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Please tell us a little bit about yourself!Raised in Oklahoma, art school dropout (after one semester), became a commercial illustrator in Dallas, got married, had two daughters. Got signed as a syndicated cartoonist in '85, lived in Dallas until 2002 when I married for a second time and moved to NYC. What led you to become vegan? Was it a gradual change or did it happen quickly? A little of both. I'd always been very compassionate toward animals but tended to turn a blind eye to my diet believing that eating animals was just what humans did to stay alive. When I met and began dating my current wife, Ashley Lou Smith, in 2001, I began learning about what goes on in factory farms, circuses, fur farms, etc. I began seeing things differently almost immediately and a weekend trip to Farm Sanctuary in upstate NY changed me in a single stroke. I went there as an occasional meat eater, but left as a vegan and have never looked back. You’re a fairly prolific cartoonist. What got you into doing that? Is it something you’ve always been interested in doing? I was a prodigious artist as a child and always wanted to be an artist. I thought I'd be a painter, like Picasso, but could not make ends meet after I quit art school and immediately got into commercial illustration. It was good money and better than working in an office but I really disliked the lack of creativity. Cartooning was a way to combine some creativity with immediate commercial compensation. I'd always been a funny guy who could draw, so I was well suited to it. Working in the arts is not an easy job. What obstacles did you face getting Bizarro off the ground and how did you overcome them?  I was (and am) very shy, so visiting the offices of magazine editors and pitching my work was out of the question. So I drew cartoons and sent them off in the mail to the handful of companies that syndicate newspaper cartoons. After a couple of years of submitting and getting rejection letters in return, I got a call from an editor at Chronicle Features in San Francisco who was interested in developing me. We worked together for about six months and they launched Bizarro in January of '85.You’ve got a new book coming out. Please tell us about it!  Bizarro Heroes is a collection of over a 100 of my favorite super hero cartoons from Bizarro over the course of my career. Should be lots of fun for anyone who enjoys the super hero genre, some include satires of well-known characters like Spider-Man and Superman, some are heroes I've made up, like Marsupial Man and Captain Yoga.How do you merge being vegan with your work and what influence have you seen that merger have on other people? Since I'm responsible for a new idea 365 days per year, year after year, I'm always looking for new material. Virtually any experience I have is fodder for some kind of cartoon down the line. When I became vegan, some of what I had learned began to seep into my work. Those cartoons became instantly popular with people who are interested in animal compassion and over the years I've heard from lots of readers who began to think differently about their diet and lifestyle based on things I brought up in cartoons. I didn't expect that, but it's a terrific fringe benefit. What are the key issues you see affecting animal rights today? Hard to say, there are so many. The basic issue is that people see animals as being here for them, not with them. I try to change that basic impression and hope that the rest falls into place naturally. Once you see an animal of another species as someone instead of something, it is easier to change your choices. What is your favorite recipe that you cook at home?  My wife is a fantastic and very intuitive vegan cook and she makes amazing things for us all the time. I eat better and a wider variety of things I did when I was a meat eater. I can't cook a thing, so I have no idea about her recipes. She invented a vegetable/noodle/saur kraut soup that is AWESOME.What are the biggest changes you’ve seen, food-wise, since you became vegan and now? Vegan cheeses are getting much better, Daiya being the best brand we've found. It's also very encouraging to be able to find vegan food products in regular grocery stores in unexpected places like Ohio or Oklahoma. What advice can you give artists who want to integrate animal rights issues into their work? As with any art project, it is important to speak from the heart. Preaching never works – and I mean never – but sharing your perspective and views can touch people. What’s on the horizon for you? Any exciting new projects? My wife and I are thinking of putting out a cookbook with her amazing recipes and my cartoons, I'm working on getting an animated show on TV, and I'm going to release a CD of my own original music in the next year or so. This will be an independent effort, not a major label. :o) I'm also going to continue to do my stage shows and stand-up comedy, which is great fun. Thanks Dan! My pleasure. Contact Info You can visit Dan’s work and reach Dan at www.bizarro.com. Dan’s Bio BIZARRO was first syndicated in 1985 and has built a steady and loyal following in the United States, Canada, as well as in parts of Europe, Asia and South America. BIZARRO has won an unprecedented three consecutive “Best Cartoon Panel of the Year” awards from the National Cartoonists Society, and this year won the NCS's highest award, “Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.” Piraro has published 14 collections of Bizarro cartoons and three books of prose. He has also performed comedy across the nation and has appeared on NPR, CNN, and HBO. Dan Piraro resides in Brooklyn, NY. *PRIVACY POLICY - Contact information is never, ever given or sold to another individual or company By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Service. | subscribe contact contributors pro bonum classes meals |