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
No quotation today.*
~Wayno
Happy New Year from my Little Shop of Humor in Hollywood Gardens, PA. December 31 marked the end of my eighth year at Bizarro Studios, and I look forward to making more cartoons for you.
I usually write these posts a day or two in advance, but I'm doing (or I did) this one more than a week ago. I want to take a couple of days off to welcome 2026, and ask it to behave better than its predecessor.
Our pipe pic is another vintage print ad. I assume it was published in the early 1940s since it also promoted War Bonds.
I can't identify the cartoonist who illustrated the ad.
If you recognize the signature in this enlargement, please let me know.
Here's a view of the full-page ad for the insatiably curious.
Let's see how the first Bizarro gags of the new year compare to the last ones of 2025.
I'm not a biblical scholar, but I believe this makes scriptural sense.
One must admire the Luddite dedication to analog technology.
I'm not a Marvel comics expert, either, but I did my homework before drawing the final art for this gag. I initially wrote it for the charactersHulk and She-Hulk, but learned that in their
human forms, they were cousins, so I decided to change it.
After more digging, I found that the Hulk and Black Widow had a romantic relationship in a recent Marvel movie. If this isn't strictly correct, I'm sure I'll hear about it.
Also, I gave the editors at King Features an early look at my sketch to see if it might be considered too racy for the papers, but they told me to go with it.
Comics aren't just for kids anymore!
Besides, Kelly's Bar isn't an in-network provider.
I apologize if I unknowingly drew any inappropriate hieroglyphics.
My friend Tom McDermott is a pianist, composer, and music historian based in New Orleans. He also draws terrific caricatures and writes limericks. I gave him this cartoon's caption as a prompt, and he turned it into a complete limerick, shared here with his permission.
There once was a pharaoh named Tut,
Who found himself in a rut.
He tried and he cried
But could not find a bride.
He gave up and turned on to smut.
I highly recommend Tom's book of limericks and sketches, Five Lines No Waiting, as well as his many excellent recordings.
T McD's live album with Aurora Nealand features his art on the cover.
There's psychology afoot!
Thanks for riding along with Dan Piraro and me for another year of cartoons, blogs, newsletters, secret symbols, T-shirts, laughs, chuckles, guffaws, and groans.
* Pardon the self-contradiction.
Bonus Track
Louis Armstrong: "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"
Okeh Records, 1931
I listen to Louis Armstrong's music regularly, and this 1931 gem is one of my all-time favorites.
Copious Crates of Bizarro Content
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
Happy New Year! I have to share this New York Times article here. It's a 2026 predictions piece in which the pipe makes a comeback! (of course the photo is about as hipster as you can get...) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/style/trends-predictions-2026.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BlA.XEuP.De0SIqXTnC8L&smid=url-share
After looking through some Dr Grabow vintage adverts, I found what appears to be a clearer signature of the same artist in another ad. It may have been Phil Hustis a commercial artist who had a short lived comic strip "Army Antics" in the early 1940's.
I came here to also nominate Phil Hustis. I found this page about Army Antics: https://comicstriphistory.com/2024/12/obscurity-of-the-day-army-antics.html and a whole Ebay page of pipe ads: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1146422395/vintage-1946-dr-grabow-pipes-print
Happy New Year! Not starting out well with attacking another country….in turn to your humor for relief. Thank you for that
ReplyDeleteThank you, David. Yes, the year is off to a hell of a start.
DeleteHappy New Year everyone! May your troubles dissolve as quickly as your resolutions!
ReplyDeleteA fine sentiment, Joe!
DeleteHappy New Year! I have to share this New York Times article here. It's a 2026 predictions piece in which the pipe makes a comeback! (of course the photo is about as hipster as you can get...) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/style/trends-predictions-2026.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BlA.XEuP.De0SIqXTnC8L&smid=url-share
ReplyDeleteI saw that article! Very funny predicting a pipe comeback. I like it as a symbol, but don't recommend people take up smoking.
DeletePerplexity, at least, seems to believe the cartoonist of that pipe ad is Walter “Walt” Houtz
ReplyDeleteThanks Wayno for the year of clever and thought provoking art! The new calendar is there to remind me not to take myself too seriously
ReplyDeleteThank you, Judi. That's so,mething we should all remember!
DeleteAfter looking through some Dr Grabow vintage adverts, I found what appears to be a clearer signature of the same artist in another ad. It may have been Phil Hustis a commercial artist who had a short lived comic strip "Army Antics" in the early 1940's.
ReplyDeleteI think you've solved it, Rob. I found another advertising cartoon by Hustis, and the signature looks the same to me.
DeleteI wonder why he liked to sign his name over an area of gray ink wash. Maybe to make it inconvenient for the client to remove it?
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/QiMAAOSwPlJfJrz~/s-l1600.webp
I came here to also nominate Phil Hustis. I found this page about Army Antics: https://comicstriphistory.com/2024/12/obscurity-of-the-day-army-antics.html and a whole Ebay page of pipe ads: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1146422395/vintage-1946-dr-grabow-pipes-print
Delete