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."
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.
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| 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.
