Illuminating Thoughts
I’m Dan Piraro, the creator of the Bizarro newspaper comic. Each week, I post my Sunday Bizarro comic, then a short essay, then the past week’s Monday-Saturday Bizarro comics written and drawn by my partner, Wayno. He does a weekly blog post, too, and I highly recommend it.
——————————————————————
O2 and I were hanging out with some friends a few weeks back and the topic of “smart bulbs” came up, which I’d never heard of. As we batted the subject around wondering what makes smart bulbs so smart and what they do that dumbass bulbs can’t, one of our friends—let’s call him Lorenzo—mused about what might happen when a smart bulb gets an idea, as illustrated above. I told him I was going to do a cartoon about that and I did.
It is rare that I get an idea for a gag when I’m out and about. Most of my cartoon ideas come from extended periods of solitary silence, waiting for a lightbulb to appear over my head. But this one just dropped out of a friend’s mouth and into my lap at a dinner party, and I immediately looked forward with giddy anticipation to drawing the floating brain. The whole picture came out pretty well, I think. I like the color scheme, the art on the wall, the look of the lamp and the brain, and the design of the kooky character witnessing it all makes me smile.
I told my friend —whom we’re still calling Lorenzo—that I was going to give him a byline and asked what did he want it to be. He replied, “Squanto,” which made me smile. Lorenzo said it is a nickname he’s had since he was a kid.
Squanto was a historic figure from pre-colonial days; an indigenous resident of what became New England, and he acted as a liaison between the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Indians. He must have been preternaturally talented in language to bridge that gap. He was also kidnapped, sold into slavery in Spain, spent time in England, and eventually ended up back in his hometown where everyone was dead from smallpox. You can find out more about him via the Internet. Lorenzo’s life has been interesting, too, but unfortunately does not have a page on Wikipedia.
So thanks for the idea for today’s gag, Squanto. I hope you like the way it turned out. Since the joke was donated and I didn’t have to write it, I added the “Scurvy Snax—with real citrus” so I could feel like I was earning my pay this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.
Wayno certainly earned his pay this week by lightbulbing all of the following Bizarro cartoons. Let us gaze upon them in wonder and gaiety.
Judging by some comments I’ve seen, many reader’s minds did not go to the Fountain of Youth.
Pro tip: If you find out that one of your knives can talk, don’t try to throw it away or it will come back and kill you.
And also Nebbish Disorder.
Fans of art will enjoy the small batch of process sketches that Wayno included in his blog post this week. Don’t miss them.
A lot of cartoonists don’t bother to attempt complex facial expressions but here at Bizarro Industries, we never shrink away from a challenge. “Bitter sarcasm” is a tough face to pull off and Wayno did an amazing job here. (clapping hands emoji)
Oh, cool! Is it a delivery truck?
And that’s a wrap, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for being extras in our little imaginary cartoon movie. If you like what we do and that we do it for free, without ads or paywalls, please consider helping us keep it that way via one of the links below. We’ll be jazzed.
Until next week, be wary of cavemen pushing new inventions.
BIZARRO SHOP Fun and cheap!
… Bizarro TIP JAR One-time or repeating. Your choice!
…Signed, numbered, limited edition prints and original Bizarro panels