10 Questions with Dan Piraro

I've decided to dig up another "10 Questions" from the vault of interviews that were going to be used for my magazine. Sorry everyone, I got overwhelmed with other things and the magazine got put on the back burner. I think I'll get back on track soon, but until then here is another interview to give all my Earthbound fans a "10 Questions" fix.

This week is with Dan Piraro, he's awesome. He is a vegan, a comedian, an artist and overall swell guy. If you like the Bizarro comic you read in the newspaper everyday then you like Dan.

For more info visit: www.bizarro.com

10 Questions for Dan Piraro

1. Have you ever animated a music video?

No. I've done a bit of Flash animation for my comedy show and made an animated video about humans as herbivores, but that's it.

2. Does your family help you come up with ideas for Bizarro?

Not really. Everything that goes into my head is fodder for a possible cartoon, of course, so in that respect everyone I know has shown up in one way or another. But generally speaking, my cartoons come from some spot in my brain that writes cartoons.

3. We traded art not too long ago. The comic I have of yours is great, but now I want one of your amazing oil paintings. You have a crazy amount of talent, do many people even know that you paint?

The only people who know I paint are those who have checked out my website or bought my book, "Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro." It's a retrospective of my various careers and endeavors in the art world. It features my favorite cartoons from the past couple of decades, fine art, sketchbook art, commerical illustrations, family photos, my comedy tours, and a humorous autobiographical essay. I don't sell my paintings and rarely show them. I find the business end of the fine art world repugnant and since I dont' "need" the money, I've stayed away from it.

4. I’ve always been a fan of one panel comics like Bizarro and Far Side. Are you a Gary Larson fan and have you ever met him?

I like and appreciate Gary's work and have met him a few times over the years, but I wouldn't call myself a fan in the traditional sense. By that I mean that I don't own any of his books and there are probably a lot of his cartoons I've not seen. I think he is a brilliant cartoonist, but he isn't one whose work I've sought out. Kliban, Quino, Sam Gross, Mick Stevens, are some of my favorite single-panel cartoonists.

5. You have certain items that reappear throughout your comics like a firecracker and a slice of pie. Do they have back stories and names like Charles the Firecracker or Diane the Slice of Pie?

I started dropping little out-of-place objects into my cartoons around 1997 entirely to entertain myself. Readers responded immediately and enjoyed looking for them and wondering what they meant, so I kept it up. Later, I invented some humorous philosophical explanation for them, which appear in the back of my book, "Life is Strange and So Are You," and also on my web site under "secret symbols." The names appear there.

6. My wife and I have been vegan for many years. Up until a few months ago she would read me your articles in VegNews and I would show her your Bizarro comics, but I had never realized they were by the same person! One day I noticed there is, from time to time, an animal rights theme in Bizarro. I looked up your bio and felt so dumb that I had not put the two together. Would you mind telling me about how you became involved with VegNews and how you decide what’s funny for Bizarro without alienating your non-vegan fans?

I became vegan in 2002 because of what I learned through a woman I had begun dating. Like a light bulb going off in my mind, I suddenly saw both the sentience of "food" animals and realized the amount of selfish and unnecessary suffering I was subsidizing with my lifestyle. I changed instantly and have not bought or consumed any animal products since that day. Since virtually everything that goes into my head comes out in some form as a cartoon, I began getting ideas for cartoons about this subject. AS I did so, various animal rights and veg groups began contacting me asking if I was "one of them." I hadn't thought of it, but I supposed I was. I began getting invitations to speak at various conferences and festivals and in doing so, quickly became well-known in those communities. Along the way, I wrote some essays and stories about the subject that were published here and there, which caught the eye of the Veg News folks. They asked me if I'd like to write a humorous column for them and I said I'd try it. I've really enjoyed the process and the reader response has been very supportive. Regarding the cartoons not offending the non-vegan fans, I don't really think about that. My cartoons are about the things I think are funny or poignant about the world through my eyes, so that's what I use as a gauge. I often worry about offending people about things over which they have no control–disabilities, race, etc.–but I don't worry about areas in which people have made a choice, like diet. If someone doesn't like what I say, they don't have to read my work.

7. Does anyone, including yourself, have a Bizarro tattoo that you know of?

There have been a number of folks who have written to me asking if they can use my images for tattoos. I always give them my blessing and just ask that they find a tattooist who has good enough hand-skills to get it right. One guy, who is nearly covered with really amazing tattoos based on famous works of art, is adding an entire scene from one of my cartoons that will cover his entire side, wrapping around his ribs front to back. Can't wait to see how it turns out.My wife and I have both have a number of tattoos, almost all of which I designed, but they aren't from my cartoons. Almost all are related to animal liberation and such.

8. Denver’s 1st Annual VegFest is this spring! Sarah Kramer will be joining my wife and I for a yummy vegan dinner while she is in town. Would you like to join us?

I'd love to. What is the date and can anyone cover my flights?

9. The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?

The Beatles when I'm sober, the Stones when I'm drunk.

10. It bugs me when people say, “You’re an artist, will you paint me a _____ (insert anything).” Just because I’m artist doesn’t mean I paint on demand. That being said…You’re also a stand-up comedian. Want to tell us a little joke?

Just weeks after her notoriously embarrassing appearance on the MTV Awards, Britney Spears' new album is at the top of the charts.