Peter “PC” Vey passed away on September 17. Peter was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer two months ago, his wife, Tina, wrote on social media. He was seventy years old.
Michael Maslin:
“Peter was a long-time contributor to the New Yorker. He told The Cartoon Bank Blog in 2009, ‘I submitted my first cartoon to The New Yorker in 1978, during my senior year at the School of Visual Arts. I sold them some ideas for a while, but my first cartoon was accepted in 1993.'”
Peter was a prolific creator whose work was seen in National Lampoon, Mad Magazine, The New York Times, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal and many others.
Michael also posted a 2014 interview with PC Vey here.
Here is an excerpt:
Here is an excerpt:
“MM: Is there a typical work day for you? Do you tend to follow a routine (I hate using this word)?“PV: After I get up and make coffee, I walk four feet to the computer to check emails. When I’m sure I don’t have any, I walk four different feet to the work table where I drink more coffee. I put a lot of graphite on a lot of paper without making room. That way I drink more coffee.“After a while, I have a bunch of half-done drawings of people in various situations, so I start having conversations with them or they have conversations with each other, I’m never sure which. Sometimes I start adding objects or people that don’t look like they belong, like a caveman or a toaster. When someone says something funny, I think I have a joke.”
I met Peter a couple of times. I remember him walking down the street and greeting a group of cartoonists gathered in front of a small theater on the Lower East Side. We all arrived early and the theater had not yet opened. I think it was Sam Gross who introduced us. Sam knew everyone. Peter was very friendly and we chatted there on the sidewalk for about ten minutes. I told him I loved his work and figured if I never saw him again, I could at least tell this guy how fun and wonderful his cartoons are. His cartoons are like entering a Vey world, that is unique to him.
Anyway, we were all waiting to be let into the theater. Y. Once inside, we all sat in the audience, except Sam. The reason I say “except Sam” was because he was going to be on stage, interviewed live by New York cartoonist David Sipress. It turned out to be a wonderful interview and lots of laughs and cartoonish comments from Sam.
PC Vey’s cartoons were always fun and well drawn. I marveled at the writing. In general, I always thought that creating gag cartoons was like poetry. It was a trade that could be learned, but there were certain people who had the wonderful ability to “turn it up to eleven.” Peter Vey was one of those rare talents and he will be missed. I regret that I had the opportunity to chat with him only a few times. He leaves us with so many great cartoons.