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 real composer thinks about his work the whole time; he is not always conscious of this, but he is aware of it later when he suddenly knows what he will do.
Igor Stravinsky
During a recent presentation I gave about the day-to-day work of producing six cartoons a week for the past seven-plus years, someone asked how long it takes to write and draw a gag.
That's tricky. Drawing time can be estimated, as it's accomplished physically, but I can't quantify how long it takes to write a gag. I said something like, "In a way, the writing happens all the time." Not as elegantly as Stravinsky might have put it.
Each weekly batch begins with a "writing day," when I make rough sketches of at least six gags to draw as finished panels. In reality, I had been scribbling words, phrases, or doodles in my sketchbook for days or even weeks before tightening them up into usable material. Any number of things can be the seed of a cartoon: a bit of overheard conversation, a word that pops up in a puzzle, an unconscious scribble made during a phone call, even a typo in an email.
Long before I begin the sketching phase, my brain tinkers with those kernels of ideas in the background. It's as if the conscious mind did some initial sorting and told the unconscious, "Here are a few that have possibilities. See what you can do with them."
No doubt this is more the result of skills gained through practice rather than anything mystical, but it's fascinating to step back and think about how humans create.
Igor could have been referring to any type of creative work. I'd love to know what seeds led to him composing The Rite of Spring, which reportedly set off a riot among the audience when it premiered in 1913.
Today's pipe pic is a jaunty nutcracker fisherman (or is it a fisherman nutcracker?) sent to us by Bizarro reader Larry B. of Beverly Farms, MA.
Larry wrote:
Just a little nutcracker from my ever-burgeoning collection. It’s displayed every Xmas in our home.
Thanks to Larry for sharing this charming photo.
To the best of my knowledge, none of the latest Bizarro panels sparked a riot.
My beloved Italian grandma had plastic slipcovers on the furniture in her living room, along with plastic floor runners so you didn't have to step on the carpeting. She also had a plastic-free "front room," where we played games, watched TV, and enjoyed the wonderful aromas of the food she prepared in the nearby kitchen. I'm sure many friends have similar fond memories of their immigrant elders.
It works every time. They just can't resist turning that crank.
Wednesday's panel was the rare gag that was fully formed when I first thought of it. Each successive "Z" should be read a little quieter than its predecessor.
I often search for reference images when drawing specific items or people, and this one was no exception. Here are the pictures I studied when drawing the panel:
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| Oil painting (1767) of young Mozart by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni |
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| A 1775 portrait of Anna Maria Mozart by Rosa Hagenauer |
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| Mozart's childhood home in Salzburg |
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| An 18th-century child's wagon |
I overdid the homework on this one, but it's my idea of fun.
Friday's panel is the latest example of a verbal construction I refer to as a streptonym. After fourteen years, I'm still waiting for the term to catch on.
This caption might have been inspired by a typo or an errant autocorrection.
That's our blog for Week 25 of 2025. Drop by next Saturday for another six-pack of cartoon fun.
Bonus Track
Jane Aire & the Belvederes: "Yankee Wheels"
Stiff Records 45 BUY26, 1978
"Yankee Wheels," which was recorded by Akron's Jane Aire and written by Akron's Liam Sternberg. It doesn't feel like summer until I spin this old favorite.
Alternate Bizarro Outposts
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You really had a banner week! The matryoshka is my favorite in a long time. And the extensive Mozart research is exactly what I'd do!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sue! I was very happy with the matryoshka gag, and did some googling to make sure someone else hadn't already done that idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to inform you but I've sent a matryoshka squad to "off" your so called dolls. My squad prefers the pronouns; They Slash Them!!!
DeleteGreat label.
ReplyDelete"If it ain't STIFF, it ain't worth a f*ck".
and "Money talks, people mumble" were two of their best slogans (of many). The second one becomes more true every day, although, in the words of Mr. Natural : "T'was ever thus."
Yes. I used to collect every record they released. It was an exciting time.
DeleteSome may remember the character "Dr. Spaceman" on "30 Rock", played by Chris Parnell and pronounced something like "spa-CHEM-en".
ReplyDeleteI was aware of that show, because my friend Ben Vaughn did the music, but I only saw a couple of episodes.
Delete