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
Wit and puns aren't just decor in the mind; they're essential signs that the mind knows it's on, recognizes its own software, can spot the bugs in its own program.
Adam Gopnik
Someone recently shared this quote from New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik, which spoke to me as someone who works and plays with words. I scrutinize words in every way I can imagine, turn them upside down, and overanalyze them as part of my writing process.
I don't have much to add to this, and I probably grabbed it to remind (or reassure) myself that puns and wordplay are legitimate ingredients for a single-panel gag, as long as they're surprising rather than lazy.
Today's pipe pic was scanned from my current reading material.
The groovy image was created by illustrator Oscar Liebman for the paperback edition of The Boss Is Crazy, Too, a 1963 novel by cartoonist Mell Lazarus (1927-2016).
Liebman's drawing is a prime example of 1960s paperback art. The central character reminds me a little of Rockford Files actor James Garner.
Liebman was a prolific artist who created quite a few paperback book covers, some classics, and some "classics."
This is one of Liebman's milder sexploitation novel covers.
Mell Lazarus was a Mensa member who created two long-running daily comic strips, Miss Peach and Momma. I only recently became aware of his comic novel, via a Facebook post by fellow cartoonist Scott Shaw.
Scott's description was more than enough to send me off in search of a copy:
If you've ever worked for a comic book publisher, I guarantee that you'll laugh your ass off if you read Mell Lazarus' THE BOSS IS CRAZY, TOO (1963.) Before Mell was doing his comic strip MISS PEACH and long before he created MOMMA, Mell's first job as a cartoonist was working for Toby Press, a comic book publishing outfit that was owned by Al Capp. THE BOSS IS CRAZY, TOO has a plot that many feel was stolen for THE PRODUCERS, set in the world of 1950s comics, with stories inspired by Mell's experiences in the field and tons of non-existent Oddball Comics titles.
Of course, the "Broadway Play and major motion picture" never happened and that's why I have to explain all of this to you.
Thanks to Scott for turning me on to this hilarious book. Speaking of hilarious books, Scott is the undisputed champion at unearthing and sharing weird comic book covers. Check out his collection of Oddball Comics, as well as his own fantastic artwork at his site, but be prepared to spend a lot of time there.
Now, it's time to see how crazy we got at Bizarro Studios North over the past six days.
We jumped right in with a bit of wordplay that we hope would meet with Adam Gopnik's approval.
The human farmer was based on character actor Hank Patterson, who played Fred Ziffel on Green Acres.
A cotton swab is the Nerf Bat of hexing.
How did that guy end up with my sketchbook?
I just noticed that this batch of gags is beard-heavy. Maybe the patient from Thursday's panel found work as this help desk operator who has achieved the elusive work/entertainment balance.
Speaking of wordplay as we were, this caption employs a construction that I refer to as a streptonym. I coined the term in 2011 and I'm still waiting for it to catch on among linguists.
Thanks for lending me your eyeballs for a while. I appreciate you for reading the blog and the daily comics. See you in a week.
Bonus Track
Ben Vaughn: "Growin' a Beard"
This ode to whiskers from my old pal Ben Vaughn seemed appropriate for today's post.
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I'm seeing at least 5 secret symbols in the "Intelligent Design" gag. Anyone else?
ReplyDeleteI'm only seeing four, so maybe some "unseen hand" added a fifth. Let me know where you're seeing them!
DeleteA little more wordplay, swiped partially, “Alas poor Fed Ziffel. I knew him well Farmer Horatio”. Green Acres is older than dirt itself, what was that pigs name? Also, from your quotes’ quote above re software debugging itself. It’ll never happen, software is far too self aware and egotistical to admit to errors, particularly ones that it just won't find.
ReplyDeleteArnold
DeleteThanks Tom. I had to look Arnold (Ziffel) up after you gave me the name. It took four pigs to last the six seasons. More trivia before I start forgetting it again.
DeleteMinor quibble: Scott styles his name as Scott Shaw! (yes, with the exclamation point). I've been to a number of his panels at Comic-Con, always entertaining.
ReplyDeletei didn't want to look like I was yelling.
DeleteWayno, I’ve been giving some thought to your word Streptonym. I looked at your definition. Particularly since you invented the word you get to define it. There are a lot of “twisted words” in today’s world and I’m sure that there always were. Either intentionally or just bad grammar. In the cartoon that you describe as a streptonym I notice that the machine is self labeled as Alpha and Omega, theologically meaning “I am the” beginning and the end. And the words underneath are a wordplay on that theme. Am I correct in assuming that the streptonym is the caption? I know that it is worded in a bent-word play way.
ReplyDeleteOne other cartoon hit me in a personal way and that was the one regarding “this call may be monitored for quality assurance”. Having spent time locked in this telephone time-loop myself I think that they could make a TV show that plays what people say on the phone while waiting for the “this call, etc..” recording to play again and again. I’ll bet that it would be interesting.
John Hurlbut
John, Yes the caption is a streptonym combining "artificial intelligence" and "intelligent design," although I suppose intelligence versus intelligent is cheating a little.
ReplyDeleteRecording people on hold would make for an interesting recording! They Might Be Giants have used a couple snippets from their old Dial-A-Song answering machine over the years, and I imagine they have plenty of amusing material in the vaults.