BY DOUG ZANGER

Who doesn’t love The New Yorker cartoons?

So much variety, commentary and whimsy on the esteemed pages of one of the world’s great publications.

And we’re incredibly pleased to have Bob Mankoff, New Yorker Cartoons Editor, host a session next Tuesday at Creative Week.

We caught up with him for a quick Q&A.

Q: You may very well have one of the best jobs, not just in media, but the world. What excites you most about digging in at work every day?

A: Getting to help select the best cartoons in the world from the best cartoonists in the world for the best magazine in the world is a tough dirty job, but someone has to do it.

But seriously, or at least semi-seriously, I love the fact that even though I’ve done a lot of cartoons and seen probably more than anyone else in the world, I can still be surprised by and delighted when something new appears, whether a new idea, or a new cartoonist with a different slant on cartooning.

Q: “From The Desk Of Bob Mankoff” is a family favorite of ours. What do you enjoy most about writing?

A: I really like delving into the psychology of humor – what’s funny and why and why it matters. E.B. White said “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Nobody is much interested and the frog dies.”

I’m trying to disprove that with “From The Desk of Bob Mankoff”.

Q: What was the first cartoon you ever created? What would be the critique today?

A: I think it was two guys on a desert island with one saying to the other  “ If this was a cartoon I’d have something funny to say.” 

My critique now would be, If you’re going to do a meta-joke like this it’s got to be betta.

Q: Your session at Creative Week looks like great fun. What are you hoping people take away from it?

A: The idea that creativity is not restricted to people who get paid to be creative like cartoonists. But the way that cartoonists come up with ideas is a good model for being creative in any field.