November 16th, 2011

Axe Shui

by Wayno & Piraro

Bizarro is brought to you today by Fun New Board Game.

I’m going to step into the realm of immodesty and say I’m pretty proud of this cartoon. I like psychiatry cartoons and do a lot of them, but the thing I think is special about this one is the characters. I think I really nailed the look, posture, and facial expressions of each of these guys. The shrink looks as though he is holding back a combination of fear and incredulity as he struggles to remain professional. The patient looks average and harmless, except for the tenseness of his arms and hands as he clutches the axe. The stoic, far-off gaze adds to the sense of instability. I sometimes criticize myself for drawing too realistically, but in this case, the style works well.

Now let us discuss feng shui. You’ve likely heard of this but if you haven’t, it’s some kind of Asian concept that promotes the idea that the exact placement of objects in a given space somehow effect the area with positive “qi,” which I think means energy or something. It supposedly uses the laws of Heaven and Earth to do this.

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I think this kind of thing is just another example of the kind of superstitious fairy tales that humans are so inclined to subscribe to. However you feel about feng shui, the poor schmuck in this cartoon has a problem that I hope makes you smile.

Please buy my new book for someone for the holidays. It is funny; they will thank you. It is cheap; you will thank yourself.