Captions Courageous
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 also does a weekly blog post, and I highly recommend it.
Here’s the ANSWER KEY to this week’s Secret Symbols in the Sunday comic, above.
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Today’s Sunday Bizarro cartoon is one of those that rewards careful readers. It is also a testament to how changing one letter in a familiar phrase can completely change its meaning and lead to a chuckle. I love that about language.
The fun part for me was the challenge of drawing these familiar characters with the proper expressions. I wanted the reader to understand that the crew could hear the caption but did not know where it was coming from.
Fortunately, the Internet provides innumerable photos of these characters so it is easy to find reference material, but trying to find them making a suspicious or surprised face isn’t that easy. In the end, I had to sketch them with average expressions and then morph them into the ones you see here. Doing that and maintaining a sense of realism is harder than it might seem. I can’t tell you how many versions I tossed out because they looked too much like they were straining to poop.
I’ve done a handful of Star Trek cartoons and I’ve always used the original 60s TV show costumes and characters. I’m old enough that I watched Star Trek as a kid when it was new, so that’s what I imprinted on. I enjoyed it then but in all honesty, I’m not a huge fan of space adventure films and TV shows, so the hundreds of later versions of Star Trek never caught on with me. One thing I did borrow from later versions of Star Trek, however, is the look of Klingons, which I employed in the Bizarro Bunny Secret Symbol on the blue console screen at right.
The fact that I was a kid when the original Star Trek TV show was new will mean to some readers that I’m old. Others will laugh at that sentence and wish they were as young as I am. Whether the adjective fits me or not, I have gained a little wisdom.
Here’s something almost everyone eventually learns in life:
When you’re young, you think that old people are lame.
When you’re old, it becomes embarrassingly obvious how lame you were when you were young.
Everything is relative.
Whether you’re enjoying your youth or enjoying your wisdom, let’s enjoy Wayno’s Bizarro cartoons from the week now…
Are you a fan of 80s music? (1680s)
When riding a unicycle, it is always a challenge to keep your balls from hitting the ground.
This will teach you to read comics while you’re eating.
My favorite carnival midway game is Empty Your Wallet, Win Something You Don’t Want in Your House.
I suppose if you feel you have to kill things to enjoy yourself, it might as well be balloon animals.
The sound of the getaway car revving says our humor heist has come to its conclusion. Thanks for idling at the curb until we hopped back in. If you enjoy our work and that we offer it for free without ads or paywalls, please consider helping us keep it that way via one of the links below. We’ll name a rescued balloon animal after you in gratitude.
Until next week, be careful which end of the balloon you blow into.
BIZARRO SHOP Fun and cheap!
… Bizarro TIP JAR One-time or repeating. Your choice!
…Signed, numbered, limited edition prints and original Bizarro panels