Flat Earth!

2007-03-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

Happy Fifth Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

I wonder how many other blogs out there only post once a year. By dipping my toes in the pool once a year, can I still be considered an active blogger?

Happy Fifth Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day! Once again, literally many will curl up with a comic book pressed against their sticky thighs and bask in the loving embrace of some four-colour piece of trash. Odds are if you're reading this you have plenty of reading material already, but if you don't, here are a few classics you may have missed the first time around, available free for your roly-poly pleasure.

Hungry Like The Wolf. Using only stick figures, Stacie of Final Girl ushers in the next werewolf craze.

Jenifer. David Z. of Tomb It May Concern presents a fine tale of the macabre by Jones and Wrightson.

The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist. You can still catch this NSFW adventure in monochrome, courtesy of Curt of The Groovy Age of Horror.

For even more goodies, check out The Horror Blog.

2008-03-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

Happy 6th Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day! Don't have any reading material handy? No problem. There's plenty online to choose from.

This yearly schedule is grinding me down. It's time to pass the torch.

2006-03-03T01:27:00.000-05:00

Fourth Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

It's that time of the year again, where I dust off the good ship Flat Earth and entice you with the twin pleasures of nudity and comics. Below you will find every Free Comic Thursday entry from days gone by, compiled into one monster list for easy access. In addition, this year is so jam-packed with naked comic reading goodness that it's spilled over to my new digs at The House of Irony, where I've posted the remainder of the Free Comic Thursday links I never had the opportunity to post here.

So get your bits and pieces out of the cold and into some comics where they belong!

Centaurs. Excerpts and full stories from the greatest sub-genre specific comic site in existence.

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou. Benign post-apocalyptic manga gem.

The Monster of Dread End. Genuinely creepy comic by Little Lulu maestro John Stanley.

Gumballhead the Cat. Melt it down and shoot it up.

Donald Duck. Rarities as published in premiums and elsewhere.

Shel Silverstein. Early gag work by the noted Playboy artist and author of books for children.

Krigstein. Unfortunately murky representations of one of comics' greatest craftsmen.

Rare Bill Watterson. Dribs and drabs from throughout the career of the Calvin and Hobbes artist.

Kirby Monster Comics. The other King of monsters.

Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index. All the venom that's fit to print.

Mickey Mouse newspaper strip. By Floyd Gottfredson, one of comics' many unknown soldiers.

Congorilla. There aren't nearly enough comics about four-armed purple alien gorillas these days.

Nick Cross and more Nick Cross. Spumco animator extraordinaire dabbles in the sequential arts.

Torchy. Ditzy humour by the legendary Gill Fox.

White Boy and co. Kevin Huizenga serves up an odd assortment of comic goodness.

Fred Hembeck and The Hembeck Files. I'm compiling this list in appreciation of Mr. Hembeck's past encouragement. Blame him.

Male Call. Milton Caniff's little-seen and racy military gag strip.

Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter. Kyle Baker's Eisner award winning controversy.

Family Circus. Greatest comic ever.

Salgood Sam. Montreal's finest.

Lady Luck and more Lady Luck. Golden Age adventure from Nick Cardy and Klaus Nordling, respectively.

Sody Pop. Short and bouncy Spumco strip.

They Called Me-- Man-Hater!. A little slice of romance comic heaven by Nick Cardy and World's Greatest Super-hero writer, Bob Haney.

Undecided Heart. An Alex Toth tearjerker.

Alex Toth fansite. Selected stories from the comics maestro, many with annotations by the artist.

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade. Bits and pieces.

Cannonball Vs Nimrod: Cold Robot, Cold Hearts! Mike Robot's classic X-Men saga.

These Changing Times. Archie meets feminism, with lovely art by Harry Lucey.

Golden Age Romance Comics Archive. An indispensible selection of cover-to-cover tearjerkers.

I Had To Be Tamed. The title of this Charlton romance says it all.

My Bloody Valentine. Open source comic character Jenny Everywhere juggles inifinite suitors.

Over 75 classic stories featuring Superman and co. Including the first appearances of Krypto, Supergirl and the Super-Sons.

Kiraz. NOT WORK SAFE offerings by the reknowned Playboy artist.

Tijuana Bibles. NOT WORK SAFE pornographic fan-fiction from the first half of the 20th century.

Loxie and Zoot. NOT WORK SAFE sweet naturalist fun and adventure.

2005-03-03T00:01:00.000-05:00

Third Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

Here's a few Silver Age treasures to keep you and your dangly bits inside where it's warm.

Kirby Monster Comics. Over 200 Pages of comics That Walk Like A Man!

Congorilla. Glorious team-up with a purple alien gorilla with four arms.

Jimmy Olsen. If you click only one link...

Have a happy International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

2004-06-18T00:08:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Tijuana Bibles

Oh, Boy. ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NOT WORK SAFE. In fact, like it says on the front page of this site devoted to the study of the Tijuana Bible, "If you are offended by depictions of sodomy, bestiality, "alternative sexual practices," racial and ethnic stereotypes, or just about anything else, you should leave now." And you better believe it.

If you're one of the other 1% of the populace that isn't overly offended by the above, there are 61 of these comic curiosities waiting to be read, with 21 entries dedicated to your favourite comic and cartoon characters bumping uglies, including Captain Easy, Terry and the Pirates, Maggie and Jiggs, The Bungle Family, and many others. In addition you'll find numerous essays detailing this near-forgotten pornographic phenomenon. The one featuring Thimble Theater's J. Wellington Wimpy is by far my favourite, and may very well be one of the greatest comics I have ever read.

2004-06-18T00:19:00.000-04:00

I'm not leaving this place, unless I'm leaving with you

While the "comic blogosphere" already seems to devote itself to a wide variety of topics within the medium, there are still a number of nooks and crannies that it would be great to see pursued. Thrillmer, a new blog devoted primarily to adventure comic strips, is one such animal and I not only expect to be an avid reader of this blog into the future, but hope that the "blogosphere" continues to expand as the years progress. Hey, he had me at Little Orphan Annie.

The enigma that is potrzebie demystified? Scroll down, Melvin.

Shawn Hoke's The Wall takes a look at Turok fan and punk rock cartoonist Gary Panter and his upcoming opus, Jimbo in Purgatory. The Wall is not simply the only comic column to link to Flat Earth, but also the only one worthy enough to do so. May the blood on your hands be the blood of a king, Shawn.

My erstwhile creation, Jenny Everywhere, gets the ABSOLUTELY NOT WORK SAFE Tijauna Bible treatment in Jenny Everywhere Gets Around. Somehow I feel as if I've made it to the big leagues, yet I also feel somewhat dirty at the same time.

2004-06-17T22:02:00.000-04:00

I'm off to save the world once again, but I don't know how I'll pull it off this time.

You can't take it away from me now! Bwahahahahahahahaha!

After the convocation I went up to grab a robe and take some pictures (including one taken among a group of trees where I tried to emulate Sasquatch, but as if Sasquatch had a diploma). I bodychecked one of my co-workers and fellow grads, O., who was also jockeying for a robe. He turned to me and said, in front of my girlfriend and mother, "Hey, Steve. So, you decided to put your clothes back on." Uh oh! Hilarity ensues!

Animation legend and trickster Floyd Norman gives us the scoop on Milt Kahl, one of my two favourites of Disney's Nine Old Men. I've just started rereading John Canemaker's book on the Nine concurrently with Illusion of Life and was hoping to explain what each book has done for me, but alas, time runs short here at Flat Earth. Just finished Jack Kinney's book Walt Disney and Assorted Other Characters, in addition to flipping through multiple Disney Treasures (thanks to J.'s parents for giving me On The Front Lines for my grad, though I would have appreciated a Precious Moments figure just as much). Interesting stuff, all.

Bigshot Stephen Worth lends a little historical insight into the kind of beautiful animation desk only the animation geeks among us could ejaculate over.

Speaking of which, Stephen Worth that is, not ejaculation, I've always enjoyed reading his posts on various animation message boards and now we all can enjoy the blog he's set up for ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive Project. If you have any interest in the history of animation, please check it out. Via Cartoon Brew, who, with this post, show that they are truly the Flat Earth of animation blogs. Hey, they even mention the next show I'll be working on.

Lil' Welland (that's Ottawa to you) animation correspondent Janet Hetherington clocks in with a look at Steve Rude's attempts at making Nexus the next Johnny Quest, including model sheets and storyboards for your perusal. Like the man says, this party is awesome!

This just in! Ottawa's animation fest just got better, with an amateur animation jamboree known as the Pixilation Project. Sleep is for the weak.

"Come take part in one of the most exciting OIAF events open to young and old. Throughout the festival, Gary Schwartz will be hosting a do-it-yourself project where festival attendees will be given the opportunity to animate to a pre-recorded soundtrack, following the audio frame by frame utilizing exposure sheets. This is your invitation to total insanity. The results will be captured on the LunchBox Sync Multireel from Animation Toolworks and the highlights will be screened at the closing ceremonies Sept. 26, 7:00pm."

Flat Earth Punk of the Month Billy the K. was kind enough to send me a link which proves that Donald Duck actually appeared a few years prior to his supposed debut in The Wise Little Hen ("Won't you help me plant mah co-o-o-orn?"). For some reason trying to get into Fumetti (one of the sharp comic bloggers' best kept secrets) has crashed my computer recently, so proceed with caution. Here's the text that Billy sent me. Thanks, man!

"The first "Donald Duck" on the Mickey Mouse Annual # 3, 1931, three years before he was officially born. Just click the image to take a look at it."

Boy, if you came here looking for yet another look at Marvel's solicitations, you sure came to the wrong place. 'Tis truly the day of animating Steves and Stephens!

2004-06-17T10:05:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - More Donald Duck

A year's worth of Sunday strips by Al Taliaferro.

"Won't you help me plant mah co-o-o-orn?"

2004-06-16T00:04:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Krypto

Superman.ws has over 75 Superman and Superman-related tales online for a rainy afternoon, including a fair number of goofy ones along with the classics. Among them are two Krypto-centric tales, including Krypto's first appearance with Superboy, The Super-Dog from Krypton, and love is in the air for the Dog of Steel in Who Was That Dog I Saw You With Last Night?

2004-06-16T00:12:00.000-04:00

Bow-wow-wow-yippee-yo-yippeeyay

Oh yeah! When I finally get my demo reel together, I am so applying for a job on Krypto!

2004-06-15T00:50:00.000-04:00

A Second Editorial, Or [sic] Sorts

"If you missed the breathtaking editorial in the first xerox-packed issue of CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE, go back and read it. We've got your names and addresses and we'll be sending you a test.

The contents: Kamandi #60, Kamandi #61, Prez #5, Shade the Changing Man #9, Showcase #105, Showcase #106, Steel #6, Secret Society of Super-Villains #16, Secret Society of Super-Villains #17, Vixen #1 and covers for Army at War #2, Battle Classics #3, Demand Classics #1, Demand Classics #2, Dynamic Classics #3, Mister Miracle #26, Ragman #6, Weird Mystery Tales #25, Weird Mystery Tales #26, Western Classics #1, Western Classics #2

The editor would like to thank Neil of the Magic Finger deep down at Warner Duplicating who kept the spirit of Plop! alive when Paul Kupperberg came down with about a ream of original art and asked for 35 collated copies. Neil's hat actually flew off his head, and when he fell stiff-backed straight backwards, an audible "Plop!" sound was to be heard.

And for those of you who missed our last exciting indicia:

CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 1978, published twice in a lifetime by DC Comics, Inc., 75 Rockerfeller Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10019. Copyright © 1978 DC Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved. The stories, characters, and incidents mentioned in this publication are entirely fictional. No actual persons, living or dead, are intended or should be inferred. Printed in the U.S.A.

Jenette Kahn, Publisher; Joe Orlando, Managing Editor; Mike Gold, Editor/Packager; Paul Kupperberg, assistant Editor/Packager; Jack Adler, Vice-President/Production; Vince Colletta, Art Director; Paul Levitz, Editorial Co-Ordinator.

Sol Harrison, President; Arthur Gutowitz, Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT: Annual subscription rate: $7.65 (couldn't sell any at last issue's rate). Upon cancellation of this publication, all subscriptions will convert to Freedom Fighters, which will convert to Secret Society of Super-Villains, which will convert to Justice League of America, which, if cancelled, will most likely convert to a revived issue of Cancelled Comics Cavalcade. Only West German Marks accepted as payment for subscriptions to this publication."

2004-06-15T00:35:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - This and That From Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2

More forgotten heroes.

Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth # 60
Cover
Page 1
Page 3
Page 6
Page 25
Page 26

Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth # 61
Page 9

Prez # 5
Cover
Page 1
Page 4
Page 5
Page 7
Page 8
Page 11
Page 13
Page 15
Page 16
Page 19

Shade, the Changing Man # 9
Cover
page 5
Page 8
Page 9

Showcase # 105 (Deadman)
Page 15
Page 20

Showcase # 106 (Creeper)
Page 21
Page 24

Steel, the Indestructible Man # 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 10
Page 12
Page 15

Secret Society of Super-Villains # 16
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9

Secret Society of Super-Villains # 17
No images available

Vixen # 1
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 17
Page 18
Page 23
Page 24

Covers

Demand Classics

2004-06-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Bits and Pieces of Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1

You will undoubtedly consider this to be the greatest or the lamest of the Free Comic Thursday selections, depending. The entire first issue of this collection was online until the powers-that-be sent a cease and desist order to the site owner. Happily, fragments of the comic are still floating around on the internet, and you now have the chance to read this potpurri of cancelled comic goodness.

Black Lightning # 12
Page 4
Page 6
Page 9
Page 10
Page 13
Page 16

Claw the Unconquered # 13
Page 26 (letter column)

Claw the Unconquered # 14
Page 20
Page 21

Deserter # 1
Page 16
Page 19
Page 20

Doorway to Nightmare # 6
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 21
Page 24
Page 26 (letter column)

Firestorm # 6
Page 5
Page 8
Page 10
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15

Green Team # 2
No images available

Green Team # 3
Page 8
Page 9

2004-06-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

An Editorial Of Sorts

Progressive Ruin (aka Flat Earth-2) has been posting on the Cancelled Comic Cavalcade, the editorial for which can be found below.

"Comics Historians will note DC COMICS went through a great deal of changes during the month of June, 1978, the immediate result of which was a considerable number of cancelled titles. We had a whole mess of material ready to go to the engravers (or ready for last minute corrections); it was felt it would be a shame if this material would never see print.

What you are now holding is the first issue of CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE, a two-shot which both preserves the material in question and guarantees DC's copyright to same. We have printed 35 copies, 34 of which will go to the creators and copyright people, set #35 will go to Bob Overstreet to show the world it actually happened.

Much of the material in these two issues will be printed -- probably in some altered form -- in various DC books in the future. Black Lightning will be going into Detective Comics, Doorway to Nightmare into The Unexpected, Deadman into Adventure, and so on.

As for a table of contents, you'll note each story is separated by a piece of coloured paper. The order of contents for this volume is as follows.

BLACKLIGHTNING #12, followed by the cover for #13; CLAW #13 and #14; THE DESERTED #1; DOORWAY TO NIGHTMARE #6; FIRESTORM #6; THE GREEN TEAM #2 and #3.

Next issue will feature Kamandi, Omac, Deadman, The Creeper, Shade and others. You won't have too long to wait -- we're distributing the two issues together.

I would like to thank all those folks who helped put together CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE: Al Milgrom, cover artist on this issue; Alex Savuik, cover artist on issue two; Todd Klein, who did the logo and cover paste-ups; Paul Kupperberg, who took the pages down to Warner Duplicating and collated the stories when it came back; Neil of the Magic Finger, who xeroxed it; Paul Levitz and Cary Burkett, who helped find the missing pages, and to Sol Harrison, who gave the o.k.

Just to make it official -- CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE, Vol. 1, No. 1. Summer 19/8, published twice in a lifetime by DC Comics Inc., 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10019. Copyright 1978 DC Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved. The stories, characters and incidents mentioned in this publication are entirely fictional. No actual persons, living or dead, are intended or should be inferred. Printed in U.S.A.

Jenette Kahn, Publisher; Joe Orlando, Managing Editor; Mike Gold, Editor/Packager; Jack Adler, Vice-President/Production; Vince Colletta, Art Director; Paul Levitz, Editorial Co-Ordinator.

Sol Harrison, President; Arthur Gutowitz, Treasurer.

SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT : Annual subscription rate : $10,000.00. Outside U.S.A. $9,500.00 ('bout time they got a break)."

2004-06-13T10:25:00.000-04:00

Donald Duck - An Inspiration To All Those Who Dislike Wearing Pants

One of the most interesting events in Donald Duck's career was when reports emerged from Europe that he had been banned from Finland for carrying on with an unmarried female duck and, even worse, for not wearing any pants. As it turns out, this rumour is untrue, and Finland is in reality a nation which appreciates the adventures of the pantsless. Regardless, for those of us who prefer to let it all hang out (and there are more of us then you think), Donald Duck is a trailblazer and on this, his 70th birthday, we salute him.

2004-06-13T09:23:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Donald Duck

The Disney Treasures editions are things of pure joy. I still have a hard time believing that the Mouse House approved of their release, not because of the content, but because the production runs on them are so miniscule that they would seem to be below the current administration's concern. Regardless, I recently picked up the Chronological Donald Duck set, and intend to collect the rest of series 3.

If you prefer your duck in print form, well, you're in luck. The Donald Duck comic book rarities page has a fair number of stories that weren't found in your usual outlets, namely little seen Cherrios, Wheaties and Firestone premiums. Though the preeminent artist on the Donald Duck stories, Carl "the Duck Man" Barks is represented here, this is a great chance to read stories by some of the other artists that never achieved his level of fame but are still worthy of attention. Unfortunately, some but not all of the stories can only be viewed in their thumbnail form, including a very interesting looking Brer Rabbit story.

Hey, Disney, where's that Song of the South Treasure collection, anyway?

2004-06-12T00:34:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Shel Silverstein

Another Playboy Alumnus, children's author Shel Silverstein, with a very tiny sampling of his completely work safe gag work.

2004-06-12T02:12:00.000-04:00

Hef - A comic biography, part 3.

"...an irreverent satire... with a collection of drawings that look like the kind Esquire might judge too racy for their readers." - An excerpt from the Chicago Tribune review of This Toddlin' Town.

Hef devoted all his spare time to promoting the book and engaging bookstore owners on a personal level, which resulted in one particular shop creating a window display of his work. He mailed review copies to newspapers, radio stations and television stations, and was eventually interviewed on a local television program for his trouble. Through these venues and mail order, This Toddlin' Town slowly started to sell through. All this extra-curricular work impacted upon Hef's other job. After getting fired, he latched onto a position with Esquire, his favourite magazine from his teens.

Hef was not terribly displeased when Esquire eventually decided to move its offices in Chicago to their new digs in New York City in 1951. The mundane reality of the Esquire offices could not possibly match the vivid fantasies Hef had built up in his mind since his teens. That, and the rambunctious and sexy nature of the magazine which had first appealed to him was diminishing as Esquire attempted to play down those aspects in a bid for respectability.

"When he had nothing else to do, he would draw pornographic cartoons of Blondie and Dagwood." Hef's former co-worker, Vince Tajiri, on Hef's hobbies.

By that time, That Toddlin' Town had almost completely sold out, and Hef was still making progress through his Comic Autobiography which had now surpassed the fiftieth volume. Hef and his wife finally moved out of her parents' home into their own apartment, which they decorated with full-colour original comic strips by Hef, including the use of such strips as wallpaper for the nursery of their first child. The apartment was featured in the Chicago Daily News with the title "How a Cartoonist Lives". Hef latched onto the flying saucer craze with a new series of strips starring little green men, but he met the same flurry of rejections as all his previous attempts.

One of the things I tried to do was, like The New Yorker, develop a stable of artists closely associated with my magazine." - Hef in conversation with Art Spiegelman.

It was then that Hef's lifelong obsession with magazine publishing would come to a head, with the creation of Playboy. Though he eventually abandoned the field himself, it's obvious by the direction of the magazine, one of the few to still prominently display and encourage the near-forgotten art of the gag cartoon, that Hef has a great deal of affection for comics and the art of cartooning. Though he hasn't been hands-on in the editing of the magazine for decades, up through the 80's at least, Hefner has selected the monthly cover picture, the Playmate... and the cartoons. Before he abandoned one faltering career for a more successful one, Hef overlapped his two loves on a personal level for the first few issues of Playboy by contributing his own gag panels, until, according to him, "I could afford better". The first issue of Playboy contained the panel by Hef found at the top of this post entitled "Man, is she stacked."

2004-06-11T00:02:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - Kiraz

Not work safe!

The Drawing Board comes through once again with a large selection of work by former Playboy artist Kiraz, each more beautiful then the last. Shame that so many of the images no longer work. As mentioned on the thread, even more of his work can be found here.

2004-06-11T00:07:00.000-04:00

Hef - A comic biography, part 2

"A very original fellow, he has his own style of jiving, and slang expressions. His interests go to cartooning, acting, writing songs, horror stories and comic strips with Mope, crooning and collecting jive records." - From volume seven of the Comic Autobiography, Goo Heffer Graduates.

After high school, Hef enlisted in the Army, gaining a postition as a clerk. To alleviate the boredom of his job, he spent his free time contributing cartoons to the base newspapers. Upon his discharge from the Army in 1946, Hef, like many other soldiers before him, enrolled in University on the G.I. Bill. He once again got caught up in print publishing, this time as managing editor with the campus magazine, The Shaft. He also found the time to write and draw articles and cartoons for the school's nespaper, The Daily Illini, and continued his work on his Comic Autobiography.

After University, Hef tried to find a job with various newspapers, magazines and advertising agencies within the Chicago area. He attempted to sell two comic strips, "Gene Fantus, Psycho-Investigator" and "Freddie Frat" to the newspaper syndicates, but there were no takers. Hef worked briefly at a carton company, eventually quitting and spending all his time drawing cartoons, much to the chagrin of his new bride, Millie, who became the sole source of income for the newlyweds. Once again, he did not have much success in the cartooning racket.

After an incredibly short return to academia, Hef landed a job as a copywriter, which allowed him the time to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional cartoonist. This time, Hef compiled an entire book of gag cartoons with the city of Chicago as its theme and target. With the editorial input of his wife and brother, Hefner whittled his hundreds upon hundreds of roughs down to a manageable volume entitled This Toddlin' Town, A Rowdy Burlesque of Chicago Manners and Morals. Once again, all he received from the publishers he approached were rejection slips. Undaunted, Hef scraped together $1000 from his own savings and from friends and family for an initial print run of 5000 copies. Though this was not his first self-publishing venture, it was certainly the most ambitious and professional to date, and was one of his most formative steps towards building the Playboy empire.

2004-06-09T02:11:00.000-04:00

Free Comics Thursday - Gumballhead the Cat

The Comics Journal #238 is fast becoming my favourite issue of that magazine. While so many in the "comics blogosphere" has been muttering something about the need for "mid-brow comics magazines" that would no doubt focus almost exclusively on the sub-sub-sub-sub genre of super-heroes, here was a mag that tackled such culturally important artifacts as John Stanley's teen comics, the Moomintrolls, Cola Madnes, CARToons and Silver (y'know, the adventures of the Lone Ranger's horse before he was the Lone Ranger's horse) with genuine interest in their merits. One such article concerned the DIY adventures of stoic anti-hero Gumballhead the Cat as told by Skin Graft Comix. I was sold. Hell, the punk rawk kid in me wanted to be Gumballhead. If the tiny reprint of the four-pager found in the article above doesn't do it for you, there's a better scan available at Skin Graft's comix page, along with a small pile of previews and and full stories of other raw comix trash.

2004-06-10T00:06:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Thursday - American Natives

Early work-safe sketches from one of Playboy's most famed cartoonists, Erich Sokol.

If you're looking for art that's a little more work-unsafe, you could do worse then here.

Perverts.

2004-06-10T00:44:00.000-04:00

Hef - A comic biography, part 1

"I know what the life of a cartoonist is like, and I know what my life is like." - Hugh Hefner, when asked if he had any regrets about not pursuing a career in cartooning.

Hugh Hefner's personal involvement in the art of cartooning isn't well-known to the general public, though it's obvious from the content of his magazine that he has a deep and abiding love for the form. To celebrate the publication of Playboy: 50 Years: The Cartoons, I present this concise biography of Hef's humble cartoonist beginnings.

"He has me at my wits end. For the past week I've had to speak to him two or three times, every time he has a study period. He doesn't do his arithmetic, geography or spelling unless I stand right at his elbow. He constantly draws. I've tried persuasion, scoldings, and appeal to his love for mother - all to no avail." - From a letter written by Hugh Hefner's fourth-grade teacher to his mother.

The cartooning bug latched onto young Hugh Hefner from an early age and never really let go, even if he doesn't actively pursue the art himself any more. Hefner's early childhood doodling exploded into a full-on pursuit in his early teens. By the age of 14, he had completed seventy different hand-coloured comic strips. Each of these was placed in meticulous scrapbooks which he kept to record all his publishing and cartooning pursuits. One example of his early work was "Cranet", the interstellar exploits of a red-headed adventurer, leaving the terrestial bounds of his home planet to free the Martian people from their oppressors and become Emperor of Mars himself. Meanwhile, Hef kept track of those cartoons and pin-ups that would appear in Esquire magazine and their competitors, pasting the Petty and Vargas girls upon the walls of his bedroom. The normally puritanical Mrs. Hefner showed some leniency in allowing these posters to be displayed as she felt they encouraged Hef's artistic ambitions.

"I began using cooler expressions and actually started writing a cartoon autobiography of my life. I was living in a microcosm of what came later with Playboy. When I started doing that comic strip, I was creating a world of my own in which I was center stage." - Hef.

At 16, Hef began his most ambitious work to date, a "Comic Biography", a kind of illustrated diary that took several volumes to cover the period from the birth to high school graduation of his thinly veiled alter ego "Goo Heffer". In addition to this challenging project, Hef also contributed cartoons to the his high school newspaper, the Steinmetz Star, and was made the official cartoonist for the school yearbook. Among his acquired titles upon graduation were Class Humourist and One of the Most Artistic. He was also named One of the Most Likely To Succeed, though not as it turned out it wasn't necessarily for what he initially chose to pursue.

2004-06-09T22:49:00.000-04:00

I'm Agile!

2004-06-08T23:45:00.000-04:00

First I'm getting rid of my Peanuts collection, now this.

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes.