For Those About to Flock

Saturday has rolled around again, which means it's time for a pipe pic and a look at the latest batch of Bizarro comics.

This feline image appeared as the cover of a Polish matchbox sometime in the 1960s, if unsubstantiated claims from anonymous internet users are to be believed. Whatever its provenance, it's a charming graphic, which we're happy to share.

Our own pictorial output doesn't share the stylized elegance of the smoking kitty, but we hope that our doodles give readers the occasional laugh.

 

On Pun Day Monday we celebrated of the maker movement.

 

 

Gibson's Flying V guitar was introduced in 1958, with an initial run of a hundred instruments. Production resumed in the 60s, and its popularity grew over the decades. 

 

I reasoned that geese would be attracted to the instrument, based on their migratory formation, and built the gag around that thought.

When I see a Flying V, I think of Dave Davies of the Kinks. Davies owned one of the original 1958 Flying Vs, which he supposedly bought in an American music shop when his Guild Starfire guitar had been lost in transit during a tour of the US. 

 

His V sold for $33,000 at auction in1995. It was sold again in 2019, but I've been unable to find out how much it went for.

When I reconfigure a Bizarro panel for clients who run it in a horizontal strip format, I'm usually able to move elements of the art, and with a little digital cleanup, it's not too difficult. However, the row of guitars hanging on the wall in this comic gave me some trouble. No matter how I shifted, transformed, or flipped that part of the image, it looked wrong, and I had to redraw them completely. 

Several readers said that they'd like to get a "Some Band You Never Heard Of" shirt, and I may look into an on-demand t-shirt printer to see if they'd actually sell.

 

I spoof Batman more than any other superhero, with the Hulk coming in second. As a child of the television age, my two brothers and I watched the Adam West Batman series religiously, so he's ingrained in my psyche.

The character made the news this week, when a controversy arose over a sex scene in an animated series. An upcoming episode of Harley Quinn included a sequence with Batman about to provide oral pleasure to Catwoman. According the show's co-creator, executives at DC Comics objected, saying, "Heroes don't do that." Half the world's population might disagree.

 

This is a common problem among influential content creators.

 

Friday's caption was inspired by the BBC TV programs Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People, which were based on John LeCarré novels. The protagonist, George Smiley, is an officer of the British overseas intelligence agency, which is referred to as "The Circus." 

I'd always assumed that "circus" was a pun on "service." It actually refers to Cambridge Circus, a traffic intersection in London where LeCarré's fictional spy agency was headquartered. (In Britain, a circular junction is called a circus, as in the more familiar Picadilly Circus.)

Both programs are favorites in my home, and we rewatch them every year or two. During our most recent viewing, not only did I learn something, but I was also gifted with a gag idea.

 

The defendant was placed under doghouse arrest.

Thanks for visiting. We appreciate your readership and your comments. Don't forget to pop by Dan Piraro's blog for additional commentary, and to check out his latest magnificent Bizarro Sunday page.

Bonus Track

"Flying V" by They Might Be Giants
From the CD/DVD set Here Come the ABCs

This delightful video by TMBG was designed by Sam Henderson (an old friend of your cartoonist) and animated by Richard O'Connor.

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