Everyday Surrealism

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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By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth

A Halloween tradition in our house is to order from a favorite pizza shop and watch the 1983 film Something Wicked This Way Comes. The script was co-written by Ray Bradbury (and adapted from his novel) and the stellar cast includes Jason Robards, Jonathan Pryce, Diane Ladd, Royal Dano, and Pam Grier. It doesn't actually take place on Halloween or even reference it, but is definitely autumnal and wonderfully creepy.

A new tradition here in Hollywood Gardens is visiting the haunted yard of a young neighbor named Noah. He's a great kid who foregoes trick-or-treating to raise funds for cancer research. We're lucky to have this inspiring lad living nearby.

Our seasonally appropriate pipe pic is a contemplative shot of the multitalented Matt Berry.

This is a still from the most recent season of the vampire comedy What We Do In The Shadows, with Berry in character as Laszlo Cravensworth. If you haven't seen this series, I recommend it.

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There's nothing scary about this week's Bizarro cartoons, but we hope you enjoy them anyway.

Until this week, I never did a "which came first" cartoon, although chickens and eggs have appeared from time to time.

Finalizing the text took almost as long as drawing and coloring the panel. I originally had something about the jury being unable to establish precedent, but a friend who describes himself as a "recovering attorney" told me that cases, not juries or judges establish legal precedents.

A dictionary check reminded the difference between the nouns precedent (something that happened earlier) and precedence (something considered to be of greater importance).

Our second legally-based gag followed on Tuesday. 

A worldly friend let me know that the hand gesture shown in this panel is considered to be obscene in some cultures, so one probably shouldn't play the nose game with strangers.

Johnny Appleseed was an actual person. John Chapman (1774-1845) introduced apple trees to the mid-Atlantic and midwestern United States and present-day Ontario.

A member of the Chapman family left a comment on Facebook saying that he enjoyed the cartoon.

Some online commentators suggested that the character's first name should have been the Italian name Gianni. I had considered Gianni but figured the pronunciation might present a stumbling block for some, and since Garlicbulb is English, I stuck with Johnny.

The lunch counter is no place for comedy, as evidenced by the customer's expression.

I always run the strongest gag of the week on Friday, and this one was my favorite by far. It's always a kick to come up with a wordless comic, and this one has an added element of surrealism.

If I may say so, I was especially pleased with the strip version. The white space on the two ends suggests a steamy bathroom while framing the main image.

My past experience in non-cartooning employment taught me that it's useful to have a poor worker in the mix to make everyone else look better.

I made a rookie mistake in the panel by having the character in the middle speak, which usually doesn't work in the strip layout. Rather than tucking the tail of the word balloon behind the guy in overalls, I tweaked the art to make him the speaker in this version.

That's all the goodies we have for you this week. We'll pass out some more treats next Saturday.

Thanks for ringing our virtual doorbell.

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Bonus Track 

Steve Young
"Look At All the People"

My old pal Steve Young was a writer on Late Night With David Letterman for many years and is the subject of a terrific documentary called Bathrooms Over Broadway. He's coming to Pittsburgh next month with his multimedia presentation, The Weird & Wonderful World of Industrial Musicals.

Steve just shared the dates for his tour on his Instagram page.

If you're in one of the fortunate cities to host him, check out the show. I'm looking forward to seeing it and reconnecting with a friend I haven't seen in person since the twentieth century.

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Even More Bizarro Stuff

 Wayno's Weekly Bizarro Newsletter

 Dan Piraro's Weekly Bizarro Blog

Dan's Tip Jar

Dan "Diego" Piraro's Peyote Cowboy Graphic Novel

Official Bizarro Shop

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