Artificial Intelligence

My smartphone has learned that I'm working on Bizarro. When I type the word "Jazz," the predictive software anticipates "Pickles" as the most likely word to follow. This is either cool or creepy. Maybe both.

And, yes, that's a real, unaltered screen grab.

Now, as Siri suggests, I'm compelled happy to present this week's batch of Bizarritude.

If there really is an afterlife as depicted in popular culture and various belief systems, new arrivals might well be overcome with manic pleasure, and celestial therapists would be needed to help them adjust. Right?

Ask your doctor if NoLoft is right for you.

The layout of today's cartoon spoofs the 1950s cover art to The Tower Treasure, the first book in the eternally popular series, although my characters look as if they might have come from the original 1927 version.

The fictional brothers usually got involved in solving crimes being investigated by their father, Detective Fenton Hardy—often at Dad's request. Fenton really believed in Take Your Child to Work Day.

The second therapy cartoon of the week includes a patient suffering from Obvious Statement Disorder, and four Secret Symbols.

Bizarro's CEO (Chief Eyeball Officer) and I exchanged several emails discussing accessories for the phony pirate. I'm torn between "umbrella up the sleeve" and "drinking bird on the shoulder" as the most ridiculous.

This gag with Frankenstein's monster doing a mundane task is my favorite of the week, mainly because I like drawing him, but also because I'm always happy when we come up with a cartoon that does its job without words.

As you may know, some newspapers only had a comic strip sized space available when they picked up Bizarro, so we also produce a "landscape" version of every cartoon. This one was tricky since the image is so vertical.

Usually, we move a word balloon or caption block around, and tinker with the art a bit to make it work in a strip layout. But every once in a while, you have run a tall, skinny gag sideways. Readers of the strip version not only get to see Frankie's shoes, but also the eyeball symbol that was out of frame in the regular panel.

Our final gag of the week shows a character from Greek mythology when he was the new guy on the job, before he got the gig carrying Earth on his shoulders. As the new guy on Bizarro, I can relate, but unlike Atlas, I'm thrilled to be here!

Be sure to surf on over to Dan's blog, where he offers his own comments on this week's cartoons, and tops it off with another spectacular Sunday panel. 

You ought to read Dan's blog every week. I do, and not just because Siri told me to.