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
I have always found it interesting that there are people who regard copyright infringement as a form of flattery.
Tom Lehrer (1928-2025)
Tom Lehrer, the mathematics professor who wrote satirical and humorous songs like "The Vatican Rag," "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," and "So Long, Mom (A Song for World War III)," died on July 26 at the age of 97.
Lehrer's lyrics were sharp, witty, and dark, while the music was jaunty, upbeat, and catchy as hell. His total output consisted of 37 songs written over approximately 20 years, which may not be a large quantity, but the work was consistently excellent.
In 2022, undoubtedly aware that he wouldn't be around forever and having no family or heirs, Lehrer donated all of his music and lyrics to the Public Domain, meaning that anyone could use his material in any way they wished.
If the quote above is indeed something he said, he had little tolerance for plagiarists. Cartoonists are well aware of intellectual property theft and experience it every day. It's ridiculously simple to steal a cartoon image online and remove the artist's name. That's galling enough, but some miscreants also alter the text to fit their political loyalty or worldview.
Pointing out violations to people who (perhaps) innocently share bastardized cartoons sometimes results in them removing the offending image, but once something's out there and replicated thousands of times, it's impossible to catch them all.
Often, when someone is notified that they're wrongly sharing a human being's art without proper attribution, they'll say something like, "Hey, you should be grateful for the exposure!"
It's 2025, and we've all been using the internet for around thirty years now. Everyone knows that it's wrong to steal, but what can you do about it? I don't have an answer, but every once in a while, I feel the need to howl into the windstorm, if only to get it out of my system.
Getting back to Tom Lehrer, I first heard one of his records while I was in high school, in a course called World Cultures. At the time, I didn't fully appreciate our teacher, who introduced us to the world beyond our rural Pennsylvania community. Some of our class projects involved preparing and sharing foods from different countries, and we covered a wide range of topics, including music.
I recall our teacher setting up one of those suitcase record players to play Tom Lehrer songs, and then explaining the meanings behind them. I wish I had been more open to learning opportunities, instead of sitting in the back of the room cracking wise. Despite myself, I memorized most of the words to "Lobachevsky," Lehrer's takedown of academic plagiarism, and I still love that tune.
I'm projecting a message into the universe for Mr. Ullman, my old World Cultures teacher:
Thanks for broadening my horizons and putting up with my crap. You did a good job under often trying circumstances.
While I'm at it, I'll send ethereal thanks to Tom Lehrer for showing that it's possible to produce art while also working in an unrelated field. I've done it in the past, and it's not easy. I'm grateful to be working on a single career that I absolutely love.
I swiped today's pipe pic from artist Tom Neely's BlueSky account.
The panel came from an issue of Flippity & Flop, a DC Comics publication that ran from 1952 to 1960. The comic was based on a 1946-47 Columbia Pictures animated series, featuring a canary (Flippity, originally named Flippy), a cat (Flop), and a dog (Sam).
Though similar, the series of four Flippy & Flop cartoons pre-dated Warner Bros.' Tweety & Sylvester cartoons.
Tom Neely's BlueSky account appears to have been abandoned, but he's active on Instagram as @iwilldestroytom.
After two weeks of musical gags ("Now Playing on AI Radio"), we're back to our usual assortment of random comical topics.
I'd like to thank a particular reader who contacted me to point out a punctuation error I made in a Bizarro gag a year ago. I got in touch with them and let them know that I corrected the panel in the archives. Since then, we've had occasional and quite cordial correspondence, some of which partly inspired this new panel.
At least the kid isn't being embarrassed in public.
There have been countless jokes about complicated coffee drink orders, but I couldn't find a prior occurrence of "dehyphenated" coffee. That's my style of drink: a well-made espresso in a ceramic demitasse.
Thursday's panel plays with the visual vocabulary of comics and is a hat-tip to the late Mort Walker. Walker created the Beetle Bailey comic, which will soon celebrate its 75th anniversary. He also wrote The Lexicon of Comicana, a book about the symbols and conventions of cartooning. A new edition of The Lexicon is being published in September, and it will include panels by both Dan Piraro and me as illustrative examples.
Update: A helpful blog reader recommends Bookshop.org as a source for those who aren't interested in further enriching a certain baldheaded greed monster.
We've all had this conversation, haven't we?
Desperation is the mother of folly.
That concludes this week of normal Bizarro comics, whatever "normal" is for us. Drop by again next Saturday to see what sort of shenanigans we put out there into the world.
New BizarroWear
Due to popular demand, in addition to white, black, and gray t-shirts, we're offering several supersaturated colors. The ultra-bright colors are available in all sizes except XS, 4X, and 5X.
You can choose from five different "Eye Heart" designs showcasing your favorite Secret Symbol.
We're also working on adding V-neck tees to the shop.
As always, we’d love to see a photo of you modeling your BizarroWear to share with our readers!
Bonus Track
Tom Lehrer: "Lobachevsky"
from Songs by Tom Lehrer
Originally released on Songs By Tom Lehrer
Lehrer Records 10" LP, 1953
Originally released on Songs By Tom Lehrer
Lehrer Records 10" LP, 1953
If you'd like to sing along, you can view the lyrics or download a PDF here.
A Plethora of Bizarro Productions
If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.
Wayno, loved Friday’s panel about tortured detectives and their complicated lives. I’ve watched a few series lately that are from South America, so this has truly become a ‘global’ concern!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Kevin! And even though I joke about them, I enjoy a lot of series in this genre.
DeleteI may have heard this elsewhere, ironically, but "Plagiarism is the sincerest form of ass-hattery".
ReplyDeleteOooh, I like that!
DeleteYou can have it, to thank you for all the laughs you gave me, buy I'm still waiting to read a cartoon caption that reads, "Casualty Friday".
DeleteCount me in on the new apparel! I have been slacking on getting a photo to you of the ones I have, but the present count is two of the Jazz Pickle, one each of the Bunnies of Doom and This is not a shirt. (Plus, a collection of the no longer made stickers.)
ReplyDeleteWow, Tom! Thanks for Bizarrofying your wardrobe!
DeleteMr. Lehrer was a contributer to a TV show my dad loved in the mid 60s called "That Was The Week That Was" (or TW3), which was an American version of a BBC show hosted by David Frost. My father bought 2 of his albums and I learned all of the songs from both of them by heart. I especially loved "The Hunting Song" and "Son Long Mom (a song for World War III). I remember being very surprised when I was watching NCIS and they used a recording of "The Elements" as a clue. https://youtu.be/Uqz03N9R3Cs?si=8wpt_Bzyk5qKHevt
ReplyDeleteShould be "So Long Mom"
DeleteYes, he had quite an interesting career!
DeleteThanks for another great week of cartoons, in which "dehyphenated" is my favorite! I appreciate the salute to Tom Lehrer, as well. "In Old Mexico" is another favorite, touching on the ironies of bullfighting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vere!
DeleteIt's wonderful to read that your shirts are now sold in somewhat brighter colors. Or are they? On the Comics Kingdom website, every brighter color is unavailable. Already sold out? I'd love to see the 'Kelly Green', which is shown with the Jazz Pickle shirt, replace the 'Lime' green, which, on the webpage, looks closer to the color of old military fatigues. In any case, I am glad to have some options for brighter colors, and I will order a shirt when these colors are actually available.
ReplyDeleteHi, Vere! Be sure to click on a size option before choosing a color. The ultra-bright colors are available aren't available from the manufacturer in sizes XS, 4XL, and 5XL. All other sizes are ready to order.
DeleteThanks, Wayno. Your tip made the difference. Each of the shirt webpages was defaulting to the smallest size, and showing most colors as unavailable. Maybe the webmaster over at Comics Kingdom could eliminate the default size choice, or at least make the default a size that supports the full color range.
DeleteLehrer's The Elements was also performed (partially) by Jim Parsons as Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory. I have been a fan of his since the late 60's and had three albums. I actually spoke to him once on the phone and he was a real gentleman to a fanboy kid.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the news that The Lexicon of Comicana is being republished. I find it ironic that you've bemoaned people stealing artwork without a thought, and then your link being to Amazon, which is a proven grifter, as well as having destroyed much of publishing and bookstores. Here's a bookshop.org link: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lexicon-of-comicana-mort-walker/22111451?ean=9781681379562&next=t
ReplyDeleteThanks, D! You make a valid point.
DeleteI've revised my link to go to the publisher, and added a note for the Bookshop.org page to pre-order the book.
I appreciate the recommendation and am trying my best not to help Bezos grab any extra pennies.
YES! Lobachevsky is my favorite as well!
ReplyDeleteYour new t-shirts have tremendous potential for sales within the pipe community, of which I am a "dues paying" member lol. In fact the NASPC convention is fast approaching and is next weekend. If you could get word about your merch to them it might boost sales and gain you some new fans ( http://naspc.org/ ).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the referral! I've emailed the Pipe Collector Editor. Please feel free to alert your colleagues!
DeleteI sympathize with your fruitless battle against copyright infringement... I just spent the morning angrily sending out IP theft reports and take down requests for authors/ books who stole text and images from my camera guides.
ReplyDeleteIt is notable that if I were to have a website that sold 1 or 2 stolen items, I am responsible for that content, the site would be taken down, and there would likely be legal action against me, and I would pay huge fines. When Amazon sells 100s or 1000s or likely tens of 1000s of stolen items, everyone from Amazon to Congress legally shrugs and says, "Hey, what can they do? There is so much content what can they do? The person who was wronged needs to locate ALL the stolen items themselves, create detailed reports, re-file detailed reports when Amazon shrugs at the first report, and lose ridiculous amounts of time and money while Amazon continues to make money off the stolen items and keeps all the money they made in the past off the stolen items."
Ah, Capitalism!
Different rules for billionaires...
DeleteAlso, there is a fantastic The Oatmeal cartoon about "Exposure"!
ReplyDeletehttps://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure