Saturday, October 30, 2021

Smell You Later

Happy Devil's Night from all of us at Bizarro Studios North. In addition to the usual recap of our most recent gags, today's post includes a fancy animated GIF, and a link to a comic art auction for a worthy cause.

This week's pipe pic is also an unapologetic plug for Bizarro merch.


The Pipe of Ambiguity, which became our newest Secret Symbol this year, is now available as a die-cut vinyl sticker. It can be purchased singly, or as part of a set of twelve different stickers. These can only be found at the official Bizarro shop.

I'm proud of this little doodad. The PoA was my baby, and Dan used my art for the sticker. I'll be slapping one one my ukulele case soon.

Please note, the smoking burro is not included in the sticker set.

As we look over this week's comics, let's see how many times the pipe shows up.


Souls who roam the earth are believed to retain their sense of smell, along with a sense of indignation.
 

If only he'd sprung for the additional rider.
 
You know you're officially a parent when you give up the GTO and buy an SUB.
 
Call me old fashioned, but if I'm drawing a James Bond gag, Bond will probably be modeled on Sean Connery. Also, I thought it was appropriate since I was referencing Dr. No, the first Bond film.
 
Besides, Connery is the Bond I remember from my childhood bubble gum cards.
 

A familiar complaint at the local monkey bar: Never trust a weasel.
 
 
We wrapped up the week with a romantic (and wordless) date night scene. 
 

Just for fun, I built this animated GIF showing the panel's progress from sloppy digital sketch to penciled art, inked art, and completed monochrome panel, cleaned up and finished off in Photoshop.

On the Auction Block

As noted in the opening paragraph, the National Cartoonists Society and the NCS Foundation are currently holding an auction of original comic art to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital. Most of the works were created specifically for this auction to commemorate milestone anniversaries of various comics and comic characters. The sale is being run by Heritage Auctions.


I donated a drawing celebrating fifty years of Zippy the Pinhead. I've been reading Bill Griffith's comics since almost the beginning, and it was a joy to draw Zippy for this project.

That covers it for this week. Thanks for following the blog and for reading Bizarro. If you'd like to be notified when a new blog entry is posted, or if I have any exciting news to share, you can subscribe to my newsletter for free. Each newsletter also includes an advance peek at a comic I'm currently working on.

I recommend popping by Dan Piraro's blog to find out what's occupying his active mind this week, and to gaze in wonder and admiration at his latest Bizarro Sunday page. And don't forget to order some stickers!

Oh, and don't get involved in too much mischief tonight. See you next Saturday.

Your Seasonal Bonus Track

The Shaggs: It's Halloween
from Philosophy of the World, 1969

NOTE: Some YouTube videos are unavailable outside the US.
On some mobile devices, you must view the web version of this
blog  to see the video link and preview image.

The story of the Shaggs is one of the oddest in music history. The Wiggins sisters (Helen, Betty, and Dot) from Fremont, New Hampshire, were "managed" by their father, who was convinced that they'd be a huge commercial success. The album is an aural cousin of what's commonly called "outsider art," and it's something curious listeners ought to experience at least once.



The blog and newsletter are always free,
but gratuities are welcomed.
 


18 comments:

  1. Twas a MULBERRY bush!!

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  2. Gunnar Madden, who was in the Bay Area a cappella group The Bobs, wrote a musical about The Shaggs. It was produced off-Broadway and they released a cast album. https://www.gunnarspot.com/2014/06/09/shaggs-cast-album-released-zombies-take-over-the-world-and-more/

    And, yes, when I was a dj on college station KUSF in 1988-1989 I would sometimes play The Shaggs.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for keeping their music alive!

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  3. Yegads, how did you get to be in possession of The Shaggs record? Ooof, i did listen all the way through but oh dear, that song is awful.

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    1. Ha! I don't own the Shaggs LP, just a CD reissue. The original record is ridiculously scarce and expensive.

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  4. Or half a pound of tupenny rice...

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  5. Your creativity and humor are always appreciated, both written and drawn.

    You reminded me of a little feature on WBEZ/Chicago called the "Annoying music program".

    You could never take too much of it, but your contribution in this week's blog would be right at home on that show! Thanks much.

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    Replies

    1. Oh yes, I've heard the Annoying Music Program, although I preferred WFMU's Incorrect Music, hosted by Irwin Chusid and Michelle Boulé. That program's archives are available for streaming at WFMU.org.

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  6. It's all fun and games until someone loses a nose.

    Meanwhile, at the local monkey bar, penguins and seals don't get no respect either:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9ETlTZoF1E

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  7. Your broom SUV panel reminded me of when I was in the Philippines for a work conference back in 1999. Mopeds are prevalent there, and it was common to see a moped "taxi" that has an 8-foot long 2 x 12 laid across its back seat to accommodate multiple passengers. Not very speedy, though.

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that sounds like a hell of a ride, Dave!

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  8. The laser scene was in Goldfinger, BTW, but it still made me laugh out loud (as most of your work does). Here's a link to that scene:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoQwKe0lggw

    Thanks for all your great humor!!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I mashed up the Bond villains for the sake of the gag, but I'm glad it still made you laugh. Thanks!

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  9. Thank you for the GIF showing the development of a finished comic panel. I believe a lot of people think artist put out the finished product in one step. Thanks for showing the steps, the process. Thank you.

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    1. Thanks, Tim! Yes, it's easy for people to imagine that art—songs, comedy monologues, comics, etc—emerge fully-formed. I enjoy seeing how others create their art, so I'm gratified to hear that you liked the peek behind the scenes. I also usually do photo research to try and draw things as realistically as I am able to.

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  10. Thanks for the kind comment!

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  11. Your musical selections are usually fabulous - I typically either love it, or at least find it to be interesting, if not outright fascinating. But I'm sorry, I simply could not get through this one, it was just too painful. But keep up the good work - challenge is what makes life worth living!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind words, and for checking it out. The Shaggs are definitely not to everyone’s liking!

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