Color and Commentary

This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend Dan Piraro created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno

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Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.
(attributed to Blaise Pascal)

The (possibly mistranslated) words of Pascal (1623-1662) ring truer than ever four centuries later. Whether he actually wrote or intended them to be read as above could be questioned, like everything we see on the web. Regardless of the source, it's a valid statement.

I'd composed a follow-up paragraph listing current examples but deleted it because 1) it would inevitably be incomplete, and 2) Pascal's words are elegant and effective as they stand.

I will simply say: Remember to vote, kids, no matter how many obstacles they try to put in your way.

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Our pipe pic is a shot of a New Zealand soldier in the Egyptian Desert during World War II. Longtime Bizarro reader Alyn H linked me to it.

 

It appeared under the breathless heading 27 Amazing Photos of World War Two in Color. The page featured colorized versions of original black & white photos, which I found laughable for a site called "History Defined." 

 

The US Office of War Information did shoot hundreds of color photos of the mobilization efforts for World War II, which would have been more interesting (and accurate) than colorized black and white images, but as we've seen, a lot of people view history as malleable.

 

The picture of our pipe-smoking New Zealander would have been perfect in its original form. Even with technological advances, colorized black & white photos still look like colorized black & white photos.

Despite the curmudgeonly digression, I appreciate receiving the link and tip my hat to Alyn for spotting and sending it.

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Let's see if I stayed inside the lines when colorizing this week's Bizarro comics.

During the Paleolithic age, paints were available in a more limited palette than we have today.

He had a hunch this might happen.

The latest in my ongoing series of inanimate objects as cartoon protagonists. I can't explain why I enjoy gags like these, so I won't try. I can, however, promise more of them in the future.

I took a risk by starting with such a vertically oriented image, but the strip conversion wasn't difficult once I realized that the guitar was recognizable even with most of the neck out of frame.

The dentist will also wear a surgical mask when working on Patreon supporters.

Tell me you didn't hear the Morricone soundtrack music when you read this one, I dare you.

We ended the week with another panel that might create a sound in the reader's head.

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Beer Here!

 

I worked with East End Brewing Company on all four releases of a special brew called Illustration Ale. Batches were sold in 2010, 2011, and 2013 as fundraisers for a now-defunct cartoon museum here in Pittsburgh.

Each release featured labels designed by a six-pack of Pittsburgh cartoonists and illustrators. My job was to help choose and contact participating artists, create a template for the labels, and coordinate submitting them to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for review and approval.

East End's founder, Scott Smith revived the project for 2017 and gave me a list of six artists he wanted to be included. I was surprised and thrilled to find my name on that list. The 2017 release raised money for HEARTH Pittsburgh, a worthy organization providing much-needed services to local families.

If another Illustration Ale release turns up sometime in the future, I'll look forward to the art and the beer.

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Bonus Track #1

Aurora Nealand & Tom McDermott
"Broken Windmill"
Live at Buffa's Lounge, New Orleans, 2013

Bonus Track #2

Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers
"Let's Have a Party"
Live at the Toulouse Theater, New Orleans, 2022

 

A few weekends back, I made a quick visit to New Orleans to catch some music at the French Quarter Festival. The friend I accompanied told me not to miss a band called Rory Danger and the Danger Dangers. Their show on Sunday afternoon was a wild mix of rock, rockabilly, comedy, theatre, and performance art, and was my favorite of the many great sets I saw that weekend.

Rory Danger is the alter ego of Aurora Nealand, an accomplished vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. In the first video, she performs with my friend, pianist Tom McDermott, who also writes a fine limerick. The second video features Rory Danger wailing on Wanda Jackson's "Let's Have a Party." It's a terrific video but doesn't compare to seeing this band in person.

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Alternate Bizarro Locations

Dan Piraro's Weekly Bizarro Blog

 Wayno's Weekly Bizarro Newsletter

Dan "Diego" Piraro's Peyote Cowboy Graphic Novel

 

Stop by next week for more gags and gabbing from your cartoonist.
 

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