The 1982 Tron Holiday Special

Gabe Kaplan, Burt Reynolds, Dom Deluise, O.J. Simpson, the members of Jefferson Starship...just a few of the celebrities who never appeared in this made-up holiday special, presumably inspired by the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special. Watch for a very special appearance by the very real Rip Taylor.

The 1982 Tron Holiday Special from Rip Taylor

Sun Zoom Spark

Captain Beefheart was an artist in the purest sense of the word. His creative M.O. was to place imagery-laden poetry over the top of highly complex blues constructions. Like many artists whose works are impenetrable to the general public, his influence is greatest among other artists. RIP 1941-2010




Sun Zoom Spark

Nothing makes it move
From the bottom to the top
Does it start at the bottom
Or does it start at the top?

Magnet draw day from dark
Sun zoom spark
Sun zoom spark

Now which hand's got it?
Bottom, or the top?
Neither hand's got it
It's just got it
Hope it don't stop

Magnet draw day from dark
Sun zoom spark
Sun zoom spark

Think you can uh hold it
Once it start
I don't care who ya are or what
size ya are
I'm gonna magnetize ya

Magnet draw day from dark
Sun zoom spark
Sun zoom spark

It goes every which way
Once it start
Does it start at the bottom
Or does it start at the top?

Magnet draw day from dark
Sun zoom spark
Sun zoom spark

Ohh, don't let it get away
I'm gonna zip up my guitar
'n then when I've gone too far
I'm gonna zip down my guitar

Magnet draw day from dark
Sun zoom spark
Sun zoom spark

(from the album Clear Spot, released in 1972)

Marlys' Resolutions

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to read more books by the fabulous Lynda Barry. For Christmas I received The! Greatest! of! Marlys!, a very funny collection of her early strips sure to put anyone in touch with their inner child. Right now, Amazon has this title on sale for the unbelievably low price of $10.85. That's 224 pages of Lynda Barry brilliance for what works out to be about a nickel a page! You can't afford to not buy it! At these prices you'll probably also want to buy copies for your nine closest friends too.






More Lynda!

Spider-Man Takes a Fall, is Hospitalized!

Breaking News: CNN is reporting that an actor was injured during last night's performance of the new Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. The actor-stuntman (apparently not lead actor Reeve Carney) apparently fell 20 or 30 feet. Details

Sugar and Spike Meet Santa Claus!

Christmas is right around the corner, so it's a perfect time to share this classic Sheldon Mayer tale from Sugar & Spike #26 (Dec 1959-Jan 1960, DC)! Is there a different Santa on every street corner, or just one, moving really fast? Join the comic toddlers as they set out to solve "The Mystery of the Man Inna Funny Red Suit."

Uncle Sanders Wants You!

Go Bernie! Go Bernie! Go Bernie!

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) has been speaking on the Senate floor for the better part of seven hours, speaking common sense about a horrible injustice that is about to be perpetrated on the great majority of the American populace.

The chart above ( from The Institute for Policy Studies) shows that 1% of our citizens holds 33.8% of the weath in this country, while 50% makes do with a measly 2.5%. In really easy to understand terms, that means that a handful of rich people owns Boardwalk and Park Place and there are four hotels on each space. It doesn't take a genius to know that the middle class is a dice roll or two away from game over.

Go Bernie! Go Bernie! Go Bernie!

I have not read anything that indicates to me that the hard working people of this nation want to steal the assets of the wealthy and redistribute them Socialism-style. Americans want to work. They want to contribute. What they don't want is to live hour to hour wondering how they are going to provide their next meal to their kids or what they will have to pawn to keep the lights on for another month.

Pay attention working class! That sucking sound is your freedoms going down the toilet. A 69 year old man is talking himself hoarse for you right now. He is speaking against monopolies and standing up for your interests! He is sharing your stories of struggle and survival in Amerika today!

If President Obama really cared about the middle class who voted him into office, he would have surely by now realized that one does not compromise with a brick wall. One bursts through it. That is what this aged Senator is doing so eloquently right now, with words to unjade the jaded, if it is not too late.

Go Bernie! Don't stop! Go man go!

Let your words ring out and light upon the ears of the people that have been deafened by the desperation of their own dismal realities. Let the spirit of the original Tea Party once again echo the chorus "No taxation without representation!" Since the interests of only the very rich seem to matter in Washington, maybe the very rich should pay ALL the taxes for a while!

15 Mind-Blowing Facts About Wealth And Inequality In America. (Business Insider)

Go Bernie!

Jay Kinney's "Too Real"

There is no shortage of prognosticators in our society today, soapbox sages who describe at length the bleak dystopian future facing humanity. I am more interested in people like writer and cartoonist Jay Kinney, who accurately predicted the troubles of today more than thirty years ago. Case in point: "Too Real," created for the premiere issue of Anarchy Comics (Sept 1978, Last Gasp) . Follow the adventures of Normal Joe and his family as their American Dream turns into a nightmare. Too bad stuff like this wasn't in our school textbooks.





Jay Kinney is here.

Bugsploitation

If you've ever had the urge to see Elmer Fudd as a pimped-out drug dealer, strutting down the street singing Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman," today is your lucky day. "Rabbit Habit," a short film made in 1975, is a parody of Looney Tunes cartoons, the likes of which I've never seen before.

More surprising than the scenes of Daffy all hopped up on cocaine is how well executed it is, given the obvious budget constraints. I think it captures the energy of the Underground Comix movement much more effectively than Ralph Bakshi's infamous Fritz the Cat movie. Steve Peck ( a pseudonym?), the director of this cartoon, obviously has great affection for the source material, and it shows throughout.

Let the cartoon begin!

Jack Kamen's "Payoff Blues"

Jack Kamen was an artist very closely associated with EC's legendary horror comics, but this tale of crooks and spooks appeared in Fiction House's Ghost Comics #6 (Spring 1953). The artist id was provided by Frank Motler at GCD. Interesting use of blues music in a horror story.
Author unknown.

Orson Welles Narrates "Freedom River"

A parable for our times if there ever was one, Freedom River is a 1971 animated short directed by Sam Weiss. It posits indifference as the chief cause of the erosion of liberty.

Watch and discuss.

What if Martin Scorsese Directed "Harvey"?

"If I ever catch you talkin' to an imaginary rabbit again...I'll kill you. Capish?"





From SCTV's Cinemax show, which remains unreleased on dvd.

The Illustrated Life

Illustrations from the May 21, 1945 issue of Life Magazine.


What? People used to make their own soap? Yes, it's true. Thank you, Samuel Hopkins.

"The Army Needs MORE NURSES and all women can help!"

Borden's mascot Elsie the Cow gets an earful from her husband for serving him a dinner of beet tops.

One of these cars has Goodyear tires and is quite safe. The other car will burst into flames any second now.

I hope these nice folks chose the car with Goodyear tires!

An ad for Campbell's Scotch Broth soup. MMM MMM politically incorrect?

Angel doctor babies give me the creeps. Wasn't this the cover of a Van Halen album?

Studebaker trucks in the service of the Russian Army being transported across a stream.

Velon. A nifty stain resistant fabric. Also a pretty cool Etlon Jnoh snog.

BVD invented comfort, but apparently not good taste. Is that an amoeba print? Zingo!
Why did the chicken cross the road? To flee the spooky candle-wielding tire child.

Northern Tissue...softer than ducks, frogs, and ice cream!

A deeply affecting ad that begs one to turn off the computer and go gaze at a lake for a few hours. Couldn't hurt.

Never a good idea to try to shave when you're popping bennies.

Here's the small print from this Belmont radio ad: "By showing a black and white picture on the television screen in the above illustration, Belmont is being realistic. this is the type of picture you can expect to see. But when television in color is ready and practical, Belmont will have it for you."

Adam West for Eyehole Paintings

Eyehole Paintings with Adam West from Adam West

The Schizophrenic Superboy

Shades of Sybil! When Clark Kent is exposed to Red K after attending a ventriliquism performance, he becomes schizophrenic and builds a Superboy dummy. He then proceeds to berate and slap said dummy around, to the astonishment of his foster parents! This Silver Age gem is from Superboy # 122 ( July 1965, DC). Story by Leo Dorfman, art by George Papp.









The earliest adventures of the Smallville Sensation have just been collected in hardcover form in The Adventures of Superboy. The book reprints Superboy tales from More Fun Comics #101-107 and Adventure Comics #103-121.