Friday, February 5, 2010

Dummy Coughs Up a Gag


Bizarro is brought to you by Dry and Macho.

This is one of my favorite gags of late. Tons of cartoons have been done on ventriloquists, I've done quite a few myself, so the fact that I can still amuse myself with this topic is an achievement.

Notice I left any hint of blood out of this cartoon. If it had been web-only, I might have made it a bloody finger and the dummy might even have made mention of the fact that he was experiencing some anal bleeding. But for newspapers, this tasteful version is more appropriate. And maybe funnier, too.

Recently, I wrote a gag with the word "fart" in it and the crudeness of the word is such an integral part of the humor that no other word will do. But "fart" is prohibited in the newspaper comics world, so I'm out of luck. I'll have to save it for the book of adult cartoons I hope to publish one day soon. If I can find a publisher for it.

12 comments:

Shawn said...

that's very strange. Do they allow synonyms for fart?

doug nicodemus said...

pretty damn funny...heh you can put up your web version if you want no one will see promise.

YazDay said...

"Fart" is prohibited? That's so absurd. Especially in cartoons and comics! Kids love farts, that's like their intital version of "cursing."

Piraro said...

American newspaper editors like to think of the comics as a place that is "family friendly." There are so many uptight people in the U.S. that consider words like "fart" to be verging on profanity that they (the editors) would be swamped with complaints. It wouldn't happen in big cities, but the rest of the country can be amazingly "backwoods". I know it's silly, but that's America.

Anonymous said...

I, for one, applaud the fart-ectomy. It's so immersed in popular "culture". Do we really need to be even more immersed in it? Junior high school ended, mercifully, in junior high. Not that you'd know it these days.

Unknown said...

If you can't use the word "fart" perhaps a descriptive version such as "butt-burp"? Unless of course you are using some sort of alliteration and "fart" fits the pattern.

Lois2037 said...

Well, I notice that people get around that with words like "poot", but they are not as funny. I think a little blood on the finger would've been okay, though, and funny. I'll never understand "family" newspapers who run so many comic strips that are all about how horrible and oppressive it is to be in families.

Anonymous said...

I am stupid... but what is under the chair? A piece of pie?

Piraro said...

@Anonymous...I'm no fan of the word "fart" and virtually never use it in person. Nor do I think juvenile humor is funny. I just happened to write a cartoon about some upper-class people saying fart in a particular context and I thought it was funny. But changing the word ruins the gag. Just to clarify.
@other Anonymous...you are not crazy, that is a piece of pie. I often put one in my cartoons. Like most of life, there is no reason.

Anonymous said...

Never mind the coughed up finger, I think he fainted because he pooped a piece of pie, onto a plate, no less! I can say "pooped" can't I, or do I have to use a euphemism?

Jess said...

I was reading a "Zits" book the other day, and came across a comic where one of the characters says "douche bag". I wonder if that strip was published in the newspaper or just in the book?

Oh, and you should totally make a book of not-so family friendly comics.

ojeano said...

This one made me laugh out loud and with sustain, and still makes me laugh when I think about it.

Dummy hubris!

(Funny, in my memory of the newspaper version, this image was flipped so I focused on the ventriloquist first. I wonder if it's really the way I saw it, or only my memory of the way I registered it...)

Anyway, this is classic Bizarro!