Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro

by Dan Piraro

What goes on in the head of Dan Piraro-stand-up comedian, fine artist, animal rights activist, and creator of the award-winning syndicated comic strip Bizarro? This wildly inventive compendium of cartoons, never-before-seen sketches, photographs, and paintings-along with Piraro's own hilarious and thought-provoking insights into his life and the world at large-takes readers inside the mind of the mad genius with a nationwide following. Much more than just a collection of cartoons, this is the first comprehensive book incorporating all of Piraro's work in a variety of media, interwoven with autobiographical passages that shed light on the evolution of the artist's left-leaning worldview. It's a must-have for Bizarro fans and a terrific introduction for the uninitiated.

Genres: Comics, Cartoon, Art, Humor, Nonfiction, Graphic Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2006

Reviews

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

This book was so good I read it all in one seating.

The book is written in first person by Mr Dan Piraro himself. This book is about his life, career and comics. His write up is almost as hilarious as his comics. He seems to have a very interesting life, and the book tells it all.

Included are also some interesting and very unusual self portraits (photos). One is nude — with the shadows hiding the crucial parts of course! Another amusing photo is one with him spotting a lion's mane hairstyle with his dad's face saying,"I'm determined to be proud of this kid in spite of the fact that he's well on his way to looking like a transvestite."

He writes from his birth, to childhood and schooling, to his band playing days, then his art and cartooning career and his move to New York City. There are lots of juicy and funny experiences he share, such as him asking people to provide lodging and take him around while he's on book tours.

Towards the end of the book, he talks more about his beliefs, which led him to be a vegan (one that consumes no animal products of any kind including eggs and dairy products). He's a huge supporter of animal rights, which is why animal rights themes sometimes appear in his comics.

This book is filled with freelance illustrations, oil paintings, comics and several discarded ideas (those deemed too saucy for general readers). Every one is captioned to explain the inspiration and the message he's trying to bring across. Oh, his oil paintings are as weird as his cartoons.

This book is not just Bizaro, it's the biography for Dan Piraro. It's wonderful and in depth. One that will constantly put a smile when read.

This review was first published on parkablogs.com. There are more pictures and videos on my blog.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an incredibly satisfying book. Very funny comics, amusing and interesting autobiographical information, and comments about his view of his artwork. I love artists who have an original and irreverent and wacky sense of humor and Piraro does. And I appreciate skewed and black/serious humor which Bizarro has.

So, my new second favorite comics guy is Dan Piraro; I think my favorite is still Gary Larson’s The Far Side. But I also like several others so this is high praise.

Oh my gosh, he is so very funny. The 3 cartoons shown on the outside back cover were all hilarious and had me hooked into reading the book. I so appreciate that he’s a vegan and politically liberal and that his artwork/comics reflect his world outlook.

I love the guy and want him to be happy and successful and he apparently wants to be a painter and not a cartoonist. I actually liked much of his artwork, and even the many paintings that I didn’t like aesthetically were interesting, but it’s his comics that I found brilliant and, selfishly, I don’t want him to stop creating them.

However; except for seeing handfuls of his comics in various publications, I don’t know how I managed, but I haven’t read any of his other books, including ones filled with comics. So, I have those to happily anticipate.

Any Bizarro fans out there have ones to specifically recommend? There seem to be quite a few.

Oh, and I was about halfway through the book (already knowing I'd be giving it 5 stars here!) when I was at a festival where he was a (very entertaining) speaker, and he signed my book, which included a nice note and some cartoon drawings in addition to his signature. A nice touch!

[Ahdom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book being promoted at my local library and decided to grab it just because I love reading about artists and looking at the artwork that they have done. I aligned alot with Mr. Piraro, being that he came from Oklahoma and various parts of the bible belt and did not quite align with the beliefs prevalent in the area. Liberals are a rare breed in Oklahoma, so it's no wonder he found more to his liking in the melting pot that is New York City (also a city I am fond of, and who wouldn't be?). There were some great illustrations in the book that got some good chuckles out of me and even inspired me to do more in the way of creativity.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Piraro is my favorite cartoonist. I had not seen many of the cartoons featured in this book and I had many laughs. I am surprised at how intense he is, although artists are generally intelligent and thinkers so i shouldn't have been surprised. Nor did I know that he is also a fine artist and an entertainer. Another surprise was learning that he was not wealthy. Like his cartoon this book was full of surprises for me.

[Phil Witte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Piraro is the creator of Bizarro, the syndicated, single-panel cartoon. He's one of the most talented cartoonists of offbeat humor since Gary Larson. This book is partly autobiographical, and he explains how certain cartoons reflect events in his life. Despite the absurdity of his cartoons, of which there are plenty in the book, Dan reveals himself to be a deep thinker. Disclosure: I wrote a couple dozen Bizarro gags for him years ago.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Piraro created the Bizarro comic panel in the 1980s, when he was working as a commercial artist (to pay the bills). This book is part autobriography, part Piraro's philosophy, and an excellent insight to how his mind works. Plus, it has a general helping of Bizarro cartoons and also of his fine art (which is rather amazing). Highly recommended!

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

an odd little collection of amusement

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Bizarro for the completist. This book includes not only tons of newspaper strips, but also many examples of the artist’s other works. Fans of “Bizarro,” with its space aliens, hidden picture games, and bouffant hairdos, might be a bit taken aback by the artist’s oil paintings (which include nudes) and randy unpublished comics.

[Sjoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Piraro is awesome! Get this book!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the section on veganism and the humor that permeates even the prose accompanying the cartoons.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

strangeness rules ok!

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may have changed my life. I finished reading it weeks ago and i still haven't been able to reconcile my eating habits since.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I used to think of Bizarro as a take off of The Far Side, but Dan Piraro is a fascinating artist in his own right. Love his humor, and love finding out about the artist behind the jokes.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

how can you not love bizaro?