Entomological Mortality & Simian Positivism

I'm pleased to post my two most recent collaborations with my good pal Dan Piraro.

Today's offering revisits a theme I explored in a Sunday page during my stint as guest cartoonist in May.

 

Before developing the Insect Heaven cartoon, I'd sketched an elderly fly being visited by a Grim Reaper who carried a flyswatter in place of the usual scythe. It was a funny image, but not yet fully satisfying as a gag. 

I then added the fly's fatalistic comment, and we both liked it enough to put it in the "keeper" file.

Riffing like old-school jazz musicians (at least in our own minds), we developed postmortem jokes for about a dozen other bugs, and used five of them for the Sunday spot, setting this one aside for future use as a standalone gag.

As I've mentioned before, some newspapers run Bizarro in a comic-strip sized space, which requires an additional composition every day. I was particularly happy with the way this one turned out when tweaked for the "landscape" format:

Dan's art took on a wonderfully somber and ominous tone in this configuration.

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 Last Sunday's panel gives an upbeat twist to an iconic image.

In our version, the three monkeys focus on what they can do, rather than dwelling on the negative. Inspirational, isn't it?

Here's the sketch I submitted to Dan a few months back:

I came up with this spin after seeing an earlier strip that Dan had published in September. Here's his story about this circular brainstorming session.

As always, you can see our earlier joint efforts right here on the blog.

Please do stay tuned for more (occasionally gruesome) hilarity.

All You Can Eat

My latest Bizarro gag involves an infinite beef loop:

 

Many of us have had similar thoughts when presented with a ridiculously oversized portion at a restaurant, but for this poor guy it's mathematically true.

I quite enjoy this type of wordplay, where unrelated phrases are chained together using a shared word. Many years ago, I collaborated on an ABC book whose title (Alphabet Soup Kitchen) employs the same linguistic trick. Certainly there must be a name for this device, but I've yet to find it. It's not a pun, spoonerism, or malapropism. What is it called? Scholars of English are encouraged to comment, particularly those who have names like Johnny Carson Daly or who once played in a band called Frijid Pink Floyd.

For comparison, here's my original concept sketch, which now looks a little like a self-portrait:

My next collaboration with my good friend Dan Piraro will appear on Sunday, June 26. Our previous joint works can be viewed in this blog's Bizarro archive.

iPhone, therefore iAm

Today's Bizarro gag tweaks our culture's obsession with having the latest technology, even if we're not sure what the upgrade is. (I include myself in that group, by the way.)

Here's the published cartoon, followed by the rough version from my sketchbook:

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The joke itself is very simple, similar to the fictional musician Nigel Tufnel having an amplifier made with a volume knob that goes to eleven, because "It's one louder."

My friend Michael "Zombo" Devine, a musician, artist, DJ, and all-around swell guy, once joked on his radio show that a particularly low-fidelity recording sounded "like an mp2." that joke turned out to be fact-based, as there actually is an audio format called mp2, which is indeed of lower quality than an mp3.

Other jokes can be built around this "one higher/one lower" premise, but I won't waste any in a blog post, as I might be able to squeeze one into a future cartoon.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess that this gag was plucked from an actual conversation, something I've done before. We were at dinner with a friend who is happily un-addicted to constant communication, and only uses his cell phone for calls. Another of our companions tried to talk him into upgrading to an iPhone to which he replied, "Oh, I'm waiting for the jPhone."

My next (original) Bizarro gag will pop up in a week. Until then, I invite you to browse my previous collaborations with the comic's creator, Dan Piraro.

Pork Barrel Gambit

Today's Bizarro cartoon is a variation on the story of the Trojan horse:

The concept sketch is very rough, but gets the idea across. Dan moved the sentries up to the top of the castle wall, which makes more sense, as they're skeptical about the gift.

I must have been inspired in part by the Trojan bunny in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I'd also recently seen or heard some reference to a Trojan horse, and that inspired me to start casting about for a gag involving some other animal concealing at attacking army.

I decided that a big wooden pig was a pretty funny image. The line about it not looking kosher naturally followed, and plays nicely on the expansion of the word's definition beyond its original religious/dietary meaning. That added the extra "layer" that the joke needed, and there we are!

Our previous collaborations can be viewed in my blog archive.

My next gag will appear on Thursday June 16. Thanks for reading!

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By the way, Dan Piraro's performance at the Rex Theatre last night was killer! Thanks to all who attended.

Feline Theology & Nordic Graduation

My stint as Dan Piraro's guest cartoonist is over, and it was a great experience. We're planning a reprise in the fall, and I've started working on that. Thanks to everyone for the feedback, even the few complainers.

I'm still coloring the Bizarro dailies and contributing gags. Here are the two most recent, appearing back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Dan's final version of the preaching cat sketch is similar to my sketch, with a slight shift in perspective and a little more detail, along with an added line of dialog.

I originally drew the cat wearing a pope's mitre, but we decided to delete that, as this isn't supposed to be specifically a Catholic feline. The white area above his head is the digital erasure of the papal headgear.

This is something of an obvious, silly cat joke, but it's also meant to gently comment on the tendency of humans to imagine/choose gods in their own image, and then spin it in the opposite direction.

The dialog in the Viking gag wasn't changed at all, but it was a nice surprise to see Mr. Piraro expand it into a panoramic Sunday page.

Our next collaboration will pop up on June 10. 

As always, you can review my previous Bizarro appearances by clicking on the Bizarro label.

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My hometown friends will have a rare opportunity to see Dan's comedy show this coming Thursday, June 9, at the fabulous Rex Theatre on the South Side. Tickets are available here. 

VIP ticket holders can attend a pre-show reception where you can meet the affable Mr. Piraro, and snag a limited edition signed poster created just for this event. I've seen the poster and it's a beauty!

Simian Suds and a Cigar Smoking Scribbler

It's been a while since I've designed a beer label, but I always enjoy working with Scott at East End Brewing Company. He's a good friend and a good neighbor, and he always has interesting, fun ideas for his projects.

Here's the latest item, which I understand is already in the bottles and awaiting application of labels, now that the Federal authorities have given their approval.

Scott contacted me about doing the label last month, during what turned out to be quite a monkeycentric week. Within days I started sketching this pipe-smoking specimen, got a preview of an upcoming Bizarro gag involving monkeys, and designed a half-dozen simian characters for a project that must remain secret for the time being. 

For a guy born in the Year of the Monkey, that week had a pleasantly eerie vibe.

•••

Speaking of Bizarro... be sure to check out the funny papers tomorrow and Sunday for two new (non-monkey) gags from Your Humble Bloggerator, and if you're within driving distance of Pittsburgh, please plan to attend Comics for Comics III,  featuring the Bizarro Cartoon Comedy Show! Dan Piraro his very self will do one of his rare live comedy sets, talking about his life and work as a cartoonist, showing old family photos and some of his best work, and strumming a guitar he's borrowing from me. Another good pal of mine, Nathan Mazur, will open the show with some of his hilarious animations. The show benefits The ToonSeum.

Let's pack the Rex Theatre for Dan's visit to P-burgh!

Bizarro Guest Week: May 16 - May 22

Who is this guy, anyway?

Welcome, new readers (and thanks to the regulars). Some of you may have stumbled across this blog after seeing a link in Bizarro, and this post is intended to serve as an introduction.

I'm a cartoonist, writer and illustrator, and have been contributing gags to Bizarro for a couple of years now.

I created all of this week's Bizarro cartoons, filling in as best I could for Dan Piraro's brilliant work. I completed my seven comics earlier this year, and they were put into the publishing queue two weeks ago, while Dan took a little vacation. I'm honored to be minding the store this week.

Dan's talent as a cartoonist always impressed me, long before we met. Working with him—as a collaborator, or as guest cartoonist—is a pleasure, and a high spot of my career.

Thanks for finding your way to the blog. I hope you'll become a regular. 

Please also follow my Twitterings (which are brief and not ridiculously frequent), visit my illustration website or Facebook thing, check out my online store, and view my rock & roll portraits at Portland's Rock Pop Gallery. 

All of my previous collaborations with Dan Piraro are archived on this blog under the Bizarro label. 

•••

Now, here are this week's offerings. I'll update every day or two, adding the latest material.

Monday, May 16

I was always curious about the significance of that number.

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Tuesday, May 17

Guys love that bad girl look.

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Wednesday, May 18

He's hoping that cookies are enabled.
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Thursday, May 19

A rare moment of self-awareness.
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Friday, May 20

Laffs on the ledge. My favorite of the week.
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Saturday, May 21

 They hold rallies at shopping malls.
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Sunday, May 22

 From Hell on Monday to Heaven on Sunday...
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Thanks for the feedback and reposts. I hope you enjoyed the week's cartoons. Dan Piraro will retake control of Bizarro on Monday morning.

Sociobiological Paronomasia

Here we go again, with another Bizarro gag written by Your Humble Blogger and drawn by the amazing Dan Piraro. This one should be a hit with natural scientists.

For comparison, here's my sketch of the comic:

The gag is based on two different meanings of the word "host." In the social sense, a host's counterpart is a guest. The joke references the biological meaning, where a parasite seeks a host to feed on, lay eggs in, etc.

Fortunately, very few of my own social experiences led to guests becoming parasitic, and I like to think that I've never made that transition myself.

Coloring this one was a little tricky, being a nighttime scene that includes illumination from the house's interior lights. I must admit, I needed some assistance from Dan to get it right, while maintaining the Bizarro look. Eventually, it came out okay.  

Dan also tightened up the dialog, which works better than in the original.

•••

My temporary takeover of Bizarro begins one week from today, and in exactly a month, on June 9, Dan Piraro brings his standup comedy act to Pittsburgh, at this year's Comics For Comics event, benefiting the ToonSeum. All local readers must attend!

This Little Piggy Got Tattooed

Today's Bizarro, drawn by Dan Piraro and written by yours truly, takes a poke at picnicking pigs:

I don't recall how this idea came to me, but I liked it right away. The sketch flowed fairly quickly:

Many years ago, long before tattoos were as ubiquitous as today, I once saw an old guy with a cabinet hinge tattooed inside his elbow. At the time, I thought it was very clever. Perhaps that memory resurfaced and inspired this gag.

The coin slot tattoo made for a funny visual, though I also considered a butcher's chart, which might have been a little disturbing. Come to think of it, the butcher chart would have worked if the pig character had been a tough-guy jailbird or biker.

My piggies looked a little too buff, which Dan remedied with his portlier porkers.

Note to cartooning students: Once again, Dan Piraro rearranged the image to position the payoff (the tattoo) as far to the right side of the panel as possible, so the reader encounters it last. It's a handy rule of thumb for laying out a panel, and usually enhances the surprise of a gag.

You can search for the Bizarro label to see our previous collaborations here on the blog. The next one will appear on Monday, May 9.

Don't forget to follow my guest week takeover of Bizarro, May 16 through 22, and read Dan's blog too.

Breakage • Breakdown • Breaking and Entering

Here are two new Bizarro cartoons written by yours truly and drawn by the comic's creator, Dan Piraro: yesterday's splashy Sunday page and today's dollop of esoteric snootery.

First, the belly-laffer:

This one started out a bit differently. Early sketches showed a beheaded Barbie (or a Rock'em-Sock'em robot) being told by a doctor that he'd refer the patient to a plastic (ha!) surgeon.

Neither of these had the zing of a truly successful gag. As I thought about other plastic toys to put in the scene, I decided against using a molded green army guy. That seemed much too close to a very unpleasant and sadly common real-life scenario.

Dan decided to place several toys in a waiting room, which is a nice solution. Not only does it have more impact with multiple patients, but all it requires is the four-word caption box. We both feel that fewer words make for a stronger gag (unless wordiness is part of the joke). Also, most papers run the Sunday comics in color, so the majority of readers will be amused by the bright colors.

• • •

Next up, here's today's head-scratcher...

...and the sketch:

The two drawings are very similar, except Dan flipped the image horizontally. Since the English language is read left-to-right, he usually tries to position the payoff (whether it's verbal or visual) as far to the right as possible. Check out some previous comics and see how often you notice this compositional choice.

Genesis of the Joke

Several weeks ago I dropped off a poster at my friend Scott's house, and noticed a little pile of sticks and rocks on the front porch. I texted him to ask about the carefully-placed arrangement. His answer read "Snowman deconstructed," to which I replied "Highly conceptual!" Naturally, I stole the phrase from him and drew up this sketch for Bizarro.

That's right, jokes can sometimes be plucked right out of a conversation, if you have the ear to hear them and the temerity to take them and claim them as your own. Thanks, Scott!

• • •

Finally...
I am now free to make an announcement that I've been itching to post for several months: Late last year, Dan Piraro asked me to take over Bizarro for a week so he could have a little vacation, and the results will be published May 16 through May 22. That's seven consecutive days of solo work by me: writing, drawing, and coloring--the works!

Dan had hoped to get Ernie Bushmiller, but when he heard that Ernie had died in 1982, he figured I couldn't do any worse than a skeleton that's been in the ground for 30 years, so he invited me aboard.

So if you're offended, confused or enraged by any Bizarro cartoons between May 16 and May 22, don't blame Dan! All comments are welcome, and of course every comic will be posted here (and flogged on every other social networking platform, and any place I see someone with a newspaper).

I'm jazzed about this, and hope it goes over well with the loyal readership. At some point, I'm sure Dan will comment on his own blog.

There will also be two new collaborative comics appearing between now and the start of Wayno Week. They'll appear on Friday, May 6 and Monday May 9.