What It Is
Hola, Jazz Pickles, and other amigos! I am writing again this week from my mountaintop hideaway somewhere in the state of Oaxaca, which is in Mexico somewhere. I know this because people in authority have said that we live in Mexico, we drove here by car and did not encounter anything that looked like a border, so we feel pretty confident that we are in Mexico somewhere. Also, there are a lot of Mexicans everywhere we go.
I want to say next that the cartoon above is brilliant for several reasons and I think most of you will agree. But before you accuse me of Trumpian-style narcissism, let me tell you that I did not write it. That is to say, the concept was not mine, I only illustrated it.
Yes, I write the overwhelming majority of my gags but I’m not above using someone else’s idea (with permission) from time to time for various reasons. In this case, the various reason was that a guy wrote to me on FB and asked if I’d look at and critique his cartoons. This happens to a guy like me about as often as you’re probably imagining (if you’re imagining about once a week for a couple of decades) and their work is good about as often as you’d imagine, too (if you’re imagining almost never.)
Okay, that’s a little cruel and not at all true! I just thought of that punchline for that paragraph and couldn’t resist it. The truth is that people do ask me to look at their cartoons and sometimes they’re pretty good and sometimes they’re awful. Like everything else in life. In this case, however, I went to this guy’s website and was impressed.
His ideas are simple and silly so if the first couple don’t knock you out, keep going. For me, his is the kind of work that builds into a chuckle and a laugh as you go along. And more than a couple gags on his site get the cartoonist’s highest honor: the I-wish-I’d-thought-of-that award. I also like that his drawings are simple and to the point. He doesn’t waste time drawing tons of stuff he doesn’t need for the gag, unlike some cartoonists I could name! (Okay, me.)
So, Bizarro Jazz Pickles, please give a briny welcome to a talented cartoonist doing some very fun work, Jeff Hobbs!
Now let’s feast our fuzzy eyeballs on Wayno’s week of Bizarro cartoons and see what builds…
If you’ve not seen the film My Octopus Teacher, drop everything and do so now. If it doesn’t change your life, you may not actually be alive. It’s available on Netfilx.
If you’ve not seen The Greatest Story Ever Told recently, don’t drop anything and don’t go out of your way, but if it’s in front of you for some reason that didn’t take any effort, go ahead and watch it for a few minutes. John Wayne’s performance stands out as about average for that film.
If you haven’t seen One Million Years B. C. recently, don’t bother. The movie poster is pretty much as good as the entire movie.
Trucks that play music through loudspeakers will single-handedly keep me from achieving nirvana and I hate them for it.
Yet another Mr. Potato Head cartoon that makes NO reference to his detachable penis. Hello? Elephant in the room, anyone?
It has been a pleasure providing you with smiles, amigos. On your way out the door, be sure to stop by Wayno’s weekly cartoon blog post in which he delights in different ways each and every week! And I also invite you to have a look at my graphic novel, Peyote Cowboy, and to watch my video about how much I’d appreciate your support.
Till next time, be who you are and know what you know.
BIZARRO SHOP We have new stuff in the shop that’s fun and cheap!
…Signed, numbered, limited edition prints and original Bizarro panels
King Features Subscription + archive access