Give,Get,Take, And Have

A Well Timed Dick Punch Will Soon Set Things Right

Tip O' The Hat (as Jimmy Hatlo , the Artist who drew They'll Do It Every Time would say) to Barnacle Press Blog for hipping me to The Outbursts of Everett True , A newspaper comic strip that ran from roughly 1905-1927.
The comic premise (such as it was) was simply the titular character beating the shit out of people and things that annoyed him. The strip was a two panel affair that introduced the bete noir in the first panel , and the denoument in the second.
The conclusion was always the same. Any peeve, however slight, must be met with a flurry of hitting, kicking, punching and scratching.
Some of the societal ills that Everett rails against are now lost to the mists of time. "Roosevelt's spelling" and " Race suicide " could stand a bit of explaining.
Even the artist was not immune from the hail of of blows Mr. True would dish out (as pictured at left) .
I think the strip still works because violent fits of pique and being pissed of for the slightest reason have a timeless and universal appeal, along with life lessons we all can use.
The main lesson being: Dont piss off Everette True.

Things Were Creepy In 1956

Detail from a comic book ad for Baby Ruth candy bars from 1956.

Meet The New Gods, Same As The Old Gods

The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Characters
Comic Book Characters Grouped by Religious Affiliation
Infinity Crusade identifies Marvel's Most Religious Superheroes

FAILED COMICS : Focus on the "House of Gerund"

Gerund Comics "They Oughta Have Bells" was one of the most offensive comic books ever published,seconded only by the rest of their "making fun of the handicapped line" "Hurry Up Slowpoke" , "Read These Lips", and "Old Wobbly".

This 1962 comic hoped to cash in on the Outer Space Craze popular at the time, but coupled with the publisher's obsessive fascination with banal officialdom, the Space Insurance Agent genre failed to catch on or make cash registers ring. Stories were retreads of the Thirties title Rubberneck Smith: Claims Adjuster part of Gerund's When I Grow Up series. The origional comic was not a swift seller as was usual for most of Gerund's publications. A print run of 5,000 was uncerimoniously returned to the distributor by angry civics teachers and career councelors. This was especially embarrasing because the books had been given gratis to schools across the country. The cache of comics later wound up in the Dallas Book Depository and were seized as evidence. Officials later returned them , mumbling something about mistakes being made. Errant copies of the comic have made their way to Fedbay, a privatized online auction site run by and for federal employees. The comic is being given away free with every $5,000 hammer.

Gerund Comics misses the mark again with Bentley Taft: Outer Space Claims Adjuster