Beyond the Pale

This is the regular dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend, Dan Piraro, who created Bizarro in the late twentieth century, continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno

---

I sincerely think that humor will help save humanity from the swamp into which it is sinking. Today we can’t afford to be pessimistic, so let’s try to keep a sense of humor bolted on to our hearts, soul and spirit!
Jean-Jacques Perrey

Greetings from Bizarro Studios North, the little shop of humor nestled in Hollywood Gardens, PA.

Today's pipe pic should've run last week to go along with the B.B. King cartoon. I missed that opportunity, but it's too good not to use, even if it is a bit late.

I'm guessing this shot was taken in the early 1970s, judging by those groovy polyester slacks.

Jean-Jacques Perrey (1929-2016), quoted above, was a pioneering electronic composer and performer. With Gershon Kingsley, he formed the duo Perrey-Kingsley, who were among the first musicians to issue recordings using the Moog synthesizer. Many of their recordings were used in Disney films and theme parks.

Monsieur Perrey and I became pen pals after I drew a caricature of him for Cool & Strange Music Magazine.

We exchanged several letters and photos, and I believe I may have sent him the original art for this cover, as I'm unable to locate it in my files. He was a kind and generous correspondent. I wish I'd had the chance to meet him in person, but am grateful to have his notes and pictures, along with a ton of joyful music.

I did my best to bolt some humor onto every one of our recent Bizarro cartoons. Let's see if they held of shook loose.

It's no surprise that music finds its way into many of my cartoons. I've been an enthusiastic music lover since childhood.

Peter S., one of my pals who's also deeply into music decided that this guy's act could be named 21st Century Schizoid Band, which I simply had to share here. A tip of the summer straw hat to Peter!

Tuesday's gag had a modest total of four Secret Symbols, but the panel was crowded with eight characters.

My initial sketch didn't make it clear that the buffet was set up for guests to pick insects off the apes on the table, so I added the partygoer filling his plate. I just now realized that it's a little disturbing to note that the host and guests are clothed, while the buffet gang are naked.

Wednesday's gag generated some chatter from the online bleachers:

There’s a drawing error. The white chalk line in front of the third base coach is correct, but it should continue in a straight line out towards left field, not make a 90 degree turn at third as it does in the drawing. The baseline between second and third is not chalked.

I won't dispute the opinions of experts. My limited knowledge of baseball comes mainly from the 1946 Looney Tunes short, Baseball Bugs. 

In the classic cartoon, white lines mark all four bases.

This one was easier to execute in color than in black & white. I tried a few different techniques for shading the character, with mixed success.
 

I turned to technology for a solution, and used Photoshop's airbrush tool in "dissolve" mode.

The disk jockey goes by the name Emcee Squared.
 

Ventriloquist/dummy gags are almost always layered with sadness, and this one is a prime example. However, your cartoonist did enjoy the challenge of drawing a dummy that looks like a younger version of the ventriloquist.

That wraps up another week of words and pictures from me. Be sure to visit Dan Piraro's blog, for a look at his latest Sunday Bizarro page, and to find out what else is on his mind.

Earlier this week, Dan shared a heartbreaking story about the unexpected loss of a beloved pet. 

Along with the entire Bizarro community, we send our love and condolences to Dan, Christy, and Monita. We're grateful that Jemima and Dan found each other, and that she had a loving home with her family.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next week.

In the meantime, if you share your home with an animal companion, give them some extra attention, praise, and comfort in Jemima's memory.

Bonus Track

Jean-Jacques Perrey: "The Percolator"
from Moog Sensations
Original release date: 1971, CD reissue: 2001

---

Support Your Local Humorist