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Creative Crumbs
I’m Dan Piraro, the creator of the Bizarro newspaper comic, and this is my weekly blog post. The large Sunday comic above is mine, as are all of the comments to follow.
Since January 2018, the Monday-Saturday Bizarro comics have been written and drawn by my comics partner, Wayno. For more fun, check out Wayno’s weekly blog post.
And here’s this week’s ANSWER KEY to my Sunday comic’s Secret Symbols.
Hola, Jazz Pickles. Thanks for stopping by our chuckle emporium.
To alleviate our fear of the ruthless Cookie Monster pictured above, let’s talk about an opera that even the opera-averse may enjoy.
Olive Oyl and I are not regular opera-goers, but yesterday, at a theater in León, Mexico, we attended a streaming of the New York Metropolitan Opera’s production of El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, a critically acclaimed opera by a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and a PzrPrz-winning librettist.
It was amazing, and we highly recommend it! (Hence the bold italics.)
It’s about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, of course, but rather than being based on their biography, it is a dramatic reimagination of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The story transpires after Frida’s death, both in the Underworld and in the world of the living, and incorporates familiar elements of Frida and Diego’s relationship and art.
My History with Frida
I first discovered Frida Kahlo’s biography and art in the early ’90s when I read Frida Kahlo: The Brush of Anguish by Martha Zamorra. (Chronicle Books, 1993)
I found her life story and self-portraits fascinating, and have been a fan ever since.
Shortly after reading that book, I created a costume for my family’s yearly Halloween party, pictured below. I recall having to explain to most of our guests who I was supposed to be, but Frida’s fame is now such that she is much more widely recognized.
Left: My costume, 1993. Right: A more carefully styled photo I’ve used as a publicity shot ever since. The frame was from a garage sale, and I attached it to the hand-painted background in a kind of box that fit over my head and rested on my shoulders with straps. The hand-painted banner “floated” atop wires attached to the frame.
O2 and I have seen much of Kahlo and Rivera’s art in museums (and murals) here in Mexico, and have visited both of her former residences in Coyoacán (a neighborhood in Mexico City), both of which are now museums. So when we learned of the opera and that it was showing at a theater a couple of hours from our town, we donned our evening gown, pearls, and tuxedo and hopped into the car.
It was a bit over four hours of driving round trip, but well worth it!
The production design, sets, costumes, choreography, and singing are spellbinding and ravishing, even if you’re not into opera. If you’re at all a fan of Kahlo’s, you’ll doubtless love it.
The Met is doing at least one more live streaming event in the US in various cities on June 3, and a few more dates in Canada in late June, so check online for a theater near you. (Info about these locations and dates was hard to find, but try here.)
Special thanks to Jazz Pickle Richard K. for sending me a link about the streaming events, allowing us to get tickets in time.
No tickets or tuxedos needed for Wayno’s Bizarro comics from the week. Join me now in the Chuckle Emporium’s screening room…
Don’t miss the Gibbon guitar amp.
Now that the US Department of Health and Human Services is being run by a conspiracy clown, good luck finding a cooties vaccine.
If you’ve never heard of Patreon, treat yourself to my own short video about my graphic novel, Peyote Cowboy. (Excuse the horrible beard, I’ve since trimmed it considerably.)
Who couldn’t use a robot that handles anxiety for them these days?
I once came very close to having a Bizarro animated show on TV. The grueling process of getting a show produced in Hollywood was enough to convince me I wanted nothing to do with it.
Even with a head full of nothing but air, this clown’s IQ is double-digits higher than the clown mentioned above.
Thus concludes our medal ceremony for the week, JPs. If you enjoy that we do this for free, please consider helping us keep it that way via the links below. We’ll sing an aria for you in gratitude.
The Naked Cartoonist…My every-other-week creative-writing subscription service.
Limited edition, signed & numbered prints of BIZARRO CARTOONS, and some ORIGINALS!
Bizarro TIP JAR …One-time or repeating. Your choice!
WAYNO’S TIP JAR …One-time or repeating. Your choice!
My (free) graphic novel in progress, PEYOTE COWBOY.
Watch my PITCH VIDEO and become a supporter of Peyote Cowboy here.
Super fun BIZARRO SWAG from ComicsKingdom, including our 2026 Bizarro wall calendar. (ALL the comics are still funny, no matter what month it is now!)
