Adventures in Comics: Comics and "The Big Picture"

Redartz: Good day, everyone! Hope you'll forgive me for some verbal wandering today. Usually in these  "Adventures in Comics" installments, we discuss fairly specific activities or events related to our favorite hobby. Today, though, I'd like to look at the 'big picture'. That is, comics in general. Have they had an impact on our lives, our attitudes, our goals? How have they affected our journey down this long road we call Life?

Let me start by saying I don't mean to trivialize anything about life itself, our decisions, the highs and lows we all face as human beings. Indeed, life has enough challenge each day to sober up even the most cheerful of Pollyannas. And regarding the things that affect our lives, there are many factors far more influential than any hobby or pastime (our families and friends, to begin with).

That said, I feel no apologies needed for my love of comics. Most every person who ever lived has had something they enjoy doing to relax, to escape for a bit, or just to help them 'feel themselves again'. Comics have been my 'thing' for most of my life now. I've loved them from the start. 

I started reading pretty young, in fact I recall reading the newspaper at age 5 (specific memories of reading about the "Palm Sunday Tornadoes" of 1965).  Book reading followed soon after, and already I was noticing the pictures in those books. And when an older neighbor introduced 7 year old Redartz to this thing called a 'comic book', well, the die was cast. Already  an enthusiastic book reader, now there were these fascinating magazines with cool artwork to enjoy along with the textual material.

 An aside, historical type- I recall reading Dr. Frederick Wertham's book "Seduction of the Innocent". One passage was rather denigrating to comics as a medium, referring snidely to 'pictures with words in balloons'. The inference was that reading comics was lower, or less intellectually challenging, than reading an actual book. I couldn't disagree more. Comics as a medium combine the best elements of both literary and visual arts. And subject matter varies as widely as it does in any other creative format: film, books, or whatever. That's one of the things I find most rewarding about comics; there's something for any mood or interest. How can you not love a hobby which gives you light fun with Archie, dramatic adventures with Spider-man, crazy satire with MAD, chills with any of the horror books? Or if you're looking for something a bit deeper, Maus is as powerful a tale as any film or novel you'll ever find. Looking for adult material- there's the undergrounds. Will Eisner was right, comics (or as he preferred, 'sequential art') is perfectly valid as an art form, high or low.

Anyway, once I started reading comics, I never stopped. Sure, the material changed; Casper to Superman to Spider-man to Archie and then to full scale collecting. And adulthood added a whole range of graphic novels to the mix. But through it all, the appeal of comics remained consistent. And that's not all. Comics led me to explore other areas, as well. Initially, when I started college, my goal was to become a comics artist. Of course I soon learned that my figure drawing was insufficient, but on the other hand discovered a whole new world of fine art and photography. Reading various graphic novels inspired more curiosity about history and other cultures. New friends and new experiences followed, all stemming from the  welcoming atmosphere of art school and the company of like-minded folks ( and numerous comics fans). And to push this all even further, I met my wife at a party with one of my art-school buddies. So I used to tease my sons with "You know, if it wasn't for comic books...". At any rate,  I found it funny. The point is:  comics, in general, enhanced my life in various ways and pointed me in directions I might otherwise have bypassed.

So, to sum things up, comics have been a pretty big part of my life; and a beneficial one at that. Comics have provided entertainment, education, inspiration,  diversion, and indirectly a career. They have given me wonderful stories such as "'Bone" and "Y-The Last Man". " The Avengers/Defenders War" and  "Days of Future  Past". "A Contract With God" and "Sugar and Spike". Enemy Ace and Little Lulu. Batman and Forbush Man. And so on, and so on, and so on. You get the idea, there's no limit to the wonders that I've read, and to the ones that await. It gives you something to look forward to; whether rereading an old favorite or discovering some new comic creation. So Dr. Wertham, if you're out there listening, I'll continue to take my words with pictures and balloons; thank you.

Two Questions: Secret Clubs and Creative Subs

Redartz:  Okay, folks; are you ready for a couple of questions to wrap your head around? Not to worry, nothing too weighty or challenging today. Just an exercise in imagination another in memory:

1.  Think of an artist , especially one often identified with a particular publisher. Then think of a title or character from another company that would benefit from that artist's touch (or at least make for an interesting variation).

2.  Among your youthful activities, did you ever start / join a secret club? And if so, what can you tell us about it (I know, then it's not a secret anymore)?

To start things off, here's my answers:

1.  As a Spider-man fan, I'm going with Jazzy Johnny Romita. He defined the web-slinger for me, and many others as well (certainly no disrespect to Ditko, but Romita was 'my' Spidey artist, so there it is). Romita is generally considered a 'Marvel man', understandable as he served as Marvel's Art Director for years. But to address our question, what if John Romita drew Batman? Romita could render phenomenal cityscapes for Spidey to swing around; surely he could do the same for the Darknight Detective. And he also made the villains look great; imagine what he would do with the Joker, Scarecrow or Clayface. Not to mention the famous Romita women; wouldn't you like to see his version of Catwoman, or Poison Ivy? I sure would...







2. Yes, my brother and I had clubs, and so did some of my friends. We lived next to a small woods, so we would go out and find some logs and branches with which to construct a 'clubhouse', or fort as may be. One such club included my brother, my cousin and I; we even went so far as to type up membership cards!

Another time our neighbor started a secret club, and even devised a secret code. This one didn't include my brother, much to his annoyance. He offered me a dollar for the code; I took it and spilled the beans, and promptly spent the loot on a comic and a pack of baseball cards. My friend next door wasn't amused. Obviously I was a security risk , easily bribed.




Okay, your turn. Care to share?

Follow the Leader: Episode 86: Musicians in Film!

Martinex1: It is Tuesday! Need I say more?  Follow the Leader...

TV Guided: Commercials of the Bronze Age!

Martinex1: As of late, we have been featuring television programs relatively frequently here at BitBA.  So today let's take a look at the miniature art form of the era - television commercials.  I can remember as a youngster looking forward to a couple of commercials, and perhaps you had the same feelings around those ads and the brands they featured.

Nowadays it seems the airways are clogged with advertisements for drugs and automobiles, but I recall many more ads for food when growing up.  From the Jolly Green Giant to the Peanuts hawking Dolly Madison Cakes to the Keebler Elves living in a tree, every commercial seemed to center around culinary delights.  My grandfather got a particular kick out of the singing kid in this Oscar Meyer commercial for bologna.

On Saturday mornings, the commercials focused on two things - breakfast cereals and toys.  Here is a commercial for the Kenner SSP Smashup Derby!  I must have seen this spot a thousand times between episodes of Josie and the Pussycats and Scooby-Doo.

I mentioned food and cereal, and often the commercials for those were quite creative using fun characters, cartoons, and witty scripts.  Kellogg's, Quaker, and Post each had their stable of mascots. There were some outliers like Mikey and Life Cereal that were not animated, but I preferred the cartoons including those directed by the famous Jay Ward.  Quisp, Quake, and Quangaroos were products I rarely tasted, but I enjoyed their marketing.

There were also local commercials that caught my eye and had me chuckling.  Long Chevrolet, a car dealership in the suburbs of Chicago, featured a newsboy reading headlines about the great savings and deals.  One commercial deep in the series featured a surprise headline and a hilarious ending (for a grade school viewer).

What commercials stick in your mind from back in the day?  Did they feature toys, food, cereal, or other commodities small or grand?  Do you have a favorite?  And which commercial really got on your last nerve?   TV sales pitches are what we are discussing today at BitBA!  Cheers!

Short Cuts: Radio, Up and Down the Dial...

Redartz:  A few days ago we discussed the classic sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati",  As is often the case, one post leads to another. I got to thinking about my favorite radio stations; the ones my stereo was always tuned to back in my hazy youth. I would listen to both AM and FM, and had several stations that I followed faithfully. The FM stations were mostly out of Indianapolis, and in the 70's WNAP was the station for current pop. If more 'heady' rock was called for, or the weekly visit with Dr. Demento, the choice was WFBQ. Oh, those Sunday nights; lying in my darkened bedroom next to the clock radio, listening to the Doctor. I still remember the commercials, too: especially the one for "Stone Balloon Records and Tapes".

As for AM, we had a local station WHUT that played the top forty, and was always blaring over the screaming kids on our school bus. However, my top station was WERK out of Muncie, Indiana: top forty during the week, on the weekends they carried an oldies program that played tons of classic 50's and 60's pop. That show doubtlessly encouraged my fondness for the music of those years (to the confusion of some of my friends, at the time). Best of all, though, WERK carried Casey Kasem's American Top 40 every Sunday. That was a 'never miss', while reading the Sunday paper and often a stack of comics. That was the best way for a kid to keep up with the current music scene, in those pre-internet days. 

Now, what were your favorites? Where did you set your car stereo presets to? Did you go local, or listen to more distant broadcasts? Share those call letters that still come to your mind, accompanied no doubt by an unforgettable jingle...

TV Guided: Bronze Age TV- Better, Worse, or Equal?

Redartz:  Recently we were 'riding the retro', and in discussing the shows of the relevant year 1984, there seemed to be several of us less than enthused about the programming of the time. This got me to wondering, given the incredible wealth of classic television during the 70's, and the frequently high quality of tv during the last two decades, was there a slump during the 80's and 90's? This question forms the outline of our discussion today. 

Rather than pontificate at length about my own opinions, I'll just present some evidence (subjective, admittedly) of the programming of these decades and let you all serve as judge and jury. A dozen shows from each decade were selected. All shows represented ranked in the top 20 by Nielsen rating at some point during their respective decade. Granted, there is some overlap in the time frames, but the shows are listed according to the decade generally associated with them. Is there an era or eras that stand above the rest? Was there a decline, or not?  Let's look at the evidence.


1970's


Hawaii Five-O
All in the Family
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Sanford and Son
The Bob Newhart Show
The Waltons 
M*A*S*H
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Rockford Files
Laverne and Shirley
Soap
Mork and Mindy

 1980's

The Love Boat
Magnum, P.I.
Hart to Hart
The A-Team
Newhart
The Cosby Show
Family Ties
Cheers
Miami Vice
Moonlighting
Alf
L.A. Law

 

 

 
















1990s

Rosanne
Designing Women
Home Improvement
Northern Exposure
A Different World
Seinfeld
Frasier
ER
Friends
NYPD Blue
Touched By an Angel
The X-Files

2000s

Law and Order
Everybody Loves Raymond
Survivor
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
The West Wing
American Idol
Without a Trace
Will and Grace
Two and a Half Men
Lost
House
Grey's Anatomy

 


 

 

 


2010s

NCIS
The Big Bang Theory
Criminal Minds
Blue Bloods
Dancing With the Stars
The Mentalist
Castle
The Voice
Modern Family
Scorpion
Bull  
Empire

All right, the data is yours, and now you may put it to use. Which era has the strongest , most entertaining programming? Was there a slump, or is there now? Perhaps it's just different material for different times? Look over the shows; consider the times and your memories, then share your thoughts...

Follow the Leader: Episode 85: Some Spending Money and the LCS!





Martinex1:  Welcome one and all. Tuesday is here and it is once again time to Follow the Leader.
Pick the BitBA topic and let's get rolling.  Cheers!