Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro [Paperback]

Dan Piraro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Piraro was born in Kansas City, grew up in Tulsa, and lived in Dallas for many years. His comic strip, Bizarro, runs daily in more than 200 markets across North America and was voted Best Single-Panel Cartoon by the National Cartoonists Society for an unprecedented three straight years. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams; First Edition edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810992213
• ISBN-13: 978-0810992214
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 9.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,827 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bizarro bonanza, April 16, 2006

By 

Derek Goodwin "Vegan Radio Podcast" (Northampton, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro (Paperback)

i just picked this up on a recent trip to NYC, being a long-time fan of dan's work. the comics themselves are always amazing, some of them made me burst out laughing on my bus ride home, garnering stares from my fellow passengers. the commentary that goes with the comics is what really makes this book special. by the end i felt like i really know dan and have a sense of what makes his work stand out in the comic world. he also has a great way of conveying the urgency of his politics and views on animal rights in a simple way that is easy for people to understand. dan is a man who has a talent for changing the world for the better with humour, and god knows we can use that these days. the book is highly recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very funney and very intolerant, July 14, 2008

By 

D.E. (CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro (Paperback)

Bizzaro is one of the best comic strips I have ever seen. Even on the all too numerous occasions when it is clear that my political etc. views are diametrically opposite to Mr. Piraro's I find his comic strips funny and very clever. I even have a reproduction of one his 'strips framed and hanging on a wall in my house. This collection is one of the funniest comic strip collections I have seen and it is also published in a very high quality (for a paperback) format- it is *not* your typical flimsily bound and poorly printed paperback collection. I also like the fact that he reveals where his ideas come from. This brings me to my second point: it's one thing to include your political and religious beliefs in your book. These illuminate the origin of many of his ideas, but it's another to have them constantly shoved down your throat in a very childish fashion. He writes with the style of an angry and idealistic high school student with no thought that anyone else with very differing views could have valid ideas or - gasp- could even be correct. It get's tiring to be constantly told that anyone with opposing views is "whacked out", to use a common phrase of his. He replaces his idealized wishful thinking for facts, and it gets annoying. Here's one example: he writes about how he admires the native American Indians for living in harmony with nature. Clearly he has not read much on this matter because, I am sorry to inform this vegan, it is pretty much accepted by anthropologists and other scientists involved that "native" Americans wiped out the pleistocene megafauna, just like the "native" New Zealanders pretty much wiped out thier megafauna. I point this out because I grew tired of his constant know-it-all attitude, and I am sure other readers will as well. I only write this because I think even this very personal book goes way overboard for a comic book collection in his attacks on people whose views he dislikes and I expect a little more restraint more from an adult author- even a cartoonist with a poor formal educational background. Still in all, I would highly recommend this book to any fan of the daily comics and plan on buying his new hardcover collection upon it's release.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fights Alzheimer's Nine Ways, July 25, 2008

By 

Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro (Paperback)

One of the few good reasons to spend retirement years in America is the dependable presence of at least one laugh in your morning newspaper, aside from those sardonic guffaws you suppress with a sob when you look at the front page. Now, none of you techno-whippersnappers had better tell me that the comics are available on-line anywhere I wander, anywhere I roam, cuz looking at Bizarro on a computer screen is about as gratifying as staring at a photo of a snifter of cognac. It's the smell of the newsprint and the satisfaction of snatching the pertinent image from your lovey at her sudoku. Yes sir, that's livin'! Gets you all stirred up for tooling around Sun City in your golf cart.

Dan Piraro has been amassing a comprehensive dossier of my own particular world-view for many years, one frame at a time, but I've been abroad enough to have missed any number of his sharpest insights. But with this here book in my suitcase, I can face moving to "The Sequoias" with equanimity. What name for an assisted living facilty, eh? The Sequoias. Piraro would appreciate it.