Daniel Charles Piraro (born 1958)"Inside View", Los Angeles Times, February 10, 1985.
is a painter, illustrator, and cartoonist best known for his syndicated cartoon panel Bizarro.
Piraro's cartoons have been reprinted in 16 book collections (as of 2012).
He has also written three books of prose.
Biography
Piraro was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and his family moved to Ponca City, OklahomaBizarro (website), 5 August 2013 when he was 4 years old.
When he was in junior high school his family moved to Tulsa,David Zizzo, "Cartoonist fueled by life’s twists", The Oklahoman, November 23, 2008.
where he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1976.Jason Ashley Wright, Here today: gone bizarro: Tulsa's own funny man returns for a couple of gigs—one clean, one not so., Tulsa World, November 9, 2010.
He dropped out of Washington University in St. Louis.John Marshall, "A moment with... Dan Piraro, 'Bizarro' cartoonist", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 1, 2006.
He lived in Dallas and New York City for many years.
He had two daughters with his first wife, and later married Ashley Lou Smith."
Humorlution", Bizarro (website), 9 April 2017 After they divorced, he moved to Los Angeles, California.Powell's Books: Piraro, Dan.
Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro On October 30, 2016 he announcedBizarro (website), 30 October 2016 that he and his partner 'Olive Oyl' (or "O2") had purchased a house in Mexico and would be residing there beginning December 2016.Bizarro (website) 13 November 2016 Syndicated since 1985,Lana Berkowitz, "Dan Piraro's symbols: What do they mean?", Houston Chronicle, May 26, 2008.
Bizarro was appearing in 250 papers by 2006.Alex Chun, "Torn from pages of his comic strip", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2006.
In 2013, Piraro coined the idiom "New Artists" to represent those cartoonists who distribute their work directly onto the Internet, without the use of a syndicate or a business intermediary.Bizarro (website), 2013
In 2014, he hosted the Fox reality television show Utopia.
Political views
Piraro describes himself as "liberal and progressive politically" and identifies as an atheist.
This being apparent in his work has garnered occasional complaints, as in 2005 when he offered newspapers a politics-free version of a comic supporting gay rights.
A glitch however meant that papers printing in color received the political version while those in black and white received its tamer counterpart."
Double Trouble for Syndicated Cartoonist: Alternative text for a gay marriage Bizarro panel fails to reach some newspapers."
, AP in Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2005.
In 2002, Piraro became a vegan.
His activism is visible in Bizarro, often incorporating vegan and animal cruelty themes into his cartoons.
In an interview, he stated, "If you look at my strip over the years, I’ve always had a form of animal sympathy and animal rights."
Piraro has also incorporated an entire section devoted to veganism on his website, detailing his reasons for becoming a vegan, and other vegan-related information.
In 2007, Piraro designed a limited edition T-shirt for endangeredwear.com to raise money for the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit organization committed to ending the systematic abuse of animals used for food.
In a 2011 interview with This Land Press, Piraro discussed his challenges as a liberal growing up in Tulsa, OK.Wendle, Abby.
"Dan Piraro is Not a Redneck", This Land Press, 8 August 2011 Awards
220px|thumb|right|Dan Piraro with a cardboard guitar at NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest 2006 Since 2001, Piraro has toured the U.S. with his one-man comedy show, The Bizarro Baloney Show, which won the 2002 New York International Fringe Festival's award for Best Solo Show.
He played the full show for the final time in 2008, although he has performed bits from the show a few times since then.The Baloney Show.
Bizarro (website) 30 January 2017
Piraro received the National Cartoonists Society's Panel Cartoon Award for 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Beginning in 2002, Piraro was nominated every year for the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award, as Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, and he finally was given a Reuben Award in 2010.
Editorial cartoonist-illustrator Steve Greenberg commented: Books
Bizarro (1986)
Too Bizarro (1988)
Mondo Bizarro (1989)
Sumo Bizarro (1990)
Glasnost Bizarro (1990)
The Book of Lame Excuses (1991)
Post-Modern Bizarro (1991)
Best of Bizarro (1992)
Best of Bizarro II (1994)
Bizarro #9 (1995)
Bizarro #10 (1996)
Bizarro Among the Savages: A Relatively Famous Guy's Experiences on the Road and in the Homes of Strangers (1997)
Life Is Strange and So Are You: A Bizarro Sunday Treasury (2001)
The Three Little Pigs Buy the White House (2004)
Bizarro and Other Strange Manifestations of the Art of Dan Piraro (2006)
Bizarro Buccaneers: Nuttin' but Pirate Cartoons (2008)
Bizarro Heroes (2011)
Creative Haven Bizarro Land Coloring Book (2016)
Audiobook narrator
A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age (Daniel J. Levitin) (2016)
Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era (Daniel J. Levitin) (2017)
References
External links
National Cartoonists Society (NCS)
