Beautiful Balloons with Maggie Thompson - Saturday, December 06, 2008

As I wandered through Barnes & Noble a week ago, I stumbled over a paperback titled Stick to Drawing Comics, Monkey Brain! It's by Dilbert creator Scott Adams and it consists in large part of postings from his website blog. And it's my kind of humor and comedic insight -- which is, of course, not to say I agree with everything he says. But wow, he is so bang-on with so much and says it so well, that I can't believe I haven't seen at least some of it before via my wide range of acquaintances.

He points out in the pb introduction that there was an earlier, hardcover version -- which I'd also managed to miss. Agh! On the other hand, that very introduction says, "The paperback version of this book is superior to the hardbound version in several ways. First, if you plan to read it aloud, there's a good chance someone will yank it out of your hands and start beating you with it. That's when you really appreciate the softness.

"The paperback version costs less, it's lighter, and the material has a solid track record of not triggering epileptic seizures. But most important, this paperback version includes some new content."

In any case, some of the entries (and they're all brief: ideal for consuming with your eyes in much the way you consume grapes or Cheetos [your choice] with your mouth) focus on being a newspaper cartoonist. Several essays focus on Dilbert strips that had to be changed at the behest of the editors at United Media. One passage, for example, is titled "Comic Asses" and discusses the strip that ran Nov. 12, 2006 -- and Adams' original version -- and resolves itself in a list of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" comic-strip butts.

Not all the essays are comics-oriented. One, for example, begins with the information that it costs about $25,000 to keep one criminal in jail for a year -- going on to suggest converting a spare bedroom into a prison cell and charging the government $25,000 a year to house a convict there.

Just keep in mind one of his remarks: "I may be dumb, but I'm not dumb enough to express my true opinion about anything important. The one thing I've learned about freedom of expression is that you really ought to keep that sort of thing to yourself." Love it.

12/6/2008 1:06:13 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [0]

Cautious Editing
Posted by maggie

I note that the AP story on Forry's death includes the hesitant notation that he was "widely credited with coining the term 'sci fi.'"

That's what you write when you've been editing long enough to know that many claims to be the first or the biggest or the originator are not necessarily accurate. So when people say, "Forrest J Ackerman created the term 'sci fi,' based on wordplay involving the term 'hi fi,'" the cautious editor will hem and haw or simply back away to a statement that is factual enough: that Forry was credited with the term.

But take it from me (or from the Fancyclopedia II passage quoted earlier today): Forry Ackerman did coin the term "sci fi." Some people have never forgiven him for that.

(Oh, and Maggie Thompson coined the term "Done in One." Just thought I'd mention it, while I'm at it. Years ago. In the pages of CBG. When serials had become so integral to comics that issues containing a tale with beginning, middle, and end deserved special mention. Now you know two anecdotes about originating terms. Amaze your friends.)

12/6/2008 12:25:56 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [0]

Memories of Forry Ackerman, Nov. 24, 1916-Dec. 4, 2008
Posted by maggie

I first encountered Forry, who died Thursday, via my mother, science-fiction writer Betsy Curtis. I think he may have functioned as her agent at one point. In any case, they were long-time friends.

Though Mom and Dad must have hung out with Forry at science-fiction conventions and maintained longtime correspondence, my first interaction came when Forry asked my family whether they had any Walt Kelly comic books we could send to his friend who was a French SF fan who also loved Kelly’s work. So it was that I really internalized the "better to give than to receive" feeling for the first time, as Jean Linard became a dear friend: a man who spoke almost no English but who read and wrote a delicious mix of "normal" English and Pogoisms. And that was part of what made SF fandom – and Forry – so marvelous: friendship and influences in interactions with people who seldom, if ever, met. Such interactions had grown in the 1930s, before I was born, and were long established by the 1950s and 1960s, as I entered the world and conventions (in both senses) of fandom. And, of course, it was decades before the Internet brought the world what we in the world of SF took for granted.

In 1959, a fan named Dick Eney produced one of the major reference works of fandom, a fan project itself: Fancyclopedia II, an updating of an earlier reference. The complete text appears online.

Let me take you back that far to provide an increased appreciation of what Forry was half a century ago. Almost from the beginning, Forry was what was termed a BNF (Big Name Fan), though Forry himself (and such possible entries as 4SJ) didn’t merit a separate entry. But "Ackermanese" did. Because he was that influential Way Back When. Here’s some of the entry for that:

"The grammatical practices followed by Forrest J Ackerman and in part -- the degree varying from fan to fan -- by those in whom his example propagated. Several minor wars were fought over the question of its uses but the invention went on insidiously spreading till about the time of the Insurgent War in LA.

"The practice, tho not the name, was revived about 1954 as described under DEMOLISHISMS.

"Lapse of Ackermanese was not directly caused by the Blowup; it was abandoned by 4e himself, with the explanation that he was disgusted with a lot of things like this that he'd tried to popularize with slight success.

"Originally it was a radical form of simplifyd spelng, like 'U & I r to b praps th lst 2 men to go roketng to an xtra-galaktik planet wher a rekt ship is strandd'."

But here, in 1959, it targets one of Forry's legacies:

"SCI-FI (Ackerman) 4e is trying to popularize this expression as an equivalent for stf, i e a contraction for science-fiction. So far it has attached chiefly to several professional movie-fan magazines and other Hollywood-level stuff."

"Trying to popularize" is right. He popularized it by his creation of (and ongoing editorial control of) the Warren magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. While SF fans had known him for decades as one of its foremost fans, the larger world became acquainted with him via the fascination of a generation of boys who grew up captivated by monthly images of SF and fantasy pop culture both old and new. Forry was the oldest of the 12-year-olds whom he led, and he remained forever that obsessive 12-year-old. With the February 1958 issue (with publisher Jim Warren wearing a Frankenstein’s monster mask and accompanied by a curvaceous young woman), FMoF began years of inspiring young readers to seek out fantastic classics, especially those with vivid horror elements.

At the SF WorldCon in St. Louis in 1969 (1,534 attendees), Forry could be spotted as the tall man surrounded by a shoulder-high mob of young admirers, termed by the rest of us "Forry’s Little Monsters." He was their guru; make no mistake. When they grew up, so many of them became pop-culture professionals that his "sci-fi" coinage was embedded in the very field he’d chosen as his focus. For example, when Don and I met Stephen King on his book tour for (I think) The Dead Zone, the conversation turned to Forry, and we suddenly realized that King might have been one of that herd of Little Monsters; he cheerily confirmed our suspicions.

Forry made his home a tourist treat for friends and young admirers. I recall a conversation in which he told of his discovery that his precious Dracula ring had disappeared. He delightedly told of solving the mystery -- and the social problem -- by contacting the suspected thief to say, simply, "Give me a ring." And it was returned immediately.

Forry was never able to accomplish one of his goals: to be supported financially forever as the lifelong custodian of a museum comprising his collection of memorabilia. But he gave us a word -- and a legacy of a strengthened genre of pop culture that continues to bring goosebumps to the world.

12/6/2008 10:50:18 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [0]

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Shel Dorf Is Ill
Posted by maggie

So it's been a full month since I last posted anything here, and I apologize; life gets in the way sometimes. And it's doubly sad that it took this news to get me back to the CBGXtra keyboard.

Mark Evanier posted (and I finally got a chance to check out his blog) recently that one of the most vital instigators of the annual comics convention in San Diego has been hospitalized since April! It seems Tom Spurgeon, who doesn't know Shel, posted the news with Shel's address there.

Thanks to Tom -- with an added guilt trip that I hadn't been paying enough attention on my own to learn this. In CBG #1649, my Beautiful Balloons column discussed some of the history of what is today Comic-Con International: San Diego -- so I'd already begun hoping to catch up with the man who was so instrumental in its formation. The first time Don and I went to the event was at his instigation -- in 1976 -- where we received (also, I bet, at his instigation, at least in part) an Inkpot for our fannish activities.

Seriously, if you've ever enjoyed the San Diego show, now's the time to thank Shel for his part in bringing it to us. He wasn't alone in the project; no one person could have done it alone. But, by golly, its formation and early growth owed much to Shel. (And let's not forget the dozens of excellent interviews he provided to CBG and its predecessor publication over the years.)

12/4/2008 1:55:16 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [1]

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Next Barnaby 48 Years Ago Today
Posted by maggie

I'm not going to keep this up for long, but wouldn't it be great to get this on a daily basis? Or in a book? Or (better yet) the original run printed large -- in a book?

11/4/2008 11:53:46 AM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [3]

Monday, November 03, 2008

The Revamped Barnaby by Crockett Johnson
Posted by maggie

Another basement find was a scrapbook which we may actually have put together ourselves. It contains the version of his Barnaby strip that Crockett Johnson (penname of David Leisk (1906-1975) put together as a revival of the strip he'd created, written, and drawn from 1940 to 1946. The official Crockett Johnson website says the revival was written by Johnson and drawn by Warren Sattler. It also says the revival didn't last long.

Here are the opening two strips, followed by the sequence that began Nov. 1, 1960, continuing to the strip that ran 48 years ago today ...

While Barnaby could see Mr. O'Malley, events never put his Fairy Godfather within view of Barnaby's parents. Concerned over his fantasies, they finally sought help. They took Barnaby to an expert, who set up a test for the little boy:

11/3/2008 1:54:48 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [3]

Steve Canyon Data Found in Basement
Posted by maggie

This is sort of the way my life goes. After several weeks of working out the details, I'm having my furnace replaced with a heat pump system -- and (I hope) solving a matter of not having a second-floor air-return-vent thingy as part of the house's heating-and-cooling system. What this all means is that, in the quest for the greater good, I have to Move Things About. Again.

But the "again" part isn't as repetitious as some Moving Things About events have been. I discovered (as I unstacked boxes from the tops of other boxes) that some of the Things haven't been moved for years. And a few of the file drawers have quietly contained nice surprises, lurking there in wait for the Christmas-morning feeling of the "Wow! I didn't know I had that!" treat.

One item that awaited rediscovery was a Steve Canyon scrapbook. Don and I didn't make it; my guess is that we bought it from a second-hand dealer somewhere -- maybe even in a Salvation Army Store find. After all this time, I have no idea. While the strips have long since been reprinted, their previous owner included some tangential material -- and I haven't seen this particular clipping elsewhere.

Here, then, for your entertainment and edification:

11/3/2008 1:37:22 PM (Central Standard Time, UTC-06:00)

Comments [1]

Friday, October 31, 2008

Following up on My Halloween Post
Posted by maggie

About an hour ago, I received a phonecall from my brother (link on the left), to whom I'd sent packets of the four Halloween comics. He called to say that the comics seemed to be a success in his area (small-town New York State a couple of hours north of NYC). He said one child had initially reacted in doubt to the Peanuts comic, but the parent pointed out that the child had just watched the Peanuts Halloween show, and this was the comic book. And all was well. (More anecdotes at his site, if you link there now.)

10/31/2008 6:42:39 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Comics for Halloween 2008
Posted by maggie

For the second year in a row, a few comic-book companies have produced giveaway comics specifically as Halloween treats. Unless you frequented an area comics shop (and you should be doing that, of course), you may not be aware of the lovely little packets of comics to hand trick-or-treaters.

Here they are!

10/31/2008 4:55:30 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Where the Heck Has Maggie Been?
Posted by maggie

Yeah, my postings haven't exactly been a daily event recently -- AND tomorrow and Tuesday I'll be obsessed with wrapping up the next issue, so STILL no postings ...

But where I've been was much fun: the Friends of Old Time Radio convention in Newark. If you click on Paul Curtis' link to the left, you'll not only be able to see a bunch of public-domain comic-book stories, but also a few of his photos from this weekend's celebration of an art form that never died in England but that basically Went Away in America.

Among the countless delights was a performance by Chuck McCann (often referred to in Mark Evanier's blog -- also see the link to the left) as, almost simultaneously, the narrator of a Lone Ranger adventure AND Silver. IF the video I recorded turns out OK, I'll post a clip eventually: magnificent!

In the course of the weekend, daughter Valerie appeared in a re-creation of a lost Sam Spade episode (some sound effects by brother Paul) that may air later today on the NYC radio station WBAI. And Valerie and I appeared in a re-creation of a surviving Henry Aldrich episode. Whee! At some point, I'll try to post some clips of those, too. If you get a chance to attend an OTR convention, try it out. Seriously.

10/26/2008 1:09:12 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [0]

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Science and Invention
Posted by maggie

I love book sales. Big surprise, right? I finally joined the Association of University Women, which has -- over the years -- put on some of the very best book sales I've ever attended. So this was the first time I could help to put one together. This specific event has the following schedule:

Thursday Oct. 23, 2008 3-8 p.m.

Friday Oct. 24, 2008 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Saturday Oct. 25, 2008 9 a.m.-5 p.m. half-price day

Sunday Oct. 26, 2008 noon-3 p.m. "$5 per armload"

It's inside the Northland Mall in Appleton, Wis. But that's not my point.

You might want to Google "AAUW" plus "book" plus the name of a nearby city to see whether there's a similar sale scheduled for your area. Since some will already have ended this late in the year, it's a good idea to check it out every few months. But that's not my point.

What's my point? Well, I suggest you go in with your eyes open and your mind set to explore whatever it is you find there. Because what happened to me yesterday is that I walked by an opened box that had a bunch of old magazines sitting in it, and below you'll see three that were among them. Let me explain in advance:

Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967) is sometimes called "The Father of Modern Science Fiction." The annual Hugo Awards are named for him. He was also a radio pioneer and founded radio station WRNY. He founded the first magazine devoted exclusively to science fiction -- Amazing Stories -- with its first issue dated April 1926. (In fact, he founded the first six science-fiction magazines.) But before he created Amazing Stories, he injected SF concepts in some of his other work. He wrote the SF novel Ralph 124C41+ and he hired classic SF artist Frank R. Paul to illustrate material in magazines before Amazing Stories began.

And the three issues that were in that opened box were edited by Hugo Gernsback before Amazing Stories. The first below was the last of the three published and looks like a sort of Popular Science -- but it has some SF content (and even a letter from a reader complaining about the fiction). It was dated Dec 1925. The second below (May 1924) has a science-fictional thrust (and, I'd guess, a cover by Paul). The third (Aug 1924) clearly has extraterrestrial content. I pulled the three issues, since the highest price for the AAUW wasn't likely to be reached in a local book sale. And this week I'll start sending messages to possible sellers. In the meantime, enjoy. (And what looks like brown on the covers is actually a fifth ink: gold. Gernsback wrote, "THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE is symbolized by the golden cover OF SCIENCE & INVENTION, LOOK FOR THE GOLD COVER every month!")

10/18/2008 11:22:13 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Friday, October 10, 2008

What Do You Think about the Scans?
Posted by maggie

Now that my main scanning computer is no longer coughing blood (thanks again, Dan!), I think my scanning results of these old strips is improved. That is to say, you should actually be able to read the things. So should I rescan the already posted images and substitute better ones in the original postings? Should I, instead, post scans of different strips from the same series as entirely new posts? Should I just muddle my way ahead and not worry about what has come before?

Let me know.

10/10/2008 3:17:46 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)

Comments [2]

Free Updates

Navigation

Search

Archives

More Links