Saturday, August 31, 2024

Okay, Boomerang

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


It’s been a wild week since our last entry, and I have a lot of work to catch up on, so let’s head straight to today’s pipe pic.


It's one of Seymour Chwast’s many self-portraits featuring a pipe. Chwast and Milton Glaser founded Push Pin Studios, a successful and influential graphic design studio.


I found this image myself, so I guess I should thank the internet for our ability to waste time following an endless number of links.



Bizarro Scores a Win


I got a big surprise last weekend when I received a Silver Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society for Best Newspaper Panel.


The annual NCS meeting provides an opportunity for reclusive cartoonists to dress up and socialize. This was the 78th Reuben weekend, and it was gratifying to see so many friends recognized for their work. 




A highlight was watching Hilary Price (Rhymes with Orange) accept the big prize (THE Reuben) on her twelfth nomination.


My award meant a lot, knowing that it was voted on by my peers, and I’m super-energized after spending the weekend with the tribe.


I’ll share a full Reubens report with photos in my Substack newsletter. 


For now, we’ll review this week’s gags. Let me know if you think any should be in my submissions for next year’s awards.



I have no issues with cat ear barrettes, but wonder how our feline companions view them.



It just might be a sustainable business model, and they can claim to use a hundred percent recycled materials.



That creepy clown jack-in-the-box from my childhood still haunts me. Also, a couple of my adulthood toys are scattered around the room.



Now available at your favorite bookseller for $14.95, or inside the joint for two packs of smokes or a cup of drug-free pee.


A few months ago, I received an email message with the word “beanstalk” spelled as “beanstock.” When I read it, the gag popped into my head fully formed.



It was one of the rare occasions where I could plan ahead and draw the original in a way that would work easily in both configurations. 

Here's a scan of the original drawing.

This is the art with the panel and strip templates overlaying it, along with word balloons and caption boxes. The biggest change was relocating the Pie symbol.


The auto part that’s lubricated with sesame oil, or maybe the appetizer that's fried in 10W-40.


Sharp Dressed Mensch

Our very first Bizarro fashion model is my pal Jeff B. of Fairmont, West Virginia.



Looking groovy, Jeff!


All three Bizarro tees can be ordered from the Comics Kingdom Shop. 


If you’d like to show off your good taste in clothing, please send your picture to: WaynoCartoons(at)gmail(dot)com.


By sending your photo, you permit us to share it online. Readers will be identified only by first name, last initial, and city. Whether or not you send a picture, we truly appreciate your support!


That's the latest from Bizarro Studios North. 


Thanks for coming by, and a special lump-in-the-throat of gratitude for all of the notes of encouragement before, and congratulations after receiving the NCS award.


Your positive vibes were truly appreciated.


See you next week.



Bonus Track
Dean Elliott and his Swinging Big Big Band
"Will You Still Be Mine?"
from the LP Zounds! What Sounds!
Capitol Records, 1962



Dean Elliott (1917-1999) was born William Lorenzo Bunt. Zounds! What Sounds! is a fine example of weirdo space-age pop, but Elliott was also responsible for many cartoon scores including the Mr. Magoo TV series, some of Chuck Jones's 1960s Tom and Jerry shorts, and such classics as The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show.

After posting the robot spring rolls gag, this song was stuck in my head, and now I give it to you.


Boatloads of Bizarro


  

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Saturday, August 24, 2024

Peel Slowly and See

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

Next to power without honor, the most dangerous thing in the world is power without humor.
Eric Sevareid

While browsing for quotes about the value of humor (also known as rationalizing my career choice), I found this one from the late journalist Eric Sevareid, which could have been written today.

I'd add a postscript: Power without honor or humor is beyond merely dangerous, and must be stopped by people of good will.


Today's pipe pic was spotted in the wild by Bizarro reader Kevin, who snapped a photo and send it to me via the Substack newsletter.


The gent's portrait hangs on the wall of Pelican Pier, a fish & chips shop in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We don't know who he is, but we're happy to feature his photo.

Thanks to Kevin for the terrific image. It's always a treat to receive an original photo to share.


We make no claims of power but hope that this week's Bizarro gags offer some measure of humor.


Connoisseurs of music and pop art may recognize these characters.


With minor rotational adjustments, they fit nicely into a vertical strip.


Technology again sets us free, maybe.


The strip version offers a wider view of the cardboard clutter.


This pet owner may regret not choosing a drinking bird as a companion. They're easier to care for and less sardonic.


Al Sleet lives!


Friday's gag questions the assumed power dynamic. Is the big guy controlling the little guy, or is that what the little guy wants him to believe?


The familiar "Student Driver" bumper stickers could be adapted for many applications, as we imagined in Friday's gag.


To compensate for the sacrifice of a portion of the patient in the strip layout, we added a pair of Bizarro brand jeans.

That's the latest in drollery from Bizarro Studios North. Thanks for checking in with us, and keep your eyes peeled for more high and low humor next week.

Far Out Fashion

We’re pleased to announce that Comics Kingdom is offering three new Bizarro shirts for the well-dressed Jazz Pickle.

Click on any design to jump to the ordering page.



Celebrate Bizarro’s imaginary metal band with a stylin' Irön Bunnies öf Dööm shirt designed by yours truly. Available in eight colors and sizes XS to 4XL.


Every cool cat and kitten needs an official Bizarro Jazz Pickle tee.

The briny be-bopper design was created by our CEO (Chief Eyeball Officier) Dan Piraro and is available in five groovalicious shirt colors, sizes XS to 5XL.

The Pipe of Ambiguity Secret Symbol was inspired by René Magritte's surrealist masterwork, The Treachery of Images (popularly known as This Is Not a Pipe.)

Our bewildering Not a Shirt design comes in six colors, in sizes XS to 4XL.

We’d love to show off photos of our Bizarro Buds wearing these shirts. If you’d care to share, please send your pics to: WaynoCartoons(at)gmail(dot)com.

By sending your photo, you permit us to share it online. Readers will be identified only by first name, last initial, and city.

Whether or not you send a picture, we truly appreciate your support!


Bonus Track
Michael X. Whelan: "Powerhouse"



Michael Whelan is a versatile Southern California musician with wide-ranging tastes. He's a member of the band Cosmic Ocean, which I recommend. 

Michael also makes entertaining videos where he plays all instruments other than drums. In this one, he performs a heavy metal cover of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse," which was featured in countless Warner Brothers cartoons.

Special thanks to Michael for allowing me to share his work with you. Keep an eye on this guy, and check out his YouTube page for more videos.


A Lovely Bunch of Bizarro


  

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Saturday, August 17, 2024

Ain't It Funny

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


The second half of August is becoming extra busy for your cartoonist, and I'm composing this post ten days in advance, so please forgive me if anything momentous happens before this is published and I don't remark on it.


Since I'm trying to complete an extra week or two of comics before September, it's fitting to feature a comics-related pipe pic.

This is of course a Thimble Theatre panel by the great Elzie Segar. My old buddy and esteemed colleague Steve Bissette posted this on his Facebook page recently.

The pipe may be a tiny part of the image, but it still qualifies. Also, it depicts a world I'd like to live in.

Thanks to Steve for adding some levity to the Book of Face.


Here's a review of the latest Bizarro gags. Bizarro is distributed by King Features Syndicate, making us Popeye's neighbors or maybe his co-workers.


Monday's gag may have been partly inspired by the story of a patient of psychologist Oliver Sacks. The man was an accomplished jazz drummer and Tourette's patient who had a history of experiencing severe tics. When the patient took medication to control the symptoms, he lost the spontaneity that fueled his musical improvisations. Along with Dr. Sacks the patient eventually decided to use the medication on weekdays to help him function in day-to-day society, and he'd go off the meds on weekends to be a wilder, freer improviser.


Who doesn't enjoy the occasional alien probing gag?


The strip layout had a more panoramic horizon but sacrificed some foreground elements.

On the same subject, here's an old one I particularly enjoyed doing:
 

I never pass up an opportunity to draw a ventriloquist dummy.


A restaurant in my neighborhood serves a "deconstructed" Bloody Mary, which makes for a tasty science experiment.

Maybe Cousin Erlenmeyer has a wild side after all.


And their bartender makes a nice glass of slop.


That's farmcore, dude.


Odds are that this has happened in real life somewhere.


After I completed the art, we decided that the client's outfit made him look like a (smarmy) doctor in a lab coat, so I executed a wardrobe change. 

That wraps up another batch of frivolity from your humble ink-monkey. Thanks for dropping by.


Bonus Track
Huey "Piano" Smith and His Clowns: "Pop-Eye"
Ace Records single, 1962



Huey "Piano" Smith was one of the giants of New Orleans music and was hugely influential on the development of early rock and roll. He was a true entertainer, and his records are almost all worthwhile.


A Whole Lotta Bizarro


  

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