Rare Spirit Covers

After the newspaper SPIRIT sections folded in 1952, Will Eisner spent the rest of his life resisting the temptation to do new stories with the character. Well...almost resisting. There were those few new pieces in the 1966 Harvey comics, that big Canadian tabloid that's so hard to store, the SPIRIT JAM, a couple of underground pages and even the team-up with THE ESCAPIST, just before the artist's death last year. Something he was always up for, though, was a new SPIRIT cover! Previously on this blog, we ran a nice color SAN DIEGO CON BOOKLET cover. Today, we offer a few more, starting with a HERO ILLUSTRATED fold-out cover from late 1994. Also present is a black and white TBG cover from 1981, the cover of the COMIC SHOP NEWS COLLECTOR'S GUIDE issue 1 from 1988 and finally, the back cover of the STRIP-AIDS benefit book , also from that same year.

Harvey Kurtzman's Autobiography

When the time comes that my son's third or fourth grade teacher says he has to write a book report on an autobiography of an important historical figure, I'm giving him this one and I deny the teacher to say it doesn't count! We may never know the full extent to which Kurtzman's influence has been felt on our culture, popular and otherwise. Based on this juvenile biography, written with Howard Zimmerman and published in 1988, I'd have to say Kurtzman himself really didn't get it. Every comedian and writer who was influenced by MAD has Kurtzman to credit. Children who learned the horrors of war through Kurtzman's EC war comics undoubtedly carried this into the next decade's anti-war protests. As stated in a previous post, Harvey was a stepping stone for Gloria Steinem, Terry Gilliam, Robert Crumb and others who have themselves influenced society and culture.MY LIFE AS A CARTOONIST tells Harvey's story in a fairly straightforward way with the notable exception that what was arguably Kurtzman's biggest success is (understandably considering the intended audience) not mentioned at all. That would, of course, be LITTLE ANNIE FANNY, the most expensive comic strip of all time. Published in PLAYBOY from the early sixties through the early eighties, the fully painted strip featured artwork by Kurtzman's long-time sidekick, Will Elder, aided and abetted from time to time by such comic art luminaries as Frank Frazetta, Russ Heath and Jack Davis. Denis Kitchen edited two annotated volumes of reprints a few years back. Still, we see the artist's beginnings, his early work, his EC success, MAD, TRUMP (which is mentioned even though it was also published by Hefner…who is not mentioned by name), HUMBUG, THE JUNGLE BOOK, HELP! And NUTS! He even goes into some detail about his early contributions to SESAME STREET. There's lots of single panel reprints and even an interesting “how-to” section. I'm surprised that packager Byron Preiss was able to convince the publisher to do this book since much of Kurtzman's work was either out-of-print or too adult but I'm glad they did. I think kids need to learn more about the world around them and I think it's a different world than it would've been if there hadn't been a Harvey Kurtzman.

The Unexplained

Described by MEDIASCENE as "Mary Perkins: Psychic Detective," THE UNEXPLAINED was a 1979 attempt at newspaper syndication by writer Marv Wolfman and the legendary artist/inker team of Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. According to Steranko's tabloid, the team had been granted unprecedented concessions by the Copley News Service when it came to rights. Wolfman is quoted as saying that he would be promoting the strip, about a parapsychologist named Raven Winters, throughout the summer at comic book conventions. The question is, whatever happened to it? Did it run anywhere? Have any of you seen it? A check of the Web brought me to this relatively recent interview with Mike Esposito at http://www.adelaidecomicsandbooks.com/espo.htm in which the former Mickey Demeo (and Joe Gaudioso!) recalls "Ross Andru and myself with Marv Wolfman had a strip. Marv wrote it and Ross and I designed it and put it together. The Daily News advanced us for eight weeks of continuity before it was going to be printed, before we got our contracts." With no mention at all of Copley, Mike then points out that the News went on strike for some weeks and when the presses rolled again, they had changed their mind on the strip. An additional recollection by Wolfman from the same interview adds "The female lead was Raven Winters - I used both names in comics later on, Raven in the Titans, Winters in Night Force. She was a parapsychologist at a university with a male associate." Again, though, did it ever run at all or was it somehow dependent on the Daily News that much? Is this promo piece the only thing anyone has ever seen? Unless we hear otherwise from some of you, this must remain...THE UNEXPLAINED.

Help! Fumetti

It was recently announced that a collection of Harvey Kurtzman’s HELP! magazine is forthcoming and it’s about time! It may not have been as funny as the original MAD (what is?) but HELP!, published by Jim (FAMOUS MONSTERS) Warren, is most definitely the most interesting project with which Kurtzman was associated after EC. Featuring Harvey’s frequent collaborator, Will Elder, HELP! is where we met GOODMAN BEAVER who later had a sex-change and became LITTLE ANNIE FANNY. It’s also where all of those underground guys got their start, appearing in the Public Gallery section. Crumb, Lynch, Shelton and others all first hit the big time in HELP! Big names flocked to be on the cover. Seen here alone are Jerry Lewis, Jackie Gleason, Jonathan Winters, Dave Garroway and Mort Sahl. Initially, Harvey’s Assistant Editor was Gloria Steinem who went on to be America’s leading feminist and found MS. Magazine. Her replacement was one Terry Gilliam, future Python and leading filmmaker. In fact, one could argue that Gilliam’s crucial involvement in Monty Python stems directly from his getting John Cleese, then appearing on Broadway, to appear in a fumetti for the magazine.
What is a fumetti, all you Americans ask? Well, it’s a form of picture comic strip that has appeared for decades in Mexico as well as in Italy and other parts of Europe but has always been looked on as a less-than-successful novelty in the US. In HELP!, Kurtzman regularly included fumetti strips, written and photographed by his staff (and guest writers such as sci-fi author/editor Algis Budrys) and featuring a number of celebs and folks who went on to be celebs. The anniversary collection seen here (issue 21) is an all-fumetti reprint issue. The strips are little more than slightly suggestive sketch comedy but feature such well known (at least in the early sixties) actors as Tom Poston, Jack Carter, Orson Bean Henny Youngman and Sylvia Miles. Comic artist Russ Heath appears in one. Future film director Henry Jaglom appears here as an "actor" also. I once spoke with James Hampton (F TROOP, HAWMPS), who also appears in several fumetti and he was genuinely amazed and surprised that anyone remembered these things at all! Although not included in this collection, the very young John Cleese appeared in perhaps THE classic strip as a man who falls for a Barbie doll.
With the demise of HELP!, Kurtzman’s experiment with photo comics ended. Every once in a great while, someone has tried to revive the format. Superfans Jim Engel and Chuck Fiala did a Fumetti strip for years in THE COMIC READER and it was later collected. Marvel did a startlingly unfunny and hard to see fumetti one-shot and even a few independent comics have been photo-based. As I said, though, in the US, it’s all novelty.
If you’re mature enough, check out The Groovy Age of Horror which has often run samples from some of the more successful European-style fumetti. Then keep your eyes open for the upcoming return of HELP!.

The Partridge Family Club

Okay, here's one club I somehow resisted. I loved THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY. I bought the singles, the albums, the Official Magazine and I spent most Friday evenings at my sixth grade girlfriend Debbie's house watching the show. Debbie was really into the fact that I loved the same stuff she did (I was such a player when I was ten years old!). I had a crush on Shirley Jones as opposed to Susan Dey (Hey, when I was younger I liked older women) and I genuinely enjoyed David's singing. I still think Danny Bonaduce was one of the most underrated child stars of them all and I wish him well with his adult issues, bless him! This colorful ad comes from the 1971 issue of TIGER BEAT's OFFICIAL PARTRIDGE FAMILY MAGAZINE seen here...one of only two issues still in my collection (but I still have the albums!). How big was David Cassidy in 1970-71? Zoom in on this TIGER BEAT back issue ad and you'll see that Bobby Sherman's picture is bigger on the earlier issues with a considerable amount of appearances by the recently deceased Jack Wild. David's picture starts small, eventually matches Bobby's in size, then towers over him on the remaining covers. Soon after, with no show and declining record success, David knocked Bobby off the covers all together.

Rowan Atkinson as Doctor Who

In spite of the expected Sci-Fi Channel meddling, Christopher Eccleston has taken the US shores by storm as the 9th Doctor. In between now and the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann)TV movie a decade earlier, surely it occurred to someone that Mr. Bean would make a credible Doctor. In 1999, though, when we got to see Rowan Atkinson's appearance as everyone's favorite Timelord, it was about as canonical as Lenny Henry's hilarious interpretation. As part of Britain's Comic Relief campaign and its periodic Red Nose Days, Atkinson appeared in a running series of sketches throughout the charity broadcast that were later collected on video in the UK. Surprisingly, since it didn't air at all in this country, it even came out in the US. Rowan is a strong presence as the Doctor in THE CURSE OF FATAL DEATH, playing it straight(ish) with his companion Julia Sawhala (ABFAB, CHICKEN Run) in spite of a preponderence of sophomoric flatulance humor. As the character's arch-enemy, the Master, Jonathan Pryce (currently on stage in NYC in DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS where my friend Terri has great seats!) roles his eyes and chews the scenery with a maniacal glee that steals the piece almost completely. The Daleks also make an appearance and there are lots of other references and in-jokes. The highlight of the longish sketch, though, is when the Doctor, as he does from time to time, regenerates into his next incarnation...or in this case several of them, becoming Hugh Grant, Richsrd E. Grant, Jim Broadbent and ultimately, in a bizarre nod to all the fans who always wondered if the Doctor could regenerate into the opposite sex, ABFAB's (who am I kidding, THE NEW AVENGERS') Joanna Lumley just in time for a happy(?) ending. With the arrival of the new guys now, I'd say there's no real chance that Rowan Atkinson's old-fashioned Doctor could ever be seriously considered as anything but a footnote. There's a part of me, though, that thinks that's just too bad. Could worked!

300 and Counting

Wow! Seems like only yesterday but that last one was my 300th post! In spite of scanner limitations, computer glitches and unpaid broadband bills, we’ve been here nearly every day since last August. My virtual library has become a place of fun and remembrance and, after several years of depression, has given me reason to unbox the joys of my past and share them with you. And you seem to like them! That’s the best part! So let’s get started right away on the next 300. I’ve got a lot more stuff and it all has a story attached to it!
Here’s a couple of odds and ends starting with my last pic of Cissy Colpitts (AKA Cisse Cameron) that I have. It’s not much, actually, as it’s obviously a shot of Ted Knight from his flop, THE TED KNIGHT SHOW which is where I first found Cissy to be funny and sexy. For the completists among us, though, here it is. Her character’s name was Graziella.
Next is a cool shot of two of the most imaginative people who ever lived--comic book artist Jack Kirby and Looney Tunes legend Bob Clampett. I’m not sure now where I got this clipping (CBG?) but it looks as though Clampett was being inducted into the Science-Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Based on Bob’s wig, I’d say this dates from the mid-seventies.
Here’s a few recent links to particularly enjoyable and nifty sites:
http://mahtwocents.blogharbor.com/blog
http://www.toddfrye.com/
http://www.larrysmithpuppets.com/
http://www.rogerowengreen.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookgasm.com/
http://www.comictreadmill.com/
http://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/
http://www.chancefiveash.com/last_of_the_spinner_rack_junkies.htm
http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/
http://sacomics.blogspot.com/
http://ditko.blogspot.com/
http://jackkirbycomics.blogspot.com/
Remember, if you enjoy this type of thing—or Johnny West, The Great Gildersleeve, Linda Blair, underground comics, fanzines, Wally Wood, Jim Steranko, Kings Island, the Beatles, cartoons and/or commercials—feel free to drop a virtual buck or two in the donations box to your virtual right. Thanks for everyone's support. I have to go start on tomorrow's posts now.