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
I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom. Like art.
~Toni Morrison, 2004
I share this quote for creative colleagues who despair that their work is trivial in a world often filled with hatred, cruelty, and injustice. My Bizarro partner, Dan Piraro, sent it to me in late 2024, at a time when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and pessimistic about current events.
Going through some of my vintage paperbacks and found this. Dell did a great job on these mapback paperbacks in the 1940s.
Paul sent me down a research rabbit hole. I was already somewhat familiar with the Dell books commonly known as "mapbacks," whose back covers featured maps of where the book takes place.
My research turned up a collection of hundreds of Dell paperbacks with gorgeous airbrushed cover art by American illustrator Gerald Gregg (1907-1985). The page also has a biography of Mr. Gregg.
To my surprise, the biographical info came from a book about paperbacks written by Piet Schreuders, a photographer, designer, and writer I've worked with in the past.
This creepy clown was one of my favorite images from the collection of Gerald Gregg's covers.
So, big thanks to Paul for discovering the featured book cover, and for leading me to many more terrific images, not to mention a name from my past.
Be sure to check out the New Yorker Caption Contest Podcastfor some in-depth cartoon talk with hosts who are passionate about cartoons, fun, funny, and opinionated (in the best possible ways).
I hope at least a few of this week's Bizarro gags bring you some well-deserved laughs.
Maybe I should've held this for March, when we do the "spring ahead" thing.
Based on the amount of Orwellian Doublespeak coming our way in recent times, this one almost wrote itself.
The panel received an online comment which seems to have missed the joke, or maybe to have proved it true, but I can't say for sure.
I was genuinely curious about this person's point, which seemed ambiguous or confused. I may have misinterpreted his words, but detected an air of indignant aggression, and decided not to ask for clarification.
I may have run out of Nosferatu puns, but that didn't stop me from making another vampire joke.
I believe this defense has actually been attempted.
"I call that last one The Royal Wheeeee!"
Unless theres a color that's more urgent than red, yes.
Thanks for checking our these risible rectangles. Drop by next week to read another new batch, unless your field of vision is filled with floating hearts.
Bonus Track
The Who: "Tattoo"
from The Who Sell Out Track Records UK LP, 1967
A Large Load of Bizarro Lunacy
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
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
Greetings from the frozen mid-Atlantic region. Our predicted low temperature for tonight is minus ten degrees. Still, we're shovelled out and managing well compared to other areas hit by the winter blast.
The snow probably won't fully melt until March, but fingers are crossed for good news from Punxsutawney next week.
I hope you're all warm and safe.
Today's dapper pipe pic is believed to be an early self-portrait of the pioneering photojournalist Charles "Teenie" Harris (1908-1998)
Harris chronicled life in Pittsburgh's African American community, photographing newsworthy events, sports, political and entertainment figures, and ordinary citizens, for the Pittsburgh Courier. Over the course of his career, he shot more than 80,000 photos, and his archives are now housed in the Carnegie Museum of Art here in Pittsburgh.
In the 1980s and 90s, Mr. Harris licensed his work to a vendor who made prints and sold them at street fairs. During that time, we were fortunate to acquire several of Teenie's photos, which we still display in our home. Here are a few favorites:
The prints we own aren't museum-quality, but we're grateful to have them, and are especially proud that the Carnegie Museum of Art has preserved the legacy of this important man.
We now present some less-than-historic images, in the form of this week's Bizarro comics.
Not everyone observes Dry January.
I have heard from several people whose doctors gave them similar advice.
Perhaps predictably, one Instagram commenter/bot left multiple lengthy diatribes unrelated to the comic. They hit the threshold for being blocked.
That's not a smartphone, but a tiny picket sign.
I must tip my lid to my good friend Vince Dorse. I mentioned to Vince that someone had sent me a joke about Fats Waller and suggested using it as a Bizarro gag. We laughed about the fact that nobody younger than us would even know of Fats Waller. Vince remarked that if it became a comic, "There will be teenagers outside your house, all holding up phones with photos of pitchforks and torches on them."
That clever remark was the seed of this gag. Vince, I owe you lunch!
A roof is optional.
One has to feel sorry for this guy. As far as we know, this isn't yet listed in the DSM.
Nobody likes the coach's pet.
Bonus Track
Fats Waller: "Your Feet's Too Big"
For the kids.
A Plethora of Bizarro Prose & Products
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
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
If we had not winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.
~Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)
As of this writing, with two-thirds of the country bracing for a severe winter storm, let's look forward to the arrival of spring with hope. Pittsburgh has been listed among a dozen cities that may be hit the hardest, so we're keeping our eyes on the sky.
Wherever you live, I hope you experience minimal impact and remain warm and secure from all threats to your safety, well-being, and happiness.
Today's slightly off-putting pipe pic is a folk art ventriloquist dummy.
I stumbled upon this bumpkin on an auction site last summer. We have a healthy backlog of pipe photos, but new submissions are always welcome.
Perhaps the latest Bizarro panels will offer a brief escape from concerns about snow and ice.
Monday's gruesome gag includes a nod to Pittsburgh's George A. Romero, often called the father of the modern zombie movie.
In the mid 1980s, we lived in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood as Romero's frequent makeup artist and stunt performer, Tom Savini. I'd often see him picking up supplies at the local hardware store or shopping at one of the Italian groceries in the area. He looked rather scary in person, but always offered a smile and a greeting.
Hey, it was worth a shot.
A couple of readers said this character reminded them of American Splendor comic writer Harvey Pekar. That wasn't my intention, and other than a hangdog expression, I don't see a resemblance, but since Pekar's comic persona was rendered by some of the best underground cartoonists, I'll take that as a compliment.
Among his other accomplishments, Pekar was a prolific music critic. He reviewed Charles Mingus's 1962 Oh Yeah album in Down Beat magazine, praising the musician's piano playing, but showing less enthusiasm for his singing.
Mingus took exception to this and shot off a letter of reply:
My efforts at blues singing were not meant to challenge such diverse masters as Joe Turner, Ray Charles or Big Bill Broonzy, and I don’t think their singing was meant as a challenge to each other or to me. No one could sing my blues but me (if you must call it singing), just as no one could holler for you if I decide to punch you in your mouth.
Mingus was uncompromising when it came to his music and was nicknamed "the Angry Man of Jazz." His written interaction with Pekar is an interesting intersection of the worlds of comix and jazz.
Wednesday's cartoon references another Pittsburgher: actor and comedian Frank Gorshin, who played the Riddler in the 1966 Batman TV series and received an Emmy nomination for his portrayal.
Gorshin was unhappy with the character's form-fitting unitard costume, and he came up with the suit and derby hat festooned with question marks. This outfit then began appearing in the comic books.
Their motto is "Cranky and Proud of It."
Unlike Tuesday's drawing, this one is meant to resemble two actual people.
We wrapped up the week with a variation on a familiar gag cartoon trope. We searched to see if someone had already done this joke, but couldn't find one out there.
Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read these renderings and ramblings. Stay warm and cozy!
Bonus Track
John Boutté: "Louisiana 1927"
Directed by Mark Bergeron
Randy Newman's song from his 1974 album Good Old Boys became associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. John Boutté turns in a lovely performance here.
At the 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, we heard a heartbreaking version of the song by singer/pianist Marcia Ball.
Friend and colleague Michael Tisserand lived in New Orleans for many years and currently resides in Minnesota. Michael published an opinion piece in the New Orleans Times-Picayune this week comparing the post-Katrina period to current events. I highly recommend his thoughtful column.
A Whole Lotta Bizarro Hooey
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
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
Freedom of the press is perhaps the freedom that has suffered the most from the gradual degradation of the idea of liberty.
~Albert Camus
Pittsburgh will soon become the country's largest city without a daily newspaper. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is closing after 240 years. They're not going to a digital-only publication; they're pulling the plug and locking the doors on May 3. The same owners recently did the same to the city's last remaining alt-weekly.
The Post-Gazette is owned and run (into the ground) by a pair of spoiled twin nepo babies who inherited it. In 2020, they unilaterally, without negotiation, cut union workers’ contractual health care plans (among other things). Their actions led to a strike lasting more than three years.
On January 7, the Supreme Court denied their appeal of a federal court finding that they had, in fact, violated the terms of the union contract. So they decided to close up shop.
The closing of an individual newspaper is, of course, bad news for cartoonists, but that's nothing compared to the loss of a daily paper for citizens of a major American city.
The Post-Gazette was far from perfect, but it employed many quality journalists and was an important news source for Pittsburghers. If, as the Washington Post hypocritically features on its banner, "Democracy dies in darkness," the owners of the P-G have unscrewed one more bulb.
For those interested, I recommend recent columns and newsletters by people closely involved with the paper's history.
I'll close with a quote from Eric Deggans's Substack:
It’s a sad harbinger for the fate of news outlets across the country; increasingly let down by classless owners who never seem to understand or truly value the newsrooms they are trying to lead.
On a lighter note, our whimsical pipe pic comes from Bizarro reader Steve I.
We were in Istanbul in 2016 and I purchased two meerschaum pipes at the Grand Bazaar. Meerschaum (sepiolite) is a type of clay found in Turkey and they make pipes out of it, usually with intricate carvings. I believe the ones I have were carved by machine as the patterns are very precise and consistent. Some are carved by hand and can be expensive. If you burn tobacco in the pipes they turn brown from the heat. My apologies if you know that already.
The little guy posing with them is Flash Turtle. He has a long history and I could provide it to you, but I've found that it bores most people. He used to have a Facebook page of his own where I posted his travel adventures, but I eventually became fed up with Facebook and deleted both of our accounts. Flash was made sometime in the 80s and the company is long out of business. I could provide more info about that too, but again, it's bores most people.
A tip of the Bizarro chapeau to Steve for the photo and the info on meerschaum. I'm sure Flash Turtle is as happy to be away from social media as Steve is.
Pittsburgh may be losing a place to see Bizarro in its classic halftone-dot-on-newsprint form, but we'll always have digital comics. Here are my latest.
I drew this from experiences in previous ill-fitting jobs. There's nothing like a day of mandatory fun to backfire on misguided management.
The Hans Christian Andersen Hotel is used to accommodating picky customers.
This cartoon depicting two warrior princesses encountering the Nerd of the Rings drew an inexplicably angry comment on the Comics Kingdom site. I still don't know what to make of it.
I should have reminded him that if someone is forcing him to read the comics, he should tell a teacher, parent, or other adult.
Are sleazy used car salespeople still a thing?
If only it were that easy.
The strip layout ended up looking more ominous.
If the newbie fails to complete it successfully, will he be sent to hell, or back to hell on earth?
Thanks for checking out the funnies, folks. We'll have a new batch for you in a week.
Bonus Track
The Jam: "News of the World"
Polydor Records single, 1978
A Boatload of Bizarro Blather
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's still free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
