I Want You, Lois!

The first day back from vacay was pretty dang busy.  Yay for Robert Gillis, who gives us some fun from Superman Family #170 and 171!

Disembodied Floating Heads (tm!) are extra creepy when they talk:

I'm not sure how a Disembodied Floating Head (tm!) would do all the custodial work.  What kind of "reasonable accommodations" for the position are we talking about there?  And is that her only facial expression?  I don't think I care for that smirk.

And here's some weirdness for Fun with Out of Context Artwork! (tm!):

I have been a vocal supporter of Robin's original outfit over the years, but I have to admit, it looks pretty dang silly when you see it on someone else.  Then again, the fact that he's giving Jimmy a makeover may be part of the situation.  I don't know.  This is really a disturbing one.

And finally, a bit of Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!)

YEAH!

Thanks once again to contributor Robert Gillis!

See you tomorrow!

Strangling People Apparently Gives You Great Muscle Definition in Your Fingers

And we're back!  Well, actually, I'm writing this on 8/30, as I do all my posts a day in advance these days, but I assume I'm back and that I had a very restful time.

So, let's take another look at Pep Comics #20:

The Hangman was (dare I say it?) in full swing (get it?) by this time in Pep Comics, and was given who I think gives the Joker a run for sheer creep-factor: The Jackal.

No, not the one responsible for that Spider-Man "Clone Saga."   This guy:   

Egad!  As if that weren't enough, he had just climbed out of a coffin. Kudos to writer Joe Blair and artist George Storm for cranking out this little bit of eeeeeeeeew.

We now resume the...

And, of course, it didn't end there.  You see, the Jackal escaped when he faked his execution with the help of a corrupt doctor and, well....  it's time for an installment of He Probably Should Have Seen That Coming (tm!):

You know someone is freaking out when their cries for help don't even fit into the word balloon.

This has been another installment of He Probably Should Have Seen That Coming (tm!).

And now, let's segue into Well... Touche! (tm!)

Well... Touche! (tm!)

And since we're making up for my vacay time, let's keep going with some Fun with Out of Context Dialogue (tm!):

Enough of this droll humor.  Let's check out an ad for Black Jack:

I'm not sure I understand the threat to law-breakers.  I mean, if you're dealt a Black Jack , don't you automatically win?  I'm not a hardcore gambler by anyone's definition, but I'm pretty sure a Black Jack is exactly what you're going for and I'm pretty sure a criminal would know this.

Good to be back (I assume)!  See you tomorrow!

GLUMPH!

Dear Ones, I'm going to be taking next week off, but never fear, we be back for more time-wastin' goodness on Monday, September 9th!  

One last bit before I depart from Golden Age Green Lantern #9:

It's interesting to see an ad for something that the manufacturer readily admits might not be available.  Of course, the military should have what they need to get the job done... I've just never seen a situation where a manufacturer took out an ad to explain why the product might be hard to find.  That's an interesting period piece.  

Cool beans!  Off to Pep Comics #20:

I would think you'd call up Joe for no other reason than to have him check out that big-ass baby with his own eyes.

I mean... that baby is huge!

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Annnnnnnnnddddd......

Suddenly!

For all I know, those hands belong to that huge infant she was holding.  Never turn your back on an infant.  They'd just as soon kill you as look at you.

"Wang must be in her room right now" could be a euphemism, if the Shield is the jealous type.

And now.... a CMNS Moment of Comic Book Greatness! (tm!)

This has been a CMNS Moment of Comic Book Greatness! (tm!)

And taking us out, we have one last Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!)

Well, every guy knows that!

See you on the 9th!

If You Want Me to Like You, You'll Kill Green Lantern!

When you're reading a series from long ago and there are some inconsistencies with how you know the character to be, you know that the change clearly took place at some point.  For example, we've seen in the first several issues of the Golden Age Green Lantern that Alan's weaknesses were... what we shall charitably describe as "inconsistent from a logistical perspective."  But Golden Age Green Lantern #9 puts a stop to that once and for all:

Got it?  WOODEN gun butts!

Heh... "butts!"

Oh, and here's the first appearance of something rather familiar to those of us who waltzed in during the Silver Age:

Dang straight!

Hold on....

Hold on...

... and there it is.  Suddenly! (tm!)

Doiby fell in love with an evil woman (as if there were any kind of woman but an evil one!) who has evil intentions:

DOIBY!  BROS BEFORE HOS!

(Ho's?  Hoes?  Hos's? Hoses?)

Anyway... just in case you missed it the first time:

That's right!  WOOD IS THE ONLY THING!

And I know you guys are going to fuss if I don't tell you whether Doiby attacked Alan, so...

Doiby, being a taxi driver, probably knows exactly where to go to relieve his girl problems.

Anyway...

And then something else happens...

I'm no physicist, but that's some weird trajectory there.

Anyway, once again, just so we've established this....

Wood is now the problem.  Everyone on board?

And then this happens at the end:

I believe the kids these days would say Doiby was catfished.

Or catfishin'.  Something about catfish.

See you tomorrow!

In Which Adam Learns Something About Comic Strips of Yore

From Action Comics #113, we have a rather surreal moment where the reader is discouraged from reading Superman stories in the future in this.... Superman story:

See??  It isn't just me!  Superham is boring.

My brother, if you think being Superham is boring, try reading Superham.

Anyway, that's the kind of story where I'm surprised no one stopped to say, "You know, we're basically calling our golden goose boring."  I mean, in this story Superham hypnotizes himself to be without powers for 24 hours, which is fine, but what about next issue when he back to his typical overpowered self?  Hmmmm?  Hmmmmmm?

Hey!  It's time for some Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!):

Oswald's standards changed with the times, recognizing the quality of employee churned out by the modern public educational system.

Speaking of whippersnappers, I gave myself a little come-uppance.  Check this out:

Okay, fine.  It's an ad.  I can work with an ad.

Famous comic strip people, you say?  I readied my poison pen, as I had never heard of these folks:

So, before I embarrassed myself (or rather, waited for one of you to call me out for being an idiot), I did a little research.

Harold Teen was a comic strip that ran for 40 FREAKIN' YEARS!

Yes.  40.  4-oh.

It had the usual merchandising stuff... toys and pins.

Oh, and not one, but two film adaptations, not to mention a radio show.

I am an idiot.

I cringed as I did a little further research on some other characters from the ad:

Yup.  I'm an even bigger idiot here.  The Gumps ran for 42 years.  It was also the first comic strip to kill off a major character.  Sadly, the creator of the series died on the way home from signing a contract that made him very wealthy about halfway through the strip's run.  Films, radio... there's a statute in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin of Andy Gump, for crying out loud!

I kind of gave up on the comic strip page many years ago.  I thought that I had seen the golden age of comic strips, having spent my formative years with Bloom County, FoxTrot and Calvin and Hobbes.  And those were amazing strips.  But 40-plus years?  Folks, I am humbled.

Real funnypaper folks, indeed!

See you tomorrow!

Strudel Crumbs, My Boy... STRUDEL CRUMBS!

So, having really enjoyed the first story as I discussed yesterday, I continue my look at Spy Smasher #10.  And I remind myself once again why I am able to do this blog.

'frinstance:

Not quite the same as trying to kill Hitler, but maybe if...

Okay, that's not what really happened. But isn't it awesome that one can Google "Japanese Beatles" and come up with a photo?

And issue 10 limps to a close, going from a thought-provoking tale of killing a mass-murderer to:

... a man who loves strudel to a fault.

Blarg.  Let's finish today with some Fun with Out of Context Dialogue! (tm!)  from America's Best Comics #13!:

The Black Terror was very aggressive when it came to soliciting...

See you tomorrow!

In Which Adam is Pleasantly Surprised by Accidentally Discovering Something Thought-Provoking

Because I'm all heart, I'm the first to say when those who create our treasured comics do something amazing.  It's the least I could do, as I'm always waiting in the wings to poke fun when they don't quite hit it out of the park.

Such is the case with Spy Smasher #10:

In the lead story, he decides to head straight over to Germany and do the world a favor and take Hitler out once and for all:

This was not some dream or imaginary story, as was often done when other comic characters were depicted smacking Hitler on behalf of several grateful nations.   It's also worth noting that comic book characters were often written out of getting involved directly with the battles on the front lines.  Heck, the Golden Age Green Lantern was only in the military for about half a dozen issues or so before he was honorably discharged.  So, it's kind of refreshing to see a writer unafraid to go for broke on this very volatile topic.

And not only did Smash go to Germany, he...

well, he did this:

That, my friends, is dang impressive.

And Smash gets caught right away, but he has the same reaction anyone would have had at the time:

But, as awesome as comics are, you can't rewrite current events:

Yeah, I know.  We knew something like that was coming, but it's still a bringdown.

Here's where it gets really interesting in a What If Spy Smasher (or Anyone Else) Killed Hitler? sense..

I admit, I had never thought of that possibility.  Then again, remember what got the United States into the war?  This wouldn't be much different in terms of giving people a cause than Pearl Harbor.

So, Smash learned something and, seventy years later, gave me something to think about:

Yup.  Smash thought it was best for Hitler to stay alive until Germany fell... keeping him alive and wearing down Germany made more sense in the long run than the immediate gratification of seeing Hitler get a fraction of what he deserved.

And that, my friends, makes this issue a CMNS Buried Treasure! (tm!)