What's Necessary
I try to mix serious with not-serious. To that end, here is a drawing for you.
I was actually surprised when The New Yorker bought this, and that the editor was okay with my drawing nudity. But if you look at old issues, it was a myth that the magazine was prudish that way. The nudity here is not entirely necessary for the idea, and I could have given them t-shirts. It was a judgement call— and perhaps made it more clear that they were in the middle of “something,” not just beginning the “something.”
It’s interesting to ponder what’s necessary in the bed and what’s necessary in a cartoon. In a cartoon, I tell you what’s necessary, but not all of it. That would deaden the cartoon. You, the viewer, have to participate. I have to keep you in mind but not give you everything.
Perhaps it’s the same in bed.