Which “Ist” Are You?
I’m Dan Piraro, the creator of the Bizarro newspaper comic, and this is my weekly blog post. The large Sunday Bizarro comic above is mine, as are the comments below. The past week’s Monday-Saturday Bizarro comics that follow were written and drawn by my 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.
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Bienvenido, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for being here.
Even though this week’s Sunday cartoon (above) has a smidgeon of politics thrown in, I’m not going into a rant this week as I did in last week’s post. The cartoon expresses the ongoing absurdity well enough.
This cartoon was a lot of fun to write and draw. Beginning with the traditional “optimist” and “pessimist” labels, it was fun to think of other “ists” and ways in which they might express themselves regarding a glass of water.
Even more fun was designing and drawing the characters. Though I most often draw my cartoon characters somewhat realistically, in this one, I greatly exaggerated their shapes and features, making them much more abstract. (Except for the Orange Menace, whom I wanted to be recognizable.)
My favorite character in this lineup is the boxer, and I’ve always liked the word “pugilist,” though no one ever uses it.
When I was a young man, I enjoyed watching boxing on occasion, but as I’ve matured, I’ve lost my affection for people intentionally beating the crap out of one another. The popularity of cage matches and shows about fighting is a sad and ominous symptom of our species’ affinity for aggression and dominance. The popularity of the blatantly phony pro wrestling style of entertainment is concerning in that regard, with the added alarm of how easily so many of us are fooled. (The return of the Orange Menace reflects the same, but with much worse consequences. In that instance, we are all inside the cage.)
Okay, that was a little more politics than I intended to get into this week, but whatever. It’s tough to keep your mouth shut these days. Along those lines, how completely embarrassed to the point of mortification were you about that U.N. speech this week? OMG. If your answer is “Not at all,” I urge you to keep in mind that you’re in the same cage with the rest of us and will be indiscriminately pummeled all the same. Pick up a history book to find out how that works.
Hey, if you’d like to read one of my Naked Cartoonist articles for free, I just posted it on Substack and it’s not behind a paywall. It’s an amusing look at how I handle hate mail.
Lurching from the shadows and back into the light, let’s have a few chuckles at Wayno’s Bizarro cartoons for the week!
In Wayno’s post this week, he explains the touching story of this cartoon and how it relates to a recently lost long-time friend.
My first wife’s grandmother gave us a cool recliner from the 1940s, but I lost it in our divorce. It might be the thing I miss most about that marriage.
The first time I traveled around Europe in 1979, I did it with paper maps and foreign language phrase books. I can no longer understand how I managed it.
What dogs love about this activity is what I loved about riding motorcycles.
I enjoy imagining the next scene, as the bear’s backside dangles from the plant’s jaws. (No animals were hurt or are about to be hurt in the production of this cartoon.)
I am reminded of a guy I used to know who pretended to be a travel writer and got several free vacations from resorts around the world. Given his build-up of bad karma, I sure as hell wouldn’t get on a plane with him.
That’s where the comedy landed this week, Jazz Pickles. Wayno and I appreciate your readership and encourage you to resist the fascism firmly but peacefully. And remember that enjoying each moment without fear is a form of resistance.
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