Primitive Pete vs. Hand Tools

The "ABC's of Hand Tools" was a booklet published for the Armed Forces of the United States in 1943, specifically for help in the training of mechanics in charge of servicing, maintenance, and repair of the equipment used in modern warfare. To make the booklet more fun and interesting, Walt Disney Productions was commissioned to supply the illustrations-- so enter Primitive Pete, the unsuspecting victim who shows us the wrong way to do things and the troubles which result from it. Seriously, is there anything more entertaining than watching someone maim themselves with deadly, inanimate objects?

"Boating is alot like marriage..."

...says an outboard enthusiast. "If you've never had experience with it, you won't believe anyone's description... and if you have, anything you might say is entirely inadequate." So begins the hilarious intro to this wildly fun, awesomely illustrated 30+ page guide published by the Outboard Boating Club of America in 1960. Covering the full A to Z spectrum of boating safety, from launching to fishing, to common sense and courtesy, today's choice selection of highlights from these pages get us back to the "safety theme" that I started last week (see car and home posts) before Scarlet O'Neil interrupted the program.

Tales of the Invisible: Grave of Greed 2

Here it is, the cleverly cruel climax to the first part of "Grave of Greed", from the August 1952 issue of Harvey Comics Hits #59, aka "Tales of the Invisible" --and now with more invisibility and Scarlet O'Neil too! I hope everyone enjoyed this story as much as the scary one I posted over at THOIA.

Tales of the Invisible: Grave of Greed

The second story from the August 1952 issue of Harvey Comics Hits #59, aka "Tales of the Invisible" is a bit light on the horror elements (as well as the Scarlet O'Neil!) but it's still an amazingly well written piece of double crossin', murderin' fun from Russell Stamm, an underrated comic mastermind who worked with Chester Gould on Dick Tracy before going solo and creating this series (see recent posts over at THOIA by clicking HERE!) And don't forget to come back in a few days for Part Two! (FYI: originally titled "The Case of the Boarding House Murder" and from the May 1949 issue of Black Cat #17.)

NEXT!

House of Blood!

In our last post we learned how to stay safe in our cars out on the road, so today let's pick up a few valuable pointers on how to keep our innocent looking home from murdering us to death, m'kay? I mean, we all know smoking in bed is a no-no, but did you also know that babies + sharp cutlery = a bad combination? Also, diving headfirst down the stairway is apparently not good for you either. And if you've been leaving Fido out of family night poison chats then think again, sir! Yes, this wonderfully illustrated Good Reading Rack Service pamphlet from 1958 just might save your life or something.

What Every Driver Must Know!

The nicely illustrated cars in our last post reminded me of the super cool stylized automobiles in this booklet given to beginner drivers in Michigan in 1958. Nearly 50 pages long, it's full of madcap people driving funny faced machines ranging from super cartoony to superbly realistic. A guidebook obviously designed to demonstrate that scary driving can also be fun for newbies (as long as you follow a few obvious rules of practical safety), here are some highlights: