The Universal Language

This is the weekly 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 created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno

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Once I was invited to pose naked for a men's magazine and I replied that I would, but with three conditions: dressed as a nun, without glasses and without bangs. That was my idea of nudity. 

Rita Lee (1947-2023)

The entertaining, witty, revolutionary Brazilian musician Rita Lee died this week at age 75. It was a bit of a surprise to read a lengthy obituary in the New York Times since she wasn't widely known here in the US.

With her two brothers, she founded the band Os Mutantes in 1966, and after five albums, launched a solo career in 1972. I first heard Os Mutantes sometime in the late 80s or early 90s, as part of a music nerd network who swapped homemade cassette compilations through the mail. They sounded sort of psychedelic, a bit electronic, heavy, weird and otherworldly. They sang in Portuguese, which I don't speak, so I heard the voices as purely musical instruments. I had to hear more of this stuff, and was never disappointed.

In 1998, David Byrne compiled a selection of the band's music, released as Everything is Possible!—The Best of Os Mutantes. The collection is a fine entry point, but nearly everything Lee recorded, with Os Mutantes and as a solo artist is worth exploring.

The album Tecnicolor (recorded in 1970, but not released until 2000) is also an excellent place to start. It included new material, and rerecorded versions of songs from their first two LPs, with vocals in English, French, and Portuguese. The English language version of their 1968 song, "Baby" is a favorite. Bebel Gilberto released a cover version of "Baby" in 2012, with a nearly identical arrangement.

One of the joys of music is the fact that there's always more to discover. Rita Lee's obituary reminded me to revisit these unique recordings. If you've been turned on to music you never heard before, drop your recommendations in the comments section. We'd love to hear about the music that surprised and delighted you.

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Our pipe pic this time is a bit of a mystery to me. I found it online but failed to record where it came from.

 

A Google image search yielded no matches, only a selection of black and white silhouettes of people in profile, all without a pipe.

 

I have a vague, possibly false memory that it might be associated with surrealist Marcel Duchamp. He was often photographed with a pipe, and created some art featuring pipes.

If you recognize this photo and know anything about it, please post in the comments.

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A pipe or two may have turned up among this week's Bizarro panels. Let's have a look.

We opened with a retelling of Hansel and Gretel in Franglais.

 

As a member of the United Cartoon Workers of America, I'm required to do at least one desert island gag per year.

When I share Bizarro gags on social media, I usually include a short phrase related to the image. When I drew the May 1 panel, I thought of the phrase "cosmetic carpentry" to accompany the cartoon but decided that it could be used in a separate gag. After doing photo research for the drawing, I applied for hazardous duty pay.

 

The executioner can also light the prisoner's last cigarette.

Sometimes a writing session yields more than one usable idea from a single premise or character. I wrote this one at the same time as last month's Humpty Dumpty gag. Since the drawings of HD were so similar, I let a few weeks pass between them. 

The next time that happens, I might consider running related jokes two days in a row.

We're not above using puns here at Bizarro Studios, if we find them to be surprising and funny.

I used mirror images of the panel's elements for the strip layout, for those interested in the nuts and bolts of Bizarro.

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Beer Here!

This label is a fine example of a punning beer name.

 

In addition to making many delicious beers, my friends at East End Brewing Company inspired a recent gag.

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Bonus Track

Os Mutantes: "A Minha Menina"
From the LP Os Mutantes
Polydor Records (Brazil), 1968

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More Bizarro Stuff Around the WWW

 Wayno's Weekly Bizarro Newsletter

  Dan Piraro's Weekly Bizarro Blog

Dan "Diego" Piraro's Peyote Cowboy Graphic Novel

 

Thanks for visiting us, and Happy Mother's Day to all moms and mother figures out there. See you next week.
 

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