friend during class: a small, unexpected joke tucked among serious journalism. He has been a New Yorker regular for more than 15 years, and in August, the National Cartoonists Society named him its 2026 Gag Cartoon winner.
He is also behind the now-famous 2012 cartoon of a man telling children around a campfire that yes, the planet was destroyed, but "we created a lot of value for shareholders." The cartoon was later shared by Greta Thunberg and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Toro's ideas often start with words rather than pictures. He has said that dialogue usually comes first, with the drawing built around it. The goal isn't a huge laugh, but the kind of joke that makes you smile, think, and perhaps look twice.
