Happy Saturday, Bizarro buddies.
I hope you’re enjoying the last days of Summer. Tuesday marks the Autumnal Equinox; the first day of Fall. The weather has been as unpredictable here as everywhere else—abnormal is the new normal, after all—and after spending the past three months complaining about our anemic tomato plants, I find myself picking enough to keep us in marinara through the winter.
We’re planning to observe the equinox with a dinner together at home, expressing our gratitude for the fruits of the earth, and reminding ourselves to share meals and drink with friends and family all year.
As I mentioned the other day, the gag-writing part of my brain is now in December, and visions of Krampus are dancing in my head. I wonder if that character is familiar enough to Americans to include in a gag. What do you think?
As the Wheel of the Year continues to turn, I hope you take time to celebrate as often as possible with the people in your lives.
Nearly every pipe pic we’ve encountered features a smoking man, so this one with three women is a rare find.
It’s from a 2023 article in The Missourian, a newspaper based in Washington, MO, which bills itself as the “corncob pipe capital of the world.”
Among those competing in the International Association of Pipe Smokers’ Clubs Inc.’s World Championships in 1965 were, from left, Lorraine Wesselschmidt, Veronica Shipley, and Wanda Neier, all of Washington. The Championships were held in conjunction with that year’s Washington Town & Country Fair. Missourian File Photo.
Let’s see what cartoon produce we harvested over the past week.
This is where subaquatic disputes are settled, but really, neither party will be happy.
They said the driver has no commercial potential.
If you’re tallying Secret Symbols, the word “pie” doesn’t count, but the silhouette of the missing crown patch does.
Partly inspired by my springtime participation in a Scotch tasting event, my favorite part of making this cartoon was coming up with names for the counterfeit product.
The caption in French newspapers reads, “Ce n'est pas une pomme au caramel.”
Cartoonists often exaggerate actual events to make a joke, but in this case, we understated the truth.
Here at Bizarro Studios, we refer to cartoons like this as “more thinky than funny.”
Unfolding Imagery
Making art together is a fun group activity, and just about everybody can scribble well enough to make an exquisite corpse drawing.
This one appears to be based on the unpublished John le Carré novel Tinker, Pencil, Cargo, Bait.
Thanks to brother M and grand-nephews RR and E for always doing something unexpected.
Bonus Track
Allen Toussaint: “Brickyard Blues”
Live in Philadelphia, 1975
from The Complete Warner Recordings
Rhino double CD set, 2003
Allen Toussaint was a composer, pianist, arranger, producer, and performer, and a key figure in the history of American music, especially New Orleans music. I love his work, and we were fortunate to see him perform live a few times in New Orleans.
All of our outgoing snail mail currently uses Allen Toussaint postage stamps.
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Wayno
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Bootlegger apparently doesn't like my favorite fickle tipple, Lagafoolin'.
I see quite a bit of Krampus stuff here and there around the holidays (t-shirts, cards, coffee mugs, and there have also been several movies movies), so I would think he is familiar enough to use in a gag. I am sure Bizarro readers would be hip to it. Speaking of scary German Christmas mythology, maybe someday even Belsnickel will eventually be better kniwn here, but that might take a while.