Selfie Satisfaction
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 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.
Howdy doody, Jpix. (A groovy new nickname for Jazz Pickles. Use it freely in your daily communication.)
My Sunday cartoon above references that ubiquitous “ego tell” called the “selfie.” With the exception of famed Muppet Miss Piggy, no other species is as obsessed with its own image as we humans are.
Most primates are unable to realize that what they see in a mirror is a reflection of themselves, and react defensively or with fear. (The older I get, the more I can relate to that.)
However, great apes—gorillas, chimps, bonobos, orangutans (and us)—are the exception and consistently pass the self-realization test, using a mirror to inspect parts of themselves they can’t normally see. That would include their faces.
Can you imagine living without ever having seen a clear image of your own face? Aside from the wavy, upside-down version occasionally reflected in water, millions of people for millions of years lived that way. To grab a “selfie,” they had to find a puddle.
In a recent article in my creative writing project, The Naked Cartoonist, I explore the topic of selfies and how they relate to puppetry. Usually only available by subscription ($5/mo), here’s the full article for free!
“Life With a Hand Up Your Butt”
A brief excerpt:
“Perhaps an…”
I told you it was brief.
As with all of my articles, this free sample includes an audio version of me telling my story in my own velvety-smooth voice, with Academy Award-level emoting bringing it fully to life. With no more than a single working ear and a click of a tiny white triangle, as shown in the screenshot below, you can find out how different my voice is from what you imagined it would be.
My subscription articles are among several ways I’m supporting myself now that income from newspapers is all but gone, so I hope you’ll enjoy this free one and subscribe. (Little-known fact: Cartoonists without licensable characters that can be sold as products are rarely wealthy. Wayno and I would be two such cartoonists.)
In all honesty, we mostly do this because we love to write and draw cartoons that enchuckle our readers, and we’d gladly do it without pay if food and housing were free.
Let’s see what Wayno would’ve done for free in a perfect world via his Bizarro cartoons for the week…
Keep in mind that if you’re too picky, he’ll whack that pizza paddle upside your head.
I hope a special medal is created for members of the military who help remove a certain fascist from his Epstein Ballroom Below-Ground Bunker when he refuses to accept the outcome of a future election. (And I pray it never comes to that.)
The monk in that final panel is St. Simon of Garfunkel.
Do the final exams involve a stool sample?
Etch-a-Sketch was the video game of the pre-computer age. I spent many hours developing my hand coordination with those things. It was among my favorite toys.
That final note was jotted by a raven, of course.
That wraps up this week’s chuckle chapter, Jpix. Thanks for pausing to peek. If you appreciate our being here, please consider helping us continue to do so via the links below. Our gratitude will be as huge as a selfie addict’s ego.
The Naked Cartoonist…My every-other-week creative-writing subscription service.
Limited edition, signed & numbered prints of BIZARRO CARTOONS, and some ORIGINALS!
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 women’s V-neck styles! (And some weird shit from other comics that doesn’t even belong in our shop. Sorry about that.)