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
The creative process doesn't begin with humor.
It begins with subject matter.
Dave Coverly
It begins with subject matter.
Dave Coverly
Dave Coverly is the brilliant cartoonist behind Speed Bump, a single-panel daily comic he launched in 1994. He's also an admired colleague and friend.
I was delighted to find this quote in the excellent book Funny Stuff: How Great Cartoonists Make Great Cartoons by Phil Witte & Rex Hesner.
Dave describes a cartoonist's process more eloquently than I can, though I've tried. When I began seriously working on being a single-panel cartoonist, I was trying to write funny punchlines or captions, which worked all right for a while. One day, something switched in my brain, and I started thinking of topics I wanted to write about and working to find the humor in them.
Another important skill for a cartoonist is being economical with words. Briefer is usually better, as evidenced by Mr. Coverly's concise description.
Our pipe pic this time around is a meerschaum masterpiece carved by Sadik Yanik, a renowned Turkish pipe maker.
The bowl end of the pipe is a Star Wars character named Maz Kanata, which, I admit, I had to look up.
Bizarro reader Stuart VR spotted the item in a Craigslist ad.
A round of applause to Stuart for contributing to my overstuffed pipe pic folder.
Let's review this week's Bizarro panels for unnecessary verbiage.
My favorite detail is easy to miss. I was trying to do a comedic riff on the Morton Salt girl. After coming up with the name "Martian Salt," I drew an alien version of the famous logo, but it was much too small. I finally realized I could put the Flying Saucer secret symbol on the box.
There was, however, a real monk named Dom Pérignon who helped improve Champagne-making methods, and that historical fact may have made the Benedictine story easier to believe.
None of that background is necessary to get the joke, but I found it interesting.
None of that background is necessary to get the joke, but I found it interesting.
The student hopes to eventually earn a black lumbar support belt.
The term “foosball” comes from the German word “Fußball,” which translates to “football” (or “soccer” in American English). The game mimics soccer, with players controlling miniature figures on rods to kick a ball into the opponent's goal.
The phonetic pronunciation of "Fußball" evolved into "foosball," making it easier for English speakers to adopt. Over time, this unique name became synonymous with the tabletop game, distinguishing it from traditional soccer. German immigrants in the U.S. popularized the term, giving us the name “foosball” as we know it today.
As an old Monty Python fan, I laughed at this one, even if nobody else does.
I've done a couple like this before, but this is the first time I've done one in Bizarro. I haven't figured out what to call this type of gag.
Suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for checking out the blog. I'll crack open another six-pack of chuckleboxes next week to examine what's inside (or behind) them. You're welcome to join in.
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Bonus Track
Sonny Rollins with orchestra conducted by Oliver Nelson:
"Alfie's Theme"
from Original Music From The Score "Alfie."
Impulse! Records (1996)
Jazz giant Sonny Rollins, "the Saxophone Colossus," died on May 25 at age 95. The music from "Alfie" isn't his most challenging material, but it's hard to discount its appeal.
A Heaping Helping of Bizarro Hoo-hah
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