What is "Bezango"?

Last October 9th, when I posted the Bezango/Bezango Obscuro story I made a stab at the etymology of the word "Bezango."

It was just a word I made up. I liked the sound of it. I had used it as an expression of joy for awhile, perhaps starting as early as the 1980s. The first instance of this word seeing print, so far as I can ascertain, was in the 1994 comic of the same name. But perhaps I used it in City Limits Gazette 1991-1993. When I post those I'll keep my eye out for it.

Later "Bezango" became a geographic place in the Bezango WA 985 series, an 8-issue run that began in late 2001. Bezango was another name for the weird and unusual people and places tucked away in these moss-covered hills of Southwest Washington.

The word was revived for the Olympia Power & Light column in 2009. To me, the word has evolved into some kind of catch-all for the stories that fall between the cracks, the oddballs, the weirdos, and the celebration of frivolity. We'll get into the story behind that last descriptor in good time.

Bezango WA 985 has also been on stage and shown as gallery art.