Walpurgisnacht is just around the corner, and as always, we prepare for it accordingly with weird and mysterious postings to celebrate said halfway point to Halloween! And looky here, the January 9th, 1926 issue of JUDGE magazine, (aka the "Mystery Number" special) is preposterously possessed with just what dastardly 'Ol Scratch himself hath ordered! So if a silly supernatural kick to the funny bone is what you crave, prepare yourself for a perfect peek into the pop culture keyhole of 1920's stage and screen, the who-dunits, ghost stories, spiritualism, politics, jazz music (!!!), romance, cars, cats, and more! Not to mention the awesome array of imaginative illustrative talent on hand here as well, in particular, Jefferson Machamer with his gorgeous stylized drawings and Hella handsome, spiraling lettering, --as also featured HERE via one of the more revealing "ADULTS ONLY!" posts in the AEET Archive!
The cartoon referencing "The Bat" is interesting-- they made a movie out of it with Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price...
ReplyDeleteWell, actually there have been 3 adaptations of The Bat, including a silent version from the 20's, and The Bat Whispers from 1930. The book is also excellent, I've read it twice.
ReplyDeleteI think I need some explanation about the Haunted House cartoon. Is it against medding intolerant Karens in general or something specific?
ReplyDeleteSo fun! Man I love those swirly Machamer S’s and double O’s
ReplyDeleteMachamer wrote and acted in a series of short comic films made by Educational Pictures, including Comic Artist's Home Life, Wanna Be a Model?, Cute Crime etc… this one is super fun:
Deletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ln3ND6T8gHM&pp=ygUSSmVmZmVyc29uIE1hY2hhbWVy
The one featuring Mary Roberts Rinehart has a Dr. Seuss look to it. Could that be his earliest work, or is it an illustrator I don't recognize?
ReplyDeleteIt’s by Gardner Rea… he had a variety of wild signature styles
DeleteYeah, that Jefferson Machamer cartoon is just lovely.
ReplyDeleteBut what really sent me today were the two R.B. Fullers. I was gobsmacked by the fully realized gothic castle interior for that simple trapdoor gag (the shocked pianist is my favorite part), only to be totally floored by the ghosts of car repair image later in the scroll. What a gorgeous piece of art that is.
Looking around online, I see that all of Fuller's full-page magazine comics (for too many titles to list here) were solid gold. Man, I never really liked Oaky Doaks--the art was right in my wheelhouse (which includes any artist who looks like they may have inspired Vaughn Bode)--but seemed to fall apart in the sequential storytelling aspect of things. I might have to go back and reevaluate,though. Even if single image gags are Fuller's strong suit, there's probably a lot more to learn from his strip than I've been giving it credit for.
Yes, Fuller is great. I’ve honestly never read much Oaky Doaks, but nearly every back issue of Judge and Ballyhoo that I own contains some great stuff by him. Maybe a Fuller post is due here sometime in the future.
DeleteOoh, that'd be great.
DeleteOut of nowhere, a possible slam on jazz? Or is that a slam on opera? Time leaves some of these cartoon inscrutable!
ReplyDelete