WaynoBlog: Please Tip Your Blockhead

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

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

In the introduction to his 1962 novel, Mother Night, Vonnegut speaks directly to the reader. The full quote follows.

This is the only story of mine whose moral I know. I don’t think it’s a marvelous moral; I simply happen to know what it is: We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

The novel takes the form of a memoir written by Howard W. Campbell, Jr., who broadcast virulent Nazi propaganda on German radio during World War II, but was actually an American spy. His scripted conversational asides provided intelligence to the US.

Campbell eventually realizes that while helping the Allies, his convincing performance as a propagandist was a likely factor in convincing the Nazi recruitment effort in Germany.

I read most of Vonnegut's novels in my teens and twenties, and have recently been revisiting them. I recalled little of Mother Night, although I clearly remember owning a paperback copy. It was probably well over my head at the time.

The self-delusion of the Campbell character reminds one of a presidential Cabinet that, along with their senators and congresspeople, pretends that lawlessness and racism are okay if it helps them keep their jobs.

The daily news is full of examples, and one that particularly struck me was about the Treasury Secretary displaying a proposed $250 bill bearing the current president's mug shot. The Secretary knows that Federal law bars a living person from appearing on US currency, but through clenched teeth and a shit-eating grin, he said, "I don't think that there's anything untoward about having the person who is President of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill."

At least Vonnegut's character was able to tell himself he was violating principles to serve a greater good. These charlatans only care about wielding power and enriching themselves by indulging the whims of a demented, irrational, money-grubbing hatemonger.

I don't regret rereading Mother Night, but after this, I'll need a bit of escapist literature.

Today's pipe pic is a column heading from TV Guide featuring a portrait of Cleveland Amory, who was a television critic for the magazine from 1963 to 1976.

Al Hirschfeld provided wonderful illustrations to accompany many of Amory's columns.

Click to embiggen

Amory was also an animal rights advocate, and in 1966, he founded the nonprofit Fund for Animals.

If Cleveland Amory were still with us, I'd assure him that no animals were harmed in the creation of this week's Bizarro cartoons.

We started off with a twist on the venerable desert island cartoon trope.

Automotive designers need to consider customer preferences, an idea I've explored in the past.

My friend Candi suggests that our cartoon protagonist should consider buying a Honda Element.

Romantic rejection can be a blessing, particularly if you're a mantis.

One might be tempted to call the character on the left a reverse centaur, but that wouldn't be accurate.

This is a reverse centaur, Greek mythology's most off-putting creature.

I apologize to Charles Schulz for imagining his character's eventual career choice. My favorite part of the drawing is the sign on the valet stand.

A hunter's camouflage can be stealthy or simply silly.

Thanks for visiting. Drop by next week for more cartoons and commentary. If you enjoy peeking behind the panel, check out my free Substack newsletter.

New Products For Summer

Good news for the fashion-conscious. The Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop just added our new Summer Selection. We have coffee mugs, water bottles, insulated tumblers, and a bunch of new T-shirts, like Dan Piraro's exquisite Escher Cube design, shown above.