Who Said That?
I did two versions of today’s cartoon, which is extremely uncommon. After three decades of writing and drawing daily cartoons, I know where I’m going before I get there and while I might think of different versions, I choose the one I think is best and only draw that one.
In this case, however, I wasn’t sure. The version above, where the speech balloon is pointing to Mrs. Potato Head, is the one that was published in newspapers and sent to all of Bizarro’s digital and print clients worldwide. But the version below was the one I actually preferred.
I wasn’t sure if the version below would be appreciated by enough readers, however, so I created both and showed them to a handful of friends and colleagues. The version below only got one vote and a few folks didn’t understand it at all, so I went with the one above.
There are different ways to see this but here’s where my skull jelly was going: When the woman is speaking, I saw it as her recognizing that he is tripping and saying something about it. It isn’t really logical that she could see that he was hallucinating, but it’s the way most people seem to read it at first. One of my focus group friends I showed it to thought that since the actual toy requires assembly, he got dressed this way because he was tripping. And that’s certainly logical enough.
The other version in which the Picasso-esque spud is speaking, to my mind, means that because she is tripping, she sees him that way, even though he’s probably normal. He guesses she’s tripping by the way she is acting and the look on her face, hence him delivering the line. The word “again” shows that they’ve had some experiences with this before.
I know we should be finished with this story but we’re not.
After seeing only the top version of this cartoon, a friend of mine, best-selling author Daniel Levitin, sent me an email he enjoyed the gag but would have added something, unwittingly combining both versions. His recommendation was to add to the version where the lady is speaking, a balloon for the gentleman that says, “Er, no. But you might have.” Perfect. Wish I’d thought of that.
For many years, Dan has sent me the occasional gag or we’ve collaborated on jokes. I’ve used quite a few of his over the years and he can be quite clever, as is evidenced by his multiple successes as an author. (And a professor of neurology, and a musician/producer, and a stand-up comic. You have to have a pretty firm grasp on your own ego to be friends with this guy, believe me.)
Finally, bringing the topics of best-selling books and drugs together, I found Michael Pollan’s book, How to Change Your Mind fascinating and extremely useful. It is a journalistic exploration of psychedelic drugs and their therapeutic benefits from the perspective of a thinking-based, skeptical atheist. (Which perfectly described where I was when I read it.)
I’ve since found enormous psychological and spiritual benefits to various drugs of this sort—I’ve not tried many but psilocybin mushrooms are my personal favorite— and highly recommend looking into it further. Especially if you have any kind of trauma in your past. And who hasn’t, right?
Now let’s see what trauma-healing hilarity Wayno has inflicted on us with his Bizarro cartoons from the week!…
I knew it! Baryshnikov always looked like he was smuggling a hand grenade in his tights.
I’m thinking this may be a scene from the future trial of Rudolph Giuliani.
That’s not a pipe on that thing that’s not a desk, either.
Wayno and I are both big fans of surrealist René Magritte and have both done numerous cartoons about him and his work. Over on his weekly cartoon blog, Wayno’s got some interesting stuff to say about this one.
How many times do you have to be thrown from a moving vehicle before you stop getting back on? I’m ready to let 2020 speed off into the sunset without me.
I’m pretty sure I dated that thing but it seemed much more attractive at the time.
That statue was SO much cooler with the bubble!
That’s the final dart we’re throwing at the cartoon board this week, Jazz Pickles. Thanks having a few pints with us while we played. If you enjoy what we do here and we do it without walls or subscriptions, please check out the links below and also have a look at my graphic novel, Peyote Cowboy, which I’ve been posting weekly in short episodes, just like Charles Dickens! It’s free for anyone to read online.
Until next time, thanks for stopping by and being supportive. Always a pleasure to spend time with you.
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