Once again, I must point out that we, the crack reporting team at ZooNooZ, had uncovered this story BEFORE the recent revelations of voter fraud broke out regarding that little trollop Holly stuffing the ballot box as if it were a garter belt at a backwoods bear stripper bar.
You can be sure ZooNooZ will be covering this malodorous malfeasance in a future broadcast. But for now, let’s deal with the CURRENT scandal!
How many scandals can one bear?
Be the Bear Bob T is scandal free Panda
Don’t forget to check out my Substack Noozletter. It’s the only place to read The Wizard of Wu this year! Part 2 is now available for your panda-ing pleasure!
Those who know me well, know that there is no joke that, if I think it is funny, that I won’t use at every opportunity. ( I was going to say, “beat to death”, but that’s not really the vibe I want here, ya know?) Ever since the first time I depicted Lun Lun as a rather pampered southern belle, in contrast with her older sister Mei Xiang talking on the phone to each other, it never ceases to crack me up.
Lun Lun’s conniving to send Six and Sebben off to stay with her sister’s family, all while sipping an adult beverage out by the pool, is one of my favorite themes.
Mei Xiang, oddly enough, is less than amused.
Byeeee!
Be the bear Bob T bless their hearts Panda
Don’t miss this week’s Substack post for this year’s encore presentation of that halloween classic, the Wizard of Wu!
Note to all the people who commented whether on Facebook or Twitter: there are NO plans to add a third floor to the Panda House so that Pinky can have a full penthouse suite and not have to share a bathroom with all the little cubbies.
So let’s see what’s up with Pookie’s visit to the pandas.
Now where did all those boxes of Go Fishies crackers come from?
Be the Bear Bob T no search warrants served this week Panda
Several people wondered where Pookie was going to stay if he moved into the Panda House, so I thought a little floor plan was in order.
My understanding was that they did a major renovation when Frank and Mikey moved in, and built the second floor over part of the main panda hose. Prior to that, what is now Mei’s Office/study, part of it was Pinky’s room and part was Bubba and Ping’s room, and Tian’s Bear cave was the baby’s room. Pinky appreciates having a much bigger room, of course!
Adding the second floor “kid’s suite” allowed them to give the kids a separate space with a dedicated computer room and their own little bear’s room.
Keep in mind I am not an architect if things don’t line up exactly.
Seems like they have plenty of space as long as no one else show’s up to stay. (Pinky doesn’t share)
Be the bear! Bob T thinks the GOP are a bunch of doody heads Panda
There might be too many bears in the panda house, that aren’t strictly speaking…um…pandas.
Some of you might be wondering who Josie is. Josie is Frank and Mikey’s sister, and she does not approve of their career choices. She is the bear who stayed home to look after Mom and their youngest brother Scooter. (See last summer’s road trip to Alaska with Frank and Mikey as they searched for their family reunion.
Josie and Scooter’s names (and existence) are owed to Amy of Panda Twitter, who came up with names for the cubs that appeared in one of the numerous videos of bears behaving badly that circulate on the internet. The exploits of Frank and Mikey owe much to these videos and Nooz stories of bears doing things they shouldn’t.
I guess we’ll find out on Thursday whether or not Josie tracked her clueless brothers down, along with her missing cub.
Meanwhile, today is the “Book Birthday” for The Panda Cub Swap, the real life story of the birth of the Meihems. I threw a little party in it’s honor!
Stories have a way of regenerating as new s**t comes to light! But for now, we are going to call this story done, with this episode.
So Let’s get to it!
It looks like Bikkie made a new friend! Call the building contractor, Tian! We might need to make an addition on to Bikkie’s room. And who does this cub belong to? I guess we’ll find out eventually.
A Little Bit About My Process:
Some stories start with an idea that is floating around on the internet. These nooz stories enter my brain, slosh around a bit, colliding with existing characters, melding with preconceived ideas, and finally plooping out onto the page.
For instance: Where did Frank and Mikey come from?
In the fall of 2018, when it became apparent the the current SCOTUS nominee was even more awful than we thought he was, the thought crossed my mind, wouldn’t it be funny if he was eaten by bears on the steps of the Supreme Court?
Naturally, Mehitabel (being the savvy journalist that she is,) invited the bears for an interview on ZooNooZ. To be completely candid, their personalities emerged with little intervention from me. Honestly, sometimes I think I am merely a conduit through which the various cats, pandas, and other animals that appear in these pages, and speak their own thoughts.
Once here, I could not get the bears to leave, despite very pointed glares coming from Mei Xiang as she dealt with her ever expanding household.
And so it is with all the other characters. Sometimes, they don’t have much to say to me, so I let them just wander around in the background, until they have pressing business with me.
Process:
For those who might be interested, here is how my ‘toons come into being:
Idea > scribbled post it note > write script, seeing if I can fit the action/dialog/cast into a 4 panel strip > rough pencil sketch in my sketchbook to figure out layout > light editing of placement, text > redraw the toon on smooth Bristol paper > ink in panel lines > ink in text> ink in all characters > erase pencil lines when dry > Scan > clean up scan in photo editing program > post on The Panda Chronicles
Whew!
Be the Bear Bob T I have no classified documents Panda
Send cuppycakes and magical wands!I love a good art forgery, don’t you?Feed me, Mama!“If Pinky is grounded, can I have her dessert?”Oh come on…hasn’t that ever happened to you? One minute there are two dozen cuppycakes just sitting there, and the next minute they’re gone?Don’t ignore Princess Pinky!
Remember Bubba’s first birthday when he flunked cake?
Bubba flunks “cake”
He was determined not to let that happen on his 2nd Birthday!
It does not pay to be late! You don’t want to flunk cake again, do you, Boo Boo?
2020 was the year we thought we were all going to lose our minds, or die from the plague, or be faced with four more years of you know who. But in August, something wonderful happened. And then there were Three!(or 4 counting Ping!)
A new cubby! The possibilities are endless!Pinky did something wrong? I’m shocked!Bikkie has a name!!!!
Later in the year, we will rerun the whole Beary Poppins story, but for now, here is one of my favorite panels…
Let’s go fly a kite…uh oh.
And to wrap up our Birthday Celebration Weekend…
I hope you are enjoying Bikkie’s cake at the zoo! Stay ‘tooned till “toonsday!”
