Say What?
It’s been a fun week here at Rancho Bizarro as we celebrated a milestone in a five-year project! Last Tuesday, I launched the new website for my graphic novel, Peyote Cowboy, which I’m posting more-or-less as I illustrate it. I’ve been working on this story off and on for five years, finished writing it early this year, then began the arduous task of illustrating it.
The illustrations are complex and bursting with detail, which, try as I might, I just can’t seem to avoid. I’m capable of drawing more simply—and have done so thousands of times in many different styles when I was doing freelance commercial illustration back in the day—but when it comes to my own projects, the art always turns out complex. It’s just the way my brain is wired, I suppose. Plus, I think this story is better with somewhat realistic, detailed illustrations.
Below is a scene from the next episode, #5, entitled “Dead Man Drinkin’”. I’ll post it on Tuesday. I’ve pixelated the dialogue to avoid plot spoilers.
One of the things artists often say are hard to draw is horses. I agree, but for some reason, they’ve been among my favorite things to draw since I was a toddler and I’ve always had a knack for it. The bigger challenge for me with this project was learning to draw a horse skeleton in many positions.
I hope you’ll give my story a look and let me know what you think. It’s free to read for anyone with Internet access, so spread the word. If you’d like to get an email each time I post a new episode (Tuesdays!) drop your email into this form. If you’d like to support the project, consider clicking one of the Patreon links on the website. So far, the response has been terrific, so thanks to all of you who are already riding along with me on this!
Regarding this week’s Sunday cartoon about the ventriloquist (top of this page); the joke is self-explanatory but I put a fun detail in the background that certain film buffs might enjoy. If you missed it, the only hint I’ll give is that it refers to one of my favorite comic actors of all time and is from one of my favorite movies of all time, The Producers. I’ve only seen the original with Gene Wilder (also a fave actor of mine but not the one referenced in the comic in question) so I can’t comment on subsequent versions.
With your permission, let’s move on now to Wayno’s Bizarro cartoons for the week!
Cartoon Pro Tip #57: In the real world, restaurants within this guy’s budget don’t typically have tablecloths, but in cartoons, pretty much ALL restaurants have tablecloths. It keeps us from having to draw a tangled pile of human, chair, and table legs.
I hired a life coach who turned out to be a total fraud and I ended up dying. Be careful out there, folks.
By the way, Wayno has an amusing story about this gag on his weekly cartoon blog. Hope over, read it, come back!
I’m not one to put clothing on dogs but a four-piece bathing suit for next time I take mine to the lake or beach is pretty tempting.
It’s hard for me to comment on this one without referencing the difference between law enforcement in England and in a country where everyone is armed to the teeth. So I won’t comment.
For students of pop art, there’s some real comedy juice in that label.
This little scoundrel further rebels by getting the exact opposite haircut from his dad.
That wraps up our cartoon family therapy session for this week, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for staying until everyone cried. If you’re enjoying what we do and appreciate that we offer it for free, without ads or paywalls, please consider having a looksee at some of the links below. Every little bit helps us keep the campfire burning at Rancho Bizarro.
Also, I did a ten-minute interview on a podcast this week that you may enjoy. You can hear it by going to The Stuph File and listening to show #0577. Thanks to Peter Anthony Holder for your continued support!
Until next time, be wise, be kind, and be the person you wish you were.
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