Greetings once again from Bizarro Studios North, where the cartooning never stops, or rarely does. A few days ago, I left the drawing table for a few hours, and ventured into the outside world. Unfortunately, it was to have root canal surgery.
I can't say it was enjoyable, but the experience wasn't as awful as its common idiomatic usage indicates. If this post has fewer words (or more typos) than usual, blame the aftereffects of medication.
I found this week's pipe-pic on the internet. This is not an album I have in my collection, but I felt compelled to share the image.
While we ponder whether Father Bob's stem-clenching led to any dental problems, let's review our most recent comics.
We eased into the week with a wordless two-panel gag showing history's first recreational vehicle conversion.
This business eventually folded, when they realized that their packaging costs zeroed out any profit on the product.
It's even more effective on humans.
Few comic book readers are aware of the Hulk's sensitive side, which is what truly makes him incredible.
As I've mentioned int the past, I try to choose the best of the week's batch to run in the Friday slot. A gag based on a pun rarely makes the cut, but this one gave both Dan and me repeated bouts of the giggles, so I figured readers might enjoy something silly to start the weekend.
For Saturday, we pivoted from straight-up comedy to pathos. I believe this is the first time I used an individual Secret Symbol five times in a single panel.
That's the latest output from our fun factory. Don't forget to visit Dan Piraro's blog, to check out his latest Sunday Bizarro page, and read about what's currently occupying his curious mind. It's always worth a visit.
While undergoing my endodontic treatment, this tune came to mind. The members of the trio were Dean J. Seal (bongos & vocals), Penn Jillette (bass & vocals), and Rob Elk (guitar & vocals).
Technical note: Some YouTube videos are unavailable outside the US. On some phones, you must select "View Web Version" to see the preview link.
Trivial Note: The label that issued this album was usually referred to as "50 Skidillion Watts Records," and was founded by brothers David and Jad Fair to release music by their amazing band, Half Japanese. The number of zeroes used in the numerical version of the label name varied across releases.
Here in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, we've spent most of the past week shoveling snow, which isn't much to complain about considering the combination of dangerously cold temperatures and lengthy power outages affecting other areas.
Stupid groundhog.
It wasn't all drudgery, though, as we took time to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Ox, quietly and at home.
In the early part of this century, we mailed a series of Lunar New Year cards, which served as seasonal greetings to friends, and illustration samples for art directors. This one, from five years ago, featured a character with a pipe, which gives me an excuse to share it again.
Let's take a look back at our latest comics from this Year of the Ox.
Oh, the humanity. It's so tasty!
The soldier here is heavily (and hairily) armed, and fifty percent out of uniform.
Wednesday's gag triggered a pang of nostalgia for shopping malls, which never appealed to me in the past. COVID isolation must be getting to me.
The strip layout necessitated some creative rearrangement of Secret Symbols, but it allowed me to show the side panel of the kiosk.
My initial sketch attempted to comment on the cinematic cliche of a serial killer's lair filled with dozens of lit candles, but I think the rewrite resulted in a better gag.
They're nowhere near the totals for cowboys, cats, dogs, or clowns, but we're building a decent library of bro-based gags here at BSN.
This strip conversion also required some symbol-shuffling. I usually try to place the same set of symbols in both the panel and strip formats, rather than making myself (and my editors) count and keep track of different totals on a single day. I must admit, I was happy with the image of the dynamite perched on the bill of the character's cap.
Some scholars read Moby-Dick as an allegory for humanity's quest for meaning, but it might also be about our search for companionship.
The jury will now exit in an orderly "V" formation.
That's all for this frigid week, friends. Don't forget to visit Dan Piraro's blog, to check out his latest Sunday Bizarro page, which is always magnificent.
I hope you're all safe and warm. See you next Saturday.
Bonus Track
Since we ended the week with an avian gag, here's an appropriate tune from our vinyl archives.
Rico Henderson and the Citettes Strictly for the Birds Citation Records, 1958
NOTE: Certain YouTube videos are unavailable outside the United States. On some phones you must select "View Web Version" to see preview/link.
This quirky number was written by Irving Szathmary (1907-1983).
Irving Szathmary, circa 1950s
Szathmary
was a composer and arranger whose most successful gig was writing the
theme and scoring every episode of the Get Smart TV series. Sazthmary's
youngest brother, William, achieved show-biz fame under the name Bill
Dana, who was best-known for his faux-Bolivian character José Jimenez.
I can find no information on bandleader Rico Henderson. Maybe it was a pseudonym for Szathmary, who ran the Citation label.
My copy has a sticker on the label reading, "Thanks for the Spins - Harold Wald." My guess is that Wald was a salesman or distributor who delivered records to disk jockeys. Whatever its origin, the sticker is a delightfully enigmatic artifact.
Instead of opening this post with commentary on the second impeachment, we've decided to share this delightful street sign, spotted in the Bayou St. John neighborhood of New Orleans.
The photo arrived via text message from my friend Tom McDermott, a masterful piano player and composer who lives near the sign. He's also a prolific limerick writer, and a fine caricature artist.
In the Year Before COVID, Tom McD paid a visit to Pittsburgh, and thrilled a small group of fortunate locals with a joyful house concert. That's him, sandwiched between your humble cartoonist, and my wildly talented bandmate Tom Roberts. Yes, I know two piano maestros named Tom.
I'm looking forward to a time when we're again able to gather to enjoy food, music, and each other's company. I'm preparing for that day by working hard in the studio to get a bit further ahead of publication.
Here's a look back at our most recent cartoon output.
We kicked off the week with a punning and vaguely political gag.
I was pleased with the strip layout for this one.
My Bizarro Studios partner, Dan Piraro, recently recommended that I watch My Octopus Teacher, a documentary on Netflix, correctly predicting that it would blow my mind. Dan's also recommended it to readers via social media, and I heartily second him. Go watch it as soon as possible.
The art the teacher displays in this gag is loosely based on Roy Lichtenstein's 1964 painting, Nurse. I'm generally a fan of twentieth century pop art, although Lichtenstein engenders mixed feelings. He became wealthy by appropriating the imagery of living, underpaid comic artists, who never profited from his use of their art, transformative though it may (or may not) have been. Is making a large format painting of another artist's image significantly different from writing a symphonic arrangement of a songwriter's pop tune, which would involve payment for licensing? I don't know for certain, but it'd be worth discussing over drinks, when discussing things over drinks is possible.
While laying out the text, it occurred to me that "Lichtenstein, Warhol, Rauschenberg and Grooms"1 sounded like a lost Tom Lehrer song. I was probably half-remembering his composition about Russian mathematician Nikolai Lobachevsky.
Late last year, at age 92, Tom Lehrer put all of his musical compositions into the public domain, making them free for anyone to reuse and perform in any way they like. Instead of taking other artists' work without permission like Lichtenstein, Lehrer released his own creative output into the wild, in order to give it new life.
The fact that Lehrer is the third pianist named Tom mentioned in today's post is weirdly coincidental. I'm now imagining Roberts, McDermott, and Lehrer forming a trio called "ZZ Tom."
Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming services, in their endless hunger for content, have added films and TV series from all over the world. We've enjoyed quite a few series produced in Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Korea, and elsewhere. We've also discovered that the trope referenced in this comic is alive and well outside of North America.
This celestial visitor was heard to describe us as "puny, prickly Earthlings."
Tarzan of the Cats may seem meek compared to his cousin who was raised by apes, but at least he uses a litterbox.
All hail Linen.
Thanks, as always, for visiting us here at the ol' blog. Don't forget to check in at Dan's weekly blog, too. He always has something interesting to say along with sharing his latest magnificent Sunday Bizarro page.
Bonus Track
For those curious to hear Tom McDermott's music, here's a clip of him performing Professor Longhair's classic "Tipitina."
NOTE: Certain YouTube videos are unavailable outside the US. On some phones you must select "View Web Version" to see the video content
Tom is a self-employed musician navigating this time of limited (or nonexistent) opportunities to perform, so CD sales are more important than ever. If you're interested in some great music for your home, check out Tom's recordings, all of which are available from Louisiana Music Factory.
One of my favorites is his 2019 album Tom McDermott Meets Scott Joplin. Tom writes, "This isn't an album for purists, but I hope the impurists out there will wallow in its freshness." I couldn't have said it better.
I also love his book of limericks and drawings, Five Lines, No Waiting. Notes
1) I've since realized that I must have been reminded of "Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell and Dean, a novelty song from the Watergate era. The dark corners of my brain are crammed with useless material.
According to a certain Pennsylvania rodent, we're in for another six weeks of winter. After enduring the past eleven months, that'll be a cakewalk.
Last month, a longtime friend celebrated a milestone birthday. I searched through my files and turned up a set of illustrations he'd commissioned from me many years ago, which I sent to him as a birthday gift.
I've long forgotten the original purpose for these drawings of a character we named Dexter, but it was cool to see them again. I regret that none of these images shows Dexter holding a pipe, but I have a great pipe image found in the wild to share next week.
I still draw in ink over blue pencil today. Let's take a look at some current work to see if my style has changed much over the decades.
I was a child raised by television, and so were quite a few Bizarro readers. Several people noted that the doctor in this panel bears a resemblance to character actor Milburn Stone, of "Gunsmoke" fame. That was my intent, but when another reader mentioned that the layout was similar to the office set on "The Bob Newhart Show," I was surprised and had to agree. I've seen that series multiple times over the years, and its furniture placement must have stayed with me.
Bizarro HQ received a note of appreciation from a reader who's actually named Chuck Gunderson. The Chuck who wrote to us spells his last name with a single "s," which I take as evidence of further cost-saving measures at the Justice Department.
Wednesday's panel employed a trusty comedic device: the old verbal switcheroo.
This trick might also work with humans. We'd achieve herd immunity in no time if COVID vaccines were tucked inside Chik-fil-A sandwiches.
After an absence of nearly two years, this character reappears in Bizarro.
We find him to be entertaining, but his Amazon reviews are mixed.
Coming full circle, we closed the week with another cowboy-themed gag.
Thanks for checking in on us. Don't forget to visit Dan Piraro's blog to see what's on his mind, and to marvel at another gorgeous, panoramic Sunday Bizarro.
Bonus Track
Grico Samon "Who Put the Hole in the Doughnut"
While hunkered in place, we've been doing some decluttering, and are even considering letting go of some records and compact discs. This one, however, is a keeper. The label image and digitized audio were done right here at Bizarro Studios North.
I remember finding this at a record show, in a box of singles marked "MISC/ODD," where I knew I'd strike gold. This strange and mysterious artifact has a place of honor in my little case of "bulletproof" records.
