No, It's Not Bizarro Stephen King

For some technical reason, I'm currently not able to upload images to my new blog, Beatrix, which is a shame, because I really wanted to use the caricature you see here to accompany my thoughts on the reviews of the new Christopher Hitchens collection. It's by Portugeuse caricaturist André Carrilho, a regular NYTBR contributor who, I don't mind telling you, seriously creeps me out sometimes, especially when he does the thing where it looks like he takes a digitized photograph and just starts pulling at the face like it's made out of Silly Putty, then draws in the hair and the clothing elements, as in this triptych from last week's issue--I mean, when I'm trying to relax on a Sunday afternoon, I don't want a rough-hewn Hortense Calisher scaring the daylights out of me, right? On the other hand, when Carrilho tones things down a bit, or when he's flat out doing Eurocomic illustrative work, he can be rather captivating. It's just that NYTBR "house style" that seems to get me, although I kinda like his depictions of hair sometimes, like in the Fay Weldon illo, even if it makes her look like Debbie Harry... But, hey, David Levine drives some people nuts, right? Not to mention those woodcutty author portraits from about fifteen years ago. It's all a matter of taste.