We’re sorry to report the passing of American cartoonist P.C. Vey, Peter Vey, best known, perhaps, for his business, book-inspired, and cat cartoons: his death, to pancreatic cancer, noted with sadness by many fellow cartoonists.
“The cartoon world has lost a titan,” commented cartoonist and musician Rich Sparks. “Happy trails…”
Born, raised and largely living in New York, lastly in Greenwich Village before moving to Amherst, Maryland some eight years ago, Peter submitted his first cartoon to The New Yorker in 1978, during his senior year at the School of Visual Arts; but it wasn’t until 1993 that he sold his first cartoon to the magazine, becoming a more regular contributor following Bob Mankoff’s arrival as cartoon editor. Among his hundreds of cartoons were some provided for the title’s Caption Contest.
Peter’s work was published in AARP Bulletin, Barron’s, The Boston Globe, Harvard Business Review, National Lampoon, Playboy, and The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Vey had two major contributions to MAD, including “Duke Bissell’s Tales of Undisputed Interest” and one panel gag cartoons, under the title “Vey To Go”. He contributed to many books of cartoons on a variety of subjects, including Truly Tasteless Cartoons: The Best of the Worst (1992) and also collaborated with the American film maker, Bill Plympton, as a writer and artist of several of his animated features, including as co-writer of Bill’s first Oscar-nominated animated feature film, The Tune (1992), and I Married a Strange Person (1997).
Some of the animated films he co-wrote are included in the compilation, Mondo Plympton, “an 80-minute walk through his wild side,” Lawrence Gelder noted on release, “mixing bits of autobiography with bracing servings of his sometimes surreal cartoons.”
Peter, who, interviewed by Michael Maslin in 2014, that he used to walk his cat on a lead while living, briefly, in Brimfield, Massachusetts, had three collections of cat cartoons published by Penguin/Plume – If Cats Could Talk (1991), Cats Are People Too (1992), and How to Be Your Cat’s Best Friend (1994).
His non-cat collection of corporate inspired cartoons, Bad Business: A Rescue Package for the Recession-Weary, was published by Valley Cottage Books in 2009. The Cartoon Bank noted on publication that it features cartoons reveal Vey’s sharp eye for the absurd and the amusing in financial panic, corporate greed, and fiscal troubles, provoking knowing, and perhaps rueful, laughter.
Tributes to P.C. Vey
P.C. Vey was a singular talent has passed, whose work is celebrated by many fellow cartoonists.
“Spy vs Spy” and fellow New Yorker cartoonist Peter Kuper, writing on Threads, said he was “Very sad to hear our friend and colleague Peter Vey has died. He was a brilliant cartoonist and incredibly sweet guy. His hilarious cartoons live on.”
“His cartoons were always an inspiration with sharp humour, original style and a brilliantly tight writing,” noted cartoonist Christopher Weyant.
“Throughout my career, I’ve regarded [Peter] as one of the gold standards of cartoon joke writing,” notes New Yorker cartoonist Paul Noth. “His ideas were always fresh and surprising. He rigged his captions with trap doors to other dimensions. His jokes could ambush you, making your eyes pop out like a P.C. Vey character.
“His style was unmistakable – somehow both playful and deadpan. He could “draw funny” without it ever feeling forced. And his stuff always looked fantastic on the page, like an inviting piece of abstract art.”
“I’ll miss his singular, deadpan drawing style style and quirky/dark sense of humour,” concurred New Yorker editorial cartoonist Sarah Morrisette.
“This is really rough news,” said Michael Jantze, creator of “The Norm”. “The work speaks for itself. I’m sad we won’t have ‘more,’ but safe passage and thanks for the work, PC Vey.
“He was such a fun and generous person, who was very welcoming and friendly after I met him, back at The Cartoonists Association gathering in autumn 1984,” his friend and cartoonist Felipe Galinde recalls, recounting his memories of the singularly talented creator, ending “… have fun in Humour Heaven, we’ll miss you enormously.” As will his many fans.
Our sympathies to family, including his wife, Tina, and friends, at this time.
Peter C. Vey 23rd October 1955 – 17th September 2026
Head downthetubes for…
• The New Yorker: P.C. Vey Contributions
• MAD Cover Site: PC Vey: Cartoons for MAD (List)
• PC Vey: Cartoons for Narrative (List)
• Michael Maslin Tribute and 2014 Inkspills Interview
• Paul Noth: In Praise of P.C. Vey
• Cartoon Bank PC Vey Interview (2014)
• Scribble Junkies: Bill Plympton on P.C. Vey (2017)
• New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest Podcast PC Vey Interview (2021)
Peter discusses his drawing style, his time spent in the Cartoonist Association, how he comes up with ideas for his cartoons, and much more
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Animation, Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Obituaries, Other Worlds, US Comics
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