Ties and Suspenders ~~ A "Sepia Saturday" Post

I've always loved the fact that people used to dress so formally, as opposed to now, when they'll walk into a grocery store wearing pajamas!

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photo shows men wearing ties and suspenders. That was an easy one to play with, for me.

The following is a photo of most of my mom's family members, taken in (I assume) the 1940s. My mom and dad are noticeably absent, and I assume my Uncle Johnny was not yet married because his wife, my Aunt Wanda, isn't in the shot.

From left to right, top to bottom, the personnel are: First row, my Aunt Esther, wife of my
mom's brother Billy; my aunt Josie, my mom's older sister; Josie's husband Joe. Dominick,
second husband of my grandmother (who was also named Josephine). Second row, my
grandmother Josephine; my Uncle Eddie's wife Olga (?); my mom's brother Johnny; my mom's
brother Eddie; and mom's brother Billy! Seated on the floor at left is Josie & Joe's daughter,
my cousin Janice (whom I've never met). My Uncle Albert was the camera bug in the family,
and he's absent from this shot (but in the next one), so I assume he took this photo.

"The Hartman Boys," as I call 'em! Billy, Johnny, Eddie, and Albert. My maternal
uncles, obviously taken on the same day or evening as the previous photo!

I don't know whose idea it was that the four Hartman brothers all put their arms around each other, but you can tell from the photo that none of them were particularly comfortable. Ours was never a "huggy" family, and this photo of the Hartman boys clearly shows this. But I love the photo more since it illustrates that very fact.

Thanks for your time!

Happy Birthday, Jack Kirby! ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Jack Kirby, one of comic books' true gods, would have been 96 years old today, if he hadn't left us back in 1994. But the amazing artwork the man gave us will be ours forever.

I'm going to shut up in a minute and just throw a random sampling of stuff at you, fellow babies... "Stuff" from the King. "Stuff" that shows the power in the man's work. And forgive me if I've left out some -- or all -- of your favorite characters! The man created, co-created, and/or illustrated thousands!

Thanks for your time!

It's a Doozy! ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Are you old enough to remember when comic books featured ads like the one below?

Well, my writing partner, Skip Simpson, came up with an updated version. Hope you like it!

Click HERE for a larger version!

Thanks for your time!

The New Bedford Whaling Museum ~~ A "Sepia Saturday" Post

  

I'm ignoring this week's Sepia Saturday prompt, unfortunately, because I'm going to post the one I would have posted two weeks ago, if the library computer had cooperated with me. Make sense? No? Welcome to my world.

I've written a few posts about my love for Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. Mr. Melville (whose August 1st birthday just passed) wrote a story which I've loved since childhood. More -- much more -- on that here.

I've decided to make this a very short post. Therefore, instead of sepia photographs and long-winded explanations for same, I've chosen a handful of postcards as illustration. The following three were bought several years apart, during three successive visits to the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

This first one was somewhere in the mid-1960s, probably less than five years after that photo of the NBWM at the top of this post.

During my second visit to the museum, I decided to buy a second postcard. (And frankly, I'm amazed that I still have the first one after so many years!) This was somewhere in the early to mid-1990s.

My third postcard was purchased during the early years of this century.

And the following photo is how the New Bedford Whaling Museum looks today!

Thanks for your time!

"Is Petting Dangerous?" ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Today I'm gonna shut up and let someone else do the talking! Here's some advice for the teenage girl, from November 1952's Love Journal #16! Have fun!

Click HERE to see a larger version!

Don'tcha just love timely advice?

Thanks for your time!

The Story Behind the Cover! ~~ A "Comical Wednesday" Post

Love that cover. "We are not dead, we are alive... No one believes us!!" Well, if a bunch of shrunken heads told me they were alive, I'd take their word for it.

So, what's up with that cover? Well, to make a long story short, the cover above -- well, a better-looking copy of it -- was the image on a postcard sent to me by my British friend, News from Nowhere's Alan Burnett. So, in Alan's honor, I am going to do something a bit different for today's Comical Wednesday post and focus on a single comic book story!

Now then, from 1951's Mysterious Adventures #5 -- and courtesy of the highly-recommended website, Digital Comic Museum -- here's the story based on the cover... or the story that inspired the cover. (Take your pick.) I'll keep my own blatherings to a minimum.

Eternal life, somehow worse than death? Hmmm...

The story begins as a plane crashes in the South American jungle. David Murdstone is the sole survivor, but he is near death!

The natives bring David to their priestess, the "snake mother," Konocry.

The Pool of Eternity. Sounds ominous. Konocry is cautioned against using the pool to revive David, by the "old hag" -- Hey, the narration calls her that! -- Mala.

I like the way Konocry thinks!

But the other natives rush in and take Konocry away!

David's not thrilled with the idea of going alone into the jungle, even when the natives tell him he's immortal now!

Ouch! I'll bet that hurts! Don't you love all the torture and death in this kiddie comic book?

Anyway, David cuts Konocry down and plans to save her life!

Why did Mala's ghost show up for one panel only? Hey, why not?

The natives catch David and Konocry, and the chief is royally ticked off!

Uh-oh... Ever hear of the Jivaros...?

And so ends our tale. As an afterthought, I'd like to show you a sample of artist Lou Cameron's work (for Classics Illustrated) a few years later, when he was quite a bit better!

And thanks for your time!