Bizarro is brought to you today by Feline Awareness Week. One morning while digging through my feeble brain for cartoon ideas I was idly watching two of my cats do that play-fighting thing they do. I've always loved the way cats fight: the fluid dive from a seemingly relaxed standing position, the choice to lie on its back and wait for the other to dive, the frantic tumbling/biting/pawing/punching followed by taking a few steps away and feigning utter disinterest, then diving back in. I thought how fun it would be to see a couple of tough guys in a bar fighting this way and tried to draw it.
I have no idea how successful this cartoon is or whether most people understood it on the level it was meant. I'd be interested in hearing your comments about how you perceived it.
Most cartoons are pretty straight forward and I can make a fairly accurate prediction about how many readers will get it. But sometimes ideas like this pop up that I can only guess about. Lots of my ideas don't get drawn at all because I know they are too opaque. But I think it is important to push the envelope every now and then and take a chance on an odd one. This is just another of the many reasons I'm not rich. My cartoon appeals more to people who like to think, and as we can see from recent political trends in this once great nation of ours, that portion of the country shrinks daily.
Since I haven't posted a cartoon in a couple of days, here's another one, which is much more straight forward. It is word play, maybe even "punnery," but I like that it makes you think before you can get it. I'm guessing that a lot of readers missed this one entirely. But that's what Garfield is for.
26 comments:
The cat fight one made me laugh, I got it right away. Then again I have 3 cats, so maybe only cat people get it...
I love it when my cats wrestle. They hit the ground pretty hard sometimes.
The standing human getting ready to pounce looks a bit like a floppy zombie. But I got the joke even with that... because I have super insane pouncing cats.
I wouldn't be too eager to frown upon Garfield, Danny, especially considering the state of Bizarro lately.
I liked the cartoon. I also am a cat person, but my wife doesn't like cats so we don't have one right now. The guy standing does look a little strange and I don't know that I've seen a cat in that position while fighting. Maybe their hair standing on edge would have given it a nice touch too.
The second one on there was a little more obscure. But hey, an idea a day is not something I could honestly do.
I like today's cartoon. Maybe because I was such a big fan of Far Side. A lot of those cartoons gave you an idea of a small room or house that they took place in. I really appreciate how you keep things modern. Flat screen television, cool lamp. Cartoons tend to be stuck in a time period of 10-15 years prior. Maybe when the cartoonist started drawing they were locked in a room and haven't seen any technological advances since.
Keep up the good work though, your cartoon always starts my day right.
Hey Dan,
Is that you in the lower right corner about to eat that sandwich in the cartoon about the Certs, Shoes and Sherpas? Or is it a doppelganger (sp)?
the hidden symbols count is four but i see fiiiiive...
AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA LOOKCLOSELY AT THE GUY STANDING LOOKSLIKE A TOTAL SPECIAL NEEDS....PERSON LOLOLOLO
Very sensitive of you, Derek.
So you don't think Garfield is any good?
Yes, that's me in the corner.
And yes, there are five symbols but I only put a four on the signature.
Nobody puts Piraro in a corner.
thats how bitches fight!
Hey! I got both the cartoons! Yay.
Anyway I am glad that you mentioned the Far Side reference, because the "no shirts" joke reminded me of this one Far Side where a dog, dressed as a train/bus conductor goes down the aisle, holding out his paw and saying "Ticks, fleas" (tickets, please, geddit ha ha). Good times.
Anyway, loving the blog; oh, and if you love Garfield, do a google search for "Garfield minus Garfield".
Hopefully that's a veggie burger you are eating?
Will you have breast milk ice cream for dessert? ;)
I seriously think you should have a cartoon about that. So funny. Not that I disagree, it would certainly be better than pus and hormone filled cow milk.
I imagine that after a few years of breast pumping for the milk would leave the breasts pretty saggy. Maybe a woman getting an ultra-support bra as a 5 year anniversary gift at the milking factory?
it took me a second to get the second panel, but if you wanted to make things easier for the slowpokes, the man ordering could've been naked, but maybe that makes it too obvious.
nevertheless, i enjoyed this one. my brain has been getting dusty these days, it's nice to use it every once in awhile...
I got the cat fite rite away cuz that's the way I fite with my big bruther Mao.
I got both cartoons right away. Am I cool now?
The cat joke is so funny. I just took pictures of my cat peanut (my picture on this blog, who just won a photo contest) next to an empty Glenlivet bottle snuggling up to a toy mouse. I'm sending it to Star.
let's see you are making fun of cat, waters, restaurant hygene, and pirates? is nothing sacred?
Well, the cat cartoon sparked quite a bit of discussion at Comics I Don't Understand, as various people tried to figure out what it meant...
At Starcasm, we'll usually fight like this after a long day of celebrity reporting, just to ease the tension and stretch out our muscles. Then we'll relax with some catnip while watching Tom and Jerry reruns. Those are SOO funny when you're on catnip.
the cat one was hilarious! my favorite part of cat fights is when they lay there just waiting, staring at each other. when i had two cats they would literally run from across the room just to attack each other. it was awesome.
the second one took me a second because i had to figure out that the guy was ordering food in a restaurant. and nice cameo.
I love the cat cartoon. In many ways your work reminds me of The Far Side cartoons. This one is surreal like the Boneless Chicken Ranch...
yeah i have two cats, the fur flies at home, i know how it is.
yeah i have two cats, the fur flies at home, i know how it is.
The expressions of the men in the cat fight, just perfect.
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