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
There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.
Ray Bradbury
March is designated National Reading Month. It was started in 1994 in honor of Dr. Seuss, who was born on March 2, 1904.
In this age of renewed book banning and suppression, encouraging people of all ages to read for pleasure is more important than ever. Reading has many benefits beyond straightforward enjoyment, and those who would limit the availability of literature are never the good guys.
Our kitchen window is in the front of the house, and every afternoon, we see one of the kids from the street absorbed in a book as she walks home. It's an encouraging sight.
I'm halfway through James Kaplan's Three Shades of Blue: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and the Lost Empire of Cool. The book places the recording of Davis's landmark album Kind of Blue and the assembly of musicians who made it at the center of a golden age of jazz, and the author makes a pretty good case for his thesis.
I thank Nate D., A loyal Bizarro reader, for recommending Three Shades. It's a solid book that also includes a groovy future pipe pic.
I like to read a variety of material, with biographies of musicians being a mainstay. I also recently finished Seeing MAD, a massive volume of essays on MAD magazine's humor, history, and legacy. It's a serious, scholarly collection of writing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What have you enjoyed reading so far this year? Please add your recommendations to the comments.
Today's pipe pic was suggested by Bizarro reader and music connoisseur Dan M. It's the March 14, 2020 Macanudo comic strip, by my colleague Liniers.
Macanudo is a most unusual comic, and Liniers is a terrific cartoonist and a sweet human. I highly recommend his work.
Thanks to Dan M. for spotting the excellent Magritte reference, and to Liniers for allowing me to share his work with you.
Again, I heartily recommend Macanudo. Once you start reading it, you may shout, "Olga!" at random moments. It's a perfectly normal reaction.
A cartoonist is part author and part illustrator, but I won't claim that the following material counts as literature.
Stereotypical beauty standards are deeply ingrained in Fairytale Forest.
Tuesday's panel is a scene from an imaginary early draft of Interview with the Vampire.
Wait till you see the new issue of The Spectacular Spork.
Imagine an afterlife where you have to return to a job you hated for all eternity.
Who knows what will make the list for 2025?
Last Saturday's panel featured a croissant and a chocolate cupcake, and today's has two pretzels. I must have been hungry when I wrote these gags.
That's the latest from my Little Shop of Humor. Thanks for visiting. Don't forget to comment with your recommended reading.
Pacific Northwest Jazz Pickle
Danielle tells us:
This t-shirt is SUPER soft, I love the fabric. The design is unique, my son in law approves. I collect all things bunnies so this is perfect!Bizarro tees are available from the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop.
If you'd like to show off your Bizarro fashion sense, send your t-shirt picture, along with a comment, to WaynoCartoons(at)gmail(dot)com.
Fine print: By sending your photo, you permit us to share it online. Readers will be identified by first name only. We truly appreciate your purchase of Bizarrowear!
Bonus Track
from The Late Show
BBC2, June 9, 1992
BBC2, June 9, 1992
Books are burning in the main square
And I saw there the fire eating the text
Books are burning in the still air
And you know where they burn books, people are next
And I saw there the fire eating the text
Books are burning in the still air
And you know where they burn books, people are next
I believe the printed word should be forgiven
Doesn't matter what it said
Wisdom hotline from the dead back to the living
Key to the larder for your heart and your head, hmm
Doesn't matter what it said
Wisdom hotline from the dead back to the living
Key to the larder for your heart and your head, hmm
Books are burning in our own town
Watch us turn 'round and cast our glances elsewhere
Books are burning in the playground
Smell of burnt book is not unlike human hair
Watch us turn 'round and cast our glances elsewhere
Books are burning in the playground
Smell of burnt book is not unlike human hair
'Cause I believe the printed word is more than sacred
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad, hmm
Beyond the gauge of good or bad
The human right to let your soul fly free and naked
Above the violence of the fearful and sad, hmm
The church of matches (the church of matches)
Anoints in ignorance with gasoline
The church of matches (the church of matches)
Grows fat by breathing in the smoke of dreams
It's quite obscene
Anoints in ignorance with gasoline
The church of matches (the church of matches)
Grows fat by breathing in the smoke of dreams
It's quite obscene
Books are burning more each day now
And I pray now you boys will tire of these games
Books are burning, I hope somehow
This will allow a phoenix up from the flames
And I pray now you boys will tire of these games
Books are burning, I hope somehow
This will allow a phoenix up from the flames
Composer: Andy Partridge
© Bmg Rights Management (UK) Limited
© Bmg Rights Management (UK) Limited
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Copyright© 2025 by Wayno®
Nothing read this year has really stood out for me. I am going to recommend an older book. Back of Beyond by James Stoddard. It is fantasy more in the vein of authors very long past, like Lord Dunsany.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Seth. The year's still young, so I hope something comes along that knocks you out!
DeleteI Love XTC! Two more XTC songs reflective of current times are "Peter Pumpkinhead" and "Here Comes President Kill Again." Bear in mind that these tunes were released more than 30 years ago. It's truly sad that they remain relevant.
ReplyDeleteGreat band, I was a fan from first hearing their "3-D EP."
DeleteI was lucky enough to see XTC live in 1980, and that show is on YouTube.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/wR8MQOmIVoQ?si=Je321tvE7JGpMcWZ
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn is a progressively lipogrammatic epistolary novel and is a very funny & novel approach to novel writing! My favourite book!
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds fascinating! I've added it to my "hold" list at the library.
DeleteI have that same shirt in a different color. Iron Bunnies of Doom are my favorite band. Rock on Wayno!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Judi!
DeleteI just finished reading 'JAMES',a best seller reworking of Huckleberry Finn from the point of view of Jim, the run away slave. Well worth the time.Of course, slavery was still rampant during Twains lifetime, so the contrast between Twain's story and this shows how we have changed over time.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading some good reviews of JAMES. Thanks for that recommendation!
DeleteI love "Macanudo"! It's on my list of favorites at Comics Kingdom. The fact that you are friends with Liniers makes me happy!
ReplyDeleteHooray! I really like his strips about the young girl who loves to read and her cat, Fellini.
DeleteOLGA!
DeleteI read "3 Shades of Blue" when it first came out. Loved it and all the musicians involved. IMHO, Bill Evans is one of the finest pianists ever. BTW, I counted 4 secret symbols in the "least downloaded" gag.
ReplyDeleteYes, Bill Evans is one of the giants.
DeleteAnd you're correct, I miscounted the symbols in that gag. I was distracted by the howler monkeys' screaming.
Reading the book has put me on a Coltrane binge.
DeleteThe best thing I've read so far this year is The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. I recommend it if you are interested in Native American life and you like supernatural horror. A book I recommend to everyone who asks me is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
ReplyDeleteThanks for both recommendations!
DeleteThroughout all of history, it's never been the good guys who burned a book or closed a library.
ReplyDeleteTruth!
DeleteHi Wayno,
ReplyDeleteYour work and Dan's brings me joy every day for which I am indescribably grateful!
I've recently finished Becky Chambers Wayfarer series which I've found to be both enjoyable and enriching.
Ditto on the Ella Minnow Pea suggestion.
Thank you for all the joy you provide with your prodigious creative output.
Carry on!
Thanks for the recommendations and the encouraging words.
DeleteHi Wayno, I recently read a book/bio of Weather Report that is divided into chapters loosely arranged by album release. Elegant People: A History of the Band Weather Report by Curt Bianchi. I would describe myself as Weather Report-curious at most (I love Birdland, but didn't know much of the rest of their music) The author provides context about what the musicians were doing, the lives of the two main guys and lots of live show descriptions. I really enjoyed it. Full disclosure, I'm friends with the writer, .
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of that one, but it sounds right up my alley. I can see myself checking out the albums in sync with the chapter I'm reading. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks, Paul!
Deletehttps://www.amazon.com/Elegant-People-History-Weather-Report/dp/1493059998/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2LU2AYUP4TKLV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dhREWgf3pK5WAxoT0Du32DW4A-6Vt19xqTpNP-Wr0yC2Jt2yh6JI2zMHJ8lqgnsokjcrPcE0fB8K6g46g_QmMwC4HyV7ibsK_7UXYGGqrJNf3HIcV5B_vjjljZ5_InoBAJdBxcEsX9AdQgtn2-kxLI2kROqZ2XqzfxUqzGofeLmrrDSjrMA-IRD4ztkOFK77_WVU5Ljo1I2LVklshyzJWQ.xxbjpG2B7AqcKOrM9cwvbEI0VZ27yMA-Ihk4fjEg33M&dib_tag=se&keywords=weather+report+book&qid=1741616594&sprefix=weather+report+book%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-3
DeleteI would recommend Metamagical Themas by Douglas Hofstadter. It compiles a column he wrote for a while for Scientific American. There are some thought provoking ones in there. One of my favorites explores Self-Referential Sentences, such as: "I am not the person that wrote me." Another favorite is: "This sentence, no verb." It's grammatically incorrect, but factually true. If you make it grammatically correct, then you make it untrue. Hofstadter also wrote Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid, which has its own Wikipedia page. Either is thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteGlenn, thanks so much! I was aware of Hofstader and read some of those Scientific American columns, but it's been years. I've reserved Metamagical Themas at the library as my next book to tackle.
DeleteAfter a long time of hearing (reading) that "David Copperfield" is Dickens greatest work, I finally read it. Wow! Thoroughly entertaining! It shows that, despite almost 200 years since it was written, humans and their relationships are much the same. The characters are so well-drawn and stand as models for so many characters in our Western culture since. Unlike reading other classic fiction, Dickens language feels modern, even if the setting is not. And he's very funny. Dickens was very much a social reformer and the conflicts arise across class lines, which he would like to be rid of. If you don't think you can make your way through 800+ pages of Dickens, then let me recommend the recent film version, "The Personal History of David Copperfield," which stars Dev Patel as Copperfield.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I think I'll need to do some eyeball calisthenics to get in shape for that one.
DeleteHi. Nice bunch of panels this week! But I'm writing just in case no one else pointed-out John Oliver's Magritte reference a few days ago. It's about 9 minutes into this video (I've positioned the link to the set-up). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89R9ZxKaIOw&t=8m55s
ReplyDeleteBest,
-mike
That digression was brilliant! Thanks, Mike!
Delete