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.
I had a grand time at last Saturday's Hell With Lid Off barleywine festival. A tip of the old porkpie to the crew at Kelly's Bar & Lounge for managing the logistics of this spectacular event. A few customers even asked me to autograph their posters, which was flattering and enjoyable.
I hope the week's cartoons are worthy of following HWTLO.
This employee's performance review was harsh, but accurate to the first decimal place. The minimum requirement for advancement is eighty percent-baked.
Tueday's cartoon blurs the line between health coaching and life coaching.
Shoats these days have no respect for decorum. This one was fun to draw, and I had to concentrate on making the younger pig look neat and clean.
In a weird way, it makes sense.
This does make him look bright and shiny, but as soon as he's applied all of the whitening strips, it's time to start peeling them off again.
I'm reasonably certain this is the first time the word "broccolini" has appeared in a Bizarro cartoon.
Don't forget to peek into Dan Piraro's weekly blog post for a fresh Sunday page, additional wisecracks about last week's cartoons, and strong opinions about a couple of animals from the funny pages.
Bonus Track
Louis Armstrong: The Skeleton in the Closet (1936)
Louis Daniel Armstrong (1901-1971) was the greatest American musician of all time, and his recorded legacy is unmatched. Do not try to contradict me on this point*.
For this fan, Armstrong's sweetest spot was 1931 heading into 1932. If you ever run across a copy of this CD, I recommend snagging it:
* Even so, I would happily live the rest of my days without ever again hearing his recordings of Mame; Hello, Dolly; and What a Wonderful World. I could, however, listen to the 1931 version of Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams any day or time.
This week, I picked up posters and t-shirts I designed for a unique annual event here in Pittsburgh called Hell With the Lid Off. It happens at Kelly's Bar & Lounge, a beloved local watering hole known for its killer jukebox, and fantastic burgers and mac & cheese. HWTLO is a barleyine festival where attendees can taste many dozens of barleywine samples while enjoying Kelly's superb bar food.
The beautiful silkscreen printing was done by CommonWealth Press, a locally-owned company who I've worked with on tons of projects over the years. The crew at CommonWealth always delivers top quality stuff. The shirts and posters will only be available at the event, so if you're thinking of visiting Pittsburgh, March 23 would be a fine day to swing by. Just don't plan on driving home from Hell With the Lid Off. Now, let's review the week in cartoons.
Thank goodness for innovations that make it easier for local governments to take our money. That updated model does seem to be well-nourished. When I was a youngster, some unsung genius figured out that city parking meters could be tricked with a penny and the ring from a pop-top beverage can. If these two items were inserted into the nickel and quarter slots, and the handle was turned slowly, the meter would ratchet up to its maximum time.
I confess that I did that a few times during my school days, so when I pay via a modern parking app for a space that's probably still rented by the previous driver, I figure technology is just balancing my account.
Every year, high school seniors in my community participate in an elaborate game involving sporks. Their school mascot is a blue devil, and I apologize to my locals for making these characters the traditional red variety.
This gag is drawn in part from personal experience. Throughout my adult life, I've dealt with insomnia, in varying degrees of severity. My bouts of sleeplessness are often aggravated by racing thoughts, and anxieties about tasks that need to be done the following day. I recently discovered a Norwegian television series called Slow TV, and have found the Train Ride from Bergen to Osloepisode to be an effective sleep aid. It's an unedited, real-time documentation of the seven-hour ride. There's no narration or music; just an occasional "ding" when the smooth-running electric train passes under a named tunnel or approaches a station. The visuals are provided by a simple camera or two mounted on the front of the engine.
In the past, I've tried a white noise phone app, but it didn't work for me. However, hypnotic images of gliding over train tracks amidst snow-covered mountains seems to reset something in my brain, and helps me to shut down for the night. Sometimes it only takes a minute or two. If you're a fellow insomniac, I recommend giving Slow TV a try. I'm not joking.
Hear ye, hear ye! Let it be known throughout the land, that John Hancock XVI has posted his Declaration of Availability. Be sure to scroll through his profile.
I apologize for resorting to a pun on Friday, but thought it was surprising enough to use. Also, the image contains a kernel of truth, as we've all seen performers milk applause by complimenting the audience.
By the way, that's a full-size guitar in the drawing, so this really is a giant pander.
Saturday's gag is not meant to disparage food trucks, which I appreciate and enjoy quite often. Rather, it's a comment on know-it-alls who smugly make claims like the avian character in this panel.
If you enjoyed these musings, don't miss Dan Piraro's blog, where he offers his own comments on these gags, and shows off his latest Sunday page.
Bonus Track
The birds in Saturday's gag reminded me of this weird 45 rpm single. The photo above is the actual copy that resides in my collection, but the linked audio file was posted by another music lover with strange tastes.
I don't know who Harold Wald is, but he thanks you for listening to this tune.
My friends at Kelly's Bar & Lounge are holding their annual barleywine festival, Hell With the Lid Off, on Saturday, March 8. If you're in Pittsburgh that weekend, you ought to check out this beloved joint. Their mac & cheese is as famous as their impressivley-stocked jukebox.
In previous years, Kelly's called on me to design a poster and t-shirt for the event. This year is the tenth annual HWTLO, and they've decided to issue a limited edition silkscreen print, which will be sold at the festival.
The two-color 11" x 17" print is being produced at Commonwealth Press (who also work with my colleagues at Espresso A Mano and East End Brewing Company.) It's going to be a signed, numbered edition of just 40 prints. Twenty will be available for purchase at each of the two sessions. This digital mockup shows the art on a stark white background, but the actual poster will be screened onto French Paper Company's Madero Beach Speckletone stock, which is more muted, and has a nice organic look. In addition to the special silkscreen, Commonwealth is also producing a black & white t-shirt for HWTLO.
And, finally, we adapted the design for a full color window poster, which should be popping up around town any day now.
I'm planning to be at Kelly's for a portion of both sessions, to answer any questions about the prints, sample a barleywine or two, and catch up with the friends I see there from year to year. Oh, and to snag some t-shirts. Bottoms up!
Kelly's Bar & Lounge, Pittsburgh's favorite joint for beer, mac & cheese, and an amazing punk/lounge/etc. jukebox, will hold its annual barleywine festival, Hell With The Lid Off, on February 16 and 17. For the third time, I've been invited to design a poster and t-shirt for the festival. This time around, we're going with a retro concert-poster look. The posters and t-shirts are in production, and will be available shortly. The posters are available in my Big Cartel shop, and the t-shirts will be sold exclusively at Kelly's.
HWTLO is a singular event, offering samples of dozens of barleywines from around the country, along with a hearty bar-food buffet. It always sells out, and a designated driver is highly recommended.
My friends at Kelly's Bar & Lounge
here in Pittsburgh have again commissioned me to create the advertising for Hell With the Lid Off, their annual barleywine festival.
A signed & numbered limited-edition
11" x 17" full-color offset poster is now available at my online store, and I will also be offering them during the festival. Last year's poster recently sold out.
Kelly's will also have a two-color tee shirt available during the festival. Here's a preview of the tee:
Hell With the Lid Off is a great event, which features Kelly's famously great bar food, multiple flights of craft-brewed barleywine, and a sellout crowd. Highly recommended.
The limited edition Hell with the Lid Off posters mentioned in my previous post are now available.
They're 11"x 17" full color offset prints, in a signed and numbered edition of 30, and are priced to sell at $20 each (plus postage/packing).
Order yours from my new Big Cartel shop. By the way, if you're in Pittsburgh on February 20th or 21st, do not miss the actual event. It's sure to sell out, and it'd be a shame to miss the sampling of magnificent barleywines, plus Kelly's legendary mac & cheese (and other tasty accompaniments).
The good folks at Kelly's Bar & Lounge here in Pittsburgh have commissioned me to create an image to advertise their sixth annual barleywine festival. A black & white version will begin appearing on lampposts and in local dives in the near future, and will, I hope, be promptly stolen by connoisseurs of lowbrow ephemera.
Kelly's will also have a two-color tee shirt available during the festival.
On top of all that, I'm producing a signed & numbered limited-edition 11" x 17" full-color offset poster, which will be available soon. Details to follow. In the meantime, here's a preview:
It turned out looking like a vintage firecracker label, which was sort of a happy accident.
I attended last year's HWTLO and it certainly lived up to the name. With Kelly's justly-famous bar food, multiple flights of craft-brewed barleywine (including the luscious and heady Gratitude from East End Brewing), and a capacity crowd of revelers, this is an event not to be missed.
