My first exposure to the art of James Bama as a kid were his paintings of breathtaking quality on the boxes of Aurora model kits.
Not Guthrie, Not Joplin
Cartoonist Jimmy Johnson has had some of the same sorts of struggles with his WordPress installation that I did. He’s working on a new and improved Arlo & Janis.com, and for now I have taken the site off my Links section.
Until Jimmy has the site back online, I recommend reading the origin story for his comic strip’s namesake characters. Click the pic to get started on the series.
Oh, Bama!
A friend of James Bama reports that the great illustrative painter has passed away, the day before his 96th birthday. Often working from photographs, Bama had a more realistic style than his contemporary, Frank Frazetta. He’s best remembered by comic book fans for his dynamic Doc Savage paintings, when the pulp magazine stories were reprinted as paperbacks, beginning in the 60’s.
Prueday
Happy Birthday to Prue!
I’m A Massachusetts Man
It’s not often that I need cash on hand anymore, but today I probably will at a social gathering. While standing at the ATM in the alcove of my bank, the background music played Cheap Trick’s super cover of Roy Wood’s “California Man.”
This is the original by the Move. Jeff Lynne was in the lineup with Roy, when they were also the creative team behind ELO.
https://youtu.be/Upce8udOVnA
This Happy Post
The collaboration of Noel Coward and David Lean produced some of the finest films in British cinema. One of them is the superb This Happy Breed, starring Robert Newton and Celia Johnson.
Remembered for playing villains, Newton is anything but menacing in this role. Celia is beyond wonderful, as she always was.
This is a YouTube video that’s sure to be pulled, so don’t save it for later. Watch it now.
https://youtu.be/8_6eBYUWk2Y
A perfect double-feature with this film would be the previously featured Here Come the Huggetts.