Saturday, July 04, 2026

Red Right Hand

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 


Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarcy, that in America the law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.

Thomas Paine, Common Sense


Today's pipe pic is a musical illustration by the late Roy Doty, and it comes to us from my old friend Candi S.


Doty (1922-2015) was a prolific cartoonist and illustrator, known for his clean line and densely packed crowd scenes.

He created the instructional cartoon "Wordless Workshop," which ran in Popular Science from 1954 through 1990.

In the late 1960s, Doty wrote and drew a newspaper comic strip spun off from the popular TV program, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, which is where I first encountered his work. In my childhood, I read newspaper comics every day, and I looked for the artists' names after I realized that there were people who actually made cartoons for a living.

I ran into Roy Doty several times at National Cartoonists Society functions. He was always fun to talk with, and he mischievously played the part of a crusty curmudgeon at NCS meetings. At one meeting, he gave a presentation on his long career, including video clips from his 1953 children's TV show.

Bill Griffith drew an homage to Doty for the 1990 Zippy calendar, titled "Zippy's Backyard Guernica." Prints are available from ZippyThePinhead.com.

Thanks to Candi for the image, and for the great bumper sticker photo featured in last week's blog post.


The latest Bizarro cartoons may not contain much common sense; a dollop of nonsense is more likely.

Foam fingers are for fair-weather fans.

What to expect when you post a job on monster.com.

Would the proper term be zombaby? Zombino?

Not only were they staring; they were also writing something in a little notebook.

Fleas were the primary vector for bubonic plague, but lice (head and crab) and ticks also admire them for their pioneering work.

Who's up for some threeflexology?

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Fresh Fashions


By popular demand, the newest Bizarro T-shirts are available in ladies' V-neck styles, including this chess-themed panel. 
The Comics Kingdom Summer Shop also has coffee mugs, water bottles, and insulated tumblers to help you survive any heatwave.


Bonus Track

Jane Aire & the Belvederes: "Yankee Wheels"
Stiff Records single, 1978


It doesn't feel like summer until I hear "Yankee Wheels." 


 

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