The old drawing board hosted a variety of characters since our last newsletter. The comical cast included a bird, Humpty Dumpty, tikis, a lawyer, and a Bizarro take on Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

If you could see into the future, you’d be able to identify the five Secret Symbols that will appear in the complete version of this panel.

Our archival imagery this time around is a six-pack of drink coasters I designed in the last century. The first is a 1992 promotional item for my solo comic book, Beer Nutz, which lasted for three issues. Most of the stories involved a trio of beer-swilling knuckleheads who frequented the fictional Scottie’s Bar.

A few years later, I designed a set of four coasters as a pledge premium for WFMU, the world’s most free-form radio station. These were letterpress-printed on thick pulpy stock and were a lot of fun to work on. We used black ink plus two custom Pantone colors: a deep red and a sort of mustardy tan. When the red and tan colors were overprinted, the result was a rich orange-brown shade. I had free rein to come up with the images and taglines.

The “We Feel Your Pain” characters were a grubby homage to the Piel Brothers Beer mascots Bert and Harry Piel, who appeared in a series of animated commercials. Bob & Ray, the classic comedy team provided their voices.

This 1996 design was my one and only assignment from Screw, whose art director hired many cartoonists during the publication’s heyday. It’s a curious souvenir of one of the worst promotional ideas in history.

Supposedly, the magazine’s employees were sent out to distribute stacks of coasters to bars throughout New York City. The theory was that after a few drinks, people would call the toll-free number and subscribe.

Of course, it backfired, and Screw ended up paying for countless drunken crank calls, not to mention printing costs for thousands of coasters, and a meager fee for the illustrator. That was the beginning and the end of my career in smut.

Bizarro Fashion

This “Chess King” T-shirt is one of the items now available in the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Summer Collection. There are several new shirts, coffee mugs, water bottles, and insulated tumblers. Every purchase helps out two hard-working ink monkeys.

Alternate Configurations Department

Here’s the landscape version of Friday’s valet gag. It was my favorite of the week, combining comics and music. It also reminded me how difficult it is to draw the seemingly simple Peanuts characters.

This was a rare occasion where I planned my original drawing to work as both panel and trip without any digital re-jiggering.

Thanks as always for subscribing to this newsletter and for reading the blog and comics.

Cheers from your cartoonist,

Wayno

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Over the past seven days, I drew a batch of cartoons that included friars, piñatas, chimpanzees, and musicians.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

Bizarro will kick off September with self-serve coffee. There will be a joke involved; this preview is redacted.

In other news, we’ll soon be announcing a new line of Bizarro T-shirts and other swag for the summer, so stay tuned for that.

Although the Duplex Planet Illustrated “Ken’s Corner” strips were usually record reviews, this one was just a bit of Eglin philosophy. Perhaps he had recently heard the song “Never Can Say Goodbye.”

Alternate Configurations & Early Sketch

I flipped the layout of Monday’s cryptocurrency gag for the strip version.

Friday’s bowling/rolling comic called for a vertical strip.

My initial sketch of the Bitcoin gag had the mob boss expressing skepticism. The comics almost always evolve along the way.

Thanks as always for subscribing to this newsletter and for reading the blog and comics.

Best wishes from your cartoonist,

Wayno

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I’m feeling refreshed after spending nearly a week out of the studio. We took a little road trip, and I hardly fretted about work or deadlines.

Before leaving home, I meticulously pre-scheduled my daily social media cartoon posts, and they worked as planned. I sometimes wonder whether daily posting across multiple platforms is worth the effort, since Big Algorithm buries artists engaging with readers in favor of relentless paid advertising.

For now, we’ll keep at it and continue to issue the Substack newsletter and the weekly blog, which, coincidentally, is now available for optical consumption.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

In late August, a classic art toy will appear in Bizarro. I’ve scrubbed this preview of the onscreen image, the caption, and any Secret Symbols appearing in the unredacted cartoon.

This 1994 “Ken’s Corner” page from Duplex Planet Illustrated is one of my favorites, despite the lousy Tom Jones caricature in the title panel.

Ken Eglin sometimes spoke specifically about the record he was listening to, and more often took the discussion in unexpected directions. Here, he reminisces about a beloved pet.

I modeled the drawings of Missy after our all-white cat, Danni, who found us as a tiny stray and was still with us when I made the comic.

While I was on a leave of absence last week, my birthday came around again (thankfully). Here’s a family photo from a long-ago birthday. My poor brothers got stiffed out of the novelty glasses, I did my Jerry Colonna impression, and our father supervised with an Iron City beer on the nearby counter.

Alternate Configurations Department

A couple of the week’s cartoons needed extra care when being converted to strip layouts.

The mouse is out of frame in Monday’s gag, but we have a fuller view of the printer.

I set Friday’s bass guitars in a vertical strip, causing analog readers to tilt their heads or rotate their newspapers.

Thanks for subscribing. Your readership is why we keep doing what we do.

Let me know what you like (or dislike) about the newsletter, and anything you might want to see in future editions.

Cheers from your cartoonist,

Wayno

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I’ve learned that singing telegram carriers really aren’t a thing anymore, and I probably couldn’t afford to hire them to get you the latest cartoons and commentary, so I’ll have to ask you to click on the yellow rectangle below.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

My most recent uploads to the Comics Cloud included a porcine supervisor and a craftspig. They’ll hit the funny pages in late August.

Our first archival image is a 2004 sketchbook page. Can you identify the people caricatured here?

I still can’t make sense of that spam message, but the sketch below it eventually became a painting titled “Weinervana.”

Analog Art

Here’s the original drawing for Friday’s Eric Idle gag, complete with red and blue pencil lines and hand-lettering. My originals usually look more like an IKEA instruction diagram than a finished comic. This one only needed a little cleanup and digital text & coloring after I scanned it.

Misfit Toys Department

While looking for reference images of old Mr. Potato Head toys, I stumbled across photos of “Flying Floogle,” a strange toy I had as a kid.

It was a “Weird-Oh” type character in an airplane, made of flat molded plastic that snapped together.

A length of string connected the plane to a plastic handle, and to make the thing “fly,” you whipped the string around over your head.

That was all it did! And for some forgotten reason, I had to have it. I begged my parents until they eventually gave in.

I have no idea why I wanted this so badly. Maybe there was a convincing TV commercial with a catchy jingle.

Thanks for subscribing to the old Substack.

Please feel free to let me know what you like or dislike about the newsletter, and anything you might want to see in future editions.

Your humble ink monkey,

Wayno

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We’re still posting the blog entry the old-fashioned way, but if your town crier has the day off, you can read it online.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

A late summer Bizarro panel will feature this rather well-dressed arthropod.

Music has always been part of my cartoon vocabulary, as in this 2016 WaynoVision panel. The gag is from the middle of the feature’s original three-year run, and was one of the first to appear in newsprint. Pittsburgh City Paper published a WaynoVision comic every week for a couple of years.

I was definitely looking at this photo when I drew the cartoon. Formed in 1962, the group called themselves The Paladins, The Spectres, Traffic (Oops! Already taken!), and Traffic Jam before settling on Status Quo, so the gag is chronologically sound.

I’ve always enjoyed doing the homework for my comics.

Fake Wayno Sighting

“The Improbable,” a 2002 episode of The X-Files, starred Burt Reynolds as a character who may or may not have been the Supreme Being. Burt/God repeatedly taunts Mad Wayne, a numerology-obsessed serial killer, and starts calling him Wayno.

Despite the grim theme, it’s a fun, even lighthearted episode, but I found it more than a little unnerving.

Work Pile

Bizarro Box #18 has been filled. Each of these archival storage boxes holds 150 pieces of original comic art. The total is now 2,700 drawings, representing almost nine years of work.

In another year, I’ll need the hat to look taller than the stack of boxes.

Sketchbookshelves

Over the years, I’ve scribbled in dozens of sketchbooks, roughing out ideas for gags, noting business expenses, or warming up by drawing something I saw in the morning paper. Most of the contents were never meant for, or worthy of, public consumption.

The first four (far left) were ordinary spiral notebooks of lined paper, borrowed from the supply cabinet at an office job I had at the time. The two odd-sized books (upper right) are from 2004 through 2005.

The tall book marked “2007—” ran through to 2015, overlapping with other volumes. The two with unmarked spines (sitting atop Lord of the Flies) are fresh books waiting their turns.

I’ll look through these and share some of the less embarrassing images in the newsletter from time to time.

Until next week, I thank you for subscribing and for reading Bizarro.

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Best wishes from your cartoonist,

Wayno

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Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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Looking Ahead & Looking Back

These sports-minded youngsters will grace the funny pages in August.

From 1995, here’s the back cover to Duplex Planet Illustrated #14. I painted the figures on vellum, cut them out, and pasted them onto vintage postcards. I then mounted the cards on a paint-spattered sheet of black paper.

The publisher added the digital word balloons

Alternate Takes

Thursday’s panel was, to use an in-house term, a bit on the “thinky” side. We are, in fact, seeing the bottom crust of the pie, which is topped with (literally) everything.

If the art had shown the sky on top and the Earth below, it would simply have been a pizza face-down in the grass. The joke is all about seeing things from a different perspective.

The widescreen layout looks more dramatic to me. What do you think?

I also sketched a completely different version showing Atlas delivering a pizza with everything, but we started wondering if Atlas is carrying the Earth, what’s he standing on?

According to Greek mythology, Atlas stands on “the Western edge of the Earth” (whatever that is) and holds up the heavens, but he’s now commonly thought of as holding Earth itself.

Ultimately, we decided that the upside-down gag was odder and funnier, although I was looking forward to drawing the aged papyrus for the Atlas caption.

Milestone Moment

Every time I draw the analog art for a Bizarro comic, I write a sequential index number and stamp the date in the corner. A few days ago, I drew the 2,700th gag since taking over the dailies in 2018. As soon as I pick up a fresh archival storage box for drawing numbers 2,551 through 2,700, I’ll stack up all (eighteen!) boxes and take a photo to mark the occasion.

It’s a little ritual I perform every 6 months or so to keep myself motivated. I’ll share the photo here, of course!

That wraps up the newsletter for another week. Thank you for subscribing!

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Cheers,

Wayno

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Your ink-monkey plans to take a few days off in early June, so we’re working overtime at the drawing board to stay comfortably ahead of those pesky deadlines.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

Two Frankenstein-related characters will appear in Bizarro at the end of July.

When real people appear in the comic, I try to make the drawings recognizable, but think of them as approximations rather than caricatures or portraits. I’m fairly happy with these likenesses.

This week’s archival art is a 2012 label design for my friends at the East End Brewing Company. “Blabber & Smoke” rauchbier was named after a song by Captain Beefheart, whom I mentioned in today’s blog.

I drew the line art by hand with ink and a brush, and colored and assembled the final design in Photoshop. The government warning is meant to look like a last-minute addition pasted onto the bottle. The halftone-dot background is a high-resolution scan taken from an antique linen postcard, giving the design a funky, worn look.

The label’s character is a tribute to Cal Schenkel’s cover photo for Beefheart’s notoriously polarizing Trout Mask Replica LP. Yes, I’m showing off my autographed copy.

Alternate View

As regular readers know, we reconfigure every daily comic as a strip in addition to the standard panel format.

The strip sometimes calls for a vertical orientation, which requires newsprint readers to rotate their papers by ninety degrees.

Reference Image of the Week

My work process usually includes searching for a few photos of things I’ll be drawing. This week, I needed to look at an old pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game. That cactus blossom on the left could almost be Bizarro’s Crown of Power Secret Symbol.

Thank you for indulging my (smokeless) blabbering again this week.

Remember, your comments and questions are always welcome.

Regards from your cartoonist,

Wayno

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The cartoon studio has been hopping since our last issue. I worked on a week of gags sharing a common theme, and got a new chair pad for my computer station, which those of you with home offices will appreciate.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

It wasn’t easy to choose a preview image that wouldn’t give away the theme of the latest batch, so I went with a redacted version. All will be revealed in July.

Our throwback art is the last of the “Itchy Acres” strips from Nickelodeon Magazine.

Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan wrote and recorded a song called “Mogie,” which I adapted as the name of the character introduced in this strip.

Behind the Panels

Thursday’s “Sousaphobe” gag originally had different dialogue and was captioned “Xylophobe.” I made changes after learning that xylophobia is an actual word for the irrational fear of wooden objects, trees, or wooded areas.

As far as I can tell, there is no psychiatric condition called Sousaphobia.

The comic book in Friday’s “Man of the Sloth” panel was based on the third issue of Bill Griffith’s Zippy, which reprinted newspaper strips from 1979 and 1980.

I’ve been reading and admiring Bill Griffith’s comics since my teens. As a music-obsessed youngster, I spent too much time (and money) in record stores. In those days, independent shops often had a spinner rack stocked with underground comix, introducing me to cartoonists like Robert Crumb, Gilbert Shelton, Foolbert Sturgeon, Jay Lynch, Skip Williamson, Justin Green, Art Spiegelman, and Bill Griffith.

Beginning in the early 1980s, I occasionally corresponded with Bill and regularly saw him when I attended San Diego Comic-Con, up through the early 2000s. Our paths have crossed many times, and a comix hero has become a colleague and friend.

The Zippy comic in Friday’s Bizarro is a respectful nod to Bill’s influence.

Griffy has the artistic chops of a seasoned master and the creative energy of someone half his age. In addition to creating Zippy comic strips seven days a week for decades, over the past ten years, he’s also researched, written, and illustrated four fascinating graphic memoirs/biographies, including Three Rocks, the story of Nancy cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller, and Photographic Memory, the story of pioneering photographer William Henry Jackson, who was his great-grandfather.

He’s currently working on his own memoir, which is sure to be another classic. While we await its publication, you can order any of his books from Zippythepinhead.com, and he’ll autograph them for you.

Thanks for subscribing, and for reading Bizarro.

As Lee Morgan might say, I hope you have an expoobident week.

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Cheers,

Wayno

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As you can see, I’m in the esteemed company of Dave Blazek and Bill Whitehead; both are excellent cartoonists and nice, friendly humans.

Hopeful scribblers submitted eight examples of their 2025 work in January. NCS jury committees reviewed the entries, then voted to narrow the field to three finalists in each division.

Choosing which ones to submit was a long process. From my personal favorites, I tried to show a variety of gags while giving some weight to the number of likes and comments each one received on social media.

Here’s the batch I finally settled on.

Of course, I started with a music-related panel.

This one’s not quite wordless, but it’s close, and the joke lands nicely.

This gag was popular among readers. Dan and I liked it, too.

A bit of religion and social commentary, as the supreme being chats with a Colbert-esque late-night host.

Inspired by actual events without being overtly editorial, the panel has remained timely since its November publication.

A representative punny caption.

Anteaters are always funny.

I closed out with another musical gag.

Whoever gets the Newspaper Panels award in August, it’s gratifying to know that NCS colleagues found these cartoons worthy to be finalists.

Don’t Throw Anything Away

Last week’s “Meet the Mnemonics” Bizarro resulted from this 2019 sketch. The concept of characters whose first names describe them seemed funny, but I thought there might be a better way to do the gag, so I set this aside—for seven years.

Sometimes an idea needs to marinate for a while.

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The NCS Divisional Awards recognize excellence across the full range of the cartooning profession—from newspaper strips and editorial cartoons to animation, comic books, graphic novels, and more—selected by specially-convened juries at the chapter level. Winners will be announced at the Reuben Awards on August 7th, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio.

It’s an honor to have my work recognized by my peers, colleagues, friends, and heroes in the NCS. My fellow nominees are Dave Blazek (Loose Parts) and Bill Whitehead (Free Range), who are both excellent cartoonists, and I’m proud to be named along with them.

You can see the nominees in all divisions on the NCS site, and I’ll share the eight cartoons I submitted for the award in an extra newsletter in a few days.

Oh, yes, I’ve also posted a new blog entry today.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

I haven’t used the old “angel and devil on the shoulders” cartoon trope in a long time. This gag will run in mid-July.

Jazz great Thelonious Monk is quoted in today’s blog post, so our archival art is a “Ken’s Corner” strip about a Monk recording. I drew an elderly version of myself as a character who initially laughs at Ken’s emotional reaction to the music, and then finds himself shedding a tear.

Monk recorded his lovely composition “Ruby, My Dear” several times. Click on the comic to hear a version from his 1965 album, Solo Monk.

Robbery Report

News of the award nomination came around the same time I found a Bizarro cartoon that had been copied by an AI bot and posted to a Facebook page full of stolen cartoon art.

When the images are overlaid, it’s clear that not only did they steal the joke, but they also made an identical copy of my linework, and the bot changed the solid colors to faux-pencil shading.

I complained to them, and they blocked me from viewing the crime scene that is their Facebook page. Big fun in the twenty-first century, eh?

That’s this week’s news, complete with a high point and a low one.

As always, I thank you for your support and readership.

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Best wishes from your ink-monkey,

Wayno

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Early this week, I scheduled an afternoon for writing new comics. I normally begin with a few semi-formed ideas jotted down as a word, a phrase, or a scribbly thumbnail drawing. This time, I only had one, using a specific character I return to regularly. Surprisingly, it was neither a clown nor a cowboy. I planned to generate five or more usable ideas that day.

While sketching the initial gag, another one on the same topic occurred to me; then another, followed by several more. I couldn't get them down on paper fast enough, and the resulting doodles were nearly indecipherable. It was a fascinating and strange mental state to occupy, and it almost felt beyond my control.

Ten gags emerged from the original seed. After reviewing them with Dan Piraro, we agreed that two were relatively weak, but the rest were worthy of publication. Six of these will run as a full week of related gags.

My subconscious had probably been churning through variations long before I sat down to write. I’d never before generated so many ideas on a single theme in one sitting, and the experience left me giddily exhilarated. I’ll try to remember that feeling during the next inevitable bout of writer’s block.

Regarding the cartoon landslide, Dan laughed and said, “The brain is a labyrinth with a mind of its own.”

Your cartoonist’s brain also managed to compose a new blog entry with commentary on the most recent Bizarro gags.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

Here’s an out-of-context snippet of a strip scheduled for July.

Today’s archival image is the original ink drawing for a 1996 illustration of Tom Hanks. This spot ran in Guitar World, a magazine founded in 1980 that still publishes 13 issues a year.

In those days, I employed a technique borrowed from classic animation art for color illustrations. The inked drawing was photographed onto clear acetate, and I used animation paint on the reverse side. The cel was then overlaid on a separate painted background.

Here’s the finished two-layer art, which I shipped to the magazine’s offices in New York, where they’d photograph it for publication, and ship it back to me.

This photo shows how the painted acetate overlays the underpainting. The nineties were all analog, baby!

Widescreen Versions

As a newsletter subscriber, you get to see the strip layouts for two of this week’s cartoons.

Thursday’s stip shows more of the boardwalk, and a trash can that didn’t appear in the panel.

Friday’s strip is a rearranged mirror image of the portrait version, with the balloon and caption box both on the right-hand side.

Thanks for subscribing to the newsletter. It’s gratifying to know you’re interested in what happens behind the scenes.

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

Until next week, I remain, your cartoonist,

Wayno

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It’s been quiet here in Hollywood Gardens as Spring struggles to take hold. We planted some vegetable seeds in our little backyard garden and have mostly been happy homebodies all week.

I worked on a batch of gags for July, and the recently published comical six-pack awaits your eyeballs in today’s blog entry.

Newly drawn cartoons featured a doctor, Frankenstein’s monster (a favorite subject), a zombie, birds, and a massage therapist (or two).

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

I also drew a group of tiny vermin.

Reaching all the way back to 1998, here’s a two-page “Itchy Acres” story from Nickelodeon Magazine. I don’t recall who did the small strips at the bottom of each page.

I still have one more “Itchy Acres” adventure in the archives, and will share it in a future newsletter.

Letterbox Edition & First Draft

The strip version of Monday’s comic required a bit of extra art (the side table in the foreground), a reshuffling of the Secret Symbols, and a three-line caption box, but I got everything in there.

My favorite detail is the escaped mealworms around the room.

The published panel closely followed the initial sketch, which isn’t always the case.

That’s the mid-April news from my Little Shop of Humor. Thanks for following along on the various Bizarro platforms, and for your comments, questions, and suggestions.

Have a grand weekend, my friends.

Your cartoonist,

Wayno

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Today’s edition is rather long and may be truncated in your email. If this happens, you can see the entire post by clicking the “Read In App” button above this note. Your email platform might also include a “view entire message” link.

Last Saturday, shortly after sending the newsletter, I went to a Scotch tasting, which was a new experience for me. A good friend belongs to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a club whose members can purchase whisky from small distilleries, and I joined him for the event.

About thirty attendees were seated at long tables. Each place setting had six pre-poured glasses, a bottle of water, a pen, an eyedropper (for adding water to the drinks), and a score sheet.

We were supposed to guess each sample’s vintage, the type of cask it was aged in, and which microdistillery made it. Amazingly, several knowledgeable fanatics hit the mark fairly consistently.

I bluffed my way through discussions of “nose” and “flavour profiles” with mixed success. I did my best to describe scents and tastes, but also had some fun with it. My scribbled notes included “toffee,” “cedar,” “charred marshmallow,” “vanilla,” “brine,” and “herbs.”

Each bottle came labeled with tasting notes, which were quite amusing.

I knew in advance you could get away with almost anything based on this label my friend showed me years ago. None of my descriptions was as outlandish as “wrestler’s armpit.”

I only tasted a bit from each glass, drank plenty of water, and had some food from the buffet table, tempering the effects of the alcohol. After the ride home (in a Lyft), I didn’t feel drunk, but was a little “off” for the next two or three hours.

On Sunday morning, I appreciated my first sip of coffee more than usual.

The experience and the company were enjoyable, but I probably won’t do that again, although it was fascinating to observe a roomful of enthusiastic aficionados. Plus, I got a nice ballpoint pen as a souvenir.

The only activities of last Saturday to be repeated are this newsletter and a fresh blog post.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

The cartoons I worked on recently included a contented castaway with a decent food supply.

From Duplex Planet Illustrated, we have another “Ken’s Corner” page. The drawing of Ken in panel 4 is pasted on, so I must have been unhappy with the art under it.

Thirty-two years later, I like the caricatures of Dolphy (title panel) and Xavier Cugat (panel 3), but I hate the Carmen Miranda drawings in the bottom tier, particularly the panel with that drifting left eye.

Ken’s meandering reaction to the Eric Dolphy record remains as delightful as ever.

Behind the Page

Here’s the strip version of Wednesday’s Bizarro comic.

Knowing that converting from portrait to landscape orientation would be tricky, I planned the drawing so it could be cropped into either configuration.

Here’s a scan of the original art overlaid with the panel and strip frames. I wasn’t sure where the wheeled can would end up, so I drew that as a separate element for ease of placement.

The recycling bin found a spot that worked in both layouts. A small portion of the garbage truck didn’t make it into either version, and I had to move the license plate, but overall, I was pleased with the results. Maybe I should plan ahead more often.

Studio Outtake

I made an alternate version of Saturday’s “orientation” gag, from the new employee’s perspective. Dan and I thought the original was more effective at delivering the joke, but that doesn’t mean I won’t share the variant with you in the newsletter.

That wraps up another missive from Bizarro Studios North.

Thanks for your readership, support, questions, and comments.

Don’t forget to file your taxes by Wednesday, and have a great week.

Your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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According to the forecasts, it’s still a little early to wish you a Happy Spring. Here in Pittsburgh, we’re still expecting some sub-freezing nighttime lows.

It feels like summer today, and I plan to enjoy it, but not before letting you know that the latest blog has been published, with all-new comics and a healthy selection of Secret Symbols.

The drawing board hosted a variety of characters this week, including a witch, gangsters, a bowling pin, and crash test dummies.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

This feline award will be presented in mid-June.

Our peek into the past century is a two-page “Itchy Acres” comic from Nickelodeon Magazine.

There are a couple more of these in the archives, which I’ll share in future newsletters.

As this detail shows, I was drawing flying saucers before working on Bizarro.

Behind the Panel

Here’s a semi-tight pencil sketch I did before drawing the finished art for Tuesday’s panel.

I usually pencil the finished art over a quick digital sketch, but I wanted to work out in advance where the appendages would go. These are stylized versions of the insects, but I based them on photos of the real thing.

Around the Studio

I don’t recall where I bought this comic art. I never framed it because it’s a large piece and our walls are covered with photos and art, but I can’t part with it.

I love the super-clean inking and the use of solid black areas, not to mention that it’s a wordless, music-related gag.

If any Sad Sack experts out there can identify the artist, I’d appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks, as always, for reading the comics, blog, and newsletter. Bizarro has the greatest comics community.

Warm wishes from your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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I have a fresh blog post ready for you, with a terrific New Orleans bonus track and the usual cartoons and commentary.

My cartoon art production over the past week included chatbot icons, a mime, a psychologist, an IT technician, insects, and bass guitars.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

I also drew these geologists. We’ll find out what they’ve discovered in mid-June.

David Greenberger, who appears in this 1994 “Ken’s Corner” strip, is the subject of a new documentary, Beyond the Duplex Planet, which recently premiered at South by Southwest.

I haven’t seen the film yet, but my voice might make a brief appearance. In 2024, the director requested permission to use a clip of an answering machine message I left for David regarding a comic collaboration.

Musical Follow-Ups

Last week’s newsletter included a “Ken’s Corner” review of the song “Cookout Freakout on Lookout Mountain” by the Ventures. Bizarro reader Jerry O told me that he had a homemade CD with some radio ads for Ventures LPs, which prompted me to search for them. I found this hilarious 60s spot for Underground Fire on YouTube.

Coincidentally, for a brief moment in the 1980s, I owned a Ventures model Mosrite Guitar, complete with the Ventures logo on the headstock. Here’s a rare photo of me with the guitar I wish I had never sold.

Last Wednesday’s Bizarro wasn’t the first time I featured the Beatles in a gag.

This 2017 WaynoVision cartoon featured all four members of the band.

Bonus Historical Material

As detailed in today’s blog post, I created this week’s gags in 2011 when I filled in for Dan so he could take a week off. The 2011 batch also included this Sunday page.

Here’s the press release that announced my guest appearance:

May 2, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dan Piraro’s “Bizarro” Welcomes Wayno as Guest Cartoonist

May 16 through May 22, 2011

New York, NY – Bizarro, the surreal, eccentric, and always hilarious cartoon panel created by Dan Piraro, will showcase the work of Pittsburgh cartoonist Wayno during the week of May 16 through May 22, 2011. While Piraro takes a brief vacation, Wayno will fill in with his own offbeat style of humor.

The two artists have been collaborating since 2009, with Wayno serving as a frequent gag writer, and earlier this year, becoming the colorist for the Monday through Saturday Bizarro cartoons.

Since the cartoon feature was launched in 1985, this is only the second time another artist has stepped in to give Piraro a break from drawing 365 comics per year. Francesco Marciuliano, a cartoonist and television writer, substituted for Piraro for one week in July 2008.

Wayno insists that his guest appearance is completely legitimate and that Piraro will return to the comic on Monday, May 23. “These stories about Dan being kidnapped and duct-taped to a kitchen chair in my basement are outrageous, and, for the most part, unfounded. I’m honored to have been asked to mind the store while Dan takes a well-deserved break at an undisclosed location.”

Piraro commented via email, “To be honest, my first choice was Ernie Bushmiller of ‘Nancy,’ but apparently he is dead. Wayno is good too, though.”

Dan Piraro is the cartoonist behind Bizarro, a columnist for VegNews, a musician and stand-up comic. Piraro was named Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year 2010 by the National Cartoonists Society, and received the prestigious Reuben Award. Bizarro is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and appears internationally in 350 newspapers.

Wayno is a cartoonist, illustrator, pop artist, and writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. He is a member of the National Cartoonists Society, and the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators. Animal Friends selected him as the 2010 Honorary Artist for Black Tie & Tails, which raised over $400,000 for the pet adoption & resource center.

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See you next week.

Your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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While in my cozy workspace, I composed a blog post for you to enjoy today, whatever the weather.

Between shivering and sweating, I also produced a week's worth of gags featuring breakfast, martial arts, a medical exam, and an online scam. The six panels utilized eleven characters, or an average of 1.83 per day, for the statistically inclined.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

In early June, we’ll reveal the conversation these two are having about their groceries.

Our glance at the past is a 1999 “Itchy Acres” page from Nickelodeon Magazine.

Riding Around Town

I spent an enjoyable part of Sunday cruising around Pittsburgh and talking with Mike Canton for his Soul Pod video podcast. Mike has hosted The Soul Show radio program since 1995. I often listen to it while working, and I highly recommend exploring the archives.

I’m not sure when this Soul Pod episode will be released. I believe there are several other episodes filmed and in the editing queue, but as soon as it’s available, I’ll share the link with you.

The Fab Seventy-Five Percent

Wednesday’s Bizarro featured three-quarters of the Sergeant Pepper-era Fab Four.

I did several sketches before drawing the final art. I’d scan a pencil drawing, change the color to pale blue, and draw on top of that, refining and (hopefully) improving the drawing with each iteration.

I didn’t use the psychedelic background for the black & white panel because it was so busy that it overwhelmed the characters. I should have saved that version to show you how bad it looked.

For the strip, I showed more of the instruments, but cropped out everyone’s legs. I tucked the word balloon behind the head of John Lennon’s guitar, giving the composition some depth.

Again, I chose not to use the swirly background in the black & white strip, and went with a simple spotlight.

Thanks for subscribing. Please let me know what you’d like to see in future newsletters.

I wish you well on this first day of Spring 2026.

Your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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Of course, I also rambled on about the latest Bizarro gags in a wee blog post.

Cartoon protagonists for the week included an award recipient, comics fans, a chatbot, therapists, and musicians.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

It seems this rehearsal isn’t going very well.

This 1994 “Ken’s Corner” page depicts Ken Eglin’s review of a cut from the 1967 Ventures album, Guitar Freakout. The text didn’t suggest a sequential narrative, so I focused on Ken’s line about sitting under a tree and enjoying the music, and made it a single large image.

The music really isn’t very freaky.

This Week in Bizarro History

I’ve done many Saint Patrick’s Day comics over the years, and this is a favorite. I was pleased to find a way to work in a layer of commentary.

On the other hand, I’m not above a juvenile gag.

Other Waynos Department

I have several empty bottles and a wooden crate from the defunct Scheele Company’s Wayno brand soda, but this is the first bottle cap I’ve found.

Thanks for subscribing to the newsletter. If you celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, be safe and responsible. Don’t overindulge and don’t pee in the pool.

Best wishes from your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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Our musical entertainment was Jonathan Richman, who performed with his frequent collaborator, drummer Tommy Larkins. They played in the lobby of the Andy Warhol Museum, and the experience was delightful. Jonathan and Tommy were barely amplified, and it was a treat to attend a show without needing ear protection. They started at 8:00 PM and ended at 9:10 PM, so I got to sleep at a reasonable hour.

The downside of the night was losing a credit card somewhere along the way, but I was able to lock the card and arrange for a new one to be issued, with no weird charges showing up. Not even the knowledge that I’d soon be updating a bunch of automatic payments could befoul my joyful mood.

There’s nothing like live music, which, as my good friend Tim says, improves the human condition.

The next day, I jumped into my work with renewed energy, and wrote the blog post that now awaits your eyeballs.

In addition to the bloggery, I wrote and drew a sextet of cartoons featuring medical imaging, an aquarium, a board game, farmland, and a tax audit.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

This is what a Bizarro character’s MRI looks like.

Our unearthed artifact for today is a 1998 “Itchy Acres” page from the fondly remembered Nickelodeon Magazine. That texture in the background at Terwilliger’s home is a wallpaper swatch scanned from a sample book that a hardware store was throwing away.

Reader Q & A

Ric B. asks:

Just wondering if you have any “rituals” that you follow when setting up cartoon, like lots of coffee, position of the chair, music background, ambient room temperature, time of day?

I firmly believe that the structure of normal daily habits is necessary for consistently producing work year after year.

Every morning, I have breakfast with my spouse, which includes an espresso or two (or more). I read the New York Times (print) and the Guardian (online), and do the Times crossword, Wordle, and Spelling Bee puzzles (sometimes, a single word can be the seed of a cartoon idea).

I maintain fairly regular work hours and have a dedicated workspace, but I occasionally step away from it. A change of scenery can refresh a tired brain. Sometimes, I’ll take my sketchbook to a coffee shop to do some writing.

I almost always carry the sketchbook or have it nearby, and will jot down words, phrases, or tiny thumbnail sketches that might be developed into usable gags. I usually write and sketch out a batch of gags one day a week.

I love music, but when I’m writing and sketching, most music distracts me, so I’ll listen to white noise or very minimalist music at a low volume. I recently learned about Éliane Radigue, a French composer whose music is perfect for writing days.

If I’m writing at a coffee shop, I’m able to tune out all of the overlapping sounds, and occasionally overhear something to fit into a gag.

A different part of the brain is at work when drawing, and I can listen to any music I want while making art. Using physical media helps me stay on task. I’ll try not to move away from the drawing board to check email for the length of a CD or an LP side.

Thanks for asking, Ric!

Questions of any type are encouraged. Drop one in the comments or send a message to WaynoCartoons(at)gmail(dotcom).

The Devil is in the Details

Sharp-eyed horror comics aficionados may have spotted an Easter egg in Saturday’s panel. It’s a tiny tribute to 1950s EC Comics artist Graham Ingels, who often signed his work as “Ghastly” Graham Ingels.

Encore!

Here’s a much younger Jonathan Richman performing one of the songs he played this week, which included audience participation. Enjoy.

Thus ends another Substack communiqué from the Little Shop of Humor in Hollywood Gardens, PA. See you next week.

Your cartoon pal,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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Spring can’t be too far away now, right?

Our weekly tradition of posting the latest comics on the blog continues with today’s offering, which includes a convincing musical defense of accordions.

Let’s see, what have I been drawing lately? Oh, yes, a funeral, a Greek god, TV viewers, a palm reader, and a ventriloquist dummy, among other characters.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

What do dummies dream about? Perhaps we’ll find out in May…

Your peek into the archives is another 32-year-old “Ken’s Corner” strip from Duplex Planet Illustrated, with Ken Eglin hearing Allen Ginsberg’s “Sickness Blues.”

I enjoyed interpreting Ken’s successive reactions to the recording.

Exquisite Corpse of the Week

This is the last of the collaborative drawings I did with my brother and my two great-nephews last month. I saved it for this week because we ran a Potato Head gag on Wednesday. The oddest section is the torso, which E described as a puddle of spilled tea.

Sketch vs. Final

The initial sketch for Tuesday’s panel showed a paranormal investigator and a haunted homeowner.

In the finished panel, she matter-of-factly explains the supernatural activity to her puzzled guest. The revised dialogue was more satisfying, too.

The inked art was one of my typical “exploded views” that provide flexibility when moving things around for the strip layout.

As things turned out, the strip conversion wasn’t particularly difficult, and I didn’t use the phone I drew in the original art.

That’s the news, such as it is, from Bizarro Studios North.

Please feel free to comment, and let me know what you’d like to see in these weekly newsletters. I welcome and value your input.

Your ink-monkey,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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I’m happy to report that most of our snow has melted away, with only a few grungy gray piles hanging on here and there.

I also wrapped up the side project I mentioned in last week’s blog. I was invited to write a blurb for a book being published in the fall. Of course, before I could write something, I needed to read it, and that took a little while.

I normally read for about half an hour every evening, and it was a welcome change to have “homework” that gave me a reason to read for longer stretches. The publisher emailed a PDF of the book, since no physical copies are available yet, and I enjoyed spending time in our warm kitchen and at a coffee shop, learning more about a subject that already interested me.

I was thrilled to make a tiny contribution to an important book that I would have read anyway, and I look forward to revisiting it in print. I’ll be sure to let you know when it’s available.

Also, the latest blog is now live, featuring the past week’s music-heavy Bizarro gags.

Among the subjects of my recent scribblings were a fortune teller, cattle, Easter Island statues, insects, and a “smart assistant” device.

Looking Ahead & Looking Back

The latest batch of art also included this multilevel scene.

Today’s throwback art is another Itchy Acres strip from my time with Nickelodeon Magazine. The coloring was purely digital, except for the texture of the pine trees in the background. I drew them with colored pencils on construction paper and scanned them for placement within the comic.

Exquisite Corpse of the Week

Since the old advertising character Reddy Kilowatt appeared in a comic this week, here’s an exquisite corpse drawing with his disembodied head in the top segment. I drew a freehand version of the classic Westinghouse Electric “Circle W” logo (designed by Paul Rand) to use as my initial.

The last of these drawings from our January coffee session will appear next week, but I’m sure there will be more in the future.

(Partially) Rejected Sketch

My first rough of Wednesday’s “What’s Your Jam?” gag had a guy wearing a Speedo in the “Minimalism” panel.

Dan Piraro suggested I might try it with a restroom gender symbol instead of the nearly-naked swimmer. I used both of the familiar restroom “blanks” and added two tails to the word balloon, quietly undercutting the minimalist theme.

That’s the news for now. Thanks for being a subscriber.

Your questions and comments are always welcome.

Cheers from your cartoonist,

Wayno

Copyright © 2026 by Wayno®

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