Slipping Away
I’m Dan Piraro, the creator of the Bizarro newspaper comic, and this is my weekly blog post. The large Sunday comic above is mine, as are all of the non-cartoon comments below.
Since January 2018, the Monday-Saturday Bizarro comics have been written and drawn by my comics partner, Wayno. For more fun, check out Wayno’s weekly blog post.
And here’s this week’s ANSWER KEY to my Sunday comic’s Secret Symbols.
Today’s Sunday cartoon, above, appeals to me because I’ve been thinking more about death lately than usual.
My parents are close to passing over the rainbow bridge, jumping the unicorn, or smoking their final doobie—however you want to put it. At least, we’re all hoping they are.
By that, I mean that my Dad and I are hoping he and Mom are close to their final exit, and my Mom very probably would agree if she had enough mental facility left to hope for things.
This hope is not a bad or sad thing. We’ve all known this was coming; they’re not vampires.
They’re past 90, not in good shape, and have likely lived longer than their DNA was programmed to, thanks to modern medicine. When it’s your time, I find no shame or tragedy in telling your familiars that you’ve enjoyed knowing and loving them, and waving goodbye.
In recent years, I’ve been reading about Buddhist concepts of death and finding them more relatable than the Western religious notions I was raised with, and the totalitarian atheist perspective I held for many decades as an adult.
Various sects of Buddhism have different ideas, but one that I like is that we are not what or who we think we are. There is no “I” inside this rented mammal; there is only a “formless awareness” that is using this assemblage of meat, bones, and nerves to experience a life in this dimension. Counterintuitively, even our thoughts are part of the biological skinbag; the “awareness” is the part that notices the thoughts.
I suspect it’s the subtle distinction between our mind and the ineffable awareness that witnesses its thoughts and behavior, that cultures have always identified as a soul, god, a higher presence, etc.
Whatever it is, the teaching says, yours might come back and have another go at riding the bucking bronco of human consciousness in a new body, or it may not. According to some Buddhist thought, out of fear of being disembodied, that awareness might be inclined to rush right back into a womb, or it might be cool without a form and hang out for a while, or forever in the larger stream of higher consciousness from which your current slice came.
It’s hard to believe anyone knows precisely how after-death works, so I take it with a grain of salt, but some of these ideas ring a quiet bell within me, and I enjoy contemplating them. Of course, it’s each person’s choice to believe whatever floats their boat or helps them walk on water. Or to stay on the beach.
As I hinted above, for many decades, I sat on the shore scoffing at the existence of water and the futility of boats, so I have no right to judge anyone who prefers the playa.
MORE TO THE POINT, as I wrote in the most recent article in my subscription feature, The Naked Cartoonist, because of these lofty concepts and others from the scientific, material world that point to what happens when people die, I no longer believe death is the worst thing that can happen to a person, so I’m not worried about it for myself or my parents.
With each of my articles, I include audio of myself reading it for folks who’d rather listen than read. I thought some of you Jazz Pickles might enjoy listening to this one, so here it is for free.
I try to make most of my articles both funny and philosophical, so let me know if you think I succeeded with this one, if you’re inclined.
Before we jump into the ball pit with Wayno’s Bizarro comics for the week, don’t forget to order your Bizarro Canines & Felines wall calendar for 2026. You don’t want your walls to spend a whole year without a laugh.
And all our other holiday products and other kinds of swag are here.
Now for this week’s Comic Chuckles by Wayno®…
That’s one way to save money on deodorant.
The labels on the boxes are great.
I’d have been tempted to call it “Tonto, Boo-Boo, Kato, & Dick.”
Oh, shut up and go kill your brother.
Yes, we got some messages from grammar nerds (like Cain, above) correcting our usage of “less” instead of “fewer.” Wayno and I both know the difference and the correct choice, but the overwhelming majority of stores use “less” on signs like this, so the joke works better this way.
I hope she doesn’t say, “I’m running late, so I’ll see you ladder.” That would be groan-worthy.
We’re done for this week, Jazz Pickles. We always appreciate your visits, so thanks for stopping by. If you’re enjoying that we provide this service for free, please help us keep it that via the links below. Have a great week.
The Naked Cartoonist…My every-other-week subscription creative writing and comics service.
Bizarro TIP JAR …One-time or repeating. Your choice!
WAYNO’S TIP JAR …One-time or repeating. Your choice!
My (free) graphic novel in progress, PEYOTE COWBOY
Watch my pitch video and become a supporter of Peyote Cowboy here.
That fun Bizarro swag from ComicsKingdom I mentioned above. A reader from Canada said the shipping cost was back to normal, so check it out for yourself if you’re outside the US.