Rock Flowers '72

Mattel cranked-out some super groovy toys for boys and girls in the 70's, and here we see them teaming up with Whitman to release Rock Flowers paper dolls based on the ultra fab fashion figures of the same name (click HERE to read more info about 'em; then see my all time favorite doll commercial HERE; and listen to a couple of the rockin' bubblegum 45's they came packaged with, just click HERE and HERE to kick-out some jams!) The paper dolls came with 3 of the Rock Flowers: Heather, Rosemary, and Lilac, plus an assortment of wild concert "costumes" --the back cover even doubles as a stage for them to perform upon! Print these scans on thick stock paper and just cut 'em out with scissors-- now you can have some Rockin' Flower power fun of your own!

American Oriental Cookery

"Quick, easy... and intriguing ways to add zest to your menus..." says the cover of American Oriental Cookery recipe guide, published in 1962, and courtesy of the kitchens of Chun King and Mazola Corn Oil. As you flip through the guide and marvel at some of the more exotic asian fare, you may also be scratching your head in wonder over the recipes for Sloppy Joes, garlic bread, French Dressing, and London Broil. What the heck does some of this have to do with "oriental cookery" you ask? The angle of this guide, of course, is to show you how to prepare in a more modern, Chinese cuisine way, and to cut down on the saturated fats in your diet. I wish I cared about stuff like that, because personally I find the tastiest part of this book to be the fabulous (though uncredited) illustrations throughout this 30 page collection! Here is just an appetizer :)

The Making of Phantasm

Exciting news lately for Phantasm phans like myself, as the original philm in the series is getting the Blu-Ray remaster treatment finally (the sequels are also getting full HD restorations), PLUS the long awaited 5th philm in the series, Phantasm: Ravager, is finally getting theatrically released later this year as well. Whew! Yes, this is definitely not just a dream! And seriously, now it's my turn to say "I've been waiting for you!" You can read everything about it HERE! And to celebrate this phantasmic news, we'll be time traveling back to the 70's and taking a look at where all of the eternal Tall Man's shape shifting, head drilling, body dwarfing, embalming terror started, from one of the very earliest articles that I can remember about the original classic, as featured in Fangoria #2 from 1979-- "BOYYYYY!!!"

Chuckle-Naps

The Napkins With a Smile! Yep, here's my boxset of provocative Chuckle-Naps, featuring adorable artwork and lots of looney limericks, gags, and semi-mirthy verses to wipe all over your dirty little mouths. I'm not sure when these originally came out, one online source says the 60's, but judging from the artwork, (in my humble opinion), these look a decade or two older. A fun set, with no manufacturer listed either-- they sure don't make napkins like they used to-- or chuckles!

Tell-Tale Comic Strip Balloons

As long as I have my MAD reprints out (see the Jack Davis hilarity of our last post HERE, --and scans this time are from the "SUPER MAD" paperback collection from 1979), let's dig into some additional side splitters written by Don Edwing, with illustrations by another all-time favorite artist of mine, the great Bob Clarke. So okay, the purpose of this excursion into the "True-to-Form Dept." is to probe cartoon characters' innermost thoughts and emotions-- but in the grand MAD scheme of things, to add a Freudian dimension to the stars of the strips! Very funny stuff.

(Originally presented in the July 1973 issue of MAD #160.)