Paperless Living
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.
Bienvenido, Pepinillos Jazz,
A few days ago, on the 22nd of January, I realized that the day before had been the 41st anniversary of Bizarro. That seems to happen at least once yearly, but I often forget about it until it’s passed, and never celebrate it unless someone in my life (Olive Oyl) notices ahead of time and insists, which has happened a few times.
I have mixed feelings about these anniversaries. On the one hand, I recognize the accomplishment of maintaining a cartoon strip for over forty years, but on the other hand, it can make me feel old and irrelevant.
On yet another hand (I often need more than two), the passage of time and transition from young to old is the way of nature, and there is no denying it, escaping it, or shame in it. As the body melts away like a figure in an equatorial wax museum during a power outage, the mind becomes wiser, and that’s a wonderful thing.
On the fourth hand, I am profoundly grateful for having been able to make a living in a creative field of my choice without having to struggle my whole life with what are often called “real jobs.” I did my share of meaningless toil in my youth—minimum-wage labor of all sorts, kowtowing to egomaniacal advertising executives while illustrating products that I would never consume or allow in my own home—but by my mid-thirties, I was able to give those up and survive in middle-class comfort with my income from Bizarro. That seemed like a miracle, and still does, and I am eternally grateful for whatever gods or good karma allowed it to happen.
On the fifth hand, I am grateful for my partnership with Wayno for the past eight years.
By January of 2018, I had written, drawn, and published over 12,000 cartoons, and I was mentally exhausted by it. Historically, syndicated cartoonists (who could afford it) have often turned their features over to ghostwriters and artists in midlife and retired early, but I’d been told that, since Bizarro was not a feature with regular characters and jokes that could be easily emulated by others, I’d never be able to do that. Bizarro had always been a personal expression of my own unique way of thinking and drawing, my syndication distributor said, so that option was not available to comics like mine.
But along came Wayno. Our humor and art are not identical, but they are similar enough that he could assume most of my responsibilities without losing my hard-earned readership. Another miracle.
He has not tried to impersonate me, and I’ve never expected or wanted that, which is why he’s not been relegated to being a ghostwriter.
Thanks for doing such a good job, pal.
This post is quickly sounding like something I did not intend it to when I began writing this morning. I’m not quitting Bizarro, I haven’t been diagnosed with anything terminal (yet), and I haven’t won an Oscar. It just feels like a good time to count my blessings.
My greatest blessing thus far has been my beloved Olive Oyl, who has been a supporting and invaluable partner in my life and career for the past twelve years. When we first got together, she did a terrific job coloring my daily cartoons for a few years, and from the very beginning, she’s been a savvy investor of my meager savings. That slowly-growing nest egg, and our decision to move to Mexico almost ten years ago, have been what allowed me to semi-retire and afford to pay Wayno to do his thing.
I’ve run out of hands for all the things I’m thankful for, but lastly, I’ll thank you, dear readers, who have continued to help me stay in business. Wayno, Olive Oyl, and I cherish you all.
That makes it time to enjoy some chuckelation provided by Wayno’s Bizarro comics from the week…
The name of the deli above is explained in Wayno’s blog post for this week. I had no idea he had a connection to America’s original zombie filmmaker.
Zest is getting as hard to find as justice these days.
Ah, the good old days when criminals wore funny outfits, got what they deserved in the end, and weren’t fascist dictators posing as presidents of former democracies. (You didn’t think I could go a whole week without mentioning that, did you?)
I know a few charter members.
If you know who these two characters are, this is a brilliant gag. If you don’t, look them up.
Or are you just glad to see me?
Let’s put this episode to bed before we all drown in our tears of laughter. If you've enjoyed our comics and that we present them here each week for free, please consider helping us keep it that way via the links below. We’ll be as happy as a superhero with a new pair of tights.
The Naked Cartoonist…My every-other-week creative-writing subscription 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.
Super fun Bizarro swag from ComicsKingdom, including our 2026 Bizarro wall calendar.