Thought I'd share a little weekend weirdness...

Special Presidential Election Post

We interrupt this musical broadcast to bring you a special "Election 2008" alert. In these uncertain times we, as Americans, must vote for a candidate who embodies our most cherished values, who shares our vision of a secure America and who has the smarts and experience to lead us out of this quagmire our current administration has gotten us into. No, I'm not speaking of local candidate Philbert, I am speaking of the honorable Alfred E. Newman!
With that in mind I humbly offer you The Nightmare's favorite election covers of the past 40 years, starting with our personal favorite.

I've Gotta Quit Smoking...

Click on the image to enlarge

Uncle E's Favorite Comic Books, Vol. 1

Just to freak you out I thought I'd delve into another passion of mine for my next post: vintage comic books, particularly those of the E.C. variety. I just thought that the blog needed a little "shaking up".

Mad Comics, 1-23

If you’re under 40 years of age you may not be aware that Mad magazine, that veritable anti-establishment humor publication that was so prevalent in the 60’s and 70’s, began life as a $.10 comic book way back in 1952.
Founded by comic legend Harvey Kurtzman as a way to earn extra money (they paid editors “by the book” back then), the first Mad issue hit the stands in October and featured four stories, each spoofing a different E.C. book. E.C. (or, Entertaining Comics) was, at the time, the undisputed leader of Horror, Suspense, Science Fiction and War comics, due in no small part by the amazing array of talented artists and writers William Gaines was lucky enough to employ at the time. There was Will Elder, Jack Davis, Harvey Kurtzman, John Severin (remember Cracked?), Al Feldstein, Wally Wood and even a very young unknown by the name of Frank Frazetta.
With Mad, Kurtzman introduced a whole host of innovations still copied to this day. He parodied many aspects of of life and pop culture including movies, television, magazines (and their ads), in addition to many other not so easy targets often thought of as “sacred cows”. As a matter of fact, the one parody of Superman (entitled “Superduperman” and wonderfully drawn by Wally Wood), the most sacred of all super hero sacred cows, was the story that launched Mad into the stratosphere.

The publishing of “Doctor” Fredrick Wertham’s book in 1953, “The Seduction Of The Innocent”, put a considerable damper on E.C.’s, and Mad’s, success. It was a scathing indictment of virtually all comic books at the time but horror and crime comics were his main targets. He saw them as having a true and real damaging effect on the youth of the 50’s, going so far as to cite the books roles in many case trials involving crimes, injuries, murders and…of course…juvenile suicides
On April 21st, 1954, during the height of McCarthyism, William Gaines appeared before the Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency of the Committee on the Judiciary.
Gaines did in fact speak in defense of his comics. The following is a brief excerpt:
“The truth is that delinquency is the product of the real environment in which the child lives and not of the fiction he reads. The problems are economic and social and they are complex. Our people need understanding; they need to have affection, decent homes, decent food. Our American children are for the most part normal children. They are bright children, but those who want to prohibit comic magazines seem to see dirty, sneaky, perverted monsters who use comic books as a blueprint for action”
Anyway, the main thing that came out of these hearings was the Comics Code Authority stamp of approval, which Gaines refused to abide by, which labeled him a publishing leper and eventually led to the destruction of the classic line up of E.C. books. Mad, in an effort to get around the CCA rules and regulations turned itself into a magazine and the rest is history.
Even though Mad magazine was excellent under the leadership of Al Feldstein (who can argue with Al's success at finding and nurturing such talent as, Al Jaffe, Don Martin, Sergio Aragones, Prohias, Angelo Torres, Frank Kelly Freas, Norman Mingo, Mort Drucker etc?), there was something about those first 23 issues that was special. Something a little darker, a little more subversive.
Many of the underground cartoonists of the late 1960's and 70's will no doubt agree with me. Legends of the genre such as Rick Griffin, Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton have cited those early issues with Kurtzman at the helm a MAJOR influence.

No doubt.

A Justified Digression...

Will Elder, my favorite Mad artist, has passed away. For more information on Bill Elder's contributions to MAD magazine, the world of comic art in general, the advetising industry and much more seek out the wonderful "The Mad Playboy Of Art" softcover, and go to Philbert's blog from the link located on the left rail. I've also included a link to a fantastic article.
I'll leave you with one of my favorite pieces of Elder art from the 1950's entitled "The Restaurant!". You need to click on the image to really enjoy the detail. The detail is amazing. Enjoy.

May I deviate?

*WARNING: The following mini-post has nothing at all to do with music!

Just had to get this plug in for the weirdest, sickest, funniest cartoon strip on the planet, Red Meat. I discovered it whilst living in San Diego and have followed this demented 'toonist ever since.
Click on the cartoon strips to enlarge, or go to www.redmeat.com for more! If you dare...

Don Martin In The 1970's

In addition to being a self described music geek, I'm also a little obsessed with MAD Magazine, especially the art of Don Martin, R.I.P. Put the two together and I'm in absolute Heaven!

I came across this poster Martin designed as a giveaway for one of the "MAD Super Specials" in the 70's and thought it worth sharing. You gotta see the details, so click on the image to enlarge.

Philbert, you oughta enjoy this one!

Art By Wayne Coyne Of The Flaming Lips