Spinning My Wheels!

It's summer and for July I don't have any grand plans for posts. Rather I'm going to let the winds guide me and let my interests tumble along at their own speed. It's fun to have a focused theme but it's also a great deal of fun to lay back in a virtual hammock and just let things unfold as they will.

Destinations are fantastic, but so are tours, and imagine that at the Dojo in July we're on a grand tour together, not really knowing what's around the next bend. I have a few plans, but nothing set in stone and nothing I cannot change on a whim.

So things will just hum along in July, typically a hot and hazy month where I live. I'll check in everyday (hope you do too) and see what the day has wrought.

As for the Favorite Cover feature, I've always liked comic book covers that play with the illusion that they are what they are, a book. Covers in which characters appear to be breaking out or bursting out of the book itself have been a constant since the form first started. Look for some fun examples all this month. 

So check in and see. We might both be surprised by what we find and if you want more spinning illusions check this out.

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Giving Thanks!

The world according to the current crop of nabobs running for the president is a dangerous and frightening place. But it turns out that despite some scary headlines, it really isn't. We live in possibly the most peaceful time in world history. There are dangers for sure, and we have become incredibly adept, thanks to transformations in modern media, at detecting and monitoring even the most geographically and statistically remote threats, but by and large more people live lives of relative quiet. I for one am thankful for the relative peace in our times. I am grateful for a leader who refuses to be stampeded into yet one more short-sighted military incursion.

The economy continues to improve though sadly we still are subject to the naysayers who always speak of gloom and doom despite clear indicators that times continue to steadily get better, at least in the United States. Certainly too many still suffer from the outrageous events which years ago drove the world to the brink, and from policies which predate that dramatic downturn. But while I can properly feel sympathy for those adjusting to new circumstances, I don't want to forget to be grateful for what I have, though likely don't deserve. I've been lucky by and large, as has my family despite some real hardships in recent years. Gas prices are low and that's always good news during the holidays.

To listen to pundits, you might imagine we live in the apocalypse (not the zombie one either), a time of unprecedented suffering. We don't of course, that's all balderdash designed to scare and sway the unwary.  Technology continues to make medicine more and more a true miracle, which hopefully thanks to recent changes in public policy more folks have access to. The Affordable Care Act is working for many but has hit some snags and it will require some repair. But even if the worst develops and it fails on its own, it has forever changed the terms of the healthcare debate where no one defends the original system as the "best in the world" anymore, but realize that improvements must be made. You can no long "repeal" without "replacing" and that replacement has some specific requirements. We are better off regardless.

Today, of all days on my favorite holiday I want to be upbeat. Today I want to be thankful for what I have and for those around me in this land of plenty.

It could be worse. It really really could.

For your entertainment check out this vintage Blondie and Dagwood Thanksgiving sequence. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Up On A Rooftop!

Few things are funnier that Dagwood Bumstead trying to do domestic repairs. Whether it's saving a stray cat or fixing a stray shingle you can count on Blondie's devoted hubby to find a way to make it humorous.

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The King's Spanish!

The pair of delightful images above are two sides to the same comic, one in English and the other in Spanish. The comic prints the same material twice, like the covers once in English and again in Spanish making immediate comparison possible. It's a good way to absorb a little language you're not familiar with.

The comic used was originally published not by King Comics, but by Charlton when they had the license to the stable of characters. In fact a total of four Charlton comics get this bi-lingual King treatment. The Blondie comic was the third in that run.

The first was this Beetle Bailey comic. See a small scan of its Spanish reverse cover below.

And here is the Charlton original.

Popeye the Sailor was the second comic in the four-issue run.

I couldn't locate a really good scan of the Spanish-language reverse cover, but here is a small snapshot of all four of the comics.

And here is the Charlton original.

The fourth and final installment in this run was Hi and Lois.

A fun Spanish version on the reverse.

And the equally entertaining Charlton original.

King Comics did several of these educational comics during this period, often making use of the talents at Derby, Connecticut. Here is a look at a run of Popeye comics which I cherish produced by George Wildman and his team for school use. And here is look at another education-influenced run by King Comics.

I'd like to get all four of these dual language comics. I have a couple, but not all. They are gems.

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The Dagwood!

How many folks have a food named for them? Not many, but among that elite is most certainly the inestimable Dagwood Bumstead, who penchant for gigantic sandwiches has made his name literally a household item.

Here's a heaping helping of vintage Dagwood sandwich-themed covers.

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Top Five Reasons I Am Not At Comicon!

The Number 5 Reason I am not at Comicon  is that I am profoundly lazy, preferring the cool comforts of home to the suspect conditions found in many distant establishments of lodging.

The Number 4 Reason is that I hate to pack, always dreading that I will take too much or take too little. Best not to take anything at all and keep it safely stored within the deep recesses of my nice dark closet.

The Number 3 Reason is that I hate to travel, finding the rigors of the open road to be arduous and to be avoided unless a truly compelling reason such fire, flood, or friends in need  forces you to take up that challenge.

The Number 2 Reason is that I am extraordinarily thrifty (cheap), preferring to hoard what little cash and coin I do have for the small luxuries of life such as food, shelter and the occasional full-body massage. Some things need no explanation.  

But the Number 1 Reason I am not at Comicon is that I  abhor crowds (especially those filled with annoying cosplayers) no matter how august and assembly they might be. Large groups make me bristle and cause me to get irritable. You wouldn't like me when I'm irritable.

See you next year when I will once again not be at Comicon.

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