Now We Are Four

Happy New Year, dear readers. Let us hope for a better year ahead, marked by peace, unity, and civility.

Today is a milestone here at Bizarro Studios North. It was exactly four years ago that my tenure as Bizarro's daily cartoonist began. Although I'd been writing, coloring, and occasionally filling in as Dan Piraro's guest cartoonist at various times since 2009, I still can't quite believe that this is my job now. Dan has been an absolute dream to work with, and leaves me plenty of leeway to do the comic in my own way, while offering perfect suggestions when needed to make each panel the best it can be.

On this anniversary, I'm filled with gratitude for the many readers who follow the comic each day; those who comment here, on Comics Kingdom, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter; and the hardy souls who subscribe to my weekly newsletter. Connecting with Bizarro's literate and engaged readership is a perk I hadn't anticipated, but now treasure.

Thanks to every one of you who reads these words. Each comic panel takes several hours to write, draw, color, edit, format, and upload, and most are read in under seven seconds. Your responses on various platforms make it worthwhile.

Our inaugural pipe pic of 2022 is also the first fan art to pop up in this spot. It's a delightful sketch by my longtime friend and colleague Doug Erb. 

Doug is an outstanding illustrator, designer, painter, and art director, (not to mention a cool dad, and all-around sweet human) who I've known for almost 30 years. We both worked with Rhino Records back in the late twentieth century. This drawing was on the back of a greeting card I received from him a couple days ago. Doug's greeting cards and original art can be viewed and purchased at his Etsy shop.

Now, let's see how I closed out Year Four and kicked off my fifth year at Bizarro.

Monday was Punday once again, with a goof on Pygmalion playwright George Bernard Shaw.

 

The perpetrator ran and ran as fast as he could, leaving a ginger dead man for the authorities to find.
 

This gag prompted a wag on Instagram to coin a clever original comment: "OK Boomer." I swear, some people are witty beyond words.

 

 

Dreams can be quite vivid when one sleeps hanging from a cave ceiling.

 

I'm not averse to using the cliched New Year and Old Year characters in a comic, and I'm happy to say "So long, don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out" to 2021. I'm grateful to have been vaccinated, boosted, and tested, and I wish those holding out would step up and take a momentary poke for their own good and to benefit their fellow humans. Maybe it'll happen this year, but I'm not laying money on it.

 

 

In the corporeal world, one's inside voice is softer, but in the afterlife, it's the opposite. This eternal youngster is learning the trade from an experienced veteran.

That's the latest in Bizarro cartoons. Thanks for sticking with us through another year. Be sure to visit Dan Piraro's blog to see what he has to say as we look back on the last twelve months of wackiness, and check out his latest gorgeous Sunday page.

I wish you health, happiness, peace, and prosperity in the coming year, and hope that the loonies among us come to their senses or decide to secede from the planet.

Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.

Bonus Track

"Cole Slaw" by Jesse Stone (1949)

Jesse Stone (1901-1999) was a musician and songwriter who wrote the classic "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," among many it as performed by composer Jesse Stone until a few years ago, and now think that it even tops Jordan's take.

I love this song so much that my musical group worked up an arrangement of it. Our version is more laid back than Jesse Stone's, and the instrumental break requires some fancy harp work.

 

The song is a staple of our live sets, and we hope to record it next time we're in the studio. 

 

Who knows, maybe we'll even get to do some live shows in 2022.

See you next week with more comics and stuff.

Peace.

 

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