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Bizarro is brought to you today by Valentine Wishes.
I don't often do sequential jokes but here is one now. Just look a couple of inches above where you are looking now. I don't have a lot to say about it, so let's talk about something else.
Did you ever get one of those emails that has been going around for ten years or so about the cat and dog diary? I've gotten it many times over the years, it's one of those email jokes that just goes around and around. Well, the fun thing is that it started with one of my cartoons.
I wrote "Finding the Cat's Diary" in 1995 and sometime shortly after, people began altering and adding to it to create the email joke. It's now become something of a meme, which I must admit I think is kind of cool. It doesn't mean fame or fortune – I don't get royalties on its use or even credited for the original idea – it just means that I created something that got into people's heads enough that it was passed virally to enough folks that it became generally well known. Creative people like that kind of thing.
If you Google "pet diary" or "cat diary," you'll come across dozens of sites that post variations of this theme, featuring diaries by a cat and a dog, most of which start with a few lines from this cartoon. A guy named Allen Roland even took credit for writing it on a Salon.com blog. Kind of lame. It has ended up on some products, too, for which I could likely sue. Hmmm.
I'm also proud of it because I think it's a particularly good cartoon. Hope you like it, too. If you don't, just keep it to yourself. Like most people outside of politics, I'm capable of both pride and hurt feelings.
Get groovy schwag with these cartoons on them here:
Cat Diary
Remote Control
8 comments:
I love both of today's cartoons. I very much enjoy the novelty of a sequential story board from an artist who so often thrives on the one-line/one-frame joke. The variation added some spice. Plus it reminded me of my yesteryear when I would drift into a drug-induced, psychedelic fixation on the television and would literally be frozen on a couch, mine or otherwhom. If only there had been a remote control to snap me out of it.
I have not received the cat diary email, but if I ever do I shall "Reply to all" with a citation. What kind of lame-ass would claim a chain-email joke (no matter how funny) without actually having been the source. You should do a cartoon about that guy, start a battle, like a comic/joke Tupac and Biggie. You, of course, would be 2pac, but he doesn't seem to be worthy of the B.I.G. honor. Anyway, thanks for the laughs.
Seriously, I was just at someone's house last night for the first time and I saw a Dog Diary mat in the entrance from their garage, thought it was pretty clever. Now I'd like to give credit where credit is due, so great clever idea! P.S. Weird how I literally saw this for the first time less than 12 hours ago and here it is being posted on my favorite internets.
I think you should do a second, vintage strip called "Pre-Loved Bizarro". There's almost a generation of people who haven't seen your earlier stuff...and they should.
Jerry
You know, just a few weeks ago I found a newspaper clipping of "Cat Diary" that my mother had sent to me when I was in university (she and I both being crazy cat people). I've been reading Bizarro since then!
I was reminded of the comic whenever I saw the meme, and as far as I'm concerned, the difference between the comic and the meme is that you know when to stop writing.
Awesome. Now I can point people in the right direction when they forward me the cat diary email ... again *sigh*. Love seeing the original, and the art is spot on
-Lucy
You should commiserate with Bill Griffith, referencing Zippy's "Are we having fun yet?"
Whatever. I think Allen Roland should sue you for clearly travelling through time to steal his idea, just to waste the idea in some money-losing cartoon venture; for what seems to be the sole purpose of making him look like an opportunistic plagiarist with no discernible morals. Seriously? What did he ever do to you?
I can tell you're not the vindictive type, but what the heck, find a lawyer who'll work pro bono til you win the case and sue. You should get paid for your idea especially as it's showing up on doormats and mugs for which you're not getting royalties.
I'm just glad it's not about what I saw first when I read the sentence: a cat and dog dairy.
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