Of the given artists, after a bit of browsing, I decided to go with Bernard Kliban’s work, after which I did a little more research and a decent bit of giggling, I found or rather settled on this illustration to analyse:

Now for the questions.

1. What is it about their style you like?

There isn’t anything particularly striking about the artist’s style, it seems to be a rather ordinary illustration style when compared to the other artists on the list or cartoonists of that era. However, the compositions of the majority of his work, including this one, are simple, both in terms of detail and colour, and the message comes through efficiently despite or perhaps even because of that.

2. Is the cartoon silent or does it include words?

The cartoon isn’t silent but it doesn’t have many words either, and the only piece of dialogue does a brilliant and almost instantaneous job of evoking a strong sense of relatability despite the stark contrast between the contexts of the subjects and the audience.

3. What is the subject?

The subject is an interaction between two cavemen taking a stroll, both holding sticks, as per the idea that caveman equipped themselves with sticks to use as tools or weapons, being the most primitive form of man; the comic is basically about one caveman telling the other that he’s thinking of getting a new stick.

4. What is it that makes the joke funny?

What makes the joke funny is that while the the idea of wanting something new is relatable even today (especially today), the fact that the caveman wants a new stick is absurd, and yet understandable when seen from his perspective. I believe that mix of emotions is what makes this illustration amusing.