Smoking the Bear

Your cartoonist has had a happily productive week, buoyed by gorgeous early autumn weather, and nourished by the bounty available at the farmers' market. I also got a lot of drawing done on Monday when Facebook and Instagram disappeared for several hours.

As always, music contributed to my work environment, and a highlight of this week was the latest episode of Mike Michalik's podcast, Auralcheology. The title may be tricky to pronounce, but the series is entertaining and informative. Each hour-long episode features selections from the history of recorded music, along with fascinating bits of biography on each performer. I always learn something new, and am often introduced to music I hadn't encountered before. If you have an interest in forgotten or obscure music, I recommend Auralcheology. Tell Mike Wayno sent you!

This week's pipe pic is a Yogi Bear bubble pipe, probably from the 1960s.

I was a childhood fan of the cartoon show, as evidenced by this photo of me with one of my brothers wearing giant Yogi heads, which were mail order premiums from some Kellogg's cereal.

 

The photo reminds me that Halloween is fast approaching, and we've got at least one spooky gag among this week's Bizarro cartoons. Enjoy the recap, and don't be frightened by any specters that turn up.

 

Monday's gag compelled a couple of online experts to tell me that dogs are color blind, and that Scottie wouldn't know the color of her house, without considering that she probably heard it being described as green.

These particular critics were willing to accept a talking thimble, but not a dog who knows the color of its house.

A rarely-seen reverse haunting. The Amalgamated Apparitions Union is currently reviewing a grievance filed against the kid.

Real estate can be a brutal business, particularly in a town where buildings are made out of its citizens. These prospective buyers are balancing the bargain price against their guilt feelings.

 

Where would cartoonists be without the therapist's couch? I mean, as a device for comical situations, of course.

 

Friday's panel contains a medical breakthrough, and the highest Secret Symbol count of any gag this week.

I was pleased with the portmanteau caption, which combines two medical terms. If any of you are considering marketing a product like this, I can tell you that the name is not currently trademarked. (The search feature of United States Patent and Trademark Office site is one of my most frequent time wasters.)

This panel ends a three-week gap since our last clown gag. I'm secure in the knowledge that the well of clown-based jokes hasn't run dry yet.

That's the latest from Bizarro Studios North. Thanks for dropping by, and special gratitude to all who've sent comments, suggested pipe pics, and dropped some coins in the virtual tip jar. I encourage you to visit Dan Piraro's blog, where my partner-in-comics shares his newest Sunday Bizarro page, offers commentary on my recent dailies, and speaks about whatever else is on his inquisitive and perceptive mind.

I also invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. In each mailing, I share an exclusive peek at a Bizarro comic that's currently on my drawing board, and include a link to my newest blog post.

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Bonus Track

Got A Match?
Frank Gallop
ABC-Paramount Records, 1958

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In the spirit of Auralcheology, I'm sharing an obscure item scanned and digitized from my archives. Frank Gallop (1900-1988) was a radio and TV personality, who mainly worked as an announcer. He recorded Got A Match? in 1958, but didn't return to the studio as a singer until eight years later, when he cut The Ballad of Irving, a parody of Bonanza star Lorne Greene's hit record, Ringo. Gallop's Irving was played regularly on Doctor Demento's radio show, but in my opinion Irving is no match for Match.

Got A Match? is a fine example of a quirky musical subgenre, which I suppose could be called "one liners." The most familiar is probably The Champs' Tequila. In my college days, a classmate told me about a strange record he heard at a relative's home. He couldn't remember the melody or title exactly, and he rendered the line as, "Hey, buddy, got a match?" Based on his vague description, I knew I had to hear it, and years later, when I found a copy of the single, I wasn't disappointed.

In time, I discovered three other recordings of the tune, performed by Lou Stein, Russ Conway, and The Daddy-O's. All were released in 1958, and all are fun, but Frank's version is the clear winner.

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