Cartooning – Page 168 – Prattling Before the Pratfall

Gene Colan obit

The Boston Globe’s lead obituary today is Gene Colan. In the printed edition it’s on the page before Peter Falk’s obit! The sample of his art they picked is far from Colan’s best, and it isn’t even typical of his work, but how far we’ve come as a culture in our embrace of comic books.

The day comic books died?

This picture was taken at That’s Entertainment, Paul Howley’s award-winning comic book and collectibles store in Worcester, MA. The comic book is Captain America issue #108, on newsstands September, 1968. The pencil art was drawn by Jack Kirby, and it was inked by Syd Shores. Captain America #108 was the last issue of Cap I bought in Norwalk, CT, before my family moved to Massachusetts. The villain was the Trapster, a revamped version of Paste Pot Pete, who should have worked for 3M, but instead used his expertise in adhesives for evil.

What would I have done without comic books when I was a kid? The point is, I like comic books being physical things, but like music and movies, comics are becoming virtual products. The Boston Globe has an article at this link about comics publisher DC offering a digital alternative. Of this development, Paul says…

“Once one of my customers buys a comic online, then DC Comics has them forever,’’ Howley said. “They don’t need me. They have no interest in keeping people like us in the middle. This really is, in the long run, cutting our own throat.’’

My friend Morris doesn’t see digital comics as replacing the real thing, on paper. He has a point. How many casual comics readers are there? There used to be many, when comic books were sold in drug stores and read in barber shops, but these days almost all comic book readers are also collectors, and who wants to collect PDF’s?

Tish Tash

Tonight TCM showed Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? It’s a wild follow-up farce to another fantastic Fifties farce, The Girl Can’t Help It.

http://youtu.be/dioNDDIqNOY

Jayne Mansfield starred in both movies, and both were the product of the far-out mind of the man they called Tish Tash. Fans of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons know the names Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones. Frank Tashlin was their equal, but he left the cartoon biz after WWII and found greater success directing comedy films.

Here’s one of Tashlin’s best toons, Porky Pig’s Feat. It features Carl Stalling’s trademark use of Raymond Scott’s most famous tune, Powerhouse. This is wonderfully wacky stuff, as only the boys of Termite Terrace could do.

http://youtu.be/AvBX9gqQ3-Q

Death of a pencil pusher

Gene Colan has died. Gene had been ill for a long time, and his death came almost exactly one year after his wife Adrienne tragically took her own life. Gene Colan spent his entire life doing what he loved, drawing pictures and illustrating stories. He was one of the best ever at his craft, and he leaves behind thousands of pages of wonderful art for comics fans to enjoy now and forever. Thank you, Gene.

Dennis F. Rogers with Gene Colan, 2009

Holy hotdog, Tony!

Well, now I’m sure that Anthony Weiner should quit. He must not have enough blood to supply both of his favorite organs, because he was exchanging messages with a porn star but she wasn’t in the XXX Batman TV show parody.