Brother Andrew’s Traveling Salvation Show

Anne van der Bijl has died at age 94. “Anne,” as in a Dutch variation of Andrew, was better known by his alias, Brother Andrew. I learned of his passing at the library in, of all things, the print edition of The Economist.

https://www.economist.com/obituary/2022/10/06/brother-andrew-secretly-carried-bibles-behind-the-iron-curtain

In my “born-again” period during college, I read Brother Andrew’s book God’s Smuggler. It’s his autobiographical account of taking Bibles into what were then the Communist countries of the Soviet Union.

There was also a comic book adaptation of God’s Smuggler, by Al Hartley. Somehow I missed seeing this Spire Comic at the time.

Hartley was a former Marvel artist, who had drawn Patsy Walker for Stan Lee.

The notice in The Economist missed an opportunity to point out that it was economics, not Brother Andrew’s efforts at planting copies of the Bible à la the Gideons, that contributed to the breakup the Soviet Union. The seeds of discontent grew from the public’s awareness of the worldly benefits of 1980’s secular consumerism — plentiful food, blue jeans, CD players, VCR’s, etc. China has since embraced the advantages of Capitalism, independent of Christianity or Democracy.

Calling Out Copyists

This Bizarro comic strip last week got some people exchanging views, once again, about the validity of Roy Lichtenstein’s work.

Bizarro, 8/24/22, by Wayno

In cartoonist Wayno’s blog he tells of his thinking behind the strip. (I’m amazed Google still hosts blogs.)

http://waynocartoons.blogspot.com/2022/08/copycat-crime.html

David Barsalou’s extensive research project, Deconstructing Roy Lichstenstein, reveals every one the comic book panels that were copied by Lichtenstein.

David and I were fortunate to have had Barbara Harris as our Art History instructor in college.

http://bostonvoyager.com/interview/check-barbara-harriss-artwork/

Barbara Harris, who taught Art History, and my drawing instructor, Arno Maris.

Stapp’s Straps

Jack Kirby was born on this day in 1917. The late-50’s comic strip Sky Masters of the Space Force was superbly illustrated by Jack, with perfectly complementary inking by Wally Wood. Note: Kirby/Wood refers to writer Dave Wood, not the unrelated Wally.

The last panel in that strip reminds me of the famous rocket sled tests performed by Dr. John Stapp.

John Stapp (1910-1999)

Stapp’s groundbreaking Air Force work, testing the limits of human endurance under extreme conditions, was nothing like the ghoulishly criminal experiments conducted by the Nazis. Stapp was entirely practical in considering the effects of supersonic flight on pilots, and his data was invaluable when the manned space program began. The 3-point lap belt for cars came from Stapp’s research. The PBS series American Experience profiled Stapp in its “Space Men” documentary.

Spaaaaaaaaaaaace Forrrrrrrrrrce!
Art by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood
Color Guide, watercolor on photostat of original art

Superman of Miami

Every so often I like to watch all seventeen of the remarkable Fleischer/Famous Superman cartoons from 1941-1943. Considering the Fleischer studio was originally based in New York, it’s somewhat ironic that all the animation showing Superman leaping, and then flying, around Metropolis was produced in Florida.

The official DC release is the only DVD set currently available that’s worth getting.

https://www.amazon.com/Superman-Fleischer-Clayton-Bud-Collyer/dp/B001OD8E4G/

I’ll include a few screen shots from the DC set, along with the first two cartoons from the DVD. They were upscaled and cleaned up by somebody using an AI video process.

https://youtu.be/LUFN1IjK4ww

https://youtu.be/Asc6329mx70