BOOK REVIEW! ANOTHER TUNELESS RACKET --- PUNK AND NEW WAVE IN THE SEVENTIES --- VOLUME FOUR : THE AMERICAN BEAT EAST by Steven H. Gardner (Noise for Heroes, 2025)

Given the massive size (683 pages) and the diligence and detail thrown into it, I just wonder how jam-packed with information the other three volumes (and upcoming ones) in this series covering the various local (national and elsewhere) underground rock scenes of the seventies are. Sheesh, after even a few pages of this effort your head's gonna be swimmin' from all of the information to the point where it'll swell even more than Yacoub's --- it's that ratta-tat-tat machine gun firing off the facts and anecdotes which'll even give the most devout of seventies-era Underground Rock fans more'n just a mere run for the rock history money.

It is quite worth whatever cranial crunch your mind will go through for Steven Gardner of NOISE FOR HEROES fame has written an extremely exhaustive overview of just what was going on in that scene they used to call punk (somewhere before it turned into punque) and various related hangers on and offshoots resulting in this particularly informative if exhausting (but a good exhausting) read. In this particular volume of the ANOTHER TUNELESS RACKET series Gardner sets his etapoint aim on the eastern seaboard and inland regional underground rock scenes that was transpiring throughout the Golden Age, going up and down the coast giving more than just an overview of the goings on that went on during a time in music that (I assume) captured more'n just a few of you readers' hearts but most likely minds. With a passion for diligence and detail rarely seen in rockscribing (at least these days), Gardner roars on like Sherman to the sea going from New York during the height of CBGB/Max's Kansas City madness upwards to Boston's fertile stomp and then over to Ohio where I understand a few musical movements of interest were happening. After that its way down yonder, Gardner writing up the movers and shakers of these scenes and doing so even to the point where you almost feel as if you were right there at some leaky urinal at the club of your choice emptying your bladder right next to Lux Interior or Willie Alexander.

IT'S THAT DETAILED AND THOROUGH cramming more information into one mere paragraph than you're bound to find in a whole year or two of this here blog and yeah, although Gardner's telling us all about a time in music which was pretty much DOA thanks to everything from local media censorship to titanic ego clashes and changing "tastes" etc. it sure is grand that the stories are once again coming out and have been recorded before all of the minds who were involved frazzle off into the realm of dementia ne'er to be recollected again.

You get the once in a blue moon gaffes for the immature amongst us to feel superior to, plus a few of Gardner's views and omissions might not quite jab with your own but so what. I mean yeah, true the guy couldn't list EACH AND EVERY musical act of worth and note and although I sure think that Von Lmo and some of the other less-visible no wave acts cluttering up NYC during them days deserved some space here he obviously didn't, and so what. Brian Sands with his various projects which did amount to more'n what any of the Cleveland chattering class types of the day would have led you to believe would have made the Ohio chapter somewhat more "fulfilling" but Gardner didn't bother give mention...won't fault him one bit because for every under-the-underground snub made in this book you get a whole slew of info on some of the groups, second or third tiered at that, who didn't get their share of the much-needed press back then even if they sure deserved it. Sure is swell to see some of the less-noticed acts in New York (Speedies, Poppees) and Boston (Third Rail) finally get more'n just a few footnotes considering how lesser talents were getting the bigtime coverage from a rock "press" that frankly didn't know up from down let alone an X-Blank-X from an Insanity and the Killers (for you who don't know, Cleveland underground rock at its finest versus a corporation made idea of what a new wave musical entity should have been like...just ask Anastasia Pantsios). 

Yeah. I could get nitpicky 'bout various personal disagreements with the author's opinions and "asides" to be found within but why spoil what would otherwise be a pretty positive and straightforward writeup with such inanities. The head's still doing orbits given all of the information that has been crammed into my head reading this, and if the rest of it (more volumes are planned) is as detailed and (hopefully) as accurate as this entry then Gardner should be up for some serious book awards...that is if this were a world where rockist screed is treated with the same kindly kid gloves as the usual cut 'n paste hack. Other volumes just might be up my expansive alley and who knows, I might even BUY those on my lonesome (this copy came courtesy Jim Ellis to whom a big thank you has been issued).

Later'n usual true, but at this point in blogdom does it really matter? And although it lacks a whole lotta polish and is just brimmin' with rough edges I sure put a lot of heart and soul and gosh-darnedness into it so you BETTER like it! Actually, just tell me that you like it even if you don't --- personally I find my writing extremely wonky and off kilter here and downright awkward at spots. I do get the idea that some of you out there might find at least a scintilla of something worthwhile within these words, but then again I get the idea that some of you out there think a good time consists of shoving knitting needs up and around your rectum a la Albert Fish so wha'd I know?

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Here's one they don't show on Boomerang or any streaming service or off-channel that I know of for some obscure reason or another so I thought I'd shove it here. One of my mother's favorites because it was promoting classical music to us stoopid suburban slobs, but despite all that (entertainment that's supposed to be educational and all that hokum) I like it anyway. Sure beats the slop out of FANTASIA...

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For those of you who can't get hold of Cheerwine, Dr. Pepper with Cherry just might fit the bill. Not quite Cheerwine-y but good enough for a change from the usual. Avoid the Dr. Pepper Cream Soda and Strawberry flavors, both of which taste like a reverse high colonic.

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This week's AI surprise! A pic of Mister Rogers
back when he was a US Marines sharpshooter
in Vietnam.

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'n after all that piddle it's time for the writeups, and some good writeups they are I'll tell ya. If you don't think that the following reviews are the best thing that you will read ANYWHERE these days regarding that once-potent but then easily co-opted thing called rock 'n roll screeding then you might want to check in with your own personal guru, but anyway thanks to Faddensonnen and Paul McGarry, the latter who sent me some rather familiar seventies-vintage offerings that passed me by during my depression-era wages days.

The Bolan piece is one that I've worked on for quite some time. I've been spurred on into catching up on the various Tyrannosaurus Rex efforts that have passed me by (and given the way the Bolan catalog has exploded since his own passing boy is there a ton of it out there!) and I must say that it was a big joy for me to listen (and re-listen) to a whole load of the guy's efforts and lay down to type my various opines which might get'cha a cup of coffee if you also have a dime. And remember, you read it here last.

Tyrannosaurus Rex/T. Rex- UNICORN CD (Castle Communications, England); A BEARD OF STARS (Expanded Edition) CD (A&M Records, Japan); A BBC HISTORY CD (Strange Fruit Records, England); THE SLIDER CD (Demon Records, England); THERE WAS A TIME CD (TAG/Alan Walls Records, England), Steve Peregrine Took THE MISSING LINK TO TYRANNOSAURUS REX CD (Cleopatra Records)

The Marc Bolan story's probably the biggest if not one of the biggestbiggestBIGGEST tales of too much too soon, or better yet "wha' 'HAPP'D???" Up from the underground with a slew of albums one could easily say were some of the better rock 'n roll spinners to grace the early-seventies, soon it all tumbled like Harlan Ellison's ROCKABILLY come to life to the point where Bolan became a bloated image of his former self doing coke lines in fleabag hippie hangouts while his old fans were doing the har-de-har-hars behind his back and don't tell me Marc didn't know it!. And in typical fickle finger of fate fashion right when the guy's on the verge of a comeback complete with his own tee-vee series he gets himself killed! And of course we can speculate as to what might have been but at least we've got what happened, and diligent me in trying to keep up with all that I don't have and have otherwise missed out on decided not only to settle down with the platters I already have but fill in some of those gaps and other bits I somehow missed out on because like, well life is short and it ain't like I want to fill up the rest of what I have of it listening to J. Neo Marvin.

Wouldja believe that I've had a love/hate/love affair with Bolan for a longer time than I'm sure most of you fans and followers would have ever thought? There was a time when I dismissed a whole load of the Tyrannosaurus Rex catalog ('r at least what I've heard given my limited financial situation) as more hippie mewls before coming to my head and realizing the utter genius of Bolan's straightforward pop inclinations and the fact that English hippie was a whole lot more palatable than what passed for Amerigan early-seventies "right on" sloganeering and "look how full of virtue I am" pose.  As you can guess Bolan is to me here in 2025 what Syd Barrett was in '24, and as of these past few months I've been solidly in tune with Bolan's acoustic phase figuring that the guy put his own electricity into the Tyrannosaurus Rex catalog. When the guy eventually did switch back electric guitars well, you could say that it was the next logical step.

Wouldja believe that I never ever heard UNICORN until the here and now? The thing just slipped by my penny-pinching fingers for years on end and like eh, there always seemed to be more important things to do with my kopeks than pick up an album with as boring a cover as this 'un sports. Too bad on my own frugal part, for UNICORN's what I would call a bridge between the acoustic rock 'n roll of the first two Tyrannosaurus Rex platters and future rock 'n roll glories what with the use of chord organ and phonofiddle adding some interesting "color" to the proceedings. 

Not only that but "Cat Black" features a full rock 'n roll group concept with heavy duty grand piano courtesy producer Tony Visconti. It wouldn't have been out of place on ELECTRIC WARRIOR or at least a non-LP flipster from the same strata, and the track proves that Marc knew exactly where he was going and how to do it right. Really, anyone who would have been startled over the change in direction must've been a stoop given these early signs of the glory that was about to be!

In retrospect I think I shoulda splurged on the expanded edition with the bonus tracks but I can't have everything I want. In fact it wasn't until recently that I could have ANYTHING that I wanted!

I still can't get over my teenbo-era STUPIDITY with regards to dismissing A BEARD OF STARS as just more Donovan folkie fizz because well, once I entered into my twenties I surely regretted my decision to dump my copy and since then this album has become one that really makes me sit up and listen whenever I slap it on the ol' Victrola. Bolan's foray into electric guitar wasn't as premature as the guy would have led you to believe...sheesh, but wasn't "King of the Rumbling Spires" one hotcha slap of late-sixties downright English punk pop that would have rivalled if not surpassed all of the music comin' outta the place had it only got a li'l nudge? 'n hey, as far as elpee closer "Elemental Child" goes well, I'll rank it up there with the Stooges and a whole load of that sixties/seventies cusp cataclysm music that continues to mystify and astound this particular peon long after everyone else on the planet seemed (hoped?) to think it was long dead and buried!

This Japanese expanded edition's got a load of goodies tacked on at the end from songs that didn't make the cut to alternate takes guaranteed to sate the lusts of even the more iffy Bolan buddy. Believe it or not but this 'un has become a frequent spinner during those scant few minutes when I just don't feel like reviewing some of the offal that gets tossed my way.

The first two T. Rex proper albums I've mentioned many-a-time (or at least I have ELECTRIC WARRIOR which was definitely the best rock 'n roll platter to make it bigtime during the singer/songwriter saturated year of 1971) and since I haven't any recent new and updated editions to write about I'll just skip over to THE SLIDER which is yet another masterpiece from a time when the concept of rock 'n roll was definitely sliding into areas that seemed stickier than the La Brea Tar Pits. This might be considered the end/beginning of the end/beginning for Marc 'n company what with some of those later platters like TANX reportedly coming off so self-parody that all of the naysays have scared me away for seemingly ages. 

Maybe someday I'll tackle those efforts but at least for me THE SLIDER comes off like the even further next logical step into a phenomenon that by this time was going into supernova mode. The numbers that pop up here lack the intensity and overall mood of those on ELECTRIC WARRIOR, and although its packed with plenty of single material potential and Flo and Eddie t'boot there just ain't anything here that can live up to "Get It On" or "Rip Off". "Buick MacKane" does make it with its heavy metal barrage and the songs that did make it big o'er there shoulda been hittin' in the US of Whoa but well, I guess Ameriga wasn't quite ready (or mature enough) for the big onslaught. 

But when stacked up against a whole slew of them records that were filling up not only the album bins but the bedrooms of teenage pimple-thighed gals o'er here THE SLIDER was a definite winner which shoulda gotten Bolan the Sky Saxon award for best self-plagiarism by a rock band for the year of 1972. Shoulda held out for some deluxe edition with a whole string of outtakes (I mean, I've owned the original for ages) but hey, at this stage in my life its like I can't read the fine print no' mo'.

And if it is in fact true that "Baby Boomerang" was written about Patti Smith as Paul Morley once conjectured, maybe that guy wasn't the jerk too many wonks were making him out to be once he hit the heights he was soon to drastically fall from.

Anyone who made it through the previous barrage and found it all enthralling should OBVIOUSLY want to check out the Tyrannosaurus/T. Rex BBC collection gathering what someone out there at Strange Fruit Records considers the "cream" of the groups' various BBC sessions. Yeah, these sure sounded better in their raw 1967 taped off the radio state with John Peel's intro/outros left intact but for alternative versions as well as new to my virgin ears material this Cee-Dee is probably the best place to find a good portion of the group's appearances on that thing some call "the beeb". I'd take a 1979 bootleg Japanese two-LP collection of the same over this but until that 'un passes these parts I'm sticking with this.

You might also want to make yer way through THERE WAS A TIME, the first ever Tyrannosaurs Rex gig --- well, not the six-piece group who got booed off the stage a few months prior to this September 23 1967 show but the first two-piece 'un showing the early loose ends 'n all before they got a nice trimmin'. Some old Johns Children tracks pop up as well as first elpee efforts, and although the sound is rougher'n a cat's tongue you history buffs'll sure wanna eat this 'un up. As a bonus for everyone who made it through the show there are some early John Peel efforts for being such nice boys and girls.

While I'm at it why shouldn't I give Steve Peregrine Took some space here as well? Given the guy's erratic behavior which was so outre even a free spirit like Marc Bolan hadda fire him perhaps he should have been a strong contender along with Iggy and Lou for the punk of the year award! Although his post-T. Rex time seemed to be one big fall into drug addled numbness the guy sure was the perfect fit for the Pink Fairies crowd that he would eventually worm his way into, and whaddaya know but this spinner's got the fruits of that wonderous mishmosh!.

This Cleopatra release ain't anything that's gonna light any fires under some if not any of you reg'lar readers, but as far as a "document" of historical rockist value it does its duty and does it well. The Fairies make for the ideal backing band to Took's astrolysergical meanderings, and if you were one of the many who thought that Shagrat was a hearty enough backing group for Took you should be eating this up like psylocibin. The presence of some "Crazy Diamond" does churn up in the mind that the (apocryphal?) real deal Syd Barrett did pop up here somewhere, and considering the state of mind Took must have been in during these sessions the company you could say that they were pretty much peas in the ol' hackneyed pod. Yeah it meanders, but its like a meander one can really sink his psyche into!

I might as well mention this nifty collection of rare Tyrannosaurus Rex snaps that their Appreciation Society released way back in the early nineties. It's nothing but pix of either Marc on his own or with Took taken during the early days, but as you'd guess it's sure cool lookin' at the two acting a whole lot snattier than most bands have since. Its arity and you might be able to find some of these photos on-line for free, but if you're in the middle of an OCD Bolan binge like I am you'll probably want to settle back with these pics and glom on while your turntable's spinnin' some rarity or another by the man. There are also more Bolan fanzines and books out there than anyone can imagine in case you have an equally-rabid fasciation, and deep pockets for that matter.

Two different sources (who in no way know who each other are or who each other may be for that matter) have compared Tyrannosaurus /T. Rex with the Troggs as far as Anglo punkoid thrust and general attitude go. That never did occur to stoopid me who couldn't see the similarities in each group's abilities to sashay between the pop and hard rock contingents and produce what I would call downright classic single sides that were timeless in their own punkitude. What else can I say but we should be grateful that this planet was blessed with Marc without whom the early-seventies might just have been totally bombarded with pathetic introspection and Jesus Christ Superstar snooze all aimed to numb teenbo minds that were flatlining enough to being with. Some might have found this glam slam a total embarrassment to the entire concept of rock 'n roll but the above spinners sure prove to the contrary. Listen in and for once realize that T Rextacy was definitely the saving force for teenbo brain-popping music at a time when it very well might have all tumbled into peace 'n love shucksterisms supposedly speaking for (and to) the kids of the day. And, thankfully, some youth did know better. If only they slaughtered the stupider ones...

And now for a brief musical interlude:

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Curtis Mayfield-SUPERFLY CD-r burn (originally on RCA Records)

Like with the ROOTS album reviewed last autumn there's a whole turdload of early-seventies AM radio trackage here that does more'n just remind me of how fun it was listening to the transistor while reading comic books during them pre-pubesprout days of discovery. SUPERFLY also reminds me of just how mighty the AM band was after a few years of somewhat staid playlists, only to be followed by what seems like an eternity of horrid slop that the genre never did recover from. Pretty hotcha soul that's well-crafted, tasteful and dareIsay "mature", only in a way that woulda appealed to a slew of suburban slob comic books and candy on a summer day sorta kids. I believe that I wasn't the only one and that here were many more like myself way back in those better'n it coulda been worse days. Any of you out there care to prove me right?

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Cheap Trick-HEAVEN TONIGHT CD-r burn (originally on Epic Records)

You KNEW that the late-seventies were repressed beyond belief if the kidz thought music like this was either born of the devil or (worse yet) an insidious attempt to betray the true spirit of rock 'n roll (Bee Gees, Frampton, Warrant and the usual Chuck Eddy fodder). Those are the kind of SFB's I hadda put up with for more'n just a few years and I still hope that each and every one of 'em have died long, agonizing deaths!

Good thing that I don't believe in karma, and good thing that McGarry sent a copy of the third Cheap Trick platter my way, Yes, Cheap Trick were just what the youth of them days really needed what with their high energy pop rock sounds that took up the slack left by the demise of such Third Generation stalwarts as T. Rex and the Sweet. Obvious refs. include the Move (as you woulda guessed given the spiffy cover of "California Man"), pre-it all went to his head Todd, Sparks, the Raspberries and, considering the somewhat close proximity twixt the two acts locale-wise, Pezband. And sheesh, given the quality of the teenbos I hadda encounter during those days of aural suppression all I gotta say is it sure was a miracle this slab of pure hard pop would make ANY impact on the Kiss Army rejects I hadda put up with!

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Doctor Feelgood-BE SEEING YOU CD-r burn (originally on Parlophone Records England, reissued as SHM Remaster in 2014)

Not as raw and as under-the-underground 1975 fanzine writer desirable as DOWN BY THE JETTY, but I sure can dig the dickens outta these retro-scrunged up English rhythm and blues efforts as I can similar soundscapades from everyone from the Count Bishops to Little Bob Story. As with the Cheap Trick platter this is more of that power-punched sound of pure energy that the doofs I've mentioned used to poo-poo in favor of some of the worst music to hit the airwaves, at least until the eighties, nineties...

(Continuing with my reminiscences of horrible music days gone by...) Y'know, it kinda bothers me that there were way too many evil spirits throughout history who were never brought to justice and it burns me up no end that the idiot AM/FM deejays and their fans who made living in the tri-county area so dismal never did get their what fors either. Fortunately most all of those responsible are still alive and unfortunately breathing which is something that really frosts my babymaking machine. If any of you out there are willing to revenge rock 'n roll in the face of all the ruination these arbiters of taste have bestowed upon us names and addresses can be furnished. As for the beyond retarded fans of that spew well...maybe it would just be easier to carpet bomb the area, as long as you tell me when yer gonna do it so I can do a quick skedaddlin'! Whatever, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT FIT TO GO ON LIVING UNPUNISHED!!!!!

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John Blum Quartet featuring Marshall Allen-DEEP SPACE CD-r burn (originally on Astral Spirits Records)

Allen's gonna be hittin' the 101 mark pretty soon if not already so why not celebrate in your own fart-encrusted bedroom way by giving this particular sesh a go 'round? Dunno who this Blum guy is (I fear he is no relation to Handsome Dick Manitoba) but he's a good piano tinkler. Not as good as former Allen boss Ra but I would say decent enough in a neo-Cecil Taylor fashion. And I don't know who Elliot Levin on tenor and flute is (well, that name sounds somewhat familiar) or drummer Chad Taylor for that matter but they also do swell. Allen's the real star of this session what with his "Electronic Valve Instrument" creating a whole load of Ra-esque interstellar sounds and his alto's very good, especially for what I woulda expected from any 98-year-old (the age Allen was when he recorded this) still able to pick one up. Sounds just as exciting as I would have expected any random pick from the old NMDS jazz catalog back in the late-seventies to have been.

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Vibracathedral Orchestra-BLAST MOTORCYCLE LP (VHF Records)

Nothing that I'm liable to toss the confetti over, but still a fine stream of free rock that doesn't sound like hippoid excess down on the front porch chooglin'. Comes close to a wide variety of one-LP soundflow that's been released since the wild-eyed days of the late-sixties (even though this does consist of a variety of tracks, but YOU tell me when each one begins and ends), making for good settle back 'n kick up your heels after a hard day at the salt mines listening.  I won't be spinning this with the same frequency that I do Syd or Marc, but deny it's a spinner of value and worth? No way!

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Camper Van Beethoven-LA COSTA PERDIDA CD-r burn (originally on 429 Records)

Not as pallid as I remember their earlier efforts to have been (of course it's been about thirtysome years since I heard any of 'em), but I still find Camper's brand of Amerindie stylings (with some "hip" references to earlier accomplishment) not quite the way I would like to spend my life-support days listening to set on "repeat". Somewhat smart mid-seventies rock formations "updated" for the 21st century rockist sophisticates out there, and nothing I would care to toss in the trash even if I doubt I'll ever spin this again.

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The Del-Lords-ELVIS CLUB CD-r burn (originally on Megaforce Records)

Sure the Dictators were one of the boffest rock 'n roll bands to make their way outta the best/worst of time days that was otherwise known as the seventies. But sheesh, some of the groups these ex-members eventually made their way into just don't live up to the ideals that the Dics were known to promulgate amongst a whole load of people who sure did need being promulgated! This Del-Lords spinner sounds like just about any random "mersh" AOR FM album that I had the misfortune of hearing whether I wanted to or not (more likely the latter) what with its ballad-y downer groove and patented chord changes that were overused even forty years back! Sheesh, I kinda wish that none other than Handsome Dick Manitoba were around to knock some sense into Top Ten's head before this thing ever made it to light.

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Its once again time to do my usual begging and PLEAD for you to buy some (or more hopefully all) of the BLACK TO COMM back issues that have been available ever since the Days of Diluvium only you tighwads were too cheap to snatch any up. Believe you me, I've tried to eat these and although they do provide the proper fiber I'd rather have 'em turned into hard cash so I can buy something more nutritious at the supermarket. So if you're concerned with my dietary intake do me a huge favor and please take a whole load of these out of my cellar and out of my life for that matter. 

COMIC BOOK DIGEST REVIEW! THE VERY BEST OF DENNIS THE MENACE (Marvel Digest Group, 1982)

You can betcher booties that I was front and center when comic book digests began hitting the newsstands (talkin' the USA ones since these books were crawling all over Europe long before!) way back during my just pre-pubesprout Obsessive Comics Disorder days. Didn't go anywhere near the Gold Key Disney ones (tho I wanted to get this anniversary Mickey Mouse edition which contained ancient reprints but wasn't lent the money necessary to latch it up because...well, you already know why!), but when ARCHIE COMICS DIGEST #1 popped up at a local drugstore I snapped it up like potrzebie. This kinda pub was something just custom made for a diehard fan of comics both old and new (I rightfully feared the future) with then-(somewhat) current sagas intermingled with fifties-vintage Archie in bow tie and sweater efforts that harkened back to an older, more interesting time as far as the "quaint" art and typically teenage stories went.

So this early-eighties DENNIS THE MENACE book is something that I must say really caught my eye and dragged it at least twenty feet as Emo Phillips woulda said. Dennis' tenure at Marvel Comics has been discussed on this blog o'er the years, but I never knew that they also published a digest containing those old Pines and Fawcett-era stories re-packaged for a new generation of comic book kiddos. Of course by that time I was too immersed in the under-the-underground music that was sneaking about so this 'un went right past me, but all these years later (and with a renewed interest in such suburban slob time-wasting) I must say that I was more'n just "somewhat" curious about this 'un.

Judging from the artwork these stories were taken from across the Dennis comic book span of malicious funnies. There are a lot of early 'un's here which have that quite fancy upper-and lower-case lettering (the earlier the story the wilder) as well as more contemporary efforts like one from the mid-seventies where Dennis pisses off a load of truck drivers via. Mr. Wilson's C.B. and just guess who's in for a beating! Now, although there's nothing in this 'un that comes close to Dennis walking into the house with Mr. Wilson's skull at least you get a fairly good share of senseless mayhem for one to enjoy. Stuff like Dennis smashing a parking meter for cash and out-fishing his father and Mr. Wilson, turning a square-dancing class into a brawl, things like that. Fun enough reading that'll remind you of a time when there were actually things like kids and not just small adults waiting to enlarge. 

There are a few li'l surprises here/there. Gina makes an early appearance back when she wore a sailor suit dress and talk-a like this. And believe it or leave it, but Dennis even does right such as when he thwarts some cattle rustlers while vacationing at an actual cowboy ranch, and exposes a variety of carnival scams resulting in a few armfulls of free food given in order to hush things up (all of it was eventually handed over as a bribe to an angry cop which is something I'm actually amazed passed the Comics Code! Frankly I doubt they even scrutinized these 'un's. Fawcett didn't adhere to the Comics Code anyway and besides, if Casper, Wendy and Hot Stuff could make it why not Dennis?)

One bad thing 'bout this digest...print can get too tiny for mine eyes causing some definite headaches. Tried a magnifying glass which helped some but otherwise you might want to buy one of those large-sized monstrosities they sell on tee-vee to the old fanabla types watching ADAM 12. You'll feel like Mr. Wilson with one of these hanging around your abode, but then again have you realized that by now you're just as OLD as Mr. Wilson?