Showing posts with label mythology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mythology. Show all posts

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Molto Boom Boom

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 

Hello from the Little Shop of Humor in Hollywood Gardens, PA. We're still sweltering here, and your cartoonist is currently juggling a few too many metaphorical balls, so I'll spare you a lengthy intro this time around.

Bizarro buddy Gerry J. from the City of Missed Left Turns (also known as Albuquerque, NM) had the presence of mind to grab today's pipe pic from his television screen back in February.


Thanks to Gerry for the fun image. Could you also send me some temperatures from February?


Let's see if the latest Bizarro gags can help moderate the heat dome...


The section on due process should probably use stick figures to help members of certain quarters grasp the concept.

I reversed the staging for the strip layout, which allowed me to place the word balloon and caption box on the same end of the composition. Otherwise, there would have been no room for the characters.

Microsoft's "Clippy" is afraid of showing his age.

Wednesday's gag is for my brother M., who retired from a long career in research and development, and recently assumed new responsibilities as president of his local bocce league. They play by more traditional rules. That includes a bottle of grappa at each game, doesn't it?

I also reversed this one for the strip layout, which gives it a slightly different feel and, I think, an extra measure of absurdity. Plus, I had room to show the pallino.

Sometimes, transcendence comes with a cup of coffee. I like to imagine that Bill Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead occupies a nearby stool.

Greek mythology meets modern technology. Fortunately, Medusa only has a free Zoom account. Unfortunately, that still means she can fossilize up to 99 participants.

This is what happens when your psychologist has a minor in existentialist philosophy.


That's our blog for Week 26. We're halfway through the year!

I hope you'll return next week for a new batch of gags and commentary.


Bonus Track

The Beach Boys: "Pet Sounds"
From the Pet Sounds album
Capitol Records, 1966


Brian Wilson, the troubled genius behind the Beach Boys, died a couple of weeks ago, and I've had this composition of his in my head off and on since I first heard the news.
Wilson is the only member of the band who performs on the song, playing grand piano and accompanied by some of the ace musicians who came to be known as the Wrecking Crew. Wilson originally wrote it in the hope that it would be used as a theme for a James Bond movie.


Much More Bizarro Madness

If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.


   

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Saturday, February 22, 2025

A Joyful Noise

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'm not sure, but I'm almost positive that all music came from New Orleans.
Ernie K-Doe

Ernie "Emperor of New Orleans" K-Doe (1936 - 2001) was only slightly hyperbolic when he made that bold statement.

New Orleans can indeed lay claim as the birthplace of jazz, and its musical history is as international as its food culture and especially its people. Musicians in the city draw upon various genres, creating new and exciting hybrids. On any given day, you can hear blues, traditional cajun, zydeco, all manner of Caribbean styles, rock, funk, opera, rap, hip-hop, bounce, reggae, traditional jazz, country, and more.

NOLA is a city I dearly love, and it was on my mind Tuesday as we braved near-zero temperatures (on a weeknight!) for an evening of live music at our favorite locally-owned venue. The headliners were The Hot 8 Brass Band, Crescent City mainstays whose energy and love are contagious. They play plenty of original material and also bring a joyful twist to familiar songs like Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and even Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Hot 8 tearing it up at the Original Pittsburgh Winery

Their US tour continues through March 9, when they perform at their home base, The Howlin' Wolf, before heading off to the U.K., Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria and Italy. Knowing we have such excellent musical ambassadors representing the US is comforting.

My big surprise of the evening was Pittsburgh trio Big Blitz. They create chaotic yet precise, irresistibly danceable instrumentals using two saxophones, drums, and synth. They were the perfect opener for the Hot 8 and gave me hope for the up-and-coming generation.

Music can help us through whatever's going on personally or in the world at large.

I'm grateful for the Hot 8 Brass Band and Big Blitz this week.


Today's pipe pic was delivered to us by mi amigo Dan Piraro.


Dan explained how it came to his attention:
A sweet lady named Greta L. visited the Manchester Art Gallery and snapped these photos for us. I helped her take them from phone to email and send them to me. The whole exchange was kind of cute and funny. I told her I'd send them to you.

Here's the informational sign that accompanied the painting:


I tip my favorite porkpie hat to Greta L. for adding some culture to the blog. Thanks, Greta!


In contrast to van Ostade's high art, the latest Bizarro gags take us to the other end of the spectrum.


"Can I at least wear long pants?"


All would've been well if Arthur had said to make a table shaped like the Earth.

The treatment is effective if the patient can last through the setup.


I apologize for making anyone squeamish with this avian gag.

Here's a look inside the business of miracles.

The week wrapped up with this carbohydrate conflict, another appreciation of the high and the low.

Thanks for dropping by once again. See you next week with more of this sort of stuff.
 

Copyright© 2025 by Wayno®    

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Saturday, February 15, 2025

That's MISTER Fresh to you!

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 death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.
Hannah Arendt

Wednesday evening, I had the privilege of chatting with three fellow cartoonists on their PenciltoPencil video podcast. (I guess that's the correct term—it's streamed live and archived on their YouTube channel.)

We spoke about many aspects of the business and craft of being a cartoonist and touched on how we deal with negative internet comments and "hate mail" (using that term jokingly.)

I've learned to ignore or laugh at most online comments, which are probably dashed off semi-thoughtlessly. However, I pay closer attention when someone emails me. Unless the message is extreme, abusive, or vulgar, I take it seriously and reply sincerely. Some things I've written can be read as having a different tone than I intended, so I remind myself to give others the benefit of the doubt.

People read, see, or hear tons of material daily, and it's easy to forget that a human being is behind it. Come to think of it, in some cases, there isn't a human being behind it.

When a reader considers a cartoon incorrect or objectionable, I consider what they say and respond as directly and honestly as possible. When I disagree, I do so respectfully. In almost every case, the person writes back in a friendlier manner and thanks me for the response. At that point, we both feel better about the exchange. Also, I've learned some things from letters of complaint, even if they aren't elegantly written.

I'm not always as thoughtful when responding to in-person criticism, but I'm working on that. 

In a December blog post, mi amigo Dan Piraro summarized Dickens's A Christmas Carol with the fortune-cookie-worthy line, "Being a hateful asshole ruins no one's life more than your own."

Empathy is a commodity whose supply is dwindling. Any that we can give is more valuable and necessary than ever. 


This week's charming pipe pic came from faithful Bizarro reader Ron K.


The photo shows a young Paul McCartney (left) with his father, James Paul, and brother Mike. 

Mike McCartney is also a musician and photographer who went professionally by the name Mike McGear because he didn't want to appear to be exploiting the family name.

He was a member of the bands The Scaffold and GRIMMS and released some outstanding solo records.

Thanks to Ron for the delightful photo.


If any of this week's gags make you angry, feel free to write, but please take a few deep breaths first.


This panel depicts a pivotal moment in publishing history, or at least one I imagined.


I sketched two variations of the "hip replacement" idea and was happily surprised when Dan suggested I run with them on consecutive days. I prefer the surgery version, which leaves the image of the patient to the reader.

A few people wondered if I was doing another "theme week," but it was just these two. A whole week might have prompted some hate mail.

This panel is less a prediction than a comment on a sad reality. It started with AutoTune and went downhill.


That's a drawing of your cartoonist's hand in the background. Fortunately, I draw right-handed.

Here, we see the lesser-known deity Nerf Eros.

We ended the week with a silly marsupial caption.

For those of you who observe, Happy Valentine's Day, Valloween, Lupercalia, and anything else I may be missing. Be nice to yourself and to each other.
 

Bonus Track

Advertising: "Ich Lieber Dich"
From Jingles
EMI Records, 1978


In the spirit of romance, here's a song from Advertising's one and only album.

A Bountiful Bouquet of Bizarro

If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free of charge, we encourage you to explore the following links.

Copyright© 2025 by Wayno®    

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Saturday, January 18, 2025

Variations on a Theme

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

A cartoonist is someone who draws the same thing day after day without repeating himself.
Charles M. Schulz

When creating this week's Bizarro cartoons, I lived what Schulz meant. I'd scribbled a punning caption in my sketchbook and started riffing on the idea, eventually coming up with sixteen candidates for gags featuring a famous cinematic vampire.

I thought it might be an interesting experiment to attempt an entire week of structurally similar gags without being repetitious. If every panel were simply a drawing illustrating the caption, it would have quickly become tiresome. After discussing the idea with Dan Piraro, we decided each installment would need an additional layer of humor. That caused me to look at the ideas differently and helped me eliminate some and choose those with the potential for something besides the captions.

I hadn't planned to do a "theme week," but once I began working on these, I couldn't think about anything else and decided to go for it. After getting the Nosferatu jokes out of my system, I could write unrelated gags in subsequent weeks.

Your thoughts on this weird detour are welcome.


My colleague Jonathan Lemon (a cartoonist and former UK pop star) sent me this absurdist drawing by Albert Hurter, a "sketch artist" who worked for Walt Disney Productions from 1931 until he died in 1942.




Hurter wasn't an animator but was hired to spend his days drawing whatever he felt like. His sketches served to inspire Disney animators. He also worked as a designer on many Disney films, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio.

Thanks to Jonathan for the pipe pic and the education. Although I wasn't familiar with Hurter's name or his work, I enjoyed learning about him.


If you can stand it, here are the Vampyre Week Bizarro panels.



I chose to run this one first because the caption sounds nearly identical to the name Nosferatu, and it sets the tone for the remaining gags.


This was the first one I wrote, triggering the avalanche of wordplay in my head.


I was hesitant to do "Nosferatoon." I cringe when I hear cartoons referred to as "toons," and I dislike the prefix or suffix "toon." It grates on me as trivializing and infantilizing the art form. However, I found it appropriate here, as the character is meant to be ridiculous. And he was fun to draw.



Clearly, this skull was simply an orthodontic oddity since vampires can't be photographed (unless X-rays are an exception). Also, when they're killed—excuse me, slain—I believe they either go up in smoke or crumble into dust.


In the past, my attempts at representing X-rays were unsatisfactory, but I'm happy with the latest one. The broken lines throughout the image would have been difficult to do with ink, requiring precise application of white-out. The effect was easier to achieve using digital drawing tools and switching between black and white "ink."

[Here endeth the nerd talk.]

See previous X-ray gags here, here, and here.


I must thank my ever-patient editor, JB, for advising me that we can indeed use "bleedin' prat" in a newspaper comic.

I didn't try to submit "wanker," but almost tried "tosser."


I held "Nosferatoque" for last because some readers (especially fellow Yanks) might not be familiar with the pronunciation of the word "toque," but after the previous five gags, they'd fall right into it.

That's nearly the end of my vampiric experiment. I have one more up my sleeve, but I postponed it until March.

This week's Substack newsletter includes the complete list of ideas I pulled from and a couple of rejected sketches. It's free to read or subscribe.
 

Bonus Track

Jesus Couldn't Drum: "Caught in a Dream"
Live in Florence, Italy, 1986


I'm reasonably sure that's Jonathan Lemon behind the keyboard.

A Bounty of Bizarro Booty

If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free of charge, we encourage you to explore the following links.

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