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wooodyguthrie · 1 year

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Phil Ochs : Interview on the Democratic National Convention

When Phil Ochs returned to New York from the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention he gave an interview to Izzy Young of the folklore center in Greenwich village.

Transcript by Mitch Abidor under the cut.

IZZY: This is the afternoon of Wednesday, Sept. 4, 1968, In Izzy Young’s apartment and I’m talking to Phil Ochs who has just come back from Chicago.

PHIL: Don’t shoot! Don’t hit me! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! We’re not in Lincoln Park.

IZZY: It seems you were about the only folksinger in Chicago. I mean, Judy Collins didn’t and Pete Seeger didn’t show up, and -

Phil: Peter and Mary showed up __

IZZY: Do you think there’s a good reason why a lot of singers didn’t show up?

PHIL: I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. I’m sure everybody was afraid. I was afraid. And it was sort of vogueish – the folk crowd has always been very much an in-vogue crowd, and it became very vogueish to attack the Yippie festival of life as a festival of death, and it gave them a good reason to stay away. It was almost a cycle: first the underground press ballyhooed the Yippie thing and then there was all this publicity and everybody put their name on the list. And then second thoughts cam in and people started to think, well, this is an exploitation of youth and they’re leading them to a slaughter, and besides they really didn’t want to go anyway. So everybody sort of mutually decide over a two month period – the underground press and the performers – that the whole thing was a shuck.

IZZY: You mean they decided not to go out of fear?

PHIL: I don’t know. That’s pretty strong language. They probably really thought it wasn’t a worthwhile project in terms of confrontation. There really hasn’t been that much involvement of folk people and rock people in the movement since the Civil Rights period except that one period where the anti-war action became in vogue and safe – you know, large numbers of people and all that publicity, and then they showed up.

IZZY: Do you think things are really becoming serious and the singers are afraid to face up to it?

PHIL: I think it’s become more and more like that, yeah. America is in desperate trouble, you know.

IZZY: well, how important is the underground press in all this?

PHIL: The underground press is a vital link. It’s a way to break the censorship of the establishment press, and that is very important. But the underground press is very skittish, too, very immature. But it’s a good thing.

IZZY: I heard there was a tremendous reaction to your singing in Chicago, that it went over very big.

PHIL: Yeah. (Laughs)

IZZY: They really wanted to hear music. But they didn’t have much of a chance. I heard that, in terms of rock music, that was impossible altogether. That was really squelched from the start.

PHIL: There was so much intimidation. On Sunday they tried to get a sound truck through, just for some local bands, and they couldn’t. Police blocked that. Some people were beat up; a guy I know was hit on the back of the head with handcuffs and they cut his head wide open. Anyway the songs I wrote, the political songs, are coming into vogue – I’ll use that word again. I think in ‘63 especially, at the Civil Rights apex, musical esthetics came together with politics, and it was good to be involved with both. And I think now the same thing is happening.

IZZY: where do you find politics mixing with esthetics now? What music groups?

PHIL: I mean just that certain historical movements come more to the fore than mere love of music, and they start to merge. And music becomes very important.

IZZY: can you give me some examples of groups that are that way today? How about Country Joe and the Fish

PHIL: Country Joe and the Fish is a definite example of that.

IZZY: Did you hear about them? I just saw in the Times that they were beaten up in a hotel.

PHIL: Yes, they were beaten up.

IZY: And they didn’t appear anywhere?

PHIL: No, and I understand Joe McDonald gave an interview to the press charging that the Yippies were irresponsible, which I thought very irresponsible on Joe’s part. It’s the kid of stuff that could be used by the Establishment. If people had been killed they would have used stuff like that against the protestors. It was a dangerous thing to do.

IZZY: About how many people were on the march altogether, would you say? The papers said about 15,000.

PHIL: It’s hard to gauge. But that’s a good count. A lot of the bravest people showed up. I mean they were people from around the country who really went through a major personal dilemma. Daley’s pre-convention terror tactics were a success in keeping out large numbers of people. For instance, his threats to set up large scale concentration camps. Daley issued many statements like that, very threatening statements, and these and come succeeded in keeping a lot of people away. But the people who did show up were the toughest, really, and the most dedicated. And a lot of great things happened in the middle of the terror of the police attacks. There was a definite spirit, a good spirit, unleashed in the streets. There was more coming together with Blacks, more than on any other march I’ve seen. A joining of Blacks and whites to resist mutual oppression. Especially in Lincoln Park.

IZZY: On television they kept calling these people – - they kept calling these people outsiders. You know, they’re Americans. How can you call somebody an outsider in his own country?

PHIL: yeah, well, the Chicagoans were unable to recognize that this was a national convention. They literally, psychologically couldn’t. They kept thinking, “This is our city, our convention. “ When it’s a national election they’re talking about. I’m really beginning to question the basic sanity of the American public. I think the public itself is just -- I think more and more politicians are really becoming pathological liars, and I think many members of the public are. I think the Daily News, Tribune poisoning that comes out is literally creating – and television, all the media are creating a really mentally ill, unbalanced public. And it’s significant. I think what happened in Chicago was the final death of democracy in America as we know it: the total, final takeover of the fascist military state – in one city, at least.

IZZY: Most people have no contact with the politicians who are selecting the nominees.

PHIL: well, in that sense, it was a major victory for the street people in terms of unmasking the facts. But still, basically, there’s been opportunities to deal with the convention system and come up with decent candidates; you know, the conventions did produce Adlai Stevenson and John Kennedy. But now, I can’t accept this election. I can’t see myself being loyal to a Nixon or a Humphrey administration. I don’t think there’s any choice. I think the final corruption has com home, the final – the ugliness and corruption of a South Vietnamese election which is a non-election has come to America, and now Americans are faced with a South Vietnamese election.

IZZY: Do you think there’ll be any results from this unmasking, from this education of the American people, so to speak? I mean, are they going to be more radical, eventually, because of it – the way some of the kids feel?

PHIL: I’m not sure; it’s definitely one process of radicalization and definitely another process of reaction against it.

IZZY: And the reaction against it is stronger.

PHIL: Yes, I’m afraid the reaction is stronger than the radicalization. And it seriously makes me wonder about the country. How much does this country have a right to exist at all, especially with the kind of power it has?

IZZY: I think the question always boils down to: can you change the country, or do you have to destroy the country?

PHIL: Yeah, right. I’ve always tried to hang onto the idea of saving the country, but at this point I could be persuaded to destroy it. For the first time I feel this way.

IZZY: I was with some girls from Germany yesterday, and they said, “You can talk to the Establishment people, you can be nice to these people.” And I said, “You can be nice to Jacqueline Kennedy all day long and present beautiful arguments to her, and then she’ll say no at the end of the day in very cultured language.” What I mean is that the people in control are not going to give up their mode of income, and that’s the only way the system can be changed. Did you come across any of that in the delegates there? I mean were there any delegates who showed an active support for the Yippies, the kids who want to change things?

PHIL: By the end some delegates were marching with the kids in the streets.

IZZY: You mean the Wisconsin delegation?

PHIL: Yes, and some New York people too.

IZZY: What about in the beginning?

PHIL: I’m sure there was mutual sympathy at the beginning. But they couldn’t show it. Chicago was just a total, absolute police state. A police state from top to bottom. I mean it was totally controlled and vicious.

IZZY: The police beat up about forty news people, and yet the news people on the radio and on television were on the side of Daley almost uniformly. In New York most of them later would say, “Well, Daley was just doing his job, taking orders from Johnson and Humphrey.” I heard your voice just for a moment one the radio. And you were the only person quoted among the folk singers. You said: “This was not Daley, this was Daley doing a job for Johnson and Humphrey.” Do you think McCarthy could have said more than he did?

PHIL: Yeah, you have to fault McCarthy for lack of dynamics and not being more outspoken. I mean it should have been summed up. There should have been a very literate and clear-cut case made against the police right there by a man of McCarthy’s stature.

IZZY: That didn’t happen.

PHIL: It happened in little bits. He and McGovern at different times spoke out. But there was nothing sustained, nothing up to the occasion. There was a defijnite lack of leadership on McCarthy’s part.

IZZY: Ted Kennedy could have said something.

PHIL: All these so-called liberals kept their mouths shut. They’re all still being good Germans, even up to today. I believe this election should be boycotted. It shouldn’t be taken seriously. That section of the middle class who went for McCarthy and Kennedy should somehow organize themselves and break away from loyalty to the present government. But it could be that the country is so diseased that it just can’t function on any kind of a decent level. T may be that the country has to be destroyed from without. That seems as likely as anything. All we’re getting is more and more repression.

IZZY: Wallace will get a lot of votes.

PHIL: Yeah, I think Wallace will get a huge amount of votes in this election.

IZZY: I think the liberal people will accept that too, now.

PHIL: probably, and when they do that’s the end. I really don’t know what to say. At a certain point, I’m going to become an enemy of the state. I’m not going to be an American any longer. I’m going to be an enemy of the Americans.

IZZY: Yeah. But how can you be an enemy of America in America? What can you do? Sabotage?

PHIL: No, not that. I might leave the country.

IZZY: I can’t see a guerrilla movement in America, actually, because the guerrilla movement, I think, would be destroyed. What other country could you go to?

PHIL: I might go back to Scotland.

IZZY: How can that help things in America?

PHIL: At a certain point you start losing interest in helping things in America.

IZZY: I’m also faced with the choice of leaving. I just got a letter from Africa and the writer says, “Gee, Izzy, I’m always thinking about what you’re saying, that the people who go to Canada aren’t helping people in America.” Phil, if you leave America, you’re making it harder for thousands of people that believe in you. You’re already more than an individual. You stand for an idea already, and you can’t just leave your followers behind.

PHIL: It’s not fair. (Laughs)

IZZY: Dylan doesn’t care. Judy Collins doesn’t care. Or they’d speak out openly. But you do care. And you do speak out openly.

PHIL: You can’t presume to say that Dylan and Collins don’t care. I’m sure they care.

IZZY: well, I feel that when a person has access to mass media and they keep quiet that means they don’t give a damn what’s happening to the people. In other words, getting Judy Collins on a TV spectacular doesn’t help the cause of freedom or peace or anything.

PHIL: it’s just that at this point America is an uncontrolled death machine. And since she failed in electoral politics to check that, it has to be checked in other ways. And one way would be a mass denial of manpower to its corporations. The extension of draft resistance: keep your body out of the Army; a” right, keep your body out of the college and out of the university. That is just preparing you for the corrupt corporation. Keep pulling people away from the establishment until it collapses.

IZZY: I don’t think it would collapse. If the intelligent people pull out the corporations would be happy.

PHIL: I’m not talking about intellectuals only. I’m talking about all the people who work for corporations.

IZZY: Well, they’re not leaving.

PHIL: No. I’m only looking for a way to get them to quit.

IZZY: I don’t think there is a way. These guys are getting their $15,000, their $20,000; they’ve got a taste of the honey and they want more.

PHIL: All right, then America I the rule of the devil. The devil has won.

IZZY: Is there any country where you see a possibility of human advancement?

PHIL: I think Mao could be the most important man in the world right now.

IZZY: Mao’s is one of the few Communist nations to criticize the Soviet Union for Czechoslovakia, whereas Castro went along with it.

PHIL: Which provided an incredible psychological blow to the left in America, which romantically almost equates Cuba and China. Which I still do. What is happening is that America is forcing the world into this kind of military protection. It’s the same thing; what the Chicago police did, and the kind of attitude that Mayor Daley has, is the same kind of thinking that was going on with John Foster Dulles. That policy forced Russia, more and more, into this protective position – this over-defensive position – which led to Czechoslovakia. You can trace Czechoslovakia to John Foster Dulles. And you can trace Mayor Daley and the Chicago police to the same kind of reaction.

IZZY: So Dubcek didn’t have a chance from the start, then?

PHIL: He had much less of a chance with a crazy America running around. You know, from the Russian point of view, America is a mad dog loose around the world. What it will lead to is lots more assassination; terror will start in Europe against American business. I mean America is buying Europe, America is completely buying Europe. Economic brutality, you know, comes before police brutality.

IZZY: I agree with you completely on that. I’ve been saying for two years – my friends say I’m crazy – that America is going to be destroyed from the outside, not from the inside.

PHIL: From both.

IZZY: When Bob Kennedy is killed by an Arab that shows how American imperialism has pervaded the whole world. Christian Arabs are one of the smallest minorities in the world; there are only a few hundred thousand of them – but if they get angry they can kill a Kennedy. That means almost anybody no could kill an American and get away with it.

PHIL: We’re helping every government towards hell. Maybe America is the final end of the Biblical prophecy: we’re all going to end up in fire this time. America represents the absolute rule of money, just absolute money controlling everything to the total detriment of humanity and morals. It’s not so much the rule of America as it is the rule of money. And the money happens to be in America. And that combination is eating away at everybody. It destroys the souls of everybody that it touches, beginning with the people in power.

IZZY: There’s one man, Mao, who is trying to change all that. He’s trying to change the character of the Chinese people in one generation; do you think he’ll succeed?

PHIL: It’s going to be very difficult. More importantly, Mao has rally succeeded in spreading an international revolutionary feeling. In his lifetime he physically transformed China and set the basis for a sensible world revolution. And in the years when he’s supposed to be retired or dead, he had managed to mentally psych out the world. You can trace a lot of what happened in Paris and what happened in Chicago to Mao Tse Tung and the Red Guards; the whole idea of transfer of power to youth and thereby salvaging the militancy of the Revolution. Which I happen to think is a very noble effort.

IZZY: Phil, while you’re saying all this I’m thinking of folk music ad how that can possibly fit into the way the future is going to be.

PHIL: well, by the use of brute force by America internally and on the world, resistance will have to be formed step by step. In music, things like the Newport Folk Festival will have to be radicalized.

IZZY: Yeah, but there was no radicalization in Newport this year.

PHIL: No, there wasn’t; there should have been.

IZZY: I man zero, and you had some supposedly left-wing people trying to run it as directors. This year they ran amuk with country-western singers who are for the war. When Roy Acuff got the humanitarian award they gave it to him for his many appearances for the troops overseas.

PHIL: yeah, well... As a middle-aged Jewish merchant in America, you are in trouble, Izzy. That’s all I can say.

IZZY: I hear that from other people.

PHIL: We’re all in trouble.

IZZY: How do you stay sane? How do you stay sane in America? That’s the problem I have; how can you actually stay sane?

PHIL: I don’t know. That’s what I think about right now. I’ve always felt a contact with political reality from 1960 to 1968. But after Chicago I’m totally disoriented. I’m disoriented because the time has come for guns, and I’m not personally ready for guns. America’s such a violent country. The American revolution is going to be ridiculously bloody.

IZZY: Do you see a resistance growing in America? Is that possible?

PHIL: I’m just not sure.

IZZY: I think other things are happening which illustrate what you’re talking about. There is a tremendous discontent among the workers, even though they’re getting supposedly higher salaries. They’re not happy at all. And the next step would be for the workers to try and understand why they are not happy. It’s not so much that they have bad working hours or low wages. It’s just that they are not part of anything. I think the worker knows it but he hasn’t formulated what to do about it. In other words the workers hate the Kennedys and they hate the Melons [sic] and the Rockefellers, but they’re still afraid even to say it openly. They see the advertisements on TV and in the subway: travel to beautiful Bermuda. But now they’re beginning to realize they can’t go to Bermuda, you know – fly to Hawaii and all that stuff.

PHIL: I disagree with you. Part of the problem is that a lot of them can vacation in Bermuda. This part of the problem is the entrenching of the working class’s right wing by the bosses giving them an extra amount of money, which is what Hitler did, and what’s going on in America right now. And that’s the most dangerous aspect.

IZZY: Do you see any rebellion among the managerial class?

PHIL: I do see more sign of discontent from the managerial class -much more.

IZZY: How do you see it? How is it showing? What’s the visible form of it?

PHIL: The visible form was people like me participating in the McCarthy/Kennedy drive. I saw how elements of the middle class and the upper-middle class could be brought out in large numbers and contribute large sums of money to try to get a basic change in American policy. That’s the major fact that was overlooked in the Chicago convention. It had already been clearly shown that the American public would get behind decent candidates. Most of those people who came out were from the managerial class.

IZZY: Do you think they could force McCarthy to go on a fourth ticket?

PHIL: If McCarthy had the right personality, yes. But I think he’s too much a member of the democratic Establishment himself to make that break. We still need a Kennedy.

IZZY: I’ve always disagreed with you on a Kennedy.

PHIL: I know you have. But I still think that way.

IZZY: I don’t, because I feel that a man like that can’t help the people unless he changes the mode of his own income. He has to give the example. He can’t keep taking a dollar from every bottle of whiskey coming from England to America. He has to work for his living, and until he does I don’t believe a man like that can possibly change anything. I mean, I wonder why they kill only the Kennedys. Many of the rulers of this country lounge around on inherited wealth.

PHIL: The Kennedys went out of their way to flirt with the American public, and the American public is totally infatuated with death. Anybody who flirts with the American public is taking a chance with their life...

IZZY: Do you feel that wiping out McCarthy wiped you out, too?

PHIL: It wiped out that part of me that was interested in electoral politics. But I do feel frustrated all around.

IZZY: Yeah, we still have the same problem.

PHIL: Yes. And that problem is can America be saved. And for the first time in eight years I question whether it can. I think it’s quite possible the country is so far gone and decayed that there may be no way left to save it, and that the only logical course for the progress of mankind is the destruction of America.

IZZY: America has pushed everybody to the edge of the cliff. It’s forcing people to make this kind of decision: shall I enjoy what’s left of my life and forget everyone else, or should I devote myself to working for a better world. If you can’t do either then you just have to leave. And if you leave, you get the inevitable feeling that you’re copping out.

PHIL: Well, I may cop out. But the basic thing I feel is that there’s going to be death and destruction as far ahead as one can see now. That’s all I can possibly see.

IZZY: I can see that if I continue my radio program and give concerts and put out my newsletter then I’m going to be shot, or I’ll have to shoot somebody else. But I still can’t imagine coming to that point.

PHIL: I can see it happening to you. Our only hope is the emergence of a politically tempered international youth movement which will involve itself in international revolution.

IZZY: How do you feel that writing songs can help such a movement?

PHIL: I’m not so sure that they can. The radical German students think that it’s past that stage. The songs themselves aren’t enough obviously. The songs are an adjunct to the movement, essentially, which is why the Chicago experience was really interesting for me. Let me explain: there the songs were being used in a totally non-professional, non-show business, non-paying, non-staged situation. It was an integral part of the movement while things were happening, and therefore the words and music had their greatest possible effect...

I’ve got to go. Thanks a lot, Izzy. It was nice being here on this September day, in this rotting country.

IZZY: One more question, Phil. Do you think Dylan is a secret revolutionary? In other words, he’s reaching more people and changing their minds without them realizing it. A sort of subliminal revolutionary.

PHIL: I think it’s possible. It’s possible for any writer, depending on the quality of his work, to function in that way. Brecht faced it as a responsibility. He said to himself, here I am, a writer, and I can write things that can change peoples’ minds therefore do I belong in the street getting my skull cracked which may damage my writing, or should I stay out of the way of the charging police and create my plays? Where is the primary responsibility? To me, Phil Ochs, the answer is obvious.

IZZY: Anyone who has any control in the mass media has a responsibility to speak out, both as an artist doing his or her work, and separately as an individual. Definitely, the case now is that most people won’t speak out anymore.

PHIL: But there are always those artists that function outside the active realm of politics.

IZZY: I prefer the example of William Blake, who dreamt of Jerusalem and heaven and hell; but when Tom Paine was in England and I was dangerous to harbour him, William Blake was hiding him in his own home. So William Blake knew what was going on politically even though he had his own private world as a mystic poet.

PHIL: If you’d been around at that time, you’d probably have condemned Blake for not issuing a statement to the London Times about what was wrong with the King’s politics.

IZZY: Oh, no. That wouldn’t have been necessary. Blake went on one of the few marches of the century against the King. And that was a very dangerous thing to do. But it was his way of speaking out. He believed in his vision and the only way he could protect his vision was by fighting for it.

#links #history #musicians #phil ochs #izzy young #nyc folklore center #1968 democratic national convention

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citizenscreen · 1 year

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Elvis Presley and Katy Jurado in Peter Tewksbury’s STAY AWAY, JOE (1968) coming up on #TCM #SummerUnderTheStars

#elvis presley #katy jurado

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vintage-leisure · 2 years

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Joe Lightcloud works his charm on Glenda Callahan

Charming idiocy marks Presley's 1968 film Stay Away, Joe.

Also starring Joan Blondell, Burgess Meredith, Katy Jurado & L.Q. Jones.

#elvis presley #joan blondell #Elvis #elvis fans #Elvis the King #Elvis Photos #elvis week #coming soon

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scotianostra · 2 years

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youtube

On January 4th 2011 Scotland lost one of it’s most talented singer songwriters Gerry Rafferty.

Rafferty was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1947, the son of a Scottish mother and an Irish father. His father was deaf but still enjoyed singing, mostly Irish rebel songs, and his early experience of music was a combination of Catholic hymns, traditional folk music, and 50’s pop music.

By 1968, at age 21, Rafferty was a singer-guitarist and had started trying to write songs professionally, and was looking for a gig of his own. Enter Billy Connolly, late of Scottish bands like the Skillet-Lickers and the Acme Brush Company. Connelly was a musician and comedian, Billy was already making a name for himself with Tam Harvey in the guise of the duo The Humblebums, after playing a show in Paisley, Rafferty approached Connelly about auditioning some of the songs he’d written. Billy Connolly was impressed not only with the songs but with their author, and suddenly the Humblebums were a trio.

The Humblebums were a success touring in Scotland and the University circuit down south but Rafferty began develop a distinctive style as a singer-guitarist and songwriter, and this eventually led to tension between him and Harvey-the latter exited in 1970, the group continued for another year before Rafferty noticed that Connelly’s jokes were taking up more time in their concerts than the music he was writing. They parted company in 1971.

Rafferty then joined forces with his old school pal Joe Egan forming Stealers Wheel, the band were beset with legal difficulties from day one and despite the success of the single Stuck In The Middle With You nothing after else clicked commercially, and by 1975 the group was history. Gerry’s legal wrangling continued for three years until in 78 he was able to release his solo music and the excellent City To City album. The album surprisingly only reached number six here but number one in the US Billboard Charts.

The song Baker Street reached three in the charts in the British charts and spent six weeks at number six in America. Barbara Dickson provided backing vocals on the album. Night Owl followed up City To City, I think it was a better album than his first but Rafferty hated touring and this affected sales, it only reached number nine here and 29 in the states.

He continued to record but the hits dried up perhaps due to his difficulties in battling alcohol abuse, after the death of his brother Joe in 1995 it worsened. Conflicting newspaper reports had him living everywhere from Tuscany in Italy to Southern England and Ireland, at one stage he was staying at a London Hotel but during one four day binge he was asked to leave, he then booked into St Thomas’ Hospital suffering from a chronic liver condition, brought on by his heavy drinking.

Two years later he was again admitted to hospital, this time the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, upon admission he was put on life support and treated for multiple organ failure.

He rallied for a short time and it seemed he might make it but died at his daughter Martha’s home in Stroud, Gloucestershire, on this day in 2011 of liver failure.

Rafferty never reached his true potential but left us with enough songs to show us a great talent, the song I have chosen is When I Rest which may not be as famous as some of his work, but I like, it was the B side of Sleepwalking.

When I rest When I lay down I got to call on you.

When I sleep When I don't wake up I got to call on you.

Don't let me hide, Don't take away me pride Remind me of everything that I don't wanna know Speak to my heart Help me make a start Don't leave me out here with nowhere to go.

When I'm lost When I'm blind I got to call on you.

When I cry When I break right down I got to call on you.

Don't leave me blind, don't leave me behind Don't leave me here to dream my life away I'm out in the rain And this world's insane Don't leave me here to waste another day.

#scotland #scottish #paisky #musician #singersongwriter #rip #Youtube

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hooked-on-elvis · 4 months

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ELVIS PRESLEY in "STAY AWAY JOE" (1968)

#elvis presley #elvis #elvis the king #elvis fandom #elvis fans #elvis history #60s elvis #1968 #filmed in 1967 #stay away joe

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csajokamotoron · 6 months

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Az egyedi "Elvis Presley" Triumph és a hozzá illő gitár - 20 000 dollárért kelt el az Elvis Presley Jótékonysági Alapítvány javára

Az árverésre bocsájtott motorkerékpárt, egy vadonatúj T120-as csúcsmodellt, a díjnyertes J Daar egyedi formatervező tervezte, és az eredeti "Memphis Maffia" Triumphok és az 1968-as Stay Away, Joe című filmben szereplő Bonneville Desert Sled ihlette. Emellett Elvis ikonikus 1968-as Comeback Special megjelenése is hatással volt rá, vörös, ezüst és arany színekben. A Bonhams|Cars február 29-i, Amelia Island-i árverésén 20 000 dollárért kelt el az egyedi "Elvis Presley" Triumph Bonneville motorkerékpár és a hozzá tartozó Gibson Les Paul gitár. Az árverés az Elvis Presley Jótékonysági Alapítványt támogatta, amely Elvis nagylelkű örökségét számos jótékony cél támogatásával folytatja. A motorkerékpárt a 2023-as Barber Vintage Festivalon mutatták be Birminghamben, Alabamában, és azóta a Presley Motors Automobile Museumban, Gracelandben látható. A legendás zenész és kulturális ikon híresen szenvedélyesen szerette a motorozást. Elvis 1965-ben ismerkedett meg a Triumph motorkerékpárokkal, amikor a forgatások szünetében a "Memphis Maffia" néven ismert legközelebbi barátaival töltötte az idejét Bel Air-i otthonában. Barátja, Jerry Schilling rendelt egy új Triumph T120 Bonneville-t, és Elvis elvitte egy körre a környéken. Elvis le volt nyűgözve, és amikor visszatért, azt mondta a szállítási menedzserének, Alan Fortisnak, hogy "rendeljen egyet az összes srácnak, de… ma este kell!". A Bill Robertson & Sons motorkerékpár-kereskedőnek még aznap este hét Triumphot sikerült leszállítania, és Elvis és barátai késő estig együtt motoroztak Bel Air körül, és csak akkor álltak meg, amikor a szomszédok panaszt tettek a rendőrségen. A Gibson által adományozott, hozzáillő Les Paul gitárt J Daar művész személyre szabta, és a motorkerékpárral együtt eladásra kínálták. A gitárválasztást Elvis nagylelkűségének egy másik példája ihlette: amikor a '68-as Comeback Special próbáin játszott, Elvis egy Les Paulon játszott, amelyet aztán a szakácsának ajándékozott. https://csajokamotoron.hu/a-bokezu-elvis-presley-es-a-triumph-motorkerekparok/ "Ez a tétel egyértelműen hatalmas sikert aratott az Elvis- és a motorkerékpár-rajongók körében, és fantasztikus összeget gyűjtött jó célokra" - mondta Paul Stroud, a Triumph Motorcycles kereskedelmi igazgatója. "A T120-as és a Gibson gitár megjelenése - J Daar egyedi tervezésével - annyira jellegzetesnek tűnik, és csodálatos tisztelgés a legenda előtt." Dana Carpenter, az Elvis Presley Enterprises tulajdonosa, az Authentic Brands Group szórakoztatóipari ügyvezető alelnöke hozzátette: "Izgatottak vagyunk, hogy egy olyan ikonikus márkával, mint a Triumph, együttműködhetünk, hogy életre keltsük ezt az egyedi Bonneville T120-ast, miközben Elvis egyik kedvenc jótékonysági szervezetének javát szolgáljuk. A Gibson barátaink nagylelkűsége, akik egy hozzá illő egyedi Les Paul gitárral járulnak hozzá, tovább erősíti a nagylelkűség és a közösség örökségét, amelyet Elvis Presley képviselt." Read the full article

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sbknews · 1 year

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A Motorcycle myth confirmed - Elvis Presley and Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph Motorcycles has uncovered the truth behind a famous motorcycle myth – that Elvis Presley gave an extraordinary biker gift to every member of his Memphis Mafia in 1965. With the discovery of the original cheques in the Graceland archives, signed by the man himself, as well as recollections from Jerry Shilling, Elvis’ close friend, it can be confirmed that Elvis bought nine Triumph motorcycles as gifts, so he and his closest friends could ride together in the hills of Los Angeles.

THE STORY Elvis Presley is an enduring music legend and a cultural icon. The best-selling solo artist in history and a genuine movie star, making 31 films during his career in Hollywood. He was also a passionate biker, riding bikes in several of his films including a red and silver Triumph 650 Bonneville ‘Desert Sled’ in the 1968 comedy western “Stay Away Joe”. But, Elvis’ introduction to Triumph motorcycles came several years earlier, with this story, which is as rock and roll as the man himself. In June 1965, Elvis had been on the set of the musical ‘Frankie and Johnny’ at Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Hollywood. Taking a break from filming, Elvis spent his down time with his closest friends, known as ‘The Memphis Mafia’ at his Bel Air home.

Jerry Schilling, Elvis’ friend and member of his famous ‘Memphis Mafia’, put a down payment on a new Triumph T120 650 Bonneville at Robertson & Sons on Santa Monica Boulevard. When he brought the bike home, Elvis asked to take it for a ride around the Bel Air neighbourhood. Jerry, of course, obliged and Elvis jumped on the bike. He was impressed, in fact when he returned, he told his transportation manager, Alan Fortis, to “order one for all the guys, but… it has to be tonight!” Robertson & Sons managed to deliver seven Triumphs that night, a mixture of 650 TR6’s and the high-performance, twin-carburetted 650 T120’s. They rode together around Bel Air, riding late into the evening, only stopping when neighbours called the police to complain. The remaining bikes arrived two days later and the nine of them made sure they made the most of down time from filming, riding the Pacific Coast Highway together on Sundays. Jerry Shilling, a close friend of Elvis recalls: “Elvis loved to ride and I knew that when he saw my new Bonneville he’d want to try it...and when he did, he wanted all the guys to have one so we could ride them together!”

THE 1964 TRIUMPH 650 TR6 AND BONNEVILLE T120 The bikes that Elvis bought are considered most likely to be 1964 models of Triumph’s game-changing performance roadster, the 650 TR6 and 650 Bonneville T120 – essentially the same bike with one or two carburettors and different states of tune. The ’64 Bonneville came in the sophisticated Gold and Alaskan White and the TR6 in the distinctive ‘Hifi Scarlet and Silver Sheen’ with gold pinstriping, black frame and forks. Named after Triumph’s multiple land speed records at the Bonneville salt flats, the Bonneville T120 is recognised across the motorcycling world as a genuine design icon, responsible for establishing Triumph as number one in the 60s for performance, handling and style and the 1964 US-spec ‘Bonnie’, with its higher bars is considered a classic.

HELP FIND THE MEMPHIS MAFIA TRIUMPHS All nine of the original bikes are currently lost to time, with no formal record of where they went after the summer of ’65. Triumph is now launching an appeal to fans around the world to help track down or uncover the fate of these bikes. Triumph’s researchers are keen to hear from anyone who has a lead on what happened to one of these bikes, or perhaps a last known location. With the collective eyes of the Triumph and Elvis communities on the look-out, it is hoped that one of these historic bikes will one day come to light and make history by being placed on display alongside other historic Triumphs. If you have any information related to the whereabouts of one of these historic bikes, please contact Triumph at [email protected].

A ONE-OF-A-KIND ‘ELVIS PRESLEY’ CUSTOM TRIUMPH MOTORCYCLE AND MATCHING GIBSON LES PAUL GUITAR The discovery of this great story has filled in a gap in the history books and added a new, previously untold chapter to Triumph’s own story. In celebration of this newly uncovered shared history between two iconic and enduring brands, Triumph and Elvis Presley Enterprises have commissioned a one-of-a-kind custom motorcycle to raise money for a very worthy cause. This custom Bonneville, based on a brand-new T120 model, features a custom design scheme by award-winning Georgian custom artist J Daar and is inspired by the 1964 Memphis Mafia bikes and 1968 Stay Away Joe Desert Sled, as well as being influenced by Elvis’ most iconic 1968 Comeback Special look. The design features gold block lettering, representing Elvis’ name written in lights, as well as silhouettes on a red background, echoing the set design of his most famous ’68 Comeback Special performance. The bike was unveiled by Triumph USA Marketing Director, Adam VanderVeen, at the 2023 Barber vintage motorcycle Festival in Birmingham Alabama, where it was on display on the ‘Isle of Triumph’ alongside a host of historic Triumph motorcycles. These included an original 1964 Bonneville T120 in the same gold colour scheme as several of the bikes purchased by Elvis, which was entered into the VAHNA Motorcycle Show by owner Laura Langham. Speaking at the show, custom motorcycle artist J Daar said: “I was honoured to pull the sheet off this amazing motorcycle. Tribute bikes are always special, but an homage to The King is one of the coolest projects I’ve worked on. This bike is something the new owner can be incredibly proud to have in their garage. Not only is it a unique design celebrating a great story, but it’s also a great way to raise money for such a worthy cause.” Also on display at Barber Fest was a Les Paul guitar with a temporary custom wrap designed to complement the one-off Bonneville T120. The Les Paul, donated by Gibson, will also be painted by artist J Daar and is to be auctioned along with the motorcycle. The choice of guitar was inspired by another instance of Elvis’ generosity; when rehearsing for the ’68 Comeback Special, Elvis played a Les Paul, which he then gifted to his chef. The design adopts the same red, silver and gold scheme as the motorcycle, as well as the prominent Elvis graphic featured on the fuel tank and side panels, and incorporates silhouettes of The King around the body, inspired by his iconic ‘’68 Comeback Special’ look.

Beth Heidt, Chief Marketing Officer for Gibson commented: “We have had the honour of working in partnership with the Elvis team to celebrate his legacy over many years, so when we heard that our friends at Graceland and Triumph were working together on a custom motorcycle to raise awareness and funds for a good cause, we wanted to join in honouring Elvis’ spirit of generosity – and similar to what we did with our ’59 Legends Collection in support of The 2022 Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride, this customized Gibson Les Paul model pairs perfectly with the amazing design scheme of the bike.” “We are excited to be partnering with an iconic brand like Triumph to bring this one-of-a-kind custom Bonneville T120 to life while benefitting one of Elvis’ favorite charities, Goodwill Homes Community Services in Memphis,” says Dana Carpenter, Executive Vice President, Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises. “The added generosity of our friends at Gibson for contributing a matching custom Les Paul guitar, strengthens the legacy of generosity and community that Elvis Presley stood for.” This custom Bonneville T120 motorcycle and matching Gibson Les Paul guitar have been donated to the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation to raise money for one of Elvis' favourite charities, Goodwill Homes, a Memphis facility that provides counselling and services for abused children and their families. More details about the auction will be available soon at Graceland.com Read the full article

#ElvisPresley #ForTheRide #MotorcycleNews #OfficialTriumph #PoweredByTriumph #Triumph #TriumphMotorcycles #TriumphUK

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eptodaytommorowforever · 1 year

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It’s A Well Known Fact By All Elvis Presley Fans Followers Collectors Etc... He Loved To Have Fun On Is Movie Sets As Here He Is Wearing A Pair Of Glasses Here And Laughing That Incredible Laugh That He Has And Had On Location In Arizona Filming Stay Away Joe For MGM Here In 1968 Her Own Rare Candid Photo Taken Here By A SuperFan A Friend As Well Who Was Allowed And Given Permission. by Elvis Presley To Visit Him On The Movie Sets Himself Miss Cricket Coulter

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daydreamerdrew · 2 years

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Comics read this past week:

Marvel Comics:

Iron Man (1968) #23-27

In this batch of Iron Man solo comics I went from December 1969 to April 1970. All of these issues were written by Archie Goodwin. Issue #23 was penciled by George Tuska and inked by Joe Gaudioso. Issues #24-25 were penciled by Johnny Criag, the former by inked by George Tuska and the latter by Sam Grainger. And issues #26-27 were penciled by Don Heck and inked by Johnny Craig. Don Heck was the Iron Man artist before Gene Colan and I had really enjoyed his work so I was glad to see him return here and hope he stays on the book for another while.

Tony's on-and-off-again love interest Janice Cord, who he had been attempting to rekindle his relationship with after his experimental heart transplant, died back in issue #22. I've thought about it and I am actually ok with this decision, because I do think what could be done with her character was largely played out unless they were willing to give her more wider range of possible reactions to Tony's behavior, because I think she had experienced with Tony throughout their on-and-off-again relationship the extent to which he was going to be doing. In issue #24 Tony is shown to be gambling (all of the winnings donated to charity, of course) and hanging out with women before dejectedly leaving the casino because he finds that rather than helping him getting over Janice, the playboy shtick is making him feel her loss even more. He even questions whether or not his reason for pushing her away in the first place, that it wasn't fair to her because of his weak heart meaning that he could die at any time, during which time he had been playing up the playboy stuff, was only "a hollow excuse that kept me and Janice from happiness… until it was too late!?" I thought that this was really interesting because Tony enjoying or not enjoying being a playboy and Tony pushing away women he would be interested in a serious relationship with were it not for his weak heart is nothing new, but he's never questioned before whether or not his heart problems are actually just an excuse to avoid a serious relationship. I would really like to see this explored more and see why he would avoiding a relationship.

In issue #23 there's a brief scene before Tony leaves to go on a trip to try to get over Janice where Jasper Sitwell, whose love interest Whitney Frost turned out to be a villain and then left him, tries to commiserate with Tony, not yet knowing that Tony and Whitney actually had a brief romance themselves back in issue #19. Jasper learns about Tony and Whitney's romance in issue #24 and intends to track her down, though it's left clear if this is simply business as part of his duties as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to capture a criminal or if it's because of jealousy. Because of this Tony tries to track down Whitney first to give her a warning. But Jasper ends up finding Whitney just as she was about to be hurt and attempts to rescue her. The issue ends with Whitney going on her way, saying that "Tony Stark gave me confidence… And now Jasper's given me hope! And the only way I'll feel worthy of either… is to prove they weren't given in vain!" Her saying that Tony gave her confidence is referring to him having been attracted to her and so still considering her to still be a woman when she had been doubting that because of her injuries, and her saying that Jasper gave her hope is referring to him trying to save her because he really loved her in despite of her crimes and facial disfigurement. I know that this character says a villain because I'm aware of her being one in modern comics, but I don't know how she goes from here to there, because here I don't really see why she would stay a villain unless her facial disfigurement ends up acting as a barrier to reentering normal life. As her whole story is that she didn't initially want to become a villain but did so when she thought that she didn't have any other choice, and then wanting to stop being a villain but didn't because she didn't think she had any way out of it at that point, and then became disfigured and so really thought that is wasn't possible for her to leave that criminal life.

Also in issue #23, there's a scene where a villain absorbs all of the current from the Iron Man armor, which before Tony's experimental heart transplant would have meant that the chest plate powering Tony's heart would have lost power, causing a heart attack. But here instead it's that the difficulty of moving while in the unpowered armor to try to get to a power source puts strain on Tony's heart which he fears will cause his body to reject the experimental transplant. I haven't yet been completely sold on the storytelling potential of this change to the character in comparison to all the dramatics that the need to keep the chest plate charged to power his heart had, but I do really like that here it was brought up and used to create an issue during a fight.

While the story wasn't particularly interesting to me, I really liked that issue #26 featured Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan as major characters and I am hoping for them to become Tony's employees again and so frequently recurring characters in his comics. Also issue #27 featured the character Eddie March, who was Tony's brief replacement as Iron Man after Tony's heart transplant when he was considering that he could now maybe live a normal life, which was decided against and his commitment to being Iron Man was affirmed when Eddie had his own health issues while wearing using suit. I wasn't sure whether not or not that was going to be the extent of his role in Tony's comics, and even now I'm not sure if this is it or if he'll appear again, but I liked that he was brought back as Tony tries to have him work for him in another way.

The Avengers (1963) #6-13

In this batch of Avengers issues I went from May 1964 to December 1964. Stan Lee wrote all of these issues. Issues #6-8 were penciled by Jack Kirby and of these issues #6-7 were inked by Chic Stone and issue #8 was inked by Dick Ayers. And issues #9-13 were penciled by Don Heck and of these issues #9-10 and #12-13 were inked by Dick Ayers and issue #11 was inked by Chic Stone.

In The Defenders (1972) there were some characters that appeared in both it and in their own solo comics and some characters that were for the most part just appearing in it, and I noticed that even if it didn't effect their panel time, it did effect the stories of the issues. The characters with solos were largely staying the same and then going through personal stuff in their solo comics, whereas the characters who were just appearing in the team book were experiencing both superhero stuff and significant changes in their personal life and so going through development. In The Avengers so far there's been a few references to problems Tony's going through in his solo comics and he's had heart problems on a team mission, but I don't think we've seen Thor, Hank, or Janet experience any personal problems. However, Steve is going through a lot in the Avengers with mourning Bucky and his developing relationship with Rick Jones. I believe that Steve didn't get his own solo stories up until towards the end of this batch, so this largely tracks with what I've noticed about team books so far. I am wondering if from here on the book will be more focused on just superhero stuff or if we're soon to getting a cast change-up with characters with solo stories leaving and new characters without solo stories joining the team.

Beyond the relationship between Rick Jones and Steve Rogers, I did not feel that there was much to the portrayal of the relationships between the other characters in the book, aside from Hank and Janet whose relationship exists beyond the team. I was surprised when it was commented on in issue #10 that the team hardly knew Steve because he apparently keeps to himself and because he's been a part of the team for the shortest amount of time. I don't think that that's reflected in the writing, instead it seems that everyone knows each other about the same amount.

I actually went a little back and forth while reading these issues on whether or not the team is actually friends. It does seem that they're getting better at working as a superhero team as I remember early issues playing up them not coordinating well and getting in each others way, which doesn't happen here, but we're not really seeing much of them outside of the superhero needed to respond to something context to get a better idea of their interpersonal relationships. If anything, what we're seeing of the team outside of missions is them training and having very formal meetings.

In issue #7 the group discusses and decides on the formal punishment of Iron Man not being allowed to participate in the Avengers for a week because he didn't respond to a call. In issue #11 Hank is annoyed to be called for a meeting while he's in a meeting but he has to go because being a part of the Avengers is meant to take precedent over everything with little to no exceptions. This all is coupled with that there's a rule against the teammates prying into each others' lives for the sake of preserving their secret identities, which ends up really limited the kinds of relationships that can form between them; see how Tony has heart problems during a mission in issue #8 but while they can understand that he's having a medical issue none of the others can follow up with him on that after he brushes it off. And all of that goes along with that due to the strict rules about how the teammates are supposed to always be available when called, it seems as though they have to frequently be in contact with one another; for example, in issue #7 Hank and Janet go out of town and they tell Thor that and how to contact them when they're gone.

It seems to me that the strict rules they all established as a group when they first joined may have been too demanding for how their interpersonal relationships ended up forming; but also while the rules demand a high level of commitment to the team, the structure the rules lead to doesn't facilitate the creation of strong relationships between members of the team, and in fact the very formal management of the team creates distance between the members. There's a tension there that I think is very interesting.

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #244 and The Hulk! (1978) #19 and Iron Man (1968) #131-133 and Daredevil (1964) #163

The issue of the main The Incredible Hulk title was from November 1979. It was written by Steven Grant, penciled by Carmine Infantino, and inked by Mike Esposito. It was a mostly forgettable stand-alone story about the Hulk fighting the Living Colossus.

The issue of The Hulk! was published in December 1979. The main part of the issue was a 36-page story written by Doug Moench, as all of the original content in this series has been so far. His writing has had some low points and some high points, and this was the first story by him that I thought was entirely great with no missteps. The penciler for this series is consistently changed for a variety of high-quality artwork and this story was penciled by Gene Colan, who I have read various bits of work by and have found to be consistently excellent, which proved true here. This story was inked by Alfredo Alcala. And this issue like everything in this series so far has been colored by Steve Oliff as part of it’s premier magazine format.

This story had Bruce approach a psychologist that specialized in 'Multiple Personality Syndrome' and, while the story holds back from saying that that's was Bruce has, I believe it is the first comic story to ever bring the condition up by name in relation to Bruce. The framing it takes is that while Bruce's condition was originally a biological problem and not a psychological problem, in manifestation it's similar enough that Dr. Marks' controversial biologial approach, as opposed to the usual psychological approach, to treating the condition just might work for Bruce. Of course, it doesn't, and things all go awry, but it's really interesting to me to see how this story works its way around addressing Bruce's mental issues. 'Multiple Personality Syndrome' is presented as "the subconscious result of repressed needs, literal personifications of deep-seated desires denied by upbringing and conditioning" with the typical treatment being to "isolate and analyze the false personality, discover his or her needs" and then to "satisify these needs normally" and "thereby fulfilling and terminating the necessity for that existence." Everything about how this condition is usually treated is irrelevant because the story is focusing on an experimental approach, and everything about this condition forms is irrelevant because Bruce's condition is biological in nature, not psychological. Except that it was established that the Hulk existed as a distinct part of Bruce's mind before the accident with the gamma bomb in The Incredible Hulk #227, a story that conspicuously never asks the obvious follow-up question of why. Why did Bruce's mind form the Hulk? The incidents that we see of the Hulk's presence in Bruce's early life are incredibly mundane- Bruce accidentally burning his hand on an appliance as a child, Bruce being scolded by a teacher as a teenager. At this point the Hulk's characterization comes across so much as a scared abused child that I don't see that they could reveal anything else, and it feels like the inner workings of the character's origin and the background of the character are being conspicuously danced around to not have to deal with it directly.

The issue of Daredevil was from December 1979. It was written by Roger McKenzie, penciled by Frank Miller, and inked by Klaus Janson and Joe Rubinstein.

In this story Matt Murdock senses that the Hulk is in New York City and tries to get him out of the city because he hurts anyone. The issue uses the concept that the Hulk doesn't understand what exactly his relationship with Bruce is to emphasis the character's plight as self-inflicted. The Hulk asks why Bruce would do this to him, would turn him into a monster, which as he detransforms changes to asking why he would do this to himself. The Hulk rages against Bruce and searches for him, wanting revenge against him, and isn't able to understand why he wouldn't be able to find Bruce. And as the Hulk is unable to understand that Bruce isn't an enemy that he can fight, he's unable to understand how Daredevil is someone trying to help him and so makes his own problems worse by attacking and alienating an ally. I also liked that this story also had a call-back to the time that Matt Murdock defending the Hulk in his trial back in The Incredible Hulk #152-153

The Iron Man issues were published from November 1979 to January 1980. They were all plotted by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, then scripted by David Michelinie, penciled by Jerry Bingham, and inked by Bob Layton.

When I was reading this story, I didn't think that the portrayal of Tony's feelings towards Bruce felt like it was continuous from whatever previous interactions they had. In this story Bruce has a breakdown and begs Tony to kill him because he can't stand his life, always transforming into the Hulk and causing destruction, anymore. Tony refuses and instead takes Bruce to his own home, determined to help him, and reflects that "I've never thought of the Hulk as being a man before- let alone a tortured man." I remembered the the brief period of time in which they were both on the Avengers in 1963-1964, during which time Tony expressed both the typical judgmental and sympathetic attitudes, and later the issue Iron Man #9 from 1968 where Tony fought a Hulk robot and was really sympathetic to it while he still thought it was the actual Hulk. I also remembered what Tony had said in the Hulk's trial in The Incredible Hulk #153 (which was actually directly referenced in this batch because that's when Matt Murdock defended the Hulk) which was that it wasn't right to give the Hulk the death penalty because while the Hulk is a menace, Bruce Banner is "our most brilliant nuclear scientist" and so therefore "his life should be spared."

little break cause of the Tumblr character block limit

I also know that it's been mentioned a few times that weapons being used against the Hulk were designed by Tony Stark. While Tony's attitudes towards the Hulk have been inconsistent, I did think that there was enough there to exhibit that this story here was not the first time he'd ever sympathized with Bruce. But I conceded that it's not necessarily reasonable to hold what Tony said in The Incredible Hulk #153 as important characterization because what Tony said there was not exactly intended to be specific to the character, he was just the mouthpiece in that particular moment for what the intended perspective the Avenger characters were meant to bring to the Hulk's trial. And I didn't think that Tony had meant Bruce before, and so had only really exhibited sympathy directly to the Hulk in a few instances.

However, I realized that this storyline isn't the first time that Tony has met Bruce himself. They interacted previously during a time when Bruce and the Hulk were temporarily split into two in The Incredible Hullk #131. Tony built a device that was intended to fuse the two back together and permanently trap the Hulk inside Bruce (obviously this did not work). And that's the kind of previous interaction that would be relevant to this story, where Tony helped with a device that was intended to keep Bruce's heart rate permanently steady so that he couldn't transform into the Hulk.

I do think that it can be awkward and not completely necessary to reference old history, and I don't think that comics are inherently behold to everything that's been published before, but I also really liked that the Daredevil issue referenced when Matt represented the Hulk, and this Iron Man story doesn't just not reference something relevant but slightly contradicts previous canon with the strong language that Tony has never sympathized with Bruce before. It's not a real big deal, but I am reading all of these comics in order so that I can engage with everything in its publication context and be able to see the changes over time.

Also, story makes revelent that the Hulk was a part of Bruce prior to the gamma bomb accident, as the cure device prevents the physical transformation but still allows for the Hulk's mind to take over Bruce's, which is explained with an explicit callback to The Incredible Hulk #227. And once again, nobody asks why the Hulk would form when that's seems like the logical next step to learning that information. I know that it's addressed eventually because I know that Bruce gets a backstory eventually, but it's driving me a little nuts so I hope it's even just a little bit addressed soon.

The Hulk! #19 had an additional 10-page Hulk story- also penciled by Gene Colan but inked by Bob Wiacek- told from the perspective of an old man sitting on top of a flag pole on an ordinary day in the city, which meant that everything was a bit hectic with traffic and construction and pedestrian. The old man commiserates that “No one seems to have time for a moment of diversion- to pause and ponder the silliness of an old man sitting up in the sky… to pause and smile.” Predictably, this ordinary city day is interrupted by the Hulk going on a rampage. He’s upset that there’s too many cars going too fast, too much smoke hurting his eyes, too much noise hurting his ears, and too many signs trying to tell him things. But the Hulk's trail of destruction caused by all of the overwhelming parts of a modern city is paused when he spots the old man on the flag pole, is charmed, and waves up at him and calls him silly. At the end of the story the part of the city that the Hulk swept through is deserted and calm; and when the Hulk is called a monster, the old man looks down on it all and says, “Not from where I’m sitting.”

And The Hulk! #19 also reprinted the iconic story “Heaven is a Very Small Place”- which was written by Roy Thomas, penciled by Herb Trimpe, and inked by John Severin- from The Incredible Hulk #147.

Also, in The Incredible Hulk #244 Bruce mentions that he’s tired of running and that he would turn himself into Gamma Base, which is actually something that he’s done before, but that whoever is running it since General Ross had his breakdown seems to have a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ policy. We readers know what Bruce does not yet, which is that Glenn Talbot is now running Gamma Base, and that he blames Bruce for his divorce with Betty and now wants to use his position to try and kill Bruce in revenge. That’s what I’m expecting this upcoming arc to deal with and I’m excited to read it. I believe Betty and Talbot got married back in 1972 and things have been hectic for them ever since. I really want to see them all dealing with each other again instead of all over the place.

DC Comics:

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods (2023) #1

Billy Batson only appeared in the first story, which was written by G. Willow Wilson and drawn by Cian Tormey, and his role was really minor and just set up that from the gods’ perspective he’s forgotten how to honor them, which seems to involve an element of proper fear, and in later issues of this miniseries he’ll be taught. Also, the Wizard Shazam is by Hera’s side as she’s displaced Zeus as the ruler of the gods, and he’s working with her as they try to ensure that humanity worships them all again, which is necessary for the gods’ continued survival.

Fawcett Comics:

the Captain Marvel stories in Whiz Comics (1940) #53-54 and Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #34

With this batch of classic Captain Marvel appearances I went from April 1944 to May 1944. There is one Captain Marvel story per issue of Whiz Comics and four per issue of Captain Marvel Adventures for a total of six Captain Marvel stories in this batch. These stories ranged from eight to thirteen pages.

The story “Captain Marvel Falls in Love” (written by Otto Binder; penciled by C.C. Beck; possibly inked by Pete Constanza) in Whiz Comics #53 started out portraying Captain Marvel's usual feelings towards women ("I stear clear of all women!") and then in the course of a page has him fall head over heals for a woman, complete with hearts floating around his head, in a shift that reads like he's been possessed or mind-controlled or otherwise mentally-influenced, but apparently was not given that the story never reveals anything like that. Captain Marvel stays out all night for several nights in a row dreaming about this woman and trying to woo her, much to Billy Batson's frustration as he then has to go to work on no sleep. Billy and Cap have a fight over this ("Listen, Prince Charming, enough is enough!" and "Why, you used to avoid girls like poison before! Now you're making a fool of yourself, and a physical wreck out of me!") which ends with Billy declaring that he's simply not going to transform into Captain Marvel and is going to go right home to bed after work. And the story ends with Captain Marvel discovering that this woman he so admires is actually the same woman that he'd described as a "bossy female" and a "sharp-tongued female" and that she's already engaged to someone else and, to Billy's relief, swears off women forever.

My personal take on Captain Marvel's issues with women (uncomfortable and flees when women flirt with him, avoids angry or 'bossy' women, can't hit female villains) while Billy has no issues at all is that Captain Marvel is more immature in some ways than Billy is because Captain Marvel is an adult with the heart of a child. This version of Captain Marvel was not portrayed as Billy in an adult body, but as a separate adult entity that just didn't exist separately from Billy. He's Billy, but as an adult, but not quite. Because while Captain Marvel is a grown man with the heart of a child, that special heart that made Billy the befitting successor to the Wizard Shazam, Billy as a grown adult himself would not have the heart of a child. This is where Captain Marvel being generally serious but occasionally childish comes from. This fits well into the tone of these comics which were more humorous and tried to take Captain Marvel less seriously than his contemporary Superman comics did their protagonist. And this serves as an inverse to how Billy can often come across like a little adult with his respectable job and perfect morals. Because of this I was charmed by how childish Captain Marvel's attempts at wooing this girl came across- thumping his fists to his chest, showing off how strong he is, and saying, "Don't you l-like me… Not even a teensy-weentsy bit?"

Koyama Press:

Safari Honeymoon by Jesse Jacobs, published in 2014

This graphic novel tells the story of a newly married couple and their guide on a safari honeymoon in a fantastical jungle in which pretty much all of the plants and animals are parasites. The husband is a wealthy businessman who wants his money's worth for the trip but also is unnerved by being vulnerable in this setting, the wife is charmed by their strange surroundings and depending on the moment is either too comfortable with the creatures for safety or just open enough to see if them what others can't, and the guide is his own strange creature as through the many trips he's taken with this setting he's changed and become partially taken over in symbiotic relationships with some parasites. The artwork toed the balance between charming and disturbing. There was a limited color palate of a black and a few shades of green. The backgrounds were kept in monotonous pale green colors to not distract from the intended focus of the panels which were rendered with black outlines, but sometimes I wished that more of the details would be in black and occasionally found the style distracting rather than unobtrusive as I had to go looking for things on the page that seemed important to me but blended in with everything else.

Kitchen Sink Press:

Mondo Snarfo (1978) #1

This anthology one-shot of surrealistic comics was released in September 1978 and featured pieces by creators like Mark Beyer, Art Spiegelman, Denis Kitchen, and Kim Deitch. A few pieces that stood out to me were:

"Situation Comedy" by Bill Griffith, a 3-page story which's speech bubbles tell a scene of a family eating breakfast together the morning after the teenage daughter came home late from a date, but the artwork of every panel each depicts a completely different scene like science fiction astronauts, surgeons performing surgery, a row of performing dancers, and two rocks in an empty desert. The speech bubbles come out of the surgeons, rocks, etc.

"Grim Grids" by Robert Crumb, a difficult-to-follow 3-page story that jumps between different storylines of mannequins discussing surrealistic art ("We used to call this sort of this 'eyeball art'... Heh Heh... It's a crazy shtick alright...") and an eye that has managed to stretch far enough away from a man's body to slip into a woman's dress and then burst out through her mouth, which transforms into a page of mostly abstract expressionistic panels, and then a page depicting a man who allows himself to be consumed by a gigantic woman, only to find that eyeball in her stomach ("There's no hiding place, bub!!").

#comics read this past week #my posts

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