Saturday, February 02, 2019

A Farewell to Arms

Welcome to the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North. I hope you all got through this week's Polar Vortex, and that you're warm and safe. If you're reading this post, apparently the server hosting our blog survived.

The parent might regret saying this. When starfish lose an arm, not only does it regenerate, but the severed limb can somethings grow into an entire second animal.


Tuesday's cartoon is not terribly far from autobiography. After switching from traditional cable to streaming, it's awfully easy to overdose on episodic programming. The phrase "big slug" could refer to a large drink, or a person who doesn't leave the sofa for hours on end. Either interpretation is valid.


It's a little-known fact that when dwarfs are off the clock, they resent being asked to whistle. Cartoonists also react badly when friends or family ask, "How about doing one of your little doodles?"

By the way, did you know that Dan Piraro's online shop offers official Bizarro Some Sports Team t-shirts? If you're a sports heretic, these shirts are a fun way to get under the skin of believers.


It wasn't easy to wrap my own head around this premise, so I sympathize with any readers who were confused by it.

This driver takes obeying the rules of the road to a new level. It's always satisfying to come up with a wordless panel, even more when it also has a bit of a delay before the gag registers.

The gag did register, didn't it? 


The odd-looking character on the right has appeared before, both in Bizarro and in my earlier comic, WaynoVision. Apologies to anyone who was creeped out by this panel. If it's any consolation, it gave us nightmares, too.

That wraps up this week's recap from Bizarro Studios North. Thanks for reading the comic and this followup commentary. After you order your Some Sports Team shirt (or other Bizarro swag), be sure to read Dan's blog and check out his latest Sunday page.

Bonus Track




Petra Haden is a violinist and singer who has established a cool niche doing multi-tracked covers of other artists' music using only her voice. The first of these projects was Petra Haden Sings: the Who Sell Out. The album, released in 2005, is a note-for-note recreation of the Who's 1967 masterpiece (and this cartoonist's favorite Who record).

Pete Townshend himself is a fan of the album, and you can't get a higher recommendation that that. 

Note: This video may not be available outside the US.

8 comments:

  1. I love that term, "sports heretic"! That is what I am! Which definitely makes me an oddball 'round these here parts!

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    1. You’re preaching to the choir, my friend.

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  2. The guy placing the Lost Kitten ad is the third Patterson brother.

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  3. I may be dense as I don't get the gag for the snail sign and the skeleton (or Death?) driving the car.

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  4. I thought that the character was Death at first, too, but the joke is that the (fully human) driver died of old age in his car while waiting for the snails to cross the street.

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  5. I love that album (and a bunch of her other albums). I saw Petra Haden a couple weeks ago with Bill Frisell in a small theater. She absolutely blew me away. She has a huge range and flawless pitch.

    The snail gag took me a minute but I finally realized the person died while waiting for the snail to cross the road. I want to know what kind of car battery they have, though, because the radio’s still on. I’m guessing K2FM plays slow jazz.

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  6. I enjoy your Cartoons. Your witty comments are mostly funny. By that I mean all of them are funny to some degree.

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  7. SSteve, I'm jealous that you saw Petra Haden with Bill Frisell! I got her Who Sell Out album half expecting it to be an amusing novelty, but from the first play, absolutely loved it, and I come back to it often.

    Here's another favorite:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuOv-tXygBw

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