Big Feet, Big Eyes, Big Day
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.
The comic above may look familiar. It was originally published in 2008, and it’s long been one of my favorites, so I thought it deserved a fresh view.
Seeing Bigfoot and a space alien at the same moment would be as overwhelming as it would be hilarious. I added to it the popular social phenomenon of offering to take photos of strangers.
Making the offer when there is nothing in it for you is an act of altruism, and giving your phone or camera to a stranger requires trust that they won’t just run away with it. That combination of generosity toward our fellow humans always gives me hope for our species.
Here’s a funny, true story from my life that partially inspired this cartoon:
I was leaving a restaurant one evening many years ago, and a family group of 6 or 8 people was standing outside getting ready to take a picture to commemorate the occasion. A man walked out of the restaurant and generously asked the photographer if she’d like him to take it so she could be in it. She enthusiastically accepted his offer and handed the camera to him.
As he prepared to snap a shot, another person exited the restaurant and asked him the same question. “Would you like me to take that for you, so you can be in it?”
Hilariously, the original impromptu photographer said, “Sure,” handed him the camera, and walked off down the street.
The look of utter confusion on the second volunteer photographer’s face was priceless.
Here are two more of my cartoons that were inspired by that experience.
This one was inspired by my mother’s uncanny ability with photography.
This one is a bit darker, but even funnier IMHO.
Time now to see what hilarity may be inspired by Wayno’s Bizarro cartoons from the week…
I love a good zen/nothing combo gag. For those not familiar with the concept, the philosophy of Zen Buddhism includes much to do about nothing.
A brilliant comic that anyone who has posted their thoughts (or comics) online will appreciate.
I still love the old Batman live-action TV series from the late sixties. It aired when I was ages 8 to 10, and was undoubtedly instrumental in my lifelong love of camp.
Wayno included the elaborate formatting of the art for the panel and strip versions of this one in his weekly newsletter, which is always fun and free to subscribe to.
In Wayno’s weekly blog post (different from the newsletter mentioned above), he features a photo of the original Mr. Potato Head toy as it was sold in the 1950s. I had that toy, remember it well, and I think it got me started thinking like a cartoonist.
Another stellar gag. For my money, this is one of Wayno’s best weeks of cartoons ever. Stand-up comics in the ‘60s routinely featured impressions of celebrities, and they were almost always introduced in this manner.
Wayno created a version of this cartoon flipped over with the woman at the top, and we discussed which one worked better. He showed that version in his most recent newsletter, too.
That’s how this week’s comedy crimes conclude, Jazz Pickles. We hope a kind stranger will offer to take a photo of you with them if you’re into that kind of thing. If you enjoy that we do this for free every week, please consider helping us keep it that way via a link below. We’ll smile about it and send you love.
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. (ALL the comics are still funny, no matter what month it is!)