sluggo

I’m also waiting for a collection of Dan Schkade’s Flash Gordon strips.

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Well, it’s time for another one of your questions, this time from Michael Grabowski, who clutches me with

“We know of your esteem for Bushmiller’sNancy as well as the current (I think, still?) Olivia Jaimes strips, and you’ve also discussed your fondness for not just Segar’s but also Sagendorf’s (and I think the much later London’s) work on Thimble Theatre/Popeye.

“What other classic newspaper (or current news’paper’) strips do you especially enjoy, and in what editions?”

Well, Olivia Jaimes still appears to be hard at work cooking up new Nancy comics, for which the world should be grateful. And yes, I love Popeye of pretty much any stripe, such as the ones you mentioned, plus the Charlton Comics run, the current Randy Milholland stuff, the works. Put that Popeye into…um, my eyes, I guess. The only Popeye I’ve actively disliked were those cartoons they tried a few years ago where none of the characters were voiced. Yuck.

As for other strips…well, there are certainly a few, and probably not any surprises. I should get Dilbert out of the way, which was a strip I really adored until it very much got to the point where you couldn’t ignore the cartoonist behind the curtain. And remember, this is a guy who read all of Cerebus saying this. I still have a shelf full of Dilbert books, complete to the point when I stopped buying them, and sadly, no plans to revisit them at any point in the future.

For the complete opposite of Dilbert, I have several collections of the Zippy the Pinhead strip by Bill Griffith. Meticulously drawn, intelligently and absurdly written, the comic never stops being a joy. There’s no uniform format for the books…several permutations of paperbacks, a hardcover (signed and numbered!) of color Sundays, and 20 issues, I think, of a Zippy mag from Fantagraphics reprinting strips. Absolutely beautiful stuff.

Another still active strip for which I’ve been buying the paperback collections is Foxtrot, the family strip with the clever math/science/nerd gags. Not much to say there except that the books sure have slowed down since the comic went Sundays only.

An active strip for which I no longer buy the collections is Doonesbury…I think I stopped sometime in the early ’90s, but I have a complete set of the books prior to that. I didn’t stop for any particular reason other than financial, as I still enjoy the strip when I get a chance to read it. This and MAD Magazine is how I learned all about Watergate!

For completed strips, there is of course the king of them all…Peanuts by Charles Schulz. Fantagraphics putting out this series was a much needed addition to world culture, getting all this work back into everyone’s hands. Just an absolute master class in the study of human nature.

And then there’s the body of work by Berke Breathed, of Bloom County, Outland, and Opus, and am I forgetting something else? fame. I had the (not necessarily complete) paperback releases, but the six volume hardcover set reprinting everything was a nice thing to get my hands on. Okay, technically, maybe this strip isn’t entirely over, as Breathed was doing new strips on Facebook for a while, many of those reprinted in a couple of paperbacks from IDW.

There are the Big Book Sets, the giant slipcased things that contain everything, which are great in their own way if slightly inconvenient to haul around. I have the Calvin and Hobbes one and the Far Side one. I think I actually still retain the paperbacks too, for the extra material not reprinted in the Big Books.

And just looking at my shelf…I also have several of Matt Groening’s Life in Hell strip collections, which I’d actually bought after seeing his strip in weekly papers an’ such…before the Simpsons, so I was into it before it was cool, maaaaan. I don’t have nearly all of them (I just looked at a list and hoo boy, there are a lot) but I loved those earlier books. I know the strip changed a bit once Groening was, y’know, running a whole-ass TV show, but I’d still be interested in picking up the rest of these at some point in what’s left of my future.

Plus I have a couple of one-offs that I’d like to find more of…I have the complete Gahan Wilson Playboy cartoons book set (not salacious by any means, just weirdo monster type stuff), and a copy of My Crowd by Charles Addams. Can always use more of their work in my life.

Archival strip books I should’a bought: Dick Tracy. Man, those are the best, but for some reason I didn’t get in on the ground floor with those and how they’re up to, like, volume 83. Ah well. I do have a couple of hardcover “best of” collections and several reprints of, shall we say, varying quality in comic book form, and that’ll just have to be good enough for me.

“Also, a related suggestion once your 90’s comics survey coverage ends: would you consider doing a similar survey for comics strips (classic, modern, free weekly, and/or web) including comments on available collections of them?”

Egads. It’s certainly an interesting idea, though I’m not as up on webcomics as I used to be. As you may have noticed, I’ve struggled a bit with descriptions of some of the entries so far in the Final ’90s Countdown, as I don’t have a lot of experience with some of these titles aside from 1) selling them when they were new, and 2) seeing them in the back issue bins. It wasn’t like the ’80s Countdown where it felt like I knew a little somethin’ about everything.

I’m afraid with comic strips I’d be more the former than that latter. Sure, I could hold my own with Hagar the Horrible or Marvin, but if you throw, like, Steve Roper, or Wash Tubbs, or, God help us, Boner’s Ark at me, I’d be flailing about like Kermit the Frog. It’s worth a thought, though, so let me get through the ’90s books first, hopefully something in the next year or three, and then I can consider my next step.

“P.S. I started consistently reading this blog at the tail end of the Sluggo Saturdays feature. I really miss that!”

Yeah, I miss it, too. When I started doing Sluggo Saturday, you weren’t getting a lot of Nancy and Sluggo content in the ol’ comicsweblogosphere. That’s changed quite a bit since then (and so has the comicsweblogosphere, for that matter), and Nancy and Sluggo awareness is at an absolute peak, for which I take sole credit.

Well, okay, not really, there were members of the Sluggo-scenti already out in full force before I ever stepped into the scene. The aforementioned Bill Griffith was an advocate (which I got him to immortalize in this original sketch I purchased from him), and dare I mention Scott McCloud’s nigh-infamous 5-Card Nancy? I do dare!

But don’t you worry…Sluggo Saturday is not dead, only resting, and will return to us in our time of greatest need. Which frankly is right now, come to think of it. I’ll see what I can do.

I’m not sure what a “sulfur cuddle” is, but that’s definitely an illustration of it.

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So once again pal Brook has got me to seek out something for my own collection…and you can click on his name there to see what else he’s twisted my poor, innocent arm into getting. (Or, to be fair, just straight up given me.)

Anyway, he popped by the store the other day and let me borrow a certain mini-comic, and I adored it so much I asked Brook where he got it, and then I bought my own. And that mini-comic is…


Measuring around 5 by 5 inches, 36 black and white pages plus single-color covers, filled with full-page illos of Nancy and/or Sluggo in peculiar, humorous, horrifying, or just upsetting situations or permuations. For example, this one inspired by a somewhat famous piece of art:


Or how ’bout this, just picture this wheeling down the hall at you late at night:


Plus you get stickers, such as one advertising the name of the artist collective/company/whathaveyou that produced this publication, and another which will allow you to demonstrate that yes, you are a follower of the One True Sluggo.


The artwork is credited to what I presume are the Xwitter handles of @mattitude and @johnbrehmtattoo, but if you want to buy your own copy of this ‘zine, visit this here link. Tell ’em Mike sent you! Actually, don’t tell them that, they have no idea who I am.

Note: probably not actually a tax write-off.

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Gonna give you a break from Multiverse Talk today (though judging by the number of comments I’m getting, the discussion is continuing just fine without me), and show you a new acquisition to the Formerly Vast Mikester Comic Archives.

It’s this here “Whitman Tell-A-Tale” book from 1974, Nancy and Sluggo: The Big Surprise:


It’s a small, thin hardcover, about a couple dozen or so pages long, with text and plenty of illustrations, like so:


No Ernie Bushmiller involvement, aside from cashing the checks. The story is technically cute, with Nancy earning money to buy Sluggo a gift, with Sluggo thinking she’s going to buy something for herself instead. I say “technically” because the gift in question is…mmmm, perhaps culturally insensitive. Will this be the subject of a Sluggo Saturday this week? Mmmmmaybe! (And if you know what the gift is, don’t reveal it in the comments please.)

Anyway, when I went on the eBays to buy this book, it wasn’t the book I was looking for. The book I was trying to find was another early (very early) Nancy and Sluggo book which, alas, was not to be had. Now since I looked one has turned up on eBay, with the condition descriptions of “torn” (eh, can live with it) and “missing pages” (whoops, that’s a deal-breaker) so I’m passing on it for now. But I’ll keep one of my occasionally-working eyeballs out for it and hopefully I can showcase that book here. Whatever that book is. I’ll tell you later, once I have one.

So short story long, apparently, I didn’t see that other book, but saw this one and thought “hey I can buy this and talk about it on my site and then it’s a tax write-off!” Now of course I’m looking for other Nancy and Sluggo oddities and I don’t have the money for that nonsense right now and yet I’m looking anyway because I’m dumb.

And before anyone says anything, yes it’s not a “comic book” as such, but it’ll be added to the Formerly Vast Mikester Comic Archives anyway because that’s where all my Nancys live.

Okay, back to Multiverse Madness this coming Monday (and perhaps something for Saturday)! Thanks for reading, pals.

The seal has been broken…

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…your pal Mike has bought original comic art.

Oh, I do own a few original pieces from hither and/or yon, either drawings made specifically for, and gifted to, me, and I own at least one original page from an Archie comic published in the 1990s (which comic…who can say?) that was also given to me. I have purchased original drawings, like this Fred Hembeck rendition of Sluggo, but I’ve never laid out money for a piece of artwork that was used for mass reproduction.

UNTIL LAST WEEK.

So remember when pal Brook came by the shop with his copy of the obscure “Nobody Loves the Hulk” record, which of course immediately spurred me on to get one of my own?

Well, that darn Brook did it to me again, by showing me his recently-obtained Ernie Bushmiller original Nancy daily strip from 1974, which he graciously allowed to be featured on this site.

Brook said “you should check out this seller, he’s got a few Bushmiller originals, and I thought “maybe I’ll look, but I’m not gonna buy anything.” And then I looked, and then I bought something, and what I bought was this original daily from June 26th, 1975 (click the pic for a larger view):


Now I’m aware Bushmiller frequently used assistants (which you can read about here), so I am not 100% sure how much of this is pure Bushmiller and how much is, say, Al Plastino (which would still be a good get) but that doesn’t make this any less of an original Nancy strip produced under the purview of their creator.

Plus, look at all that great Sluggo content. A SLUGGO IN EVERY PANEL. Bonus: “HAW HAW HAW” dialogue!

For those of you who are interested, the original measures about 20 inches wide and 7 inches high.

Not leaving well enough alone, I thought I’d take a peek to see what other original Nancy (esp. with Sluggo) art may be out there for sale. There was a particular strip that caught my eye, mostly for just how weird it was, for the peculiar cultural crossover artifact it represented. I saved a scan of it to my computer, thinking that would be enough…but it preyed on my mind. Nagging me, tormenting me, reminding me of that time I could’ve bought this Bob Marley/Yoda painting off eBay and forever regretting that I didn’t.

Plus, it was pretty cheap. Which is how I now own the Guy Gilchrist original for the September 18th, 2014 daily strip (again, click to enlarge):


Your eyes do not deceive you, that is indeed Sluggo dressed as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Or, dare I say:


Okay, he’s not a teenager yet, but you get the idea. But what a bizarre thing this is. Just look at it. LOOK AT IT. Plus, there’s a bonus extra signature from Mr. Gilchrist at the top right there, dated 2016, where presumably he re-autographed it at a convention or something.

And again, if you’d like to know, the paper the strip is drawn upon is about 7 by 17 inches, though the strip itself is only about 13 inches wide.

There you have it…my first foray into buying original comics art. Not something I’m likely to do too often, though my mostly-working eyes are always on the lookout for that one Swamp Thing page that 1) I like and 2) can afford. But, you know, I bet Tumbleweeds originals are cheap. I could have all the Tumbleweeds! LET ME AT THOSE TUMBLEWEEDS

Remember when I was the only person on the internet who liked Nancy and Sluggo?

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So pal Dorian gave me my Christmas gift last weekend…or should I say “gifts,” because he bestowed upon me the Nancy and Sluggo double-whammy.

First was the immortal “Sluggo Is Lit” image, the official print in a handsome frame that I shot at an awkward angle to minimize glare and to (mostly) keep myself from appearing in the reflection:

And second, a pin featuring America’s hardest-working wastrel, Sluggo Smith:


These are great items (inspired by the wonderful new version of the Nancy strip by Olivia James), and if you want to be as cool as I am, you can get your own N&S merch right here.

Anyway, in exchange I gave to Dorian a copy of this Tumbleweeds paperback wrapped in a Burger King bag.


That’s almost as good, right?

I particularly like Swamp Thing’s Popeye arms.

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So I received a letter at the shop yesterday from the possibly-pseudonymous “Sluggo Jr.” who, inspired by my most recent Swamp Thing/Sluggo mash-up post, sent along a page crammed on either side with pencil drawings, sometimes featuring best pals Swampy ‘n’ Sluggo teaming up, sometimes just Sluggo facing menaces on his own (like fighting a knife-wielding Charlie Brown and a bat-wielding Henry).

Here are a couple of samples:


I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do the “Cranius middle-finger” joke before. Well done.

I was only going to scan those two for now, due to time constraints — I’ve been working long hours, as you might imagine — but I just glanced again at the paper and have to present this one, too:


I could read about the adventures of Sluggo and Swamp Thing all day. Thank you, Sluggo Jr., for your fine contribution to the arts.

Future historians will someday wonder what inspired the flood of Swamp Thing/Sluggo Smith crossover art in the early 21st century…

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…including this latest example from pal Casie:


…given to me as a going-away present, as I near the final hour of my lordship over Seth’s Games and Anime/Ralph’s Comic Corner. This Sunday, October 19th, will be my last day of employment at the shop, so come see me steadfastly refuse, out of sheer cruelty, to assist Employee Aaron in his transition to the managerial position.

Ah, I’m just jokin’. Even after I leave I’ll still only a phone call away, willing to assist the guys for a meager per-minute charge.

Speaking of my own store, which I really wasn’t but it’s too late to go back and retype that transition now, its official website will be open this coming Monday, should things go as planned, and will feature my brand new, 100% swell logo created for me by The Rack‘s Benjamin Birdie! It’s great…I can’t wait to show it to you!

Thanks again to pal Casie for the great drawing, and thanks to all of you for your support and readership. I’ll see you all on the other side.

No idea if I’ll have time tomorrow evening to write up a post for Friday…

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…so while I have a free moment, let me link you to the very-correctly titled “Greatest Nancy Comic Strip Paper Dolls Ever Made” (using some scans I made (gulp) nearly eight years ago for this post).

Print ’em bigger, you’ve got hats.

Speaking of paper dolls, I helped Bully, the Little Stuffed with Paper, Maybe, Doll Bull, with the last post of his Paper Doll Month.

I have multiple pals Andrew.

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  • Crisis on Infinite Earths tie-ins were a hell of a thing.

  • Pal Andy is trying to raise funds on Kickstarter for his children’s book SpaceBear, so please help out if you are so inclined.

  • REMINDER: the Ultimate Powers Jam continues, in which Pal Andrew rolls up a character using the Marvel Super-Heroes role playing game system, and other folks step in to flesh out the character. Probably better than whatever comic you’re reading right now. Unless that comic is All-Star Batman, and nothing is better than that.

  • AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR: please buy some stuff from our shop’s eBay store. Dig some of these shirts, man. This Jar Jar shirt is made from real Gungan skin. Help me clear some of this stuff out…I need to make room! Thank you.

  • Humble Opinions…a new site offering comics and pop culture reviews and commentary. “Everything in Greece was on fire all the time” made me laugh.

  • I haven’t linked to swell chap Tony Isabella in a while, so here’s today’s post of comics reviews. I haven’t really gone out of my way to seek out other people’s opinions of the current Superman books. I’ve been enjoying them, thinking they’re an improvement on what’s been going on with the character since the New 52 hoohar began, so I was interested to see Mr. Isabella’s somewhat-opposed take.

  • It was pointed out in the comments that the Sluggo doll from this post was probably just some other doll repurposed into a Sluggo doll, and yeah, that’s probably what happened. It was still apparently marketed as a Sluggo doll (along with a Nancy doll) in the 1950s as a Post Grape-Nuts cereal promotion. Here’s a shot of them in their box. …Phew, Nancy didn’t make out so great, either. Assuming that is supposed to be Nancy and not some generic “Girl Friend” as the box would have it.