Baby Talk

Happy Saturday, dear readers. This week at Bizarro Studios North, we endured the first snowfall of the season, and a shocking cold snap, while things started heating up in the nation's capital.

As a distraction from the non-stop news avalanche, we present our most recent batch of cartoons.

The text in the first balloon is a transcription of an actual (half-joking) conversation my spouse and I had.

The panel and the strip layout each contain five Bizarro Secret Symbols, but not the same five.

Tuesday's gag prompted this correction from a zoologically-savvy reader:

I am not sure what rain forest would have a Sloths (From Central/South America) and Ring-tailed Lemurs (from Madagascar) together, other than one in a Zoo.

I stand corrected, but assert that otherwise, the drawing is a hundred percent believable. We all know that sloths and lemurs enjoy cocktails, carry cell phones, and speak English.

Note that the child making this comment is holding an eyeball rattle.

As I wrote this post, I noticed that this week's batch includes multiple gags about kids. This one imagines an educational toy based on an everyday real-world experience.

Of course, his number one question is, "Why does Bruce have such a cool, bad-ass costume, while I'm wearing underpants?"

Apparently, comic book fans have also speculated and argued over this controversy.

Saturday's gag should be read in a Cockney accent, guv'nor. There's no deep meaning here, just some absurdist wordplay.

That wraps up another six days of cartoonery. Be sure to check Dan Piraro's blog for his thoughts on this kinder-centric batch of comics, and to admire his latest Sunday Bizarro page.

Bonus Track

"Robin the Boy Wonder" by Jan and Dean, 1966




Jan Berry and Dean Torrence were surf music pioneers, along with their contemporaries (and friends) the Beach Boys. Jan and Dean's records were often laced with self-aware humor, including such numbers as "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," "Popsicle," and "Bucket T," which was covered by The Who, with Keith Moon on lead vocals.

Dean Torrence was also a savvy businessman, and had a parallel career as a graphic artist. He won a Grammy in 1972 for designing the cover of the debut LP by the long-forgotten band Pollution.

Torrence recently did a fascinating interview on the Bob Lefsetz podcast, which I highly recommend.