Congrats to ADDTF for one solid year of reading comics naked.

Also, welcome back ADD and In Sequence.

Did I miss anyone?

 
May I Have This Dance?



Last month, the estate of Lil' Abner creator Al Capp charged Disney with trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition in relation to their attempted use of Sadie Hawkins Day, a concept which Disney refused to pay the licensing fees for in an unaired episode of Lizzie McGuire. The idea of Sadie Hawkins Day originated in Lil' Abner in 1937, where the women of the community of Dogpatch have a single day to catch a man, who has no choice but to marry if caught. Today the event is usually used as a theme in high school dances, in which perceived gender roles are reversed, and the girls ask the boys out on a date. Despite it's widespread use, Capp Enterprises considers Sadie Hawkins Day to be its property.

The verdict is in. A U.S. District Court has dismissed the suit. Courtesy of Buzz Dixon on the Oddball Comics message board comes this short piece from Media Life (scroll down). Capp Enterprises is planning an appeal.

No comment.

Why, Certainly!



Al Capp isn't the only cartoonist to get the shaft recently. Journalista has linked to the story of political cartoonist Michael Ramirez, who is being investigated by the Secret Service for drawing the cartoon shown above, the irony being that the cartoonist is actually a supporter of Bush. In a statement issued through the newspaper, Ramirez said that he used the image because it represented to him the "political assassination" of Bush.

"We're aware of the image and we're in the process of determining what action if any can be taken," John Gill, Secret Service spokesman, said.

I'm curious to see if there will be any reaction among political cartoonists to these events. Just in case, cartoonist and Emmy nominee Sam Henderson (Congrats, Sam) chimes in over at the Comics Journal Message Board with this bit of acquired wisdom.

"Having been investigated by the Secret Service many years ago (it was entirely my fault), I can guarantee this isn't some kind of partisan post-PATRIOT Act fascism. Like Rich Koller pointed out, they investigate anything that could possibly be a threat and always have, no matter who the President is. As the agent I talked to told me, almost nobody is ever prosecuted, they're doing their job. Even Jesse Helms was once investigated."

The episode Henderson mentions was explained further in an interview conducted by Tom Spurgeon and published in The Comics Journal #209.

"Scott Russo did a comic called Jizz, and one of his features was actual letters to public officials. I was at work one day, and at the time I thought it would be funny to write a letter to the President with his name, saying "Fuck you." So I did. Then the Secret Service came to his house, and his parents assumed he wrote the letter without question. The Secret Service talked to him and saw there was nothing wrong with him. Later they traced the stationary to my workplace and Scott told them that I worked there. They called me and asked me to come to their office."
posted by Steven at 7:27 PM

 
Mickey Mouse versus the Nazis

Not Mickey Mouse, cute TV star,
Not Mickey Mouse, suburban slob,
But the Mickey Mouse of 'Mickey Fights the Phantom Blot
-Joseph Sanders

My friend Kev sent me a link to old Mickey Mouse comic strips as profiled on Boing Boing. These strips show Mickey Mouse attempting suicide after losing Minnie's affections to another mouse.



I was first introduced to the real Mickey Mouse through the Comic-Book Book, a collection of essays on nearly forgotten comic strips and books. This was my first exposure to The Heap, Carl Barks and Jack Cole. And Floyd Gottfredson, the Phantom Artist on the Mickey Mouse comic strip. The essay, by ur-comic historian Bill Blackbeard, revealed a Mickey lost in time, one who, though he was still a stand-up guy, was no weakling. This Mickey had no problem picking up a gun, making woo with Minnie, or promising his adversaries that he would "tear you apart with my bare hands." He faced every manner of danger in what was one of the first, and best, mixtures of the comic and adventure strips, from alligator pits to giant spiders to the Phantom Blot and Pegleg Pete. these strips are almost shocking now, so much so that, like the person from Boing Boing believed, they seem to be parody. It's likely that this is the same cloth from which the Air Pirates created their version of the Mouse (which resulted in an infamous lawsuit involving Disney, as detailed in the recent Fantagraphics publication The Pirates and the Mouse, by Bob Levin).

For nearly the entirety of his run, the cartoonist behind the exploits of this other Mickey Mouse obscured by a Walt Disney byline. Like Carl Barks, it took fans years to find the culprits behind these cartoons. According to Gottfredson, it wasn't Walt's will that they remain unknown, but the demands of the newspaper syndicates, who didn't want to confuse their customers by replacing Disney's brand name with someone else. There are a few places to find out information on this Phantom Artist, the best of which is the excellent Comic-Book Book, which I have found in various libraries. Web resources include this biography and examination of the artistic development of the strip and a more concise biography from Lambiek. There is also a look at Mickey Mouse as detective, and a comparison of the character to Will Eisner's Spirit. Perhaps the best web resource on this artist is an extensive audio interview available to the end of July on The Comics Journal website. This was originally conducted by the comic artist formerly known as Arn Saba (don't ask) for a CBC radio series on cartoonists of the Golden Age. It's an absolutely delightful interview, but if you miss it, the transcription is available in The Comics Journal #120.

But enough of all this talk. Here's a smattering of sample strips that have not been, and probably never will be, reprinted due to potential damage to the squeeky clean image of the modern version of the Mouse, including Pluto Catches a Nazi Spy and Mickey Mouse and the Nazi Submarine. There is also a comparison of Gottfredson's finished art to his rough sketches which is one of the best things I've seen in awhile. And don't miss the (slightly off-topic) Rare Donald Duck strips, especially Donald Duck's Atom Bomb. Perfect summer reading.

"When you look at my stories in the comic books you'll see that I was trying to follow in the format that Gottfredson established, having Mickey and the other guys involved in funny situations at the same time as they were having serious problems. And [then] they solved their problems by funny means." - Carl Barks.

posted by Steven at 4:41 PM