Pee Wee, CHNW, 'n' Me

A few months ago, CHNW and I were at a fundraiser party thing in Los Angeles (note the dopey nametags) and came across Paul Reubens in the crowd. I enjoy seeing celebrities as much as anyone, but I don't usually hound them for autographs or photos. However, I'm a HUGE fan of Pee-wee Herman, so I had to get my picture taken with him. It was a big day for me and I rushed home and emailed the pic to my two adult daughters, who were green with envy.

This was also a big day for CHNW, who was not only a big fan of Reubens but grew up in Sarasota just as Paul had, though a couple of decades later. In her excitement (and CNHW can get very excited) she immediately mentioned that a girl she grew up with was the daughter of a good friend of Reubens at Sarasota High School. As the words escaped her mouth, we all remembered that Sarasota was also where he was arrested, and all in attendance were flooded with feelings of weirdness. I'm sure Paul is over it by now, but it remains for me a dark period in history, as one of the most brilliant comic characters in entertainment came to an end. Paul is still acting, of course, and doing a fine job. But I'd kill to hear that Pee-wee laugh again.

Meeting celebrities is often a double-edged sword. If the celeb isn't nice, it can ruin your perception of them forever, thus rendering certain movies, TV shows, music, etc. too irritating to enjoy. (That happened to me with Jimi Hendrix. I saw him once while hallucinating during a high fever and he was gratuitously unkind. I cannot listen to Purple Haze now without tearing up.) Paul Reubens was not rude, however. He was friendly and put up with our photos like a champ, but as soon as he walked away and I had a chance to look at the photo, I realized that Pee-wee Herman is taller and has more hair than I do.

Will these random challenges to my self-esteem never end?

Burqa Buddies

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by Opression Fabrics and Chastity Devices.

The cartoon I normally would have posted today is from Earth Day, and I already published it last week on, yes, Earth Day, to go along with the CNN story. See "CNN Scrapes the Barrel's Bottom" in the blog archive list at right.

Instead, here's a classic Bizarro, my favorite joke (of mine) ever. It appears in my retrospective, Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro.

If you'd like to buy a nice-quality color print of this, or any Bizarro cartoon, go here. What says, "I love you so much I wanted to give you a funny picture to put on your wall" better than a Bizarro cartoon? Or, what says, "your opinions are so idiotic I wanted to give you a picture making fun of you" better than a Bizarro cartoon?

Bizarro prints, the multi-purpose gift for any occasion.

May is Free Comic Book Month 4 at YACB!

May is rapidly approaching, so you know what that means: Free Comic Book Month!

May 3 is Free Comic Book Day, but here at YACB one day isn't good enough. For the fourth straight year, we'll be giving away free comics every day of May!

That's right, free comics! Each day of May I'll pick someone to receive a free comic, taken from my personal collection: duplicates, things I have in trades, and other stuff. My goal is to match up people with a comic that they haven't read but that they may like. My tastes are wide and varied, so chances are I've got a comic for you.

And by free I mean free. Really. No cost, no shipping & handling, all free.

Here's what you need to do to enter:

By email (superman@umich.edu), send me the following:

* Your name
* Your postal address
* Titles of five comics that you like
* Please include 'FCBM' in the subject line

That's it! For every day of May I'll choose at least one entry and try to match up that person with a comic, then I'll mail the comic to him or her. It's easy, and it's free!

Last year I gave away 111 comics to 49 different people!

Of course, there are a few restrictions:

* You must be 18 or older
* You must live in the United States
* You may enter at any point during May, but only one entry per person.

And a little bit of fine print:

* Persons receiving comics are chosen by me, based on whether I feel I can provide a comic to you
* Even if you've entered in previous years, you're welcome to enter again
* I'll try my best, but there's no guarantee you'll actually like the comic I send
* All winners will be announced here on Yet Another Comics Blog (please let me know if you don't want your real name used)
* At least one winner will be selected each day, but it may take me a few days to get to the post office, so please be patient
* I will not use your address to spam you, nor sell or give your information to others

But wait, there's more!

Each person who has a free comic chosen for him/her will also receive a copy of the 2007 Halloween ashcan edition of either Marvel Adventure Iron Man #1 or Walt Disney's Uncle Scrooge (featuring a classic story by the legendary Carl Barks). (Let me know if you have a preference, though no guarantees; and if I go overboard again his year and run out I may substitute something else.)

That's right, two free comics! How could you ask for anything more?

So what are you waiting for? Send in your entry today!

Three to Read for Monday, April 28

* Steve Duin: The Beanworld, Resurrected (via Dirk)

* All the Comics in the World: The Boys of Shojo Manga (also via Dirk)

* Mindless Ones: Candyfloss Horizons Forever! (via Brian Cronin)

Super Cat

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by a grant from the Jimmy B. Whatagain foundation. "Your name is what again?" "Yes!"

I'm a fan of animals of all sorts (with the possible exception of humans) and I enjoy exploring in cartoons the differences between cats and dogs. I used to consider myself a "dog person," but now, after living with cats for a number of years (a much easier pet in NYC because you don't have to "walk" them) I like them both equally. They are very different, however, sort of like comparing drama with comedy. Not "apples and oranges" different, more like Shindler's List and Meatballs different.

We have two cats who list this address as their own, but still regularly foster dogs. So we get both experiences, without committing to 15 non-stop years of walking a dog three times a day. Plus, we travel a lot and dogs shouldn't be left without their family too often or for too long. The cats, on the other hand, can't wait for us to leave and sometimes even change the locks.

There is a movement among animal rights folks to expunge the word "pet" from our vocabulary in favor of "companion animal." The feeling is that "pet" is a derogatory term. It is also suggested that we replace "owner" with "guardian." I personally find PC language to be suspect because most attempts are erroneous. In the case of race language (i.e. Oriental/Asian, black/African American, etc.) the term to be replaced only seems derogatory when racists utter it with disdain. "Oriental" is not an innately derogatory term – it means Eastern. Why is "Asian" better? Making a racist switch words, won't change their bigotry. I am, of course, not talking about obvious racial slurs or slang.

Regarding the "pet" and "guardian" issue, I agree with one but not the other. I don't find pet to be a derogatory word, in fact, quite the opposite. "Pet" denotes "favorite."

"Owner," on the other hand, I have given up. I don't think one should "own" a sentient being, so I say "guardian." As anyone with pets knows, they own you more than you own them.

Suicide Food

Just found a blog devoted entirely to mentally depraved animals who beg to be carved up and eaten. This is a phenomenon that saturates all modern human cultures and one I've wondered about since I was a kid. I guarantee there are several in your neighborhood. Very funny/creepy stuff.

Suicide Food

I first found this link on Vegan.com, an all-around terrific, no B.S. blog.

Monday Morning Music

My favorite new album is Through These Walls by Hilary McRae. She's the first developing artist signed to Starbucks' Hear Music label (but don't hold that against her!) Imagine that Joss Stone found a bunch of previously unknown early-Chicago charts in a drawer somewhere and decided to record them, and you'll have a sense of what McRae's music is like.

Here's her first video, for the album's opening track "Every Day (When Will You Be Mine)":



You can listen to the entire album by streaming it from Last.fm

If you like what you hear, you can purchase the album from iTunes and Amazon.