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
Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust
America's Thanksgiving holiday is a mythologized narrative that glosses over centuries of colonialism and brutality. That must be acknowledged, and serves as an example of history that should never be repeated.
Pausing to express gratitude for the people and things in our lives is a solid idea and is good for our own mental well-being. We can do that without forgetting about the less-than-honorable parts of our shared history. Bad examples can serve a purpose, after all.
I'm grateful for decent health, a home, access to regular meals, a loving partner, and family and friends. I'm fortunate to wake up every day to work I enjoy, and to hear from people all over the world who like it (and those who don't).
Speaking directly to you, readers of our comics and our various blogs and newsletters, I say, "thanks."
Thank you for creating and being a part of this weird and wonderful cartoon community.
My brother M (the kid in the middle) took today's agricultural pipe pic in July.
In the true spirit of Magritte's The Treachery of Images, it's not a pipe, but rather a garlic bulb and stalk that M harvested.
I hesitate to call my brother a gardener, since he grows a lot of plants in the yard at his home, so I consider him somewhere between a gardener and a farmer. He grows asparagus and even figs, which were historically difficult to nurture in our region's climate. But things change, don't they.
Thanks to my green-thumbed brother for the fragrant photo.
I hope that some of the week's gags help souls to blossom, or at least produce some chuckles.
We kicked things off with a comic set in Celebrity Block Number Nine.
I reversed the composition for the strip version so the sign is the last item the reader sees. Generally, our eyes follow a Z-shaped path when reading a vertical panel, but travel from the upper-left to the lower-right when reading a horizontal gag.
This image was originally used as the picture sleeve for the punk poultry single "I Don't Want a Holiday in the Spa."
Okay, that was a bit of (harmless) falsified history.
I hadn't planned it, but this post has taken a decidedly agrarian bent.
Of course, these rules go out the window if you're a celebrity promoting your new children's book. Just be sure not to credit whoever actually writes and/or illustrates it.
Friday's panel offered a bit of darkness to mix things up.
Some people never outgrow chicken fingers.
Again, I give thanks to you for checking out my ramblings week after week.
Functional Wall Decor
From now until the end of December, we'll continue to mention the 2026 Bizarro Canines & Felines wall calendar, available through the Comics Kingdom Shop.
You can also order t-shirts, hats, and holiday ornaments in King's Bizarro Shop.
Bonus Track
Louis Armstrong: "Thanks a Million"
Decca Records, 1936
We'll close with a recording by the most influential musician of all time, and a truly great American.
Other Bizarro Outlets
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
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
Greetings from Bizarro Studios North.
Today's post comes to you without the usual wordy intro, because we're trying to get in some extra work ahead of the oncoming high-speed holiday train.
All aboard for the latest blog entry from my Little Shop of Humor.
Although I rely on our vigilant field correspondents, I do find pipe pics on my own from time to time, such as this 1978 LP cover by jazz bassist Ron Carter.
Mr. Carter has had a long career, recording prolifically as a leader, and he was a member of Miles Davis's "Second Great Quartet" from 1963 to 1968.
I hadn't heard this album until very recently. It has a relaxed, low-key vibe. The focus is on Carter's bass, accompanied by guitarist Jay Berliner, drummer Jack DeJohnette (another Miles Davis alum, who passed in October), and pianist Kenny Barron, with the unusual addition of four cellists, along with a percussionist who adds wood block, "scratcher," triangle, finger cymbals, and rhythmic touches.
This is an album I'll surely return to.
Let us proceed with the week's cartoons.
The truth behind celebrity memoirs.
Tuesday's gag illustrates the fear of every aging hipster. It's nota meeting of the Bizarro Studios partners, honest.
In the strip configuration, the Flying Saucer of Possibility is replaced by the less common Fish of Humility.
Hey, sometimes you feel like mixing it up.
Thursday's panel isn't meant to represent all doctors or drug reps, but this type of dealmaking isn't uncommon.
In Friday's offering, we speculated on the latest in military decorations.
Some passengers welcome flight delays.
Thank you for checking out the blog. If you want to learn more about how the cartoon sausage is made, my free Substack newsletter might be of interest. And don't miss Dan Piraro's blog every Sunday.
Twelve Months of Dogs & Cats
Our 2026 Canines & Felines wall calendar is now available from Comics Kingdom. Click on the image or here to order.
We also have a selection of t-shirts, hats, mugs, and holiday ornaments in the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop.
My good pal Jeff B is modeling his Eyeball of Observation winter beanie.
Unfortunately, I don't know where you can find a Chilly Billy shirt.
Stylish people wear Bizarro stuff!
Bonus Track
Nick Lowe: "Shake That Rat"
Originally from Bowi Stiff Records 7-inch EP, 1977
Nick Lowe's 1977 EP included this instrumental number featuring bass guitar as the lead instrument.
A Deli Full of Bizarro Links
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
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
Don't reach out all the way to the reader—don't worry about being "obscure" or "ambiguous or "weird"—if you're sure of what you're doing, ask the reader to do a little work and meet you halfway.
Bill Griffith
William Henry Jackson Griffith is a master cartoonist. His Zippy the Pinhead, the unlikeliest of newspaper strips, has been distributed by King Features Syndicate since 1986, and he has a long history in underground comix, dating to the late 1960s.
Along with Art Spiegelman, Bill edited the comix anthology Arcade, publishing seven quarterly issues between 1975 and 1976. Arcade introduced me to the work of Willy Murphy, who became one of my favorite underground cartoonists.
In addition to creating Zippy strips seven days a week for more than forty years, Bill has written and illustrated four graphic biographies since 2015. His latest, Photographic Memory, released a few weeks ago, is a biography of his great-grandfather and namesake, William Henry Jackson, a pioneering photographer of the American West.
Bill's books are available from all the usual retailers or directly from the artist at ZippyThePinhead.com. He's currently working on an autobiography he’s referred to as "My Underground Memoir," which will tell the story of his journey to becoming a cartoonist. Needless to say, that one is eagerly awaited by his fans and colleagues.
Bill's fantastic art and writing, impeccable primary research for his books, and exemplary work ethic are deeply inspiring.
The quote opening this post is a guiding principle here at Bizarro Studios. It's from "Griffy's Top 40 List on Comics and Their Creation," which should be required reading for cartoonists. We're fortunate to have a community of readers who are willing to do a little work to meet us halfway.
Beginning in the early 1980s, I occasionally corresponded with Bill and regularly saw him when I attended San Diego Comic-Con, up to the early 2000s. Our paths have crossed many times, and a comix hero has become a friend.
At the 2018 National Cartoonists Society Reuben Awards, I asked Bill if we could take a photo together. I was honored when he said he was happy to pose with "a fellow weirdo."
In 2022, the Bill received the NCS Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year. He's a genius and a treasure, and I'm fortunate to know him and to read his work every day.
A Zippy comic from 2011 featured an abbreviated Griffy's top forty. (Click to see an enlarged version.)
Today's Stephen Colbert pipe pic comes to us from Bizarro field correspondent and amateur radio enthusiast Gerry J. of Albuquerque, who snapped it from his TV screen.
The Sherlock Holmes homage (holmage?) is a recurring bit on The Late Show, and Gerry sent another screenshot from October showing Colbert with three pipes!
If I had a deerstalker cap, I'd tip it to Gerry for sharing these photos. Thanks, Gerry!
Now, let's see how much work it takes to "get" the latest Bizarro gags.
I recently realized that my cartoons contain more bow ties and more people with red hair than exist in the real world, which led to Monday's gag, representing the intersection of redheads and bow ties in a Venn diagram.
The prices are also inflated.
The cartoonist's brain ponders another mystery.
The strip version required a vertical layout, so analog readers had to rotate their newspapers by ninety degrees.
Here's a still from a movie coming to the Hallmark Military Channel.
Darned if you do, darned if you don't.
Appropriate work attire is different for every job.
Thanks for stopping by to read the blog. If you can't get enough, I invite you to read my free Substack newsletter. It's a behind-the-scenes supplement to the blog, and always includes a non-spoiler peek at an upcoming gag and a piece of art from the pre-Bizarro archives.
New Swag for the New Year
Our 2026 Canines & Felines wall calendar is now available from Comics Kingdom. Click on the image or these words to grab yours.
We have other swell t-shirts, hats, ornaments, and garments for the holidays and beyond in the Bizarro Shop.
Bonus Track
Thee Headcoats: "No Way Out"
From Heavens To Murgatroyd, Even! It's Thee Headcoats! (Already)
Sub Pop Records LP, 1990
Thee Headcoats were one of several no-frills, fuzzed-out garage rock bands led by Billy Childish. The band was almost always seen wearing deerstalker caps.
Photo: Paul Slattery
Could "headcoat" be a slang term for "deerstalker cap?" Who knows?
Much More Bizarro Madness
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
