Robert Berry is a terrific Sacramento comedian who has worn many hats over the years. I was a fan before I was a friend, devouring his RetroCrush pop culture site back in the day before I even knew it was locally produced.
His Big Book of Jokes is a knee-slap spectacular of Borscht Belt one liners and bowtie-spinning (intentional) groaners.
For the design, we had this great Jack Chick style custom illustration (by renowned alt-comix illustrator Johnny Ryan) so it was down to me to find a way to properly present and tie it all together.
As a kid I would spend hours poring over Mad Magazine paperback digest compilations. Musty old pocket-sized books with cheap pulpy yellow pages and references to 60s and 70s politicians and celebrities I’d later have to look up in actual encyclopedias. I wanted to give this cover a little of that kind of feel, particularly since it seemed to exist in the same comedic tradition, more or less.
You can buy Robert Berry’s Big Book of Jokes here And it comes with a free comedy album!