Getting the Finger
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 whose weekly blog post I recommend highly.
Here’s the ANSWER KEY to this week’s Secret Symbols in the Sunday comic, above.—————————————————————————
Que tal, Jazz Pickles? I’m happy you’re here. Today I will talk a bit about art.
I’ve drawn (or painted) almost daily since I was a toddler. I’m not religious about it, it just happened as the result of some genetic program I seem to have been born with. And from an early age, I’ve enjoyed dabbling in various styles; whether fine art or cartoons, there is no one way that my work always looks. As you can see in the two examples of my fine art, below, even though they are both surrealist images, you wouldn’t immediately recognize they were done by the same artist.
“Blue Suede Bull,” BIC pen drawing, 2018. “Funereal Weekend,” Oil on canvas, 1994.
Almost any successful fine artist has a style they stay well within, which helps to make their work recognizable, and, therefore, more marketable. Jackson Pollack, for instance, is the guy who makes big splatter messes. Andy Warhol does those celebrity portraits with weird colors. You get the idea. But I like experimenting, so I’ve never consciously stuck to a single style or look. (Maybe that’s why I’m not what you’d call a [commercially] successful fine artist. That’s a story for another post.)
I’ve done something similar with my cartoon career. By this time, I suppose there are plenty of people who recognize my style, but I still enjoy experimenting. While most of my Bizarro cartoons are in a semi-realistic cartoon style, some are much more exaggerated and wacky than others. You can see that difference in the two Sunday title panels below.
Wacky, left, more realistic, right. (The style, not the subject matter!)
And once more, I seem to be doing the same thing with my graphic novel, Peyote Cowboy. While most of the characters are drawn in a fairly realistic, traditional comic book style, some are not, by a long shot. Below are examples of each approach.
Wacky Frida Kohla, left, and a more traditionally illustrated scene at right. Both exist in the same storyline.
This mixing of realities is perhaps a little unorthodox but I think I’m pulling it off. I also experiment with color quite a bit and while some characters are colored with a realistic human palette, some are monochromatic and other-worldly. Others change their color scheme from scene to scene.
But the story is not called Peyote Cowboy for no reason, so it makes sense that its internal reality shifts and changes. I make these shifts judiciously so as not to distract from the story, but it looms in the background and you may become aware of it as you make your way through; as in real life, just when you think you’ve got a grip on reality, weird shit happens and the tables turn.
Though I immensely enjoy creating realistic art, I think I enjoy the wacky drawings even more; they’re just so much fun to dream up. Early in my career, I often tried to corral myself into a single style in an effort to be more recognizable and commercial. But it never worked. Sooner or later, I’d be meandering again. I’ve come to accept I’m just wired that way and there’s no point in fighting it. I hope you readers enjoy the meandering styles as much as I do.
And now let us avail ourselves of the comedy stylings of Wayno with his Bizarro cartoons for the week…
Nor is it the first time his heart has been trampled by a filly. (Awwww…)
Moms always have the best explosives.
Never date someone who can’t hold their liquor. That would be me with a martini glass. I always spill those.
The Golden Bunny is known to be the most coveted award by people in need of something to pawn.
For my foreign readers and others who may be in the dark, that’s the name of dozens of unrelated pizza places in NYC.
It just so happens that Caravaggio’s Medusa is a real fave of mine and is my desktop image.
That’s the end of this week’s humor myths, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for sticking around till you turned to stone. If you like what we do and want to help us keep it free of paywalls and ads, please consider the links below. Our hair snakes will hiss your name in gratitude!
Until next week, keep the constrictors away from your neck.
BIZARRO SHOP Fun and cheap!
COMICS KINGDOM SHOP (now with Bizarro products!)
… Bizarro TIP JAR One-time or repeating. Your choice!
…Signed, numbered, limited edition prints and original Bizarro panels