Bizarro is brought to you today by My Cigar Smoking is Having an Effect on My Dog.
As a cartoonist, it’s particularly fun for me to be able to add a new twist to one of the cartoon cliches we’ve all seen so many times. In the archive section at the end of this post, I feature another such idea from a few years back.
Side note: If I were a bank robber, I definitely do this.
A good friend of mine recently sent me a pic on my cell phone of him in a new pair of glasses and asked my opinion. My girlfriend, the inimitable Olive Oyl, made a comment about what kind of frames would be right for his shape of face. I didn’t think of this cartoon at that moment, but a couple days later while writing cartoons, this hit me.
So this clown cartoon is pretty dark, I know, but that’s what I like about it. Someone suggest a clown being on “laugh support” would make a good cartoon and though I enjoyed the pun, I didn’t think it was unique enough to hold up on its own. By adding this exceedingly dark tag line, it made me laugh. Which, incidentally, a clown has never done. (I apologize if that last comment offended any of my “clown” readers, but I’m not fond of clowns. I don’t have coulrophobia, but I do have extroverted-stranger-in-disguise-phobia. I didn’t trust people dressed as Santa Claus when I was a kid, either.)
BIZARRO OF THE LIVING DEAD: As promised in the first paragraph, here is a gag from 2005 that also plays on a well-known cartoon cliche.
I share your distaste for clowns, Dan. Dis para tu:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/328903579008846841/
Oh, and Scott and I adored your Billy-is-possessed comic from last week or so. How I enjoy a good Family Circus send-up! (And how annoyed I get when FC actually makes me laugh. Rarely, but it happens.)
I hope Your Irreverence is well and enjoying the summer.
Cheers from Toronto and your loyal jazz pickle, me.
Love that skull, Anne. Can I buy that somewhere that you know of?
I think the word you’re looking for is “coulrophobia”.
AAUGGGGHH! Yes, I left that blank to look up the correct spelling and forgot to get back to it! I’m so embarrassed! Thanks for pointing that out, this comment led me to go back and fix it. :^]
The dead clown joke is hilarious! You’re absolutely right that “laugh support” is a cute and funny pun—it curled the corners of my mouth—but the tag line turns it into a great, dark joke. Great work, Dan!
It reminded me of cartoon panel that I read about in a 2006 NYTimes article (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E7DB1E31F93AA25750C0A9609C8B63):
“IN a single-panel cartoon, an unhappy clown lies on an analyst’s couch, agonizing: ‘My entire family was recently burned to death in an exploding DC-10. How can I possibly make anyone laugh?’
The psychiatrist, in the background, is laughing hysterically.”
I talked about that cartoon panel with friends, and I found that people either did’t get it at all or they (like me) bust a gut laughing. Thus I’m curious about the reaction to your dead clown panel.
Love the clown cartoon, actually I hate clowns, that is why I love the cartoon…Death to Clowns!
The clown cartoon is pure gold! Sincerely “lol”ed 🙂
Is it too late to add a cylinder of nitrous oxide to the dead clown strip?
Yes, but it’s a great idea!
Nitrous oxide? NOO
What do you do at costume parties then? How about halloween?
On Halloween, I accept people in costume. I just don’t want to be accosted by one while out shopping or at a park or whatever.
I must say that while I ALWAYS find your cartoons entertaining, I rarely laugh/chuckle. Today, however, was an exception. The doctor cartoon made me chuckle.
I like the way in which the dead clown clearly still has his big shoes on – nice touch for extra humour. 🙂
And yes, I have also often wondered about those things cartoon doctors have on their heads. I have never seen a doctor anywhere outside of a cartoon with that. I assume doctors wore those way back in the early 14th century; presumably it was a sort of light of some kind?
I went to an eye/ear/nose/throat specialist back in the 80s who wore one. The round disk thing is a mirror with a hole in the middle and the doc looks through the hole while reflecting light into the orifice with the mirror. I have no idea how many people still use those things but he did.
As a professional clown (who does not wear make-up) I must say your treatment of clowns is hilarious! Please keep them coming!
another take of the headband thingy:
“To identify us as miners in cartoons.”
” … as dwarves …”
“… as jewelers …”
“… the better to play blind man’s bluff …”
Dan! Andy here, long time reader, first time replier. I love your blog man.
The dark humor is what I love the most. The clown gag made me burst out in laughter for a straight 2 minutes here in the office. Thanks for a genuine laugh!
This is you merging your stand-up and your cartooning personas into one. That’s what I love about it.
The one with the clown…..SUPERBE!!!!
Love dark humor. T shirts are en route. Hopefully the postal workers can avoid the mime fields.
I like the one with Frankenstein’s Monster. In particular, the touch of grey in his hair really did for me. And yes, those glasses do soften the shape of his head.