"Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales By Bud Sagendorf" by Craig Yoe

I'll refrain from making the requisite jokes about the speed and frequency that Craig Yoe's books appear and instead praise him for having the same versatile tastes in comic books that I do.

In the past couple of years, Yoe has issued books about "Krazy Kat", "Felix the Cat", Milt Gross, Dick Briefer's "Frankenstein", Dan DeCarlo's "Jetta", Steve Ditko, and compilations of various "kiddie" comics, virtually all I am a fan of.

Here, Yoe does it again with a book called "Popeye: The Great Comic Book Tales By Bud Sagendorf". While on the surface this may not mean much, because surely, haven't their been multiple books reprinting "Popeye"? Well yes, but a goodly amount reprints the comic strips made famous by "Popeye" creator E.C. Segar, and ignores everything else.

Not that this is a problem, mainly because it was Segar's creation. However, Segar died prematurely in 1938 and soon others took over where Segar left off and it would be a shame to completely ignore them. The greatest of these replacements, in mine humble opinion, was Bud Sagendorf.

Strangely, Sagendorf wasn't the initial replacement for Segar on the comic strip. It took many years for that transition to happen, despite Sagendorf being Segar's assistant on the strip, even drawing some of the comic strip's bonus features.

Sagendorf instead, spent his time for many years on the "Popeye" comic book. Many of these comic books have become highly sought-after collector's items, or just plain beat up. Craig Yoe to the rescue!

Yoe has taken some of the best, if not THE best comic book stories of the Sagendorf period and given it his typical "sprucing up", which mean larger reproduction, better paper and also the requisite historical background feature that is absolutely necessary for these volumes to take on true meaning.

No, it is not a slipshod collection of random stories. Stories were selected for their historical significance as well as for their entertainment value from 1948-1957. For those who are snobs who only like Segar, there's the 6-volume series that concludes next year from Fantagraphics, but for those who can accept someone else doing "Popeye", I would highly recommend this (and hopefully subsequent volumes of) the best of the "Popeye" comic book series.

Also recommended are the Fleischer "Popeye" cartoons available on DVD, and (hopefully again, someday) the Famous Studios "Popeye" cartoons.

Ultimately, Sagendorf was and is the most worthy successor to the "Popeye" throne, and Craig Yoe has succeeded well in giving him his due.

Delays...Delays

I'm trying to get the final issue of "The Harveyville Fun Times!" that I will edit and publish done, and there are delays every step of the way.

Last week, the printer told me they didn't have the file, so I had to upload it again. This week, they told me that I hadn't paid to print the issue, so I paid today.

Now, let's see if I get it. I still have to print the subscriber and contributor copies and mail them out, and then I'm done.

The funny thing is that I'm already working on #76, the first issue to be edited and published by Ben Samuels.

401!

Ok, I had to do it. Sorry...

Smothers Update

Wee-hah! I love the influence of the Internet. Because of my requests, the "Tour de Farce" album will be released soon on Laugh.com CDs!

Happy day!

Still More Smothers Brothers

I talk about the Smothers Brothers quite a bit here, but it's because I think they're great. Laugh.com has been great about reissuing virtually all of their back catalog. They have explained to me that they don't have the rights to reissue "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" album because it features TV soundtracks. Also, they don't seem to have the rights to compilations and are not in the mood to issue their straight music albums. That leaves one album in limbo called "Tour de Farce: American History and Other Related Subjects" that's eluding CD release.

It's my favorite album of theirs and includes the following tracks:

Tour de Farce: American History and Other Unrelated Subjects, the sixth comedy album by the Smothers Brothers (released November 1, 1964 on Mercury Records). Recorded at The Ice House, Pasedena, California. The back of the album contains the note: "For special enjoyment, try playing your old Smothers Brothers albums at 45 rpm." SONG LIST: 1) Siblings; 2) That's My Song; 3) American History II-A; 4) Mediocre Fred; 5) The Measles Song; 6) Since My Canary Died; 7) American History II-B; 8) Eskimo Dog; 9) She's Gone Forever; 10) Life And The Song Of Life; 11) Time And The Song Of Time; 12) Wagon Wheels; 13) Military Lovers; 14) The Put-On Song.

Let's put the pressure on Laugh.com and tell them to release this unreleased-to-CD gem...Contact Ted at ted@laugh.com

Wondercon this Friday and Weekend

Just a reminder that Wondercon will be this Friday through the weekend. I will be there working at Lee's Comics table, but I will also have my books for sale. I didn't take out a table this year as my Beatles and "Cracked" books just aren't quite ready yet.

So, come up to Moscone Center in San Francisco and join the fun...

Stop by and say hi...

Elizabeth Taylor Was in the First "Mad" Fold-In

I know this is a lousy image, but it shows that Elizabeth Taylor appeared in the very first "Mad" Fold-In in issue #86 from 1964. Al Jaffee created the feature and STILL does them today. It's appeared in virtually every issue of "Mad" since.

As a tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor and to Jaffee continuing the good work on the feature after 47 years, we salute you.

Ok, Everyone, Say Like Homer Simpson...

Mmmmmm, Chipotle burrito...

Obama is a U.S. Citizen

"If you were born to parents, at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, you automatically gained U.S. citizenship through the process of acquisition. It does not matter whether you were born on American soil or foreign."

Obama can be President legally, so let's shut up about it. I am angry at him now because he's taking us to new wars in Libya, making him more like Bush. Grrrrrr....

It's Houdini!

Look into my eyes! Deeper, deeper. You will keep reading this blog! You will tell all your friends about this blog!

"Sucker Punch" Review

So, I saw a sneak preview for "Sucker Punch" last night. I make it a point to not find out too much about a movie before I see it in order to be surprised.

Surprised I was, but not in a good way. I knew "Sucker Punch" was directed by the same guy who directed "300" (loved it) and "Watchman" (hated it), so I was skeptical, but the previews seemed fun of some hot, young goth chicks kicking ass.

Unfortunately... (SPOILER WARNING)

the goth chicks kicking ass was all a fantasy and it played out like a lame video game with no suspense, no drama, nothing. The "real" story is that the main chick (do these girls really deserve names?) was accused of killing her sister and threatening her father, so she's thrown into the looney bin....and then the fun begins.

They have to go through the motions to get some various pieces of crap including a lighter, a map, and a huge kitchen knife. They get this stuff while the main girl dances. We never see her actually dance as that's when the movie takes us to her fantasy-video game life.

In the end, the movie tries to make amends to its inherent silliness by trying to tack on a symbolic ending where it wasn't the main girl's story but the other girl's. By this point, you just think, "Who cares?" and then at the very, very end they tack on some "words of wisdom" explaining basically that everything you saw for the past two hours really wasn't a waste of time...really!

(END OF SPOILER WARNING)

After it was over, I turned to my friend, Lee, and said, "That was silly!" in my best Bob Clampett Tweety-bird voice.

In fact, the movie probably would have improved it if at some point Tweety popped in and said, "I like this. It's silly!"

Visually, it was great. Storywise, although different and somewhat unique was a bit strained and so overall I liked it, didn't love it, not sure if I can even recommend it. It's too silly for people who like strange movies and too strange for people who like straight movies.

Hey Hey We're the Monkees

So, I've heard that the Monkees are going to tour this year, of course, without Mike Nesmith. C'mon Mike, don't be a stick in the mud. You're almost 70 years old. Put those reservations in the past and join your former pals. This'll probably be the last time you can.

More later...

"Frozen in Ice" is My Next Book?

Since I've just completed my Beatles book, "Mark Arnold Picks on The Beatles" and am virtually finished with my "Cracked" book, "If You're Cracked You're Happy: The History of Cracked Mazagine", I have decided to tackle another pet project.

I have always liked the years of Disney when I was a kid. I suppose it is sort of a nostalgia thing, but also it was when Disney was still "pure". I have approached many publishers to publish such a book, and none of them dare touch it, either because it doesn't interest them or because they don't want to incur the wrath of The Walt Disney Company.

The years 1966-1985 weren't always the best years for the company, but they did accomplish quite a lot. These accomplishments have been glaringly overlooked by succeeding journalists and fans. Most people claim that when Walt died, nothing happened until Michael Eisner woke everyone up. There's even a book out now called "Waking Up Sleeping Beauty" about the Disney animation department, that was supposedly in the doldrums until "The Little Mermaid".

Some of that may be true, and in fact is, but the point is, some quality animation and other projects DID come out during the late 60s, 70s and early 80s. That is the point of my new book.

I created a quickie cover with the title "What Would Walt Do?". I liked the image, but I had to change the title as there are other books with this same title and also a group that claims a trademark on the phrase. I think "Frozen in Ice" works quite well.

As I haven't even started this book and this is a "pet" project like The Beatles book, it may or may not be done for a few years, depending on whatever else I'm working on.