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
There is nothing worse than the obligation to be funny.
Crockett Johnson
I'm currently reading a double biography with a lengthy title: Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss: How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children's Literature.
Johnson and Krauss, individually and in collaboration, created many classic children's books. Johnson is best known for the book Harold and the Purple Crayon. His quote about the obligation to be funny refers to his brilliant daily comic strip, Barnaby.
I suspect Johnson was speaking hyperbolically, and his famous perfectionism may have been a factor.
The strip ran from 1942 to 1952, and when Johnson began to concentrate more on children's books around 1946, the comic was drawn by artist Jack Morley and written by Ted Ferro. Unhappy with the storylines under Ferro, in 1947, Johnson returned to writing and making some sketches to guide Morley, who continued to draw the strip.
I wouldn't use the phrase "nothing worse" to describe the job, but one of the most difficult aspects of producing humor on schedule is the fact that you still have to be funny at times when you don't feel particularly lighthearted.
When dealing with personal difficulties, illness, or grief, it's harder to come up with jokes, and we have to dig deep to make others laugh, if not ourselves. It's more of an intellectual than joyful pursuit during those times.
To me, making cartoons is better than any other job or freelance gig I've ever had, and I'm grateful to be doing it.
A reader's laugh is a cartoonist's greatest reward.
Maybe Crockett Johnson should have tried drawing a happier version of himself using Harold's crayon. One hopes he realized that his work helped to make the world a little better for many people.
Bizarro field correspondent John H. of Wisconsin sent me today's pipe pic, an agricultural homage to surrealist René Magritte.
I lifted the pic from a Minnesota public radio news page reporting on the Minnesota State Fair. Seeds glued up to make pictures is apparently popular at the fair. Might be a midwestern farmer thing.The term "seed art" made me think of Kurt Vonnegut's quote, "Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow."
A tip of the Bizarro feed-store cap to John for the photo, the background info, and the inspiring words from Vonnegut.
You can read the full story of "This is Not a Corncob Pipe" on MPR's site.
When I made this batch of comics back in December, I don't remember enduring any difficulties other than general angst over current events.
Friend and hometown dude Rob C. offered this comment:
So searingly accurate and one of your best, IMHO. I flee every arts-event Q&A before they even begin…
I'm blushing here, Rob!
The latest automotive technology is built with Artificial Abetting.
It's a good day for a cartoonist when they're able to squeeze out one more fly-in-the-soup gag.
March 5 was the day kidlit characters collided.
File this under "unintentionally timely." The gag, created last year, was inspired by a different set of questionable operations and evolving explanations.
I'd like to see the projects submitted for the Surrealism badge.
That wraps up another week of words and pictures from your humble ink-monkey. Drop by next week for some corned beef and a pint of stout, or at least another six-pack of cartoons.
Bonus Track
Pete Seeger: "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy"
from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
CBS Television, February 25, 1968
CBS Television, February 25, 1968
Bunches of Bizarro Booty
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
"Waste Deep in the Big Muddy" came to mind when I was writing my latest Substack column, which was about non-war in Iran. I paid glancing tribute to Pete with this sentence about the year 1959: "America was still locked in the jingoistic phase it entered with World War II and finally withdrew from around 1964, with American boots dripping bloody mud from the quagmire of Vietnam."
ReplyDeleteThe column addresses Pete Hegseth's playing soldier. Two Petes, worlds apart.
Peace, my friend.
That was one of your best columns, Dave.
Deletefollowing up on the surrealism merit badge idea, how many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb? seven. one to hold the giraffe and three to fill the bathtub with brightly colored machine tools. huzzah, ink monkey extraordinaire!
ReplyDeleteTouche!
DeleteWhen I was in college in the late 70's, some of my friends used to sing along to Jonathan Richman's "Party in the Woods". Half a century later I can still sing part of it. Fans of weirdness, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteWeirdos unite!
DeleteSeven? You list only four. Or am I missing something?
ReplyDeleteFranco: Perhaps our anonymous commenter will elaborate, or maybe their answer itself is surreal...
DeleteI suppose some people just read the words!
DeleteHey Wayno...Do I recognize your "Tip of the Wayno Feed Store Cap" to be reminiscent of cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo"...Jimmy Hatlo was an American cartoonist best known for creating the long-running gag panel "They'll Do It Every Time", which debuted on February 5, 1929, in the San Francisco Call-Bulletin. Born James Cecil Hatlo on September 1, 1897, in East Providence, Rhode Island, he adopted the name "Jimmy Hatlo" early in his career. The strip gained national fame after being syndicated by King Features Syndicate in 1936 and eventually appeared in over 400 newspapers worldwide at its peak.
ReplyDeleteHatlo's genius lay in his use of reader-submitted ideas. He famously credited contributors in a signature box at the bottom of each panel with "Thanx and a tip of the Hatlo hat to...", making readers feel personally involved—a practice seen as a precursor to modern social media. His other notable work includes the comic strip "Little Iodine", a spin-off featuring a mischievous little girl, which was adapted into a 1946 feature film. He also created "The Hatlo Inferno", a humorous take on life in Hell, which ran from 1953 to 1958.
Hatlo was recognized with the National Cartoonists Society's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award in 1957 and 1959, and the Banshees’ Silver Lady Award. He lived in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where he became part of a famed cartoonist community. He died on December 1, 1963, at age 66, from a stroke. His work continues to be celebrated for its sharp observation of everyday human foibles and its innovative engagement with the audience.
Why post anonymously Jimmy Jr.?
DeleteNo bots, please.
DeleteWhen I was in Military Intelligence (long before it was being threatened by Artificial Intelligence) we used to say, "The incompetent, leading the unwilling, to do the unnecessary, inadequately, for the ungrateful." So, your officers fit right in with some of my remembrances. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Glenn!
DeleteHow many surrealists does it take to fill a mineshaft?
ReplyDeleteFish!
Similarly to the challenge of being funny every day, my job, in person retail customer service, requires that I always be “on” with a smile. I am faking it most of the time (almost 30 years in the field has taught me well how to do so), but lately there are some days I definitely have to try harder.
ReplyDelete