BOOK REVIEW! THE COMPLETE CAPTAIN FIGHT (Gawandaland Comics)

COMICS ARE YOUR BEST ENTERTAINMENT VALUE??? 

Well sure, if you can get the right kinda comics at the right kinda price and have a whole afternoon to just soak yerself into the entire universe of the books at hand. Sheesh, I remember way back inna seventies when my idea of an adventurous fun time woulda been to go haunt a few flea markets and garage sales, amass a good number of comic books cheap, and spend the ride home readin' everything from MILLIE THE MODEL (boy did dad razz me about those even if for all intent purposes the late-sixties Stan Goldberg version was nothing more than a slightly-revamped ARCHIE) to some DC or Marvel effort long before those companies lost their initial spark and became way too self-conscious of themselves to matter. Yes, for less than a buck I had a whole slew of comics that I could read and re-read to my li'l ol' heart's content, and although mother was wary of me buying used comic books because who knows what leaky bathrooms they might have been (and other stories I told Brad Kohler ages back!) I sure didn't care as long as I got those adolescent thrills outta 'em that I just couldn't get with the Bobsey Twins!

Of course your money wasn't exactly invested wisely if ya happened to buy a real dudster of a deal which I had quite a few times. It could be disappointing to spend that last dime on something that seemed promising but once you read it was about as fulfilling as jacking off to nude pictures of Rachel Levine. And even if a comic was an oldie from the "Golden" or "Silver" age that didn't guarantee it being a bonafeed winner as quite a few efforts would attest to, Fiction House's CAPTAIN FIGHT bein' just one of 'em.

Now from what I know Fiction House wasn't exactly a lower-rung comic book company. Sure they weren't as good as anything National or Quality were cranking out at the time but they weren't bargain basement either. But that doesn't mean even they coulda slipped up at times like they did with this series, a seafaring and swashbuckling throwback to eighteenth century England and the main character, a handsome goodski who does his best fighting pirates and thwarting nefarious plans by ne'er do well dukes with plots telegraphed so far in advance that I'm sure even Karen Quinlan coulda gotten 'em.

Seeing pix of a swordfight ain't the same as watching a film of one, and the usual comic book fixin's like a young sidekick (Rusty, who originally was trying to kill Captain Fight under the delusion that the guy killed Rusty's own pop!) don't really add anything special to the saga. Even the occasional gals with the big suckems and cleavage galore don't create any real throb thrills like ya thought they would for many a hungry pre-teen nationwide. I mean, this was the eighteenth century an' you can just imagine what these ladies smelled like, especially during one of those "Calendar Days"!

Collections like this 'un make it so OBVIOUS that even the early classic comic book era came up with more'n a few clunkers. And yeah, CAPTAIN FIGHT was more or less filler but even the usual in-between material would have kept my attention held longer. A blatant swipe of a popular comic strip or competing book hero woulda done me much better'n this comparatively dismal effort! Oh well, there are hundreds more PD comic heroes to discover...it's just that CAPTAIN FIGHT was not the one who could dredge up any pre-pube fun 'n jamz entertainment no matter how much plot or curvaceous femmes were packed into it.

RECORD REVIEW BY BRAD KOHLER! THE POP GROUP-"Y" DELUXE EDITION (Mute Records)

In the late 70's and early 80's it seemed as if Brit post-punk and related errata like Pere Ubu's DUB HOUSING along with releases by Debris and MX-80 Sound were going to zoom us all into new constellations of sonic adventure. Little did we know that by the mid-80's that adventure would prove to be about as exciting as a grade school field trip to a cardboard factory.

The Pop Group were pushing and pulling in multiple directions, and inevitably the center wouldn't hold. Their reach sometimes exceeded their grasp, but their charged hybrid of punk, funk, jazz and noise was a breathtaking force on their early 45's ("She is Beyond Good and Evil" and its flipside are included in the set in 12" 45 form for maximum intensity).

This deluxe reissue (a hunnert clams but containing a wealth of bonus material, including the very same poster I had on my bedroom wall forty years ago!) includes a live in-concert LP, the original release and an alternate version of the LP compiled from various song takes and mixes. It's an interesting listen that actually improves the original LP in spots.

Reggae producer Dennis Bovell was an inspired choice to helm the board. Injecting dub textures and a general sense of chaotic abandon. His absence would be felt on the thin sounding and rushed followup FOR HOW LONG DO WE TOLERATE MASS MURDER? though the band was disintegrating at that point anyway.

Songs like "We Are Time" still sound as fresh and genre busting in the here and now as they did then, landing with the force of a megaton bomb. Too bad the future was cheap hype and Homestead label bands that had the force of a squirt gun.

I just don't know. Here I am older than your grandpappy's tijuana bible collection snuggled under his mattress yet I sure feel as young and spry as I did back when I was a teenbo discoverin' that wild, unabashed and downright HIDEOUS (in a life-reaffirming way) thing called music as a means of existence that was unfolding before my very ears. The good memories of those sometimes dour days that is, like the excitement I got wading through the "BUY ONE GET ONE FOR A PENNY" cutout cassette section at Musicland on the search for that elusive whatchamacallit that usually turned out to be rather feh (one reason I sold my tape of Miles Davis' ON THE CORNER...just didn't jibe with me!) but occasionally brought surprises and thrills (like the AMM/MEV split tape on Mainstream). And now I'm at a stage in my existence that has a li'l voice in my head tellin' me not to buy too much more rock 'n roll gunk because hey, how much longer do I have on this planet of ours I tend to feel a tad cautious of where my funds are goin'. But despite all that I still have that affection and downright LOVE for the same kinda sounds that got me all hot and bothered back when money was really scarce and that pittance of mine hadda go a long long long long long lllloooonnnngggg way.

Thankfully I now have a lot more grub to throw away on junk like this and although the music that rearranged my in a downright life re-affirming way is all but buried it still rings in me the same way it did when I first spun such classics as "Gloria" and "You're Gonna Miss Me" thinking that little if anything could top this breed of sound as expression! I know I know....eventually I'll get OVER it but for now well, I'm gettin' an even bigger thrill thumbing through my old albums thinkin' about all the joy and pleasure they've given me over the years. And who knows, maybe you can too! Just call me up and I'll let you thumb through my albums all you want!

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I'll betcha that yer won'drin' just how well I'm doin' in my quest to copy the best of the articles on ROCKSBACKPAGES for current and future reading pleasure, eh? Of course you don't but I'll tell ya anyway. After copying what I thought were the best snips 'n snaps from the big name good guys on the rock screeding front I began searching for pieces that I thought I might enjoy and found quite a few. Didja know that Greg Shaw actually reviewed the Velvet Underground's LIVE AT MAX'S KANSAS CITY platter for THE BERKELEY BARB? But I am far from done...after copying down a whole slew of finery I think will suit me well during the upcoming long winter nights whaddaya know but I remembered I didn't copy any articles by or about Lenny Kaye! This I promptly began runnin' off a few paper reams of articles dealing with one guy I sure wish I looked like back when I was in High Stool bringing back more'n a few fashionable memories inna process! Will keep ya posted regarding future endeavors.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK? DEPARTMENT: A couple of people, for reasons that might not seem vague at all, wrote in requesting that I ban Debbie Downer and the entire lol 'n ((())) crowd from posting in the comment section. Perhaps these definitely anti-Downer types do have somewhat of a valid point in wanting me to do so given that DD etc. really don't contribute much to the entire BLOG TO COMM cause, but as I wrote in the Mission Statement anyone is allowed to post as long as they don't get into major pissoff areas as the likes of Mister Self Righteous himself MoeLarryandJesus has done quite a few times o'er the past few years. Now MLJ is welcome as long as he doesn't "get to me" with his mostly asinine whining especially when I'm in a rather bad mood (which can hit me with the drop of a hat), and I think that Debbie is way less bothersome even if she and her various cohorts (all one 'n the same) get into the same tired ol' rut lol 'n all. I do as well, but who am I to cast any stones as The Good Book ('n I don't mean STUDIES IN EROTIC ART!) says. So, do you think Debbie 'n Co. should get the coathanger or be free to pepper up a comment section that needs a li'l more spice? Lemme know...as usual your recommendations will be totally ignored.

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RIP PETER GREEN OF FLEETWOOD MAC, whose demise might have been brought on after reading my review of THE END OF THE GAME  (the one with the pussy showin' off her pussy onna back cover) last June 20th. For people who remember Fleetwood Mac as something other'n that group with those two broads singing wispy country rock I'm sure his passing means more'n just a wee bit.

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Free items (noted by the designation "CD-r burn") courtesy of Bill Shute and Paul McGarry. The rest I dished out for myself.

Robert Calvert-CAPTAIN LOCKHEED AND THE STARFIGHTERS CD (Atomhenge/Cherry Red Records, England)

Last week's Alan Davey writeup had me searchin' out my collection for the original Starfighters effort, turning up nada after sifting through boxes of disques I doubt I'll ever listen to again. I took my loss as a hint from higher up to get hold of the 2009 deluxe edition with not only the addition of an all-new extended "Right Stuff" but the "Ejection"/"Catch a Falling Starfighter" single which I am ashamed to admit has never passed my ears if only due to depression-era wages. The enclosed booklet with notes from Nik Turner was also a nice carrot danglin' in front of this mule's eyes. Sheesh, what else can I say other'n this is my fave rave "concept album" (not counting KNOCKERS UP) and the new stuff is different/unique enough to dissuade you from thinking that you've just dumped more moolah on material you've already had in the ol' collection for years.

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The Suburban Studs-SLAM LP (Pogo Records, England)

These guys got dumped on a whole lot even if they were part of the early English punk rock moo-ment! Y'know, the one that gave us alla those groups the same critics who hated 'em young whippersnappers back in '76 now revere with a holiness usually reserved for Van Morrison reissues. Dunno why this is because the Suburban Studs weren't anything awful even if their repertoire might have leaned towards the more superficial aspects of punk as in "punque" at least some of the time. Sorta like X-Ray Spex who might have been goin' outta their way annoying, but perhaps that can be the reason to like it all the more.

Not bad at all straightforward rock 'n roll that might not stand so well besides some of the more memorable punk groups comin' outta England at the time, but when stacked up against some of the minor Raw Records acts or even those Downliners Sect knockoffs they sounds pretty on-target to me.

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999-BISH! BASH! BOSH! Cd-r burn (originally on Cleopatra Records)

And while we're talkin' 'bout English punks of the past howzbout this strange item that slipped into my collection while nobody was lookin'! Yeah, a new album from '77 punksters 99 and boy is it a good 'un. Now I was never enthralled by those kinda bands back then because my interests leaned more towards the Amerigan acts that added a li'l gnarl to the rock 'n roll canon, but this recording is pretty good considerin' just how lousy it coulda been with the right amount of meddling. Sounds just as young and as fresh as the stuff 999 and other acts were doin' way back when and altho these guys have achieved geezerhood quite awhile back they sound way younger'n whatever it is that's supposed to pass for youth these days is supposed to sound like! I get the feelin' that at least 55% of the reg'lar readers who tune in here will like it. The other 45% can go pound salt if they like...hey it's their ears that they're wastin'!

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Iggy Pop-HEROIN HATES YOU CD-r burn (originally on Other Peoples Music Records)

By this time (1979) Iggy was headin' straight for the glue factory along with all of those other sixties saviors who sobered up and turned for the worse because of it. But I still like HEROIN HATES YOU even if the thing lacks the zip zoom and spark that made earlier Iggy boots like SUCK ON THIS total winners. Iggy still comes off as cool as he did inna mid-seventies when everyone thought he was a total loser and even with the at times patented performance and general slickness the original Iggy intent comes through loud 'n clear. Most of you can probably get more than your share of throb thrills outta what with the freeform synthesizer solo at the end of "Funtime" (sorta like an electronic "LA Blues" to cap off the decade) as well as the great Iggy insults and general El Lay sleeze which reeks throughout.

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Sonic Boom-ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL CD-r burn (originally on Car Park Records)

This brand newie from former (?) Spaceman 3 member Boom sure takes all the influences and LAYS 'EM ON THE LINE! Izzat a cop from the Silver Apples, or Emtidi, or an Eno outtake, or ALL of 'em? And sheesh, talk about a DIRECT steal from Suicide's "Girl" on "Tawkin Techno" which I hope gets Boom sued but good! Then it's back to izzat Faust, or Tuxedomoon (or any breed of eighties electronic rock bleep that managed to stir the souls of many a trust-fund kiddie with a superiority complex) or... With ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL stuck in the pile who needs alla them other records anyway?

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Dimitri Tiomkin and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, narration by Gary Merrill-RHAPSODY OF STEEL CD-r burn

Lovely orchestral music on the first side. Kinda reminds me of something that the fambly would have spinning on the stereo turntable inna rec room or whatever it was supposed to be some winter evening when mom was doing the ironing, dad was in his workshop and cyster was teasing the bejabbers outta me. Considering this was probably some sorta freebee given out by US Steel it just very well might have ended up in the short stack of albums acquired o'er the years. The flip has Gary Merrill givin' us the lowdown on the birth and growth of steel from its humble beginnings to the industry that's been known to soil many a window in the Pittsburgh area and it reminds me of something we woulda hadda listen to in fourth grade. Sheesh, them bad memories are hard to shake!

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Various Artists-ROYAL PLUM BLASSIE SASSOON CD-r burn (I mean, who else but BILL SHUTE would come up with a title like that!)

As if Bill ever sent a dud my way. Maybe a few dum dum bullets, but never a dud. Another good 'un here what with the likes of Fred Blassie remindin' us of what manhood used to be like to a High School band doin' "Beat It" with about as much verve as Karen Quinlan farting. Surprises galore (old durty moom pitcher radio ad, a really cornballus Elvis "song poem", Chet Baker tryin' to cash in on the Herb Alpert bandwagon doin' Chad 'n Jeremy...) make this one a keepie, as if I an ever gonna discard any of these burns Bill sent me inna first place. Lemme tell ya, you haven't lived until you heard Maxwell Plumm doin' "Helen Wheels". That is, haven't lived heavily sedated in a nursing home but that's beside the point.

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One of these days yer gonna wish that you could have owned these rare back issues of BLACK TO COMM and you won't be able to get any! That is, unless you happen to find out which landfill they've all been dumped into. Beat the rush and get hold of yours TODAY!

MOOM PITCHER REVIEW! THEY CAME TO BLOW UP AMERICA (1943) STARRING GEORGE SANDERS, ANNA STEN, DENNIS HOEY, WARD BOND AND RALPH BYRD!

Great moom here. Thought I was gonna hate the thing because well, it's a World War II film and sometimes those can get a little too sappy in the patrioats dept. for my liking. That's but one reason I always seem to be rootin' for the Nazis and Hirohito when I sit down in front of some of these wartime crankouts! Take that you goody too shoes boy from Brooklyn with the freckles on your face and the song in your heart!!!!

I'll put some of this home 'n country aversion aside for once since THE CAME TO BLOW UP AMERIGA entertains on all levels from the great z-film style to the general acting. George Sanders plays it pretty cool as the undercover Bund member for the FBI who goes back to der faterland in order to learn sabotage techniques to use back home, in the meanwhile meeting up with Anna Sten as a cutesypie Austrian working for the allies who hides anti-nazi messages in hollow candles. 

It holds yer attention and has some pretty downhome emotional acting like in that scene where FBI agent Ward Bond visits Sanders' ailing because his son is a traitor father (played by that little old winemaker you usedta see on tee-vee if yer over 70) to tell him that his son is really working for the goodskis. Also great is the part where the real wife of the Nazi that Sanders is impersonating is made out not only by Sanders but eventually her own words to look crazy and is locked up, eventually getting a bullet when she proves too dangerous to let out with the truth! Kinda makes up for the part where Sten is interrogated by a Nazi who is throwing darts at a pic of Winston Churchill...sheesh!

A not bad way to spend some free time since THEY CAME TO BLOW UP AMERIGA has everything I and perhaps even you if yer not some tightass worldsaving type would want in a moom. Action, tension, believable characters and an early-forties directness that cuts out the extraneous gunk that coulda padded this 'un up somewhat. Best of all the Nazis, even though they look cool 'n all in those uniforms and are hep enough to shoot women in cold blood, ain't any more attractive to this reviewer who actually was rootin' for the home team this time! One to catch if they ever bring back The Late Late Late Show.

FOOD REVIEW BY BILL SHUTE! CHYUM SALTED EGG FISH CHIPS!!!

One thing I love about Asian markets is the availability of fish and seafood-based snacks. I’m the kind of person who can eat dried smelts or leftover shrimp or crawfish for breakfast, so the idea of munching on dried and salted mini-shrimp or dried and salted shredded fish the way other people would scarf down potato chips is heaven to me, and I always grab a few fish-snacks of that type whenever I hit the huge Asian supermarket “99 Ranch Market” in Houston or Austin (we don’t have one here in San Antonio, alas).

Therefore, I was happy to make the acquaintance of CHYUM SALTED EGG FISH CHIPS, buying three 4-ounce bags online, when the company recently offered a free shipping sale. My only question is…where has this product been all my life.

I’ve eaten dozens of kinds of dried and salted fish snack foods over the years, but have not had a fish skin-based one before. Evidently, this kind of product is very popular in Southeast Asia, and a brand named IRVIN’S SALTED EGG FISH CHIPS is the #1 snack food in Singapore!

The brand I’m discussing today, though, is sourced from Vietnam and distributed by a small American company out of San Francisco, CHYUM FOODS. Presently, this is their only offering, so I thought I’d help them along by promoting their delicious product.

I do love fish skin. Whenever I cook fish on the grill, the skin gets crispy and also absorbs the juices from the fish meat, and the rest of the family, most of whom are not fish-skin fans, offer their skin to me when they finish the non-skin part (do I hear someone making reference to the film I EAT YOUR SKIN, the re-titled zombie movie put on a double bill with I DRINK YOUR BLOOD in 1971 by Jerry Gross’ legendary Cinemation Industries? I remember well the ads for that show, although I was too young to get in as I DRINK YOUR BLOOD was rated “X” for violence—I had to wait until the VHS era to see it).

Essentially the product consists of strips of fish skin, fried in palm oil with a bit of tapioca starch and salt, and a coating mixture dominated by powdered (I’d guess) egg yolk and curry leaves. There’s also a bit of lard introduced somewhere in the process, and any tamale-loving readers know you can’t fake the presence of lard. Lard may kill me, but its basic creaminess and its meaty “bite” make the dying a pleasure. From a distance, you’d think these were chicharrones/pork rinds, but once you get closer, you notice the shiny fish skin and the green chunks of curry leaf. The egg yolk and the mix of coconut oil and sunflower oil give the chips a nice sweetness which balances the saltiness and the fishiness perfectly. And it’s as crunchy as pork rinds/chicharrones, so you’ve got the ultimate snack-food trifecta of crunchy, salty and sweet. The bag reads CRISPY CRUNCHY HAPPINESS, and I totally agree.

Sheesh, it's hard to get down the ol' obdulla oblongata the mere fact that the month of July is almost over! And the worst part about it is that due to the lack of a whole lotta inclement weather it seems as if it really hasn't gotten into gear yet! Can you imagine, a whole summer without a destructive tornado or stalled storm system making outdoor living unbearable for hours on end? Actually I don't mind bad weather, just as long as I'm hiding under my bed sniveling in fear while it rages on.

Other'n that it was a nice enough week, with a few more entries into the annals of BLOG TO COMM-dom to keep me goin' like I was back when I was younger and couldn't afford alla the fun music and fanzines that were up 'n about. But I sure tried, and as the years went on made up for those years of depression-era wages keeping me pretty much outta a whole buncha loops. You can even read about some of the music I've experienced o'er the past week (mostly newies plus a rediscovered gem), the kind that never did seem to fit too well into the usual Anastasia Pantsios frame of proper flower child starry-eyed reasons for existence. In other words, I do get the strange feeling that there are no Throbbing Gristle or MX-80 Sound platters in that gal's collection, but if I ever wanted to borrow a mid-eighties Cleveland HM disque (after all, they were promoting their own shows and writing their own fanzines unlike alla those punk rock creeps!) I'd know where to go! Oh yeah, and Lemmy really was a nice guy unlike his stage persona would have led us all to believe. Thanks for that hot flash Ana!

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My current favorite Facebook page!

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Not really much more to say this week other'n THANKS BE to all the fine dupes who sent me material to be reviewed. People like Bill Shute and Paul McGarry and who knows, maybe Bob Forward would be on the list if I could only remember where all of those thingies he sent went! Anyway read on, and maybe next week I'll be able to whip something really tasty up for you uncompromising gormandizers out there.

The Mighty Mofos-SHO' HARD! LP (Treehouse Records)

Another one of those dig-outs (this 'un inspired by my review of their EP a short while back) which has me wond'rin exactly WHY I WAS SO STOOPID TO BRUSH THESE GUYS OFF WAY BACK WHEN! Now I think I liked the Mofo's platters when I first gave 'em a spin (too lazy to search through my teeny-tiny print size back issues to remind myself) but I obviously wasn't inspired enough to seek out their other spinners! For that matter nor did I want to search the band out for an interview which would certainly have helped raise the property value of my crudzine. In retrospect, all I can say is WHAT A DUMMY I WAS AND PERHAPS SHALL REMAIN!!!! 'n it's too late to change anything because YOU CAN'T TEACH OLD BLOGGERS NEW TRICKS!!!!

If you squint your ears ever-so-slightly, the Mofos sound like a cross between the Flamin' Groovies (both the early-seventies and mop-top variations) and early Cheap Trick mixed with equal parts New Legion Rock Spectacular and pre-TOMMY Who. Hard pop seventies-styled rock, the kind that was hyped up by the smarter minds on the set but really didn't go anywhere back inna seventies much to the dismay of various pop cheerleaders like Greg Shaw and Cary Baker. Listening to this kinda reminds me of back circa '78 when I picked up TEENAGE HEAD for a mere buck and spun the thing in wild-eyed amazement thinkin' this was the right and proper direction that all rock 'n roll should head in thus guaranteeing a bright and happy future for us all. I get the exact feeling listening to SHO' HARD! lo these many years later hearin' the way the Batson brothers who ran the whole shebang took those fifties rock roots and reshaped 'em into something that at least held strong during the last great era of rock inna seventies.

Smart-set originals all wrapped up with covers of the Small Faces ("Afterglow"...also on the previously-mentioned  EP!) and MC5 making this worth the inflated price you'll have to pay for this today. Sheesh, what better accolades can I give these guys anyway? Maybe a search of their other efforts is in order, and more sooner than later before they really become expensive!

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Alan Davey's Psychedelic Warlords-CAPTAIN LOCKHEED & THE STARFIGHTERS CD (Purple Pyramid Records)

It might kinda seem strange to you that this ex-Hawkwind bass guitarist and bonafeed fan would wanna re-create the entire CAPTAIN LOCKHEED album as it was originally intended to be done in front of a breathing audience way back when. But he did, and the results are sure worthy of all the effort that must have gone into this bigtime production. Dunno how the lightshow and action on-stage went, but the music comes close enough for comfort w/o sounding like some reshaped for modern tastes atrocity and I can't see any fan of the original, at least those with slightly-opened ears, poo-pooing this unless their sphincters are even tighter'n your cyster's. I get the impression that Robert Calvert himself would have approved, at least if he was in one of his manic states. The Warlords also did a live appreciation of HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL which might be worth looking into as well.

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Albert Ayler-NEW GRASS CD (Impulse/Verve Records)

I dunno why people dump on this 'un! NEW GRASS swings with an r 'n b gospel jazz fervor that might have pointed in some grand directions had Ayler lived long enough to hear some Stooges records! Ayler's tenor gets back to those early roots without comin' off too soppy-eyed and if those old melodies he toots sounded great with just string bass and drums they sound just as good with a full band keeping it all in check (somewhat). Now this ain't the place to start if you're just gettin' into the guy, but if you were scared off by the naysayers all these years like I was then this should excite you a whole lot more'n the latest hotcha underground blogosphere flash, whatever that happens to be this week.

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Various Artists-COME AND GET IT - A TRIBUTE TO BADFINGER CD-r burn (originally on Copper Records)

What can ya say about a tribute album like that that hasn't been said about a thousand other tribute albums o'er the past thirtysome years? Well, it ain't as horrid as any of the Velvet Underground ones I've heard (VU thru rose colored moderne precocious youth lenses that always filters out WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT). Performances are faithful enough and still retain some glistening of just why Badfinger were one of those bright spots on the radio during my growin' up days, but can anything here hope to match the original spark and dazzle that sounded even better when scattered amid the Carole King so prevalent then? Course not...stick with the original and spare yourself the extra lucre it would take to track down and buy this well-intention'd yet non-groundbreaking effort.

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Alex Chilton, Chris Stamey, Tav Falco-LIVE DOWN SOUTH VOL. ONE two CD-r burn

Hey, didn't I hear this in part a few years back? Sure sounds familiar what with these three south of the Mason/Dixon legends playing (very loosely) a buncha old hits and such in front of an audience that was probably too zoned to notice. I kinda like the party atmosphere of it especially since it sounds so spontaneous and as if the practitioners were havin' a good time of it regardless of what any tightened anus rock critic might have thought. Two platters (each over seventysome minutes) that just might make the best soundtrack to your next one-man party that you'll be holding once you are able to scrape up enough money for a bag of pork rinds and budget beer.

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Various Artists-GROOVY DROP DADDY ITCH CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

And now as is customary with all of these "reg'lar" BLOG TO COMM posts, a review of one of those Bill Shute samplers out of many that I don't think I'll ever catch up with there's so many of 'em clutterin' up the usedta-be-bedroom of mine. As usual, Bill stuck some really exciting things on here, not exciting like wow WHEE! but exciting like "Gee, I never knew this thing existed!"  The original version of the Kenny Rogers hit "Just Dropped In" sounds better'n the hit while the various rarities by the Blue Stars, Charms and the Pacifics show the side of sixties singles that most people seem to have long forgotten. Only Claudine Longet's squeaky-pitched slop popper turned me off. Sheesh, an' I used to think she was somethin' back when I'd watch her on THE ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW which goes to show ya just what a malleable buncha silly putty I possess for a brain!

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Just remindin' ya that BLACK TO COMM back issues are still available in case you wanna read some real rock 'n roll musings 'stead of the mush that passes for rock writing these days. Some real bright stuff is to be found within those pages so if I were you I'd forego the chocolate bars and enema you were thinkin' of buyin' and order as many of these mags as you can RIGHT NOW. You can always go back to your sickening habits next week.

BOOK REVIEW! THE COMPLETE DICK TRACY VOLUME 28 BY CHESTER GOULD! (IDW, 2020)

We're headin' down the home stretch with this next-to-last Chester Gould-era TRACY volume, an' boy do I like it. I like it even with the larger daily panels which lack that four panel beat to it (and besides, now it take a whole week to read a plot that coulda been handed in two days). I like it even when each of the Christmastime strips feature a hospital crisis that ends all sweetness and light right when the Big Day is just upon us and (best of all) I think these mid-seventies TRACYs are great even if Chester Gould decided to "update" Tracy's looks once again makin' his the comic strip's answer to Clint Eastwood and DIRTY HARRY what with that tousled hair of his!

But even with the new TRACY look and Gould's continuance re. the "Law and Order" drumbeat that's been goin' on ever since the very early seventies these stories are still driving enough to keep a jaded ol' fanabla like myself's attention goin'. Well, the TRACY of the seventies can't hold a high beam blinding flashlight to the forties strip, but it sure is good seein' the classic hands tackle this strip especially when even a teenbo like myself knew that the jig wasn't gonna last forever.

The cover star this volume's Brain, not that bespectacled guy you saw on THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO but this sleek gangster type who wears a fedora topped with what looks like yer average cranial matter. Funny thing is, when his hat flies off hie actual scalp looks like a brain as well meaning the guy really is curly headed! Along the way Tracy comes up against some pretty weirdo criminals from Earl Welz (the father of an obscene phone caller...Gould really was keeping up with the times!), Le Maude (a one-eyed funeral home operator who is involved with the follicle inundated Hairy in a drug ring), Bulky (involved in an extortion racket involving Sparkle Plenty's cartoonist hubby Vera Allred which results in Sparkle's eventual abandonment of Allred and her eventual suicide attempt...hey, this storyline ain't so bad at all!) and eventually this female bank robbery/murder gang led by the mid-aged Lispy and her toothless pal Pucker Puss who prove the old adage that wimmen are the "dangerous" sex. As another puss, Snagglepuss that is, would say, "Ain't it the truth!"

Throw in a killer tornado which leaves a character's corpse lodged in a tree as well as an exploding hilltop which is set off by the crippled daughter of a farmer turned mobster (killing both and trapping both Tracy and Sam Ketchem under rock leaving 'em sitting ducks for a helicopter sniper) and you know this ain't exactly gonna be THE KEWPIES.

The mid-seventies "miasma" seems to have settled into TRACY making it was more uppa-date than I'm sure many wags woulda thought. Sure the pressures of then-modern cartooning seemed to have taken somewhat of a toll, but at least the old TRACY spirit remains what with Out Hero slugging out a criminal who spit on him (with said criminal then muttering somethin' about "The Supreme Court") and enough violence and belittling of soft on crime courts and their lackeys. When was the last time you saw anything nearly as caustic and as proudly non-progressive as this in any newspaper as of late anyhow? Opinions like the kind espoused in DICK TRACY are JUST NOT ALLOWED TO BE EXPRESSED in any wayshapeform these sad 'n sorry times and although I might have my qualms about certain aspects of policing or the death penalty that might contradict those of Gould all I gotta say is IT SURE IS REFRESHING TO READ THESE VIEWS BEING ESPOUSED INNA FUNNY PAGES especially when some ideas are permitted if they reflect the opinions of their multi-millionaire masters (have ya seen DOONESBURY recently?) while others are strictly verboten especially with the pretext of journalistic (and comic page!) objectivity having been thrown out the window ages back. 

Sure can use a whole lot more of this refreshing strip, and given how the original TRACY spirit's days were numbered you can bet I'll be cherishing the final volume all the more.

As that famed comedian Harpo Marx once said... Hmmmm, Henry, the Little King and Ferd'nand (Louie too!) said the exact same thing! Anyway, you can tell that I've been thumbing through back issues of my crudzine (see link below) what with my lame yet appealing on a personal level humor bein' regurgitated in a such a way! Anyhoo, here's yet another entry into the annals of BLOG TO COMM-unism that I think you might find particularly pedestrian if not downright pallid! In udder words, don't get your hopes up because IN NO WAY will this BTC be considered one for the archives even if people will probably be dialin' it up a thousand years from now in order to get the STRAIGHT AND UNABASHED TRUTH when it comes to what music (and gen'rul livin') was like in these here times and just how dad-blamed terrible a good hunk of it most surely was.

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Besides workin' on future endeavors and generally just livin' off the land (or in my case years of record, book and fanzine collecting), I've also been toilin' away tryin' to copy about as many of the good 'n rare rockscribe goodies on Rocksbackpages as I can. Doin' a pretty good job of it as well what with me pilin' away reviews and such by the likes of some pretty good writers out there like Kris Needs, Ralph Traitor (or was it Jeremy Gluck?) and Metal Mike Saunders, discoverin' a whole lotta new horsemeat to sink my hooks into. A difficult task printin' and staplin' away for sure, but the rewards are plentiful what with the bevy of beauteous readin' that I'm in store for once I slap the boom box on an' my feet up onna bed! Unfortunately I gotta say that there is a dearth of crucial writings by many the biggies inna biz that I wish was available...need to re-read both Lester Bangs's putdown of some Don Moye album as well as Richard Meltzer's writeup of Throbbing Gristle's "Zyklon B. Zombie" single, both from the pages of various 1979 issues of THE VILLAGE (retch!) VOICE. Those ain't on Rocksbackpages and neither are a few other items I thought woulda be front and center (did I mention I was looking for Chrissie Hynde's Mose Allison piece? Prob'ly a millyun times!!!), but what I am gathering up is good for this goose and maybe a few ganders as well.

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Thanks to Bill, Bob and Paul for the goodies. Now don't disappoint 'em because of their generosity towards me and read the blasted things, hokay?!

Can-LIVE ROCKPALAST 1970 CD (Rox Vox Records)

If you wanna know what kinda music really soothes this savage tit it's the LONG DRONE. Born of Caleized Velvet Underground with tangents reaching from the late-sixties Ladbroke Groovers to seventies New York throttle (with some sidesteps into decadence a la Francais...Mahogany Brain and Red Noise etc.) and with endpoints in the likes of Suicide and Throbbing Gristle with hefty doses of various Teutonic throbs in the Amon Duul I/II and Can modes for good measure. Did I just mention Can??? Sure, why not??? I mean, how obvious can I get?

Unlike the Velvet Underground, it seems as if Can left a whole slew of archival material that's thankfully gushing out into the rock world as compared to the dribbles here and there we get from whoever it is that has control of the VU legacy. This '70 tee-vee soundtrack is supposed to be the earliest intact Can live show to survive en toto, and it's a pretty good (though not as over-the-top as I woulda loved) as well what with Damo Suzuki acting his best crazed lead vocalist self while the rest of the group lay down a heavy crank that comes off fine especially during those evening hours when ya wanna get your nerve ends all tinglin'. All I gotta say is that I want MORE, and maybe if one searches hard enough some Malcolm Mooney-era Can live shows'll turn up an' hopefully while we all still have ears.

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The Fundamentalists-BLUES FOR ANITA BERBER CD-r burn (see cover for email info)

I dunno why anybody would wanna dedicate the blues to that dyke, but these Fundamentalists have done just that an' its too late to put the toothpaste back inna tube. Fitting as well, because for the most part these mumbles and metal machine musings probably replicate the exact same sounds Berber's nervous system was making throughout that sorry figure's entire lifespan. Much better'n the distorto radiowave recordings this batch did earlier, quite hypnotizing in fact reminding me of when I was a young sprout wandering through the appliance department at Sears and I'd get really overcome and emotional while the washing machines would chug and roar. Maybe if someone added phasing to them they coulda come pretty close to what the Fundamentalists manage to do when they hit the spin cycle!

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Scott H. Biram-LO-FI MOJO CD-r burn (originally on Knuckle Sandwich Records)

More o' dat down-home cookin' that sounds pretty authentico to these ears, though as you might have guessed I'm not exactly the kinda guy who can just authenticoism the same way that, say, Bill Shute can. Solo guitar picking with vocals come closer to that backwoods hillbilly style than a whole slew of hippoid imitators ever have, and besides that Biram throws a few old bloozy classics in with what I assume are originals. Now that the Holy Modal Rounders are a thing of the past you might wanna try this guy for your real deal non-pasteurized listening pleasure.

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The Branded-EVIL GONE WRONG CD-r burn (originally on Soundflat Records)

Some of us still call it "six-oh", and with groups like the Branded up 'n about (I hope...this is a 2012 release) WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO!!!!! Strong enough for me "revival" music that has the guts and grit that many of those mid-eighties types lacked, with boffo originals (which rip off the oldies as if that's anything to be ashamed of!) that stand up to some of the better fandom-oriented sixties music extant. Nothing to sneeze at. Cough at maybe but not sneeze.

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Smokey Emery-LIVES V.IV CD-r burn (originally on Kiamesha Drive Records --- try Smokey's bandcamp page for more information)

Yeah, I know that for most BLOG TO COMM readers ambient music is about as pleasant as eating a whole lotta bran and getting the feeling as if you're defecating pine cones (something which I think just might appeal to at least a few of ya more rectally oriented readers!), but this massively proficient post-Cage composer sure does crank out a sound that puts those tiresome early-eighties Eno efforts to pure shame. I dunno the exact whys and wherefores of Emery's music (this recording being "the fourth in an ongoing series of albums composed of recordings from live performances captured with video cameras, smartphones, and other portable devices") or how the recording process is supposed to relate to the tonal apparitions at hand for that matter, but the results are what I would call a pure avgarde experience which has had many-a-precedent ever since Marcel Duchamp decided to dabble in sound. But eh, it's sure great hearin' it bein' done again over a hunnerd years later, and without the usual pretension that sometimes comes attached to this kind of music as well.

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Gene Clark-COLLECTOR'S SERIES - EARLY LA SESSIONS LP (Columbia Records)

I whipped this 'un outta the collection in honor of Bill Shute, and found that EARLY LA SESSIONS really does capture a facet of the neo/post-Byrds aura about as well as I thought it would be. Even the could get slick session musicians can't stop EARLY LA SESSIONS from bein' one of those mid-sixties efforts which show a certain (and welcome) "maturity" to the sound which does veer a bit off the mop top reservation . If you were one of those eggheads who went for the likes of Tim Rose or Tim Hardin you probably woulda went for this 'un as well. Pretty hotcha folk-unto-country transition ya got there Gene!

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Stan Bronstein/Elephant's Memory Band-OUR ISLAND MUSIC LP (Muse Records)

Funny how I hated this final Elephant's Memory effort when I first spun it about a good two decades back but today find it just sounds like rather middling yet palatable jazz. Well it is kind of a shame since these guys released some rather good records such as the TAKE IT TO THE STREETS album on Metromedia as well as the one one Apple that John 'n Yoko produced that had earned hushed hosannas with the word "MC5" muttered in passing. (Never did hear ANGELS FOREVER on RCA...and its too pricey for me these penny-pinched days!) Stick with the early stuff and leave this on the back-burner until your craving for this oft overlooked band gets really out-of-hand!

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Various Artists-HARD TIMES IN THE COUNTRY (DOWN AND OUT IN THE RURAL SOUTH) CD-r burn (originally on Rebel Records)

Sheesh, I gotta say this it sure is grand listening to downhome 'n DEEP SOUTH folk strums that ARE NOT BEIN' PERFORMED BY RICH UPPER-CLASS KIDS LIVING OFF TRUST FUNDS TRYIN' TO BE DOWN FOR THE CAUSE 'n the rest of that altruistic crap that only resulted in unsuspecting gals gettin' the nine-month treatment ifyaknowaddamean... Sure these tracks wouldn't sound outta place on those old Holy Modal Rounders recs but them BEIN' THE REAL DEAL does add a certain credibility to 'em that doesn't give ya the SNEAKIN' SUSPICION that these guys are bein' made fun of. Recorded twixt '27 and '38 the entire grit of the lower class musical set can be discerned easily enough and it sure sounds better comin' from the soul 'stead of from the Anthropology class. The lyrics to "Riley the Furniture Man" by the Georgia Crackers might get a few precious petunias out there a li'l more outraged than usual, but that's the price ya pay for bein' more superior 'n the rest of us'll ever be!

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James Luther Dickinson-AXCV (DELTA EXPERIMENTAL PROJECTS COMPILATION VOL. 1 - THE BLUES, VOL. 2 - SPRING POEMS) CD-r burn (originally on New Rose Records, France)

No this is not a James Luther Dickinson platter as in he's the star performer but a sampler of various mid-South musings that sorta snuggle into the IT CAME FROM MEMPHIS book, at least sideways .The first volume I can "get" what with the field recording of the blues as they were done long before the likes of Robert Cray and George Thorogood got their hands on the form, and believe-you-me I'd rather hear my blues accompanied by the chopping of wood (as on Alex Teal's "Roll Me Over Slow") than I would with flash guitar!

The second part, the "Spring Poems" set I do not cozy up to. Sounds too professional with loads of early-eighties avgarde pop moves filtered in making for an even more unpleasant listening experience. At least when the Painters of the South start doin' "Camptown Races" with nothin' but outta tune pennywhistle and drums I can eke some enjoyment in the same way that Farina's kazoo and home-made drum set got into its own spiritual groove in that one LITTLE RASCALS where Wheezer's puppies were following the sound of bells all over the place. Otherwise those "poems", while produced swell enough without any grit or grime, sure don't have the same inner-movement that a classic low-fi blues holler laid down on a wire recorder did.

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Various Artists-PRIMITIVE GREEN JUNK UNIVERSE CD-r burn (Bill Shute)

As is wont these Bill Shute "Virtual Floor Sweepings", PRIMITIVE GREEN JUNK UNIVERSE is a real mixed bag o' nuts with its share of Brazils along with the cashews. Although at least one reg'lar reader might disagree I thought that Australia's Primitive Calculators were nothing-at-all-special "electro-punque" the world has had more than enough of while all of the spoken word and mind rambles weren't even that fun to listen to even on first spin. However I gotta say that I thought the radio ads stuck in between tracks as well as the song poems and the punk rarities (tho Bill shoulda known that the Controllers have been snuggled in my collection for years) not forgetting that anonymous take on the Raiders and Cyrkle were a bright part of my otherwise droll day. Even that Jimbo Easter talkin' like Captain Beefheart thingamafanabla was gropeable, tho personally I don't think that the one call Van Vliet woulda lost any sleep over someone imitating him like that.

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One of the things that I am most proud of in my rather checkered (and chessed, and acey ducey'd) life is having created this BLACK TO COMM magazine to help and enrich you readers' generally drab lives. Of course I'd even be prouder if more of you people bought more of 'em up. Just click on the link and help booster this poor blogschpieler's self image a few notches, and help him turn some of his HARD, UN-APPRECIATED WORK into moolah for his present and future endeavors, savvy?

MOOM PITCHER REVIEW! THE SHOCK PUNCH (1925), STARRING RICHARD DIX AND FRANCES HOWARD!

Every once in awhile I like to get a good ol' silent moom into my system, although I really dread seein' the way they are presented whenever TCM gets hold of one. No, let me rephrase that---I really dread hearin' 'em considerin' the horrible up-to-date schlocky music they attach to these otherwise stellar examples of funtime entertainment that might make 'em "view-able" for your standard post-human upscale "cinema"-lover but pretty dismal for a downright suburban slob lover of the past like I am!

Mebbee that's why I really dig these Grapevine Video (see link on left hand of screen) silent film offerings which contain music that really does fit in with the visuals and give ya the same downhome entertainment value that I'm sure your ancestors got outta the exact same films a good century or so back. Y'know, that classic organ more akin to a roller rink, but it sure does bring back memories and GOOD ones regarding moom pitcher fun 'n jamz and how it appealed to some poor slob out for an evening of entertainment.  And as far as silent films go they seem to deliver way more of what's important in the development and general rendering of a story than alla these things with special effects yet dire, anti-life values and production that one such as I unfortunately has been in contact with these sad 'n sorry days.

THE SUCKER PUNCH ain't exactly what I would call the cream of the silent moom pitcher crop, but it sure delivers on a pretty hotcha story that kept my attention goin' despite the various pitfalls that would keep this from becoming an instant classic. Really, the idea of getting matinee idol Richard Dix to play a role meant for Harold Lloyd (complete with the acrobatic and nerve-gripping tension found not only in SAFETY LAST but a slew of Lloyd vehicles where he ripped off himself) doesn't quite seem right and in many cases just seems awkward, but better him than the team of Jim Belushi and Michael Keaton ripping off the famed building climbing scene in some hideous sitcom whose title I thankfully forgot. But still the entire film works out even if I wouldn't call it a top notcher of twenties "cinema" (ooooh!), and if this 'un turned up on the WVIZ-TV OLD MOVIES show back inna mid-seventies you could bet I woulda been front and center even with that weird organ soundtrack that rambled on no matter what the action on-screen just happened to be.

Dix plays the son of a well-to-do businessman training to be a boxer (thus the title---he's got a "shock punch" to rival Dempsey) who falls for the daughter of a construction magnate who just happens to loathe boxing. Of course Dix gives it all up for her (thus ending any hope I had of this being yet another classic pugilistic romp so common way back when) and actually gets a job at his new gal's father's firm among the girders leading to a whole lot of those comedic close calls that echo a good portion of those aforementioned Lloyd flickers that kept folk like me on edge for ages. Along the way he meets up (again) with the foreman (silent screen heavy Walter Long) who was punched out by Dix in an earlier scene, leading to some pretty interesting added tension which culminates in the nerve-racking girder about to break loose and ruin everything in sight climax that, if it doesn't wow audiences these days, proves that for all intent purposes life as we knew it died out around the time EVERYBODY hadda become sophisticated and forget their past, good or bad, with a sorry vengeance.

Hokay, so THE SHOCK PUNCH ain't exactly a four star winner here at BLOG TO COMM, but it really beats out all of the classy high art filmic excursions that people with first names like Judith and Pauline had been hosanna-ing to the rafters for the longest time. And for that little truth maybe we should all be grateful.

BOOK REVIEW BY BILL SHUTE! JOHN WAYNE MOVIE COMICS (Gwandanaland Comics #133)

Dell’s “Four Color” comics line ran from 1939 through 1962, for a total of 1332 issues. A number of those comics in the second half of the run were movie adaptations. For what by today’s standards was a modest licensing fee, a movie comic book pretty much made everyone happy: the comics publisher had a pre-sold audience for an existing and popular property; the movie studio had tie-in publicity on the comics racks of America, which could only help build up box office for the films; fans could get a souvenir of a favorite star or film and “re-experience” the film in comic book form, much the way movie tie-in novelizations offered a similar experience. Also, those who missed the film or were not old enough to see the film could at least read the comic book of it, since in that pre-video age, you’d have to wait years for something to come onto television, and you’d have to be lucky that your local station or network affiliate was playing it.

The original comics of these adaptations usually go for more money than you’d expect, because not just comics fans but movie fans are bidding up the price, and with John Wayne, you’ve got a very large following, people who are prepared to pay $75 or more for a VG copy of a Dell movie adaptation comic that would go for $5 had the film starred Sonny Tufts or Guy Madison.

Wayne had his own series of “John Wayne Adventure Comics” at Toby Comics, which ran between 1949 and 1955 for 31 issues. One rarely sees an acceptable copy of one of those online for under $100. Fortunately, they have been collected in four handsome volumes by Gwandanaland Comics, so anyone can own pristine reproductions of the comics at a reasonable price (I own all 4 volumes and sent Chris an extra copy of Volume 4, which he reviewed here at BTC on 10 January 2019).

The four films adapted into Dell comic books here are THE CONQUEROR (1956), THE HORSE SOLDIERS (1959), NORTH TO ALASKA (1960), and THE COMANCHEROS (1961), directed by Dick Powell, John Ford, Henry Hathaway, and Michael Curtiz. I believe that I’ve seen all of the films at one time or another, but not in the last 15 years. I enjoyed them all, but they are not among my favorite Wayne films…. ahhh, alas, there are no comic book adaptations of BRANNIGAN or BIG JIM MCLAIN or ISLAND IN THE SKY or THE SHADOW OF THE EAGLE or PITTSBURGH or IDOL OF THE CROWDS or THREE TEXAS STEERS.

Since I don’t have very clear memories of any of the movies adapted here, I must say that I’m VERY happy with the comic books inspired by them. As would be expected, to take a two-hour feature film (and all of these were very much “A-picture” events being John Wayne films of the late 50’s and early 60’s) and shoehorn it into a 32-page comic book requires some pruning and streamlining, which only benefits the comic since subplots or dialogue-heavy sequences from the film are trimmed. The comic book writers have to create something that resembles the film enough to satisfy those who’ve seen it, but at the same time, have a product that makes sense and tells a complete story to someone who has not seen and never will see the film. That’s a tall order, but all four of these comics deliver that very well here.

THE CONQUEROR is essentially a sword-and-sandal film (Wayne as Genghis Khan), and that genre has always adapted well to comics, probably because the films themselves often have a comic book-like feel to them, at least when they are unpretentious bread-and-butter B-movie product. This comic is not as turgid as the film, though the characters speak in that delicious stilted storybook/Biblical style found in creaky Hollywood historical epics. I’m probably one of the few people who would have enjoyed seeing a whole comic book series devoted to “The Duke as Genghis Khan,” though with the film not being a hit, that prospect was never considered.

THE HORSE SOLDIERS, which co-starred William Holden, is a Civil War adventure, and that too adapts well to the comic book page, with troops on horseback engaging in battles, bridges being blown up, trains being commandeered, small towns being occupied by troops, Confederate snipers on rooftops, etc. If you own an original copy of this comic, you’re lucky, but this reprint does very nicely.

NORTH TO ALASKA is a Northwest comedy-adventure, with a wild cast including Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, and Fabian. As with Dell’s adaptation of THE DETECTIVES TV show with Robert Taylor, the star is depicted accurately, but the supporting characters in the comic don’t really look like or act like the characters in the film or TV show. The Fabian character here has blonde hair and looks to be about 13. The Ernie Kovacs character does appear in the comic, but he’s de-emphasized and not very Kovacs-like (although that would be difficult to capture on the comics page). Still, it’s a freewheeling, fast-moving comic with enough humor and rough-housing to satisfy some bank security guard reading it after work on a lonely Friday night, sitting on the balcony of his furnished room above a loan office in Salina, Kansas in 1960, trying to summon up the nerve to ask that attractive red-haired bank teller on a date, and getting more courage with every Pabst Blue Ribbon he pounds down on a hot prairie evening as the sun hangs low on the western horizon, endlessly dragging out those last moments of daylight.

THE COMANCHEROS, co-starring Stuart Whitman and Lee Marvin, has as the tagline on its poster, THE LAW…THE LAWLESS….THE LOVERS, RECKLESS ADVENTURES ON THE BORDER OF NO RETURN, and it certainly delivered those goods. A rugged story of Texas Rangers taking on gun-runners and bandits and assorted sleazes, the comic version is perhaps the best of the four because it captures the unique John Wayne persona well in the art and the dialogue and also gives Stuart Whitman, a Frenchman from Louisiana who kills someone in a duel he does not want to fight and then gets blamed for murder, a lot of space and a good characterization. For instance, Wayne calls Whitman through the whole film “mon-sewer” instead of Monsieur in that patented John Wayne drawl, and the comic dialogue fits well into the Wayne persona, which wasn’t really a priority in the other comics (well, it wouldn’t have been fitting when he was playing Genghis Khan, I suppose). THE COMANCHEROS, more than the others, in its comic book form gives the feeling of experiencing an actual John Wayne movie, which is surely high praise for its creators.

The next time you need a fix of The Duke, and you’ve already watched THE HURRICANE EXPRESS serial and a few of his 16 hour-long Lone Star westerns (distributed by Monogram) from 1933-35 (like THE STAR PACKER and BLUE STEEL) on You Tube, why not get your fix of Wayne via comic book reprints. The four volumes of JOHN WAYNE ADVENTURE COMICS and this JOHN WAYNE MOVIE COMICS compilation from Gwandanaland Comics collect high-grade material which you could never find in the wild or afford online….but now they are available as reprints in handsome volumes that will fit well next to your stack of original copies of  BLACK TO COMM.