What the Sam Scratch is goin' on here?!? #16

Famous Western Badmen #14, January 1953

Clearly this is some definition of the word "kid" I'm not familiar with...

War without end.

"I am sick and tired of this war, and I can see no prospects of having peace for a long time to come, I don’t think it will ever be stopped by fighting, the Yankees cant whip us and we can never whip them, and I see no prospect of peace unless the Yankees themselves rebell and throw down their arms, and refuse to fight any longer."— J. T. Gibson, 78th Pennsylvania, Confederate Army

"I cannot believe the people will stand it any longer losing men by the thousands and money by the millions, for no one knows what as the end appears farther than it did in the beginning."—Delavan Bates, 121st New York Volunteers, Union Army, September 22, 1862

"I do not see as the war is any nearer to a close than it was when I enlisted. I am tired of this war. It is not a just war. If I had known as much when I enlisted as I do now I should of never come out."—Henry Howard Preston, 6th New York Calvary, Union Army

"I did think when I left Home that the war would not last over 15 months But now I would not Be Surprised If it last 5 years. Though it may Close Soon & I Hope it will. But I am Pretty certain it will not close Ere our time of Service is out."—Newton Scott, 36th Infantry, Iowa Volunteers, Union Army, July 22, 1864

"Will this War ever end, have we not been Scurged enough?"—Maria D. Noland, Mt. Air, South Carolina, July 19, 1864

"I wish the war would end I am getting tired of it."— James M. Hulen, 6th Regt. Missouri Volunteers, Confederate Army, March 26, 1865

"It looks like everybody will have to be killed before this war will end. I thought some time back that the war would end but it don't look like it will ever end. I hope and trust it will end before long so we can all come home and stay with you all.

Dear Sister I want to see you and the children the worst in the world. Dear Sister, I can say to you we see a hard time out here at this time. We don't get 1/2 enough to eat. When it gets so they can't feed us I think it is time to quit fighting, and the weather is so hot we can hardly stand it. It's almost like death to have to march....

I must come to a close for this time, you must write as soon as you can, So nothing more at this time I remain your brother until death."—H. J. Douvall, 14th Regiment, South Carolina Volunteer Infantry, Confederate Army, August 10, 1863

Them's fightin' words, Mickey Rapkin!

Most of the comicsblogoball seems to be up in arms about Wired writer Tony Long's bold-faced sneer that a graphic novel isn't good enough to be nominated for a National Book Award. Fie on you, Tony Long. I say, fie on you, and may the full scorn of the assembled bloglegions rightfully wave a fig at you over the vast series of tubes that is the internet.

But my friends, we can't be complacent in merely figging at Mister Long for his narrow-headed view on what makes good literature. Even now other "journalists" for major glossy "periodicals" are spreading lies masquerading as opinion, horrible blind-eyed views that challenge the beliefs we hold to be true and self-evident. Take a big steaming gander at this article from the November issue of GQ:



Now, no doubt you're saying "What's the matter, little bull!" (And at this point you would bend over to give me a friendly reassuring pat on the head, possibly accompanied by a cherry popsicle.) "Why, that headline is right! Superman II didn't suck at all! It was one of the best superhero movies of its time! The headline is right! And stop dripping cherry juice on my brand-new shoes!"

Well, to you i would look up and say "You're wrong!! Read the rest of the article! He is saying that Superman II sucked until now." Heresy! How can you say the movie that gave us Superman punching out Phantom Zone criminals in Metropolis's Times Square (golly, they have one of those in every city, don't they?) "sucks"? Take that back, Mister Mickey Rapkin! Superman II was not a "campy mess" or "a crappy sequel." Sure, I'm eager as anyone is to slide that brand-new Richard Donner cut DVD in and watch the alternate version of the movie. But that film, which has brought a lot of delight, joy, and fun to little stuffed Superman fan me (and I know I'm not the only one!) did not suck!

Humph.

But then what should I expect from a magazine that in the same issue takes not one but two gratitious shots at bullkind?:



and



So, in conclusion, bite me, GQ. Had I actually subscribed to your fashion-laden fishwrap instead of receiving it free in subscription because Cargo went belly-up, I would demand my money back for your yellow journalism that not only slurs the Last Son of Krypton but your Bovine-American readers. I will instead be purchasing Esquire.

Except when they feature those leather jacket fashion spreads.

Lifts and separates.

Either the New York Post has halted its program of free Spider-Man comic book inserts on Thursdays or they've shuffled them about, because I haven't been able to find any the past few weeks. Oh, well...it's not as if i hadn't read and don't have the Ditko Spideys in other different formats, but as I am a bull with a very good idea for value an entire half-a-comic for fifty cents plus a free tabloid newspaper, useful for reading or wrapping fish in, seemed an exceptionally thrifty deal indeed.

Ah well. Free comics aren't impossible to come by this week, however, as Virgin Comics has an insert teaser for John Woo's 7 Brothers in this week's Onion. This half-size comic by Garth Ennis isn't quite my cup of tea, but it's a clever promotion and a good place to put it. But what caught my little stuffed eye more than everybody kung-fu fighting was the teasers for other Virgin Comics, especially this one for Walk In by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics. Despite the title, I don't think it's about Dave's spacious closets:



Wow. Annie Lennox sure looks great these days, doesn't she?

That's some weird-ass anatomy, though, isn't it? I'm not certain what kind of bra Miss Walk In is wearing, but that's some very serious lifting and separating action. I don't know much about art, but I do know you generally draw the eyes the width of one eye apart. I didn't know, however, that you were s'posed to draw breasts the width of one breast apart. Why, I haven't seen breasts that goofy since Kitty Pryde in the I-still-don't-know-why-it's-titled Mekanix limited series.



Funny, if there's one superhero you think of as not being particularly buxom, it's Kitty Pryde, but apparently she buys her supportive undergarments at the same place as Walk In Girl. Or...ah ha! Here's the answer: both covers are drawn by the same artist, Celia Calle. Whoa. I think I might be afraid to meet Miss Calle.

Oh wait a minute. I forgot one vital element in this post. Lemme post that cover again:



(A tip of the nose ring to Sleestak)

Happy Halloween!

Enjoy all the frights of the night, but don't scare yourself too much!


Panels by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby from Fantastic Four #58, January 1967. Boo!

Kirby says: Don't ask, don't tell, just buy it!

More than I ever wanted to know about the living arrangements at the Baxter Building:


(From Fantastic Four #65, August 1967)

Fred.

John here taking over for a moment from Bully to write an entry in his blog.

This isn't an entry about comic books. It's an entry about Fred.



Fred was born in 1925 and grew up in the Depression, served in the Navy in World War II. He was my uncle, my mother's only brother. Smart and funny, he was a man I adored and sought to emulate in whatever way I could. He was passionate about his hobbies and passed that enthusaism onto me: from Fred I learned about astronomy and photography, and his passion for trains inspired in me my lifelong love of train travel. His tales of being stationed in England during World War II were the beginnings of my life as a rabid Anglophile. He introduced me to two popular culture series that remain my favorite to these days: Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek. He took me to Basil Rathbone Holmes film revivals and to that weird-ass Shatner one-man show during the late seventies. He took me to Close Encounters of the First Kind and The Seven Percent Solution. One Christmas he and Aunt Flossie gave me what I consider one of the greatest Christmas gifts a kid could ever get: the Superior "Ace" Printing Press. For years one of my favorite activities was rolling out elaborately-designed printed newsletters from the Superior "Ace". It was my first blogging, and it was Uncle Fred who inspired it.

You see, that's what he brought out most in me: the drive and desire to create. His humor, creativity, and drive inspired my own, and he encouraged me to explore, to expand my horizons, to always reach for something beyond my grasp, to improve myself and have fun in the meantime.

My Uncle Fred died on October 15 after a battle with leukemia and myeldoysplastic syndrome. Last year, while he was stuck in the house and having difficulties moving around, I sent him the two giant Annotated Sherlock Holmes sets we published at Norton with a note that told him how much I appreciate him introducing me to Holmes in the first place. I don't think I did my feeling justice in the note. But I think he understood. He always did.

This post is not about comic books. But it is about one of my greatest heroes.

Happy journeys, Uncle Fred. Enjoy the trains up there.

—jld, 29 October 2006

Roly Poly

In his comment to my blog entry about eatin' delicious, yummy cake, ace blogger Sleestak suddenly became a man I am going to hide behind the sofa for with his comment:

That's right. Eat on up...get nice and fat. I work a deli, you know....mmmmm, top round.

I am going to tell Miss Mills on you, bad Mister Sleestak!

That said, boy howdy, I do enjoy eatin'. That's why I wanted to share with you my personal theme song, a great classic of Texas Swing by the late great Mister Bob Wills: "Roly Poly." It's all about the joys of eating everything from corn to taters, and it not only gets my little hooves a-tapping, it makes me hungry every single time I hear it. I may not be a slim or svelte little bull, but with delicious, delicious gravy to be had, who wants to be?

I don't have a link to the delightfully twangy Bob Wills version (although you can purchase it at the iTunes Store), but here's a free listen at the wonderful new version by bluegrass/Texas Swing quintet The Little Willies, a track that's currently getting heavy, heavy play on my iPod. And yes...that smoky-voice female lead singer is the Sensational New Character Find of 2002, Miss Norah Jones. The Little Willies are getting a lot of attention because of Jones's participation, but even if she was an anonymous singer instead of the vocal superstar she is, the song and CD are wonderfully cheerful and exuberant and it's well on the way to being my favorite CD of 2006. Give it a listen and I bet you'll feel the same.

I don't often post YouTube videos on my blog, but check 'em out on Conan! If this doesn't make ya wanna dance, well, there's no love of life left in you, I do say!:



So yes, Mister Sleestak, I will indeed get fatter and plumper and more 'n' more roly poly.. But I'm keeping myself lean and mean by dancing! Get out from behind your cheese-slicing machine and dance around the supermarket floor and you'll understand what I mean!

Ten of a Kind: Look at my crotch!

(A thematic sequel to Look at my butt!)





















(More Ten of a Kind here.)