Ho Ho No

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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The only way to have a friend is to be one.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you're reading this post, I consider you to be a friend of Bizarro as well as a personal friend. With the end of 2023 in view, as I look ahead to the start of my seventh year of creating the daily Bizarro comics, I pause to consider how fortunate I am to do this work and to be part of a welcoming community of comics people. Each year, making a living in the world of print publications becomes a shakier prospect. Your readership and support help keep us going.

Thanks for all you do.

If you like, you can throw a little support our way by ordering the just-released 2024 Bizarro Cowboys & Clowns Wall Calendar from King Features. As you know, cowboys and clowns are among our favorite comic subjects, and Dan and I selected some of our best C&C gags for the calendar.

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Since we're into the holiday weekend, our pipe pic is a classic commercial art image of the American vision of Santa Claus. Looking at it closely, it's unclear how he keeps it floating just in front of his open mouth. Christmas magic, one supposes.

Speaking of Santa, last weekend my band was joined by our friend Rick Sebak for a performance of the famous poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas.

Rick has produced many entertaining "scrapbook documentaries" for WQED television in Pittsburgh and for PBS. He's a goodwill ambassador for the city and a genuinely nice human.

WQED filmed Rick with the Combo backing him, and you can view it on Facebook here.

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Now, let's review this week's cartoons, which include a couple of seasonal gags.

Also, Apple will build one of these in the front yard of every iTunes user.

The strip version, in a vertical orientation, does a better job of conveying the monument's ridiculous scale.

OSHA really should pay a visit to that North Pole toy shop.

In police jargon, this is referred to as a "5-7-5."

I apologize for making readers go back and count the syllables to fact-check the gag. If it's any consolation, I left myself barely enough space to fit the text and art into the strip for this one.

Our tax system is particularly complicated for the elf employed.

As usual, I placed my favorite comic of the week in the Friday slot. I enjoyed taking a detour from the usual single-panel format, and I like the gag's employment of the Rule of Three.

In addition, the strip conversion was nearly painless.

As I've mentioned in the past, I find that comics using inanimate objects as characters are much funnier if they can be done without adding human features to them. I'm not smart enough to know why that is, but I'll still defend the theory.

That's the latest from Bizarro Studios North. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope yours is all that you wish it will be.

Thanks as always for your kind attention.

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Bonus Tracks

The Kinks: "Father Christmas"

Arista Records single, 1977

The Kinks brought punk rock cynicism to the holiday music genre with this wonderful record.

The Red Beans & Rice Combo
"Christmas Island"
Live at the Original Pittsburgh Winery
December 16, 2023
Video courtesy of Sheri Edmondson

Finally, a holiday greeting to you from Tom, Dave, and me.

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Other Bizarro Sources

If you like what we do, and appreciate that it comes to you free of charge, we encourage you to explore any or all of the following links. 

Thanks!

 Wayno's Weekly Bizarro Newsletter

Dan Piraro's Weekly Bizarro Blog

Dan's Tip Jar (One-time or recurring)

Dan "Diego" Piraro's Peyote Cowboy Graphic Novel

Official Bizarro Shop

King Features Subscription & Archive Access

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Copyright© 2023 by Wayno®