Quantum and Woody, behind the scenes DVD extra!

I’ve been having a blast working on the Quantum and Woody webcomic microseries. Two week’s ago, I got to indulge myself in making up silly Hollywood blockbusters we could imagine that the guys had starred in. They were only a small part of the page, not the focus of the script, and teeny tiny to see on the digital version, so I thought I’d post them here as I was pretty pleased with them.

The cast lists, the producers names, etc….I obviously grabbed from existing movie posters to make ’em look authentic (they’re too small to read in the printed versions, thus we’re safe from litigious shysters), so don’t go expecting Jerry Seinfeld to be playing Woody any time soon…but I think Ryan Gosling has signed on.  He’s having a bad year.

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TY THE GUY OUT!

 

Today’s Bonus is a tricky one:  Click HERE to get it.

 

Shameless Plug Returns!

Look how shameless he is! With the raised hem on those SHORTS?!?

I didn’t get to where I am in the fast moving world of celebrity (with the starlets, the free flowing booze and constant gifts of semi-precious stones) by being a wallflower.  So today I shake my tail feather for a couple of projects that you might not have known I’ve been doing lately.

SKINNY STEVE ROGERS!

First up, is a comic I co-drew for Marvel Comics as a give-away at Kiehl’s Drug Stores in the US, Captain America:  Transformation and Triumph.  I did the flashback sequences in the 40s featuring Skinny Steve – and even got to draw an iconic “transformation sequence” into the super-soldier (who says ya can’t have fun at yer job?), with lots of reference to show how Kiehl’s at 3rd Avenue and 13th Street in New York used to look.

Back in the war, the world was sepia toned. My parents told me.

The script was written by William Harms, with the lion’s share of the art by Angel Unzueta who drew the pages that take place in the 21st Century with modern Cap. Check the USA Today article for details on how you can get a copy. We don’t have any Kiehl’s up here in Canada-land so I’m hoping someone snags me a copy or two and sends them to me!  (That’s a blunt hint, there…)

QUANTUM AND WOODY!

The World’s Worst Super-Hero Team Returns, and ye humble bunny gets to play in the sandbox!  YAY!

For anyone who’s wandered into a comic store in the last few months who has an OUNCE of taste, you may have noticed the return of the best of the old Valiant Universe to the stands.  Well, with the best, must obviously come “the worst”, so the first issue of the all new Quantum and Woody, written by James Asmus and drawn by my buddy Tom Fowler, comes out in July (1oth?), but until then, Valiant Comics and IGN are posting weekly webcomics for the next six weeks featuring the team that’s NOT a couple!  I drew ’em and co-coloured ’em with the missus, James Asmus’ wrote ’em and the internet brings them to you.

Click through to be taken to the original link, and check back each week for the next five installments.

HERO INITIATIVE

WALKING DEAD SKETCH COVER

My latest cover for Hero Initiative charity organization was done as part of The Walking Dead 100 Project. One hundred sketchcovers will be going up for auction over the next few weeks. Check out the link to see all the covers, and keep an eye on the Hero Initiative site as to when they put new covers up for auction (I think they do ten at a time).*

I was in the middle of drawing a fun little Walking Dead spoof for Mad Magazine when I drew this, so there’s a “Mad Mag” flavour to the art.  Just so long as there’s SOME kind of flavour, those Zombies look hungry.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN!

Okay.  This is cheating.  You guys already knew about these, because I plug them all the time, but this is the one that’s on sale coming up!

A cover I’ve always wanted to do…just the punching and leaping, and lots of it!

I didn’t draw the insides (yes, I know, people are up in arms about this all over my neighbourhood), but I still get to play on the covers, and the interiors are really quite well done versions of the episodes.  Well worth picking up for Spider-Man fans.

A friend of mine told me he thought this cover looked like pajamas.  Wait…is that a bad thing?

HUGELY COOL NEW PROJECT

FOR DC

I’m CURRENTLY drawing ___________________________

(information redacted by the publisher)

which is probably the MOST FUN I’ve had drawing a comic in years.

Not kidding.

I’ll let you know when I can let you know what it is.

Ty the Guy

And now, a BONUS PLUG moment.

It’s meant for British Lads, so it’s automatically funny.

 

 

24 HOUR COMIC CHALLENGE

 

 

THIS Saturday, January 5 2013, more than thirty creators are going to gather at the home of The Comic Book Lounge & Gallery and Guerilla Printing for an event hosted by my Comic Book Bootcamp, and my studio-mates, Comic Book Embassy. It’s our first ever 24 Hour Comic Challenge Marathon!

Obviously, it’s a take off on Scott McCloud’s 24 Hour Comic Day, which was back on October 20. At the time, we were still getting our workshop space organised, and I think it was the weekend between a couple of comic conventions…all in all, everyone we knew said they were too busy to think of participating.

So, we decided to wait until now, and run one as a way to jump start everyone’s creativity for the year. For those who have always wanted to do a comic book but have been putting it off–jump in feet first and just do it! For some of my students who have been working hard on their skills for the last year, this is a chance to show them off and give them a good workout.

All of Comic Book Embassy will be there participating in the Challenge. Keiren and I will be there as hosts, although I’m thinking that eventually I’ll feel like I have to pick up a pencil and do some drawing myself. Might end doing a bit of live Bun-Tooning during the night.

The participants’ list is now closed, but we’re hoping that if you’re in the neighbourhood, you’ll drop by to say hello, check out the various creators and see how they’re doing with this completely arbitrary and self-imposed schedule! 24 pages in 24 hours! Can they do it? Come down to 587A College Street West, Second Floor, Toronto, Saturday January 5 10:00am to Sunday January 6 10:00 am, and find out!

Ty the Guy OUT!

And for your bonus comic moment:

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Sketch Cover Commissions!

Ty has been asked a few times about doing commissions, and generally says no. But after posting some of the sketch covers he’s done recently, he was asked if he’d make it possible for out-of-town fans to get one…  As he was giving it some thought, he got to do a bunch for a one-day Toronto comic convention and enjoyed it enough that he decided–yes. Yes, he will!

Okay, this is NOT a sketch cover. But it could have been!

Email Ty at tybunny AT gmail DOT com, if you would like a sketch cover. Please list your name, mailing address, and which blank sketch cover you would like. We have access to Batman, Deadpool, Thor, Uncanny Avengers, All New Xmen, and Fantastic Four (to the best of my knowledge). You can request characters, situation, etc. and Ty will let you know if he’s able to accommodate you.

**NEW**–I’ve checked and we also have access to The Hulk, Daredevil, The Defenders, Scarlet Spider, and Wolverine blank sketch covers.

Covers will be done in pencil, ink, archival quality markers, Prismacolours…more or less whatever Ty has to hand. They’ll be black and white, with some greytones and occasionally with red marker/ink.

Ty is charging $45/Cdn for these covers (that will include the cost of the book which we purchase from our LCS). That’s for a maximum of two characters–if you ask for something complicated or with lots of characters, he may quote you a higher price. Ask for a quote for a full cover wrap.

Shipping will be  $4/Cdn shipping and handling to addresses in Canada; $5/Cdn shipping and handling to addresses in the USA.  (Anywhere else, email and we’ll figure it out and get back to you!) When Ty has confirmed with you that he’ll do the sketch cover, we’ll send you a PayPal Invoice. Books will be shipped in a comic bag between two backing boards, in a bubble-wrap envelope.

**NEW**  (AND…if you want to have your cover submitted to CGC, we actually have the ability to do that through a recognised representative. Let us know when you email, please. We would find out through the rep what extra costs and time that would add on to the commission)

Keiren

<—completely accurate

portrait of me by Ty.

Plugging my new comics! All-Ages Spidey! All Ages Simpsons Comics!

ALL IN STORES THIS WEEK!  Simpsons!  Simpsons!  Spider-Man!  It’s the BUNNY AGE OF COMICS!!

First:  The wait has been long but Ultimate Spidey Adventures is finally here!

Available for sale today or tomorrow, depending on your store. The first issue of Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures #1 with a ten-page story plotted by Dan Slott and scripted, pencilled and inked by me.

AND a ten-page story written by the Men of Action and pencilled and inked by Nuno Plati.  So much goodness in one comic book!

In an interview with Comic Book Resources  (AXEL-IN-CHARGE: Guest-Starring the “Amazing” Dan Slott), interviewer Kiel Phegley asked Dan:

“Dan, when I saw you’d be contributing a story to “Ultimate Spider-Man” with Ty Templeton, who you worked with on “Batman Adventures” to great acclaim, I was surprised and excited. What can you say about the challenge of coming on to a newly built Spidey world and making work for longtime fans and kids?”

Dan’s answer was perfect–pretty much what I would say:

“We love this stuff. Ty and I are the best of friends, and if you look at “Spider-Man/Human Torch” you can see how much we love working together. That was an all-ages book to me. I think if you sit down and look at some of the biggest movies of all time, you’ll see that they’re “G-Rated” movies that everyone could sit down and watch. Adults can watch them and go, “Wow, that’s a great story.” That’s our goal, here. We don’t want this to be a young readers book. We want it to be an all-ages book — an everyone book. This is a book you can give to anyone, and they’ll go, “That was a really great ride.” That’s how Ty is wired too.”

Aww…Dan likes me.

Here’s a sneak peek…but no letters or colours until you run out and buy one at your local comic store…

WAIT!  I’M NOT FINISHED PLUGGING MY COMICS ON SALE YET!!

Simpsons Comics 189 went on sale just five days ago…it’s my latest romp in Springfield, written and drawn by myself, and featuring everyone’s favourite cartoon baby on Fox TV.  (Suck on it, Stewie fans).  I don’t get to write a lot of stories about Maggie and this was a joyous issue to play with.

SIMPSONS CONFIDENTIAL goes on sale this Wednesday as well!  It collects a bunch of different Simpsons issues from a couple of years ago, including one of my favorites:  The Return of X’Tappa’lata’kettle. (I’m sure I misspelled that, and I wrote the darn story!)  It’s set inside the giant Olmec head in the basement…you DID know the head was hollow and people lived inside it, right?  I think the collection also features a Bartman story that I did with Chuck Dixon, so there’s more Simpsons comics by Ty out this week than seems sensible.

Pick up the Simpsons issue, AND the Simpsons collection today, and the Spider-Man comic tomorrow, but GO BUY THESE COMICS!!!  I need groceries!

(And for those of you who would like a closer look at my pencilled and inked pages, I’ll be bringing all of ’em (along with Harvey Pekar pages, Spidey-Torch pages, and other goodies)  with me to Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this coming weekend! I’ll be there Friday to Sunday.)

AND there’s more!!  it’s not published yet, but I’m part of a Kickstarter comic book project…my buddy, Dana Moreshead (I used to work for him all the time when he headed up Creative Services at Marvel Comics) has written a comic book about Bacon. Yes, Bacon! Last year, Dana asked me if I draw him a little anthropomorphic Bacon, and I made a joke that it should be a comic book. Little did I know that Dana had plans–plans for a 44 page graphic novel that will

take readers on a king-sized comic book adventure power-packed with action, conspiracy and intrigue starring the pork Kwai Chang Caine, Bacon!

Turns out though that I’m not Dana’s only artist friend! Dana has set up his Kickstarter so that every dollar pledged gives you the opportunity to VOTE for the eventual artist of The Mouth-Watering Adventures of Bacon!! Vote for me, or the incredible Phil Winslade or the amazing Scott Koblish! Just vote for somebody! Read all about BACON!! on it’s Kickstarter page.

Ty the Guy Out!

Here now, your BONUS COMIC BOOK PLUG:

Plug Comics?!? Where do I find these things?

This is not a new post!

Just popping in to say I haven’t been blogging much this week, as I’ve been working on the Bill Finger/Batman book (coming into the home stretch) and a new fun little Marvel thing (just starting to pencil that one) and the pages are pouring in for the Holmes Incorporated project that comes out each summer (and boy howdy, they’re gorgeous!).

I love all my fun posting time here, but sometimes the damnable real job takes me away from the blog stuff.   How rude for the rent and groceries to interrupt my fun time.  But I’ll see you tomorrow for an all new Bun Toons!

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your bonus generic non-post comic book moment:

Yes, this was real, and yes, it tasted like off-brand ketchup.

SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG NOVEMBER 2010.

Every now and then, comics I wrote or drew get published, and I get to ask you to buy them.  I often forget to do this, but this week, I’ve got enough coming out in a row to pester you.

I present the SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Shameless Plugging you with the Jason Edmiston Cover A

First up:  I’m fairly sure that Johnny Canuck’s big return to comics in the NORTHERN GUARD is this Wednesday or next Wednesday, if your local doesn’t get it tomorrow.  There’s some chewy good fun in this comic – a revival of some terrific Canadian Golden Age characters, and the first published work of a couple of good Canadian pals of mine.  (I just called my wife a “pal”.  I’m a dead man.)

 

Shameless Plugging you with the less-often-seen David J. Cutler's alt cover B

Speaking of the lovely Keiren, it’s fun to see her credit on the Harvey Pekar meets the Thing story that’s coming out NEXT week.   She’s lettered a couple of the stories I did with Harvey Pekar, and keeping with the tradition, she gets her first Marvel credit.  And she did a terrific job!  I’m allowed to show off the first page, now that Marvel’s put it into promotion rotation.  This one’s in the stores in a week, I’m told.

If you have any fondness for Pekar, you’re going to love his take on the Thing.  This is, by far, my favorite Pekar story I ever got to do, sad as the events surrounding it were, and I’m going to blog about why it was so wonderful and bittersweet, right after it comes out next week…no spoilers here.

The cover looks like this, so you’ll know to get it when it’s out…

 

this series is so cool, you should be buying it, regardless.

And just to top off the sudden flood of Templeton product on the market in one fortnight, this came out in England last week –  check it-

 

Issue #14 of Murky Depths.

It’s a horror/sf writer’s magazine, with both prose and comics contained within.  Not a bad little offering and you can find much more about this publisher at   http://www.murkydepths.com  But you probably figured that out on your own.  I’ll bet you can order copies there.

For my part, I did thumbnail layouts and original edits on a terrific horror/adult story about a man who finds out the world is going to end, and wants to go out – ehem…with a bang.  It was written by Greg Dunford, and illustrated by Gibson Quarter and Eden Bachelder –  a group of friends who are all merry members of the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop usual suspects.

All right…the shameless plugging is done for today. Though it may come up again when my issue of Mad Magazine comes out next month, or my upcoming issues of the Simpsons.   Or…

Ty the Guy OUT!

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Here now, your Shameless Plug Comic Book moment of zen:

 

Look at that outfit. The man is clearly shameless.

Joan Hilty might have a reason to be Bitter Girl.

Ah , the restructuring at DC continues, and it’s hit at a couple of my peeps , downsizing DC mainstay Joan Hilty this week (creator of the comic strip BITTER GIRL, if you didn’t get the reference in the title).

Editor Joan becomes freelancer Joan!

Joan and I worked together a few times, and made some great comics while we did, so I’d like to give her a proper send -off with a quick Top Seven list.  Here now, the Top Seven books Joan Hilty edited while at the home of the Bat and the Cape.

7.  Flash

Waid is back. Acuna is off and running!

– Everything about this run of the Flash was delightful. The creative team, the covers, the plots, the whole feel of it all.  When it ALL feels right, you know there’s a hand on the wheel, steering.

6.  Flinch

Beautiful and creepy. The comic equivilant of a peanut butter cup.

– a daring, fun run of creativity.  Joan does the thankless job of editing an anthology with lovely results every damn time.  The line up of talent was stunning.  Go find ‘em and read em.

4. Steve Gerber’s Hard Time

Brilliant, and no ducks, whatsoever.

– unquestionably the best of the DC FOCUS books, and Gerber’s last GREAT series.  I thank the lucky stars that we all got a chance to join in.

5.  Blue Beetle

Say goodbye to the goofy super-hero.

-The Silver Age Blue Beetle was beloved by JUST enough people to ensure he’d never succeed in his own series.  This series proved you can re-invent for the modern reader and make it work.  Hilty goes stepping into the shoes of Julie Schwartz quite well.  (For other fun re-launch Joan comics, see OMAC PROJECT and MANHUNTER)

3. Birds of Prey

word balloons on a cover! Be still my heart.

-one of the best runs of the series since Dixon and Land started it all.  Joan presided over its re-birth as one of DC’s most fun books after a bit of a lull.  Simone and Benes certainly helped.  Great team, all around.

2.  Batman Adventures, (and related series).

Batman-less Batman at its best.

-People seemed to like this world of stories, so I include them.  I can’t gush too much about the whole enterprise without seeming like a ego-maniac as I wrote about a quarter of ‘em, but let’s point out how wonderful ALL the issues were, not just the ones I grubbed my hands all over.  Dig those crazy Gotham Girls!  And how beautiful were those BATMAN STRIKES covers?

1. LOONEY TUNES

Chuck Jones would be proud

– For years, this was my hands down favorite DC comic, I kid you not.  It was funny, witty, beautifully on-model and in the spirit of the original Termite Terrace, no matter who the writer or artist was.  One of the unsung GREAT DC series that no one read, and making it this consistently good when it was that far under the radar is the proof that Ms. Hilty knew how to do her job.

Honorable mentions:

Along with Looney Tunes, Joan did fantastic work keeping other “toon books” the best they could possibly be for years.  Anyone with an appreciation for this almost lost craft should check out Joan’s high water runs on Krypto the Superdog, Scooby Doo, and Powerpuff Girls.

–On the Road To Perdition

This unexpectedly terrific sequel to the original masterpiece deserves a special mention just for Joan coaxing the legendary Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez into a graphic novel’s worth of new artwork.  Anyone who hires the bizarrely-underused greatest storyteller of a generation gets my thanks.

Way to go, Joan.  You have much to be proud of for your years at DC, and your contribution to comics and art is assured.  See you ’round the funny books.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your comic book moment of zen

The farcical and the fleeting

THE TOP SEVEN WILDSTORM COMICS

So, DC announces their imprint, WILDSTORM COMICS, is pulling up stakes and going quietly into that good night.  That’s too bad.  We’re told it’s part of a streamlining of DC’s business machine as it moves into the west coast movie industry, but it’s still a failure if the books ain’t selling enough to keep ’em going.

“So long, Wildstorm“.  We can’t say we hardly knew ye, as you were here for quite a while, and you left an impression.  Sure, you stole every character you had, some of it bordering on criminal, but happily quite a bit of what Wildstorm did was quite good.  And since I’m in a good mood, we’ll leave the mistakes behind for today and focus on…

THE TOP SEVEN WILDSTORM COMIC BOOKS OF ALL TIME

7. WildC.A.T.S.

Trust us, this is nothing like the X-Men. For instance, the dwarf is smoking, and the guy with claw hands is taller.

This is not on the list for the characters or the premise, certainly, as that all sucked.  And it’s not for the entire run, obviously, because most of it sucked, and that’s primarily because the characters and the premise sucked.  But there were moments in that series where the craft of its creators was so high, that you had to sit back and marvel at how GOOD and fun comics could be when done right.  During the Alan Moore run (illustrated by Travis Charest, amongst others), or during the Travis Charest run, (written by Alan Moore, amongst others), WildC.A.T.S. was big and sexy and delightful and the PERFECT little pocket of escape from the world.

I'll bet these comics are pretty good. Kind of like the X-Men, only with better writing.

Okay, it WAS the X-MEN with a dwarf where the bald cripple was supposed to be, but it had NONE of that eighty-five year back-story to remember while the leaping and punching went on.   And let’s never take it away from the Jim Lee-illustrated issues – consistently the best Jim Lee ever looked. I usually like Jim Lee art, but I LOVE Jim Lee WildCATS art.

All so pretty. And that's not the Hulk back there. Or Superman in a white cape.

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6. Danger Girl

If you’re a boy, and you like naked chicks with guns, or if you’re a girl, and you like other girls to be naked, and carry guns, than this was your comic.  To be fair, there were times that the characters would hang-glide in a bikini with guns, or sneak into a museum wearing a leather cat-suit, while carrying guns, but I think you get the idea.

I imagine you can see the appeal of this title, no?

It was the comic book version of Charlie’s Angels, only with more naked girls, and probably more guns.  J. Scott Campbell’s delightful sequel to Gen13, and more innocently fun, somehow, even with all the bums and guns.  It’s says it’s for adults, but it’s really for the trapped teenager in all of us.

5.  Midnighter

Come on, you love him too! And he's nothing like Batman.

Without question, Wildstorm’s single best character.  He’s gay Dark Claw, and as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I couldn’t get enough of him.  Apparently, I’ve gotten all I’m gonna get.  He’d be on this list  just for his starring role in The Authority, but his solo series started strong, stayed strong, and even petered out strong.  I don’t want to give away the punch line to the time travel story arc that starts it, but it may be my favorite time travel comic story of the last twenty years.   Created by Warren Ellis and Brian Hitch in their stellar run on the otherwise not stellar Stormwatch, Midnighter is too good a character to lose.

4.  Ex Machina

In every way, shape and form, comics for adults, and by that I don’t mean that it was another parade of tits and swords like Danger Girl was.  Instead it was a mixture between a super-hero potboiler and a complex soap opera about municipal politics.  Something that only an adult would get, or be interested in, no matter how many jet packs or talking evil robots show up on the cover, it was just for us aging fanboys.  Indescribably odd, but entertaining as hell.
Written by Brian K. Vaughn, and drawn by the lovely Tony Harris.

3.Planetary

NOTE: Doc Savage is not on this cover. Nowhere on this cover.

The three step formula for this series was quite simple:  Every issue Warren Ellis and John Cassaday would
a)  Re-imagine a beloved old character (such as Doc Savage, Godzilla, The JLA, etc) and then…

b)   Beat them to death.

c)  Then the three weirdest “investigators” in the world would show up and do astoundingly weird things, and they would find out what happened.

That's also not Doc Savage in the logo, upper left.

Eventually it turned out, it was all part of one big weird plot featuring the “fourth man” and the “secret history” of the world, and it was all cool as hell while it was going on, especially Elijah Snow.

The series itself died and was resurrected years later, more alive than before.  And though it wasn’t his very first gig, it was the gig that gave the world a semi-regular visit with John Cassaday, for which we all owe Wildstorm a thank-you.

2. Authority

This is where All-Star Superman grew its balls. And that's not Batman, or Superman or anyone like the Justice League anywhere in this image.

An exploration of the theme of the benign, but fascist super-hero, first played with in Alan Moore’s Marvelman – I mean Miracleman – no, I mean Marvelman.  But rather than feeling like a re-hash, AUTHORITY featured such a line-up of top flight creators for so much of its run (Warren Ellis, Brian Hitch, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Glen Fabry, Gene Ha, Mark Millar and more) that it had no choice but to be interesting.  My favorite characters were Midnighter and Apollo, but Hawksmoor, Jenny Sparks, The Doctor, maybe even Kev…all running a tight, close second…..  I understand the series started welcoming members of the WildCATS and GEN13 on board as sales lagged, but the first decade of the AUTHORITY was, as we said back then…da bomb!

1.  Astro City

That's not Superman on the sign, and he's not talking to Wonder Woman. What IS it with you people, seeing things that aren't there?

Kurt Busiek’s and Brent Anderson’s love letter to everything we live and breathe about comic book heroes.  I think this is the series that started the trend of “sampling” characters from other companies with a boldness that bordered on plagiarism.

The Thing, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Superman...none of those characters are in this drawing, seriously. You'll never find them.

It wasn’t hard to figure out the disguises that Kurt and Brent, and cover artist Alex Ross, put on Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four, but that was entirely the point of the fun.  This was ALL one crazy What-if-Elsworlds-Imaginary story that we got to play in, and it was always, always, always a treat to visit.

ASTRO CITY started as an Image Comic, then it became part of the Homage Comics line, which was absorbed into the Wildstorm line, which is now being cancelled.  Astro City will survive this.   There will always be a place for this book with fans, no matter how many publishers it leaves in a smoking ruin.

Honorable mentions:

Sleeper: Too tied into Wildstorm Universe continuity to be truly compelling, but Ed Brubaker’s scripts and Sean Phillips’ art were too good to dismiss.  I read them in spite of myself.

Arrowsmith: World War One fought with Harry Potter magic, with doughboys riding dragons, fighting goblins, and getting covered in mud in a trench.  Like Fables with way more explosions.  By Kurt Busiek and Carlos Pacheco.

GEN 13: The Horny X-Men.  J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes…all so pretty and meaningless, but fun and silly when you just want a snack.

TY THE GUY OUT!

Here now, your comic book moment of zen:

Frazetta vs. Al Gore, from beyond the grave! Batman vs. Talk Show Hosts!

Should Chief Dubbins be embarrassed about that?

I’m certain this is an amusing co-incidence, but a friend of mine (Paul Truster) showed me this reproduction of a Johnny Comet daily strip from 1952, featuring the fantastic art of Frank Frazetta, and a four panel besmirching of Al Gore’s good name.

Sex scandal follows Al Gore wherever he goes...check out the Blue Garter Club!

In 1952, the Al Gore you and I know about, was barely four years old.  His days of rooming with Tommy Lee Jones, inspiring the novel LOVE STORY losing the election for President to an activist/ corrupt court, and winning academy awards and Nobel Prizes was far in his future.  But his father AL GORE SR. was a senator from Tennessee at the time, having spent decades as a well known congressman for the same state, and being an outspoken critic of segregation for years, he was known on a national stage.   It’s POSSIBLE this was an amusing nod to a senator Frank liked…or it could be a co-incidence.

Either way, it seems that the name AL GORE and SEX SCANDAL were linked together as far back as ’52.    Tipper may have gotten out just in time!

Of note, Al Gore wasn’t the only future celebrity menacing the heroes of comics back in the late Golden Age.  David Letterman and Batman had a puzzling animosity for each other in the late Forties that has never been explained.

At some point Dave gave up pipes for cigars, breaking the speed limit, and allowing stalkers into his home.

I believe Miley Cyrus was originally a recurring villain in Marvel’s Sub-Mariner comic, as well.  Let me look up the issues and get back to you.

TY THE GUY OUT!

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