Song for Monday - "Clay Pigeons"

After we've bathed the last couple of weeks in "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library" and steeped ourselves in classic comic strip lore, it's time to hit another spot Inside My Head and shift gears for at bit.

All my songwriting heroes and the guys who's stuff always makes my head happy. I don't know what I was going to say after that. But there you are.

Today's "Song for Monday" is sung by John Prine, but is one of the rare occasions it's not one Mr. Prine wrote. This song is by the late Blaze Foley.

When John heard it he says he wishes he had stayed home and written this one. High praise indeed.

Enjoy.



Talk to you soon.

"Polly & Her Pals: the Best from '43" - Nemo #32 part 3 and final

Well...here it is. The last article from the last issue of "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library". As Charlie Brown might say, "sigh!"

I'm not calling this post the "Nemo" final-FINAL though. I still need to replace my missing issues #27 and #29 and will promptly post them here in my blog when I do. There's also a "Nemo" annual I need to post that is oversized for my scanner...but I have a plan of attack in mind here. If you were to count the multitude of "Nemo Bookshelf" series of reprints of Little Orphan Annie, Popeye, Little Nemo in Slumberland, Krazy Kat, Dickie Dare (have I forgotten some? Probably) I think you may see plenty more leaping from inside my head and onto my blog. Final? HAH!

The last 16 pages of the last issue gave us a loving sampling of Cliff Sterrett's beautifully designed "Polly & Her Pals". I only wish these could be seen in color, as they were truly candy for the eye.

Enjoy.

And remember. Don't worry about "Nemo". There'll be more.

Talk to you soon.

"Krazy Kat: a Love Story" - Nemo #32 part 2

George Herriman's "Krazy Kat". Sheer genius. A lush tapestry of poetry both lyrical and visual. And under it all was a simple love story of a Dog who loved a Kat who loved a Mouse.

"Nemo: the Classic Comics Library" posthumous issue #32 takes a glimpse at this eternal triangle.

Read on.

Talk to you soon.

"Milton Caniff's Private War" - Nemo #32 part 1

Printed upside-down and filling the back half of "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library's" final issue #31, was issue #32. What a great treat as they cleaned out their vaults and shared with us what they had laying in wait.

First up is a very in-depth article about a specific part of Milton Caniff's career. After so much success before, during and even long after the years of World War II with his strips "Terry & the Pirates", "Male Call" and "Steve Canyon" there came a time when things didn't go so right. The downside of having a life-long career, I suppose, is that your audience changes. Even in generations...and in public perspective. As the decades shifted from the 1930's to the 1940's to the 1950's and into the 1960's, Caniff's audience and the country at large went from the gung-ho, "let's get Hitler and fight for the right!" of WWII to the "what in the hell are we doing here?" of Vietnam.

Boys and Men in uniform weren't held on a pedestal anymore. They weren't heroes, they were considered war-mongers. Mr. Caniff felt they remained heroes and "Steve Canyon" could tell a story of changing times.

Here's his struggle to keep from cancelation.

Read on, kiddoes.

Talk to you soon.

"The Schulz System" - Nemo #31 part 2 of 2

I don't care for the title of this article, "The Schulz System: Why Peanuts Works", the second half of "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library" issue 31. It sounds like the work of an artist can be broken down into spreadsheets and pie-charts and analyzed by some part of your right-brain and then recreated and duplicated in a lab by an intern.

But the article is good.

The things Charles Schulz brought to the drawing board were inherent, and examining each facet can add to our appreciation of his work and the art form of the comic strip itself. And this article does add to our appreciation, for sure.

Enjoy!

Talk to you soon.