Practical Dread

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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I got a head full of ideas that are drivin' me insane.

Bob Dylan (lyric from "Maggie's Farm")

Bob Dylan, the Bard of Duluth, turned 82 this week. Rough and Rowdy Ways, his most recent album of new material, was released in 2020, when he was a kid of 79. It's a strong addition to his lengthy discography, and his career of more than six decades is inspiring.

Recently, I ran into a friend and fellow artist at the opening of East End Brewing's new taproom in my neighborhood. We were talking about work, and the concerns of working artists. We've both been doing what we do for a long time and noted that we have fewer bouts of impostor syndrome than we did in our younger years, but are not immune from anxiety over deadlines, bookkeeping, taxes, and the uncertain future of outlets for our work. I noted that we now experience a more practical dread. We also agreed that Practical Dread is a great name for a band.

Although I've (mostly) overcome self-doubt regarding visual art, as a musician, I always fear that I'll be found out as a charlatan. I like to think that's preferable to unfounded overconfidence, which is widespread.

Whatever form of creative expression you practice, I hope it brings you satisfaction.

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Today's pipe pic is newly-minted octogenarian Michael Palin of the Monty Python troupe.

 

Palin's birthday was on May fifth, so we're a little late in celebrating his milestone, but I loved this photo so much, I had to share it today.

For obsessive Monty Python nerds, I recommend Michael Palin's book, Diaries 1969–1979: The Python Years. It's a fascinating day-to-day account of the history of the Pythons, and Palin's life during those years.

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Since we're all friends here, I feel comfortable enough to share the latest Bizarro gags.

If the Hell of religious mythology were an actual physical place, getting into the energy business would probably be more profitable than buying souls.

Tuesday's panel includes a rare Franglais pun as its caption. Researching this gag taught me that the diacritical mark over the letter "e" is called a circumflex.

Every Bizarro panel starts as a hastily scribbled digital sketch. I print them out and use them as a guide for drawing the finished art. The number below the signature is a sequential identifier attached to each cartoon, which is used in an unwieldy spreadsheet where I document all of my work.

At this stage, I often edit the text, as seen above. I usually try to remove as many words as possible, although sometimes wordy dialog can improve a gag.

Speaking of imposter syndrome, this software is almost human.

Here's a fine example of the high-quality prose AI can produce.

I do hope that my cartoons giggles you regularly.

Following last week's pair of Darth Vader puns, I finally got the character out of my system with one more gag.

My colleague George Broderick, Jr. noted that this gag ran on the 46th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film, and asked if it was intentional on my part. It was a complete coincidence.

Complementing Tuesday's circumflex, Friday's caption included a tilde. Before you consider joining this particular religion, you should be warned that the rite of baptism involves Wiffle Ball bats.

We also considered the line, "You never invite me to your place."

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Beer Here!

A little over a year after releasing Old Nebby Stock Ale (featured in last week's blog), our friends at East End Brewing Company bottled a brew they named Old Knobby.

I still have a couple more labels to share in the coming weeks.

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Bonus Track

Bob Dylan, "Tangled Up in Blue"
From Blood on the Tracks
Columbia Records LP, 1975

One of my favorite Dylan numbers, and an example of what I had in mind last week when I said, "If [an] artist hadn't made x, they may never have created y."

For this listener, "Tangled Up in Blue" is the y that stops me from dismissing x ("Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.")

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More Bizarro Material 

 Wayno's Weekly Bizarro Newsletter

  Dan Piraro's Weekly Bizarro Blog

Dan "Diego" Piraro's Peyote Cowboy Graphic Novel

 

That's the latest from scenic Hollywood Gardens, PA. Catch you next week?
 

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