Hammer Time

(To enlarge the above image and inspect it in all its glorious detail, click on the statue's buttock)

Today's Bizarro cartoon is brought to you by Sweatin' to the Oldies.

As a lifelong fan of classical art, I'm partial to this cartoon. It was a collaborative effort between myself and Todd Clark, a very good gag writer and talented cartoonist in his own right. He lives in Boise, Idaho and as such, has no friends. Most people won't even talk to him unless he moves. I feel sorry for him and correspond with him from time to time, and he gives me gag ideas for free as a way of thanks. It's kind of sad, I know, but he's a really talented guy and just as nice as a bowl of heated walnuts.

So he tosses me this idea that Rodin's famous statue, "The Thinker" originally had a thought balloon. I thought it was genius. So I fluggled around with it ( cartoonist lingo) and came up with the above image. A bit of interesting trivia regarding this cartoon: I make a cameo appearance in the background, can you spot me? The answer will be at the bottom of this page.

The image at left ran with the Rodin cartoon in some markets. It is an old gag of mine that I like to use as a title box with classical art cartoons. The original cartoon had a caption across the bottom that said, "Unfinished Self-Portrait."

I'm really proud of this self-portrait cartoon, it's one of my top five favorites I've ever written. Not because it's drop-dead funny, but because it is strange and thought provoking. I'm not sure what it means, but I'll bet it's profound. Maybe a shrink could analyze it and pontificate about my subconscious desire to be conquered by a hammer. Or perhaps it represents my inner struggle against petrification. "Am I but a stone?! Am I not flesh and blood!" he cried out in vain to the deaf sculptor.

No idea where that came from, my apologies.

Answer to today's puzzle: the skull in the drawing on the wall is mine.