Flashback II: Revenge of the Scopitones

In the 60's, I felt my first oncoming thrusts of manhood, and while it really didn't take a lot to get my attention, the kicky birds featured in the musical productions every afternoon on Dick Clark's "Where The Action Is" were particularly ginchy!


Unbeknownst to me at the time, there were 16MM film clips of current hit songs running in clubs in a sort of jukebox called "Scopitones!"  They were actually more popular in Europe, but there were some in the U.S.  Fortunately, this bit of pop culture has been preserved and is now readily available at YouTube!  These are racier bits than one would have seen on broadcast television at the time.  Fairly facetious now, but then-- Ooh La La!


This Nancy Sinatra tune holds up very well

As for Freddy and Roberta... I stare transfixed, but for somewhat different reasons now than I might have at age 14.  And some of the same reasons.

Click the links and marvel at the ancestors of MTV, you know, way back when it showed music vids.

Hm...Y'know, one of my aunts had that exact hairstyle!

Flashback

.(Ed Sullivan voice) And now... for all you Youngsters... who missed this back in the 60's... courtesy of Scopitones and the fellow at YouTube... Nino Ferrer!

(Yeah, click the link, Baby!)

Beaming Buckaroo

So why is this cowpoke so goldanged happy?

Could it have anything to do with this?

MMMmmmMMMmmmaybe.


You'll have to have a peek at this week's update at "Discipline And Desire", which also features some exceptionally--  involving stories!  Everyone will enjoy them, but I think the ladies will especially enjoy these tales written by (and for) women! 

Who's Hughes

Thought I'd share some of the humor and remarkable illustration of Adam Hughes.

"That's nice, Wolfie.  Who?"  Ah!  (Which is how he signs his work, AH!)  You've seen one of the first things he did in 1990:

I've always thought that what made that cover, besides blonde Julie's adorable pout, is the reaction from her crew mates.  The space dragons are interested, too, but it's always hard to read dragon expressions.  There are nice artistic touches, too, like positioning the woman's pointing thumb on the fold so that you want to turn the thing over to see the rest of the wrap-around cover, and the copy on the back as well.   


Since then, both Adam's skill and the printing processes for comic book covers have improved exponentially.

Pretty cool, eh?  I love Adam's sense of humor, which ranges from gentle and warm to downright wicked.  The kids Wonder Woman is entertaining crack me up!

When young Billy Batson says the magic word "Shazam!" he becomes the world's mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel.  His sister Mary also undergoes a spectacular transformation.

And this... well, this is kind of a sad story.

As you see, Mr. Hughes excels at characterization.  Even if you don't know who these people are supposed to be, their expressions, postures and the myriad other details tell you lots about them.

Now, even I don't know who two of those women are.  But everyone will recognize these:

Adam does a lot of drawings for fans.  Here's the scene we didn't get to see:

A take on Tinker Bell:

Susan Richards, the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four, and her two offspring:  

Captain America, as he appeared in his first 1941 comic:

Don't mess with the Black Canary.

Really.  Don't.  

Transformations are hard on clothes.  The sensational She-Hulk:

Speaking of tough women, there was a Marvel Comics character meant to epitomize the Women's Liberation Movement of the early 70's.  Sometimes you have to be a little extreme to make a point:

And, touching on things mythological, here's the... er,  face that launched a thousand ships:

Gamers will recognize Lara Croft:

Adam has designed some statuettes, too.  Here's the plan for Donna Troy, AKA Wonder Girl:

And this one of Peter Parker's wife Mary Jane doing the family laundry raised a fuss with some folks.  I have no idea why. 

And, to wrap it up for now, here is my favorite Adam Hughes Wonder Woman drawing, done to raise money for charity.

More about Adam Hughes and his art is on line, natch!

He likes short shorts!

The "WolfieToon"  at  this week's "Discipline And Desire" update has, I think, a high H&H Factor.  

That stands for "Hilarity and Horniness."  

Maybe this one has more H (horniness) than H (hilarity) or that could just be my fondness for white shorts on female bottoms.  But I'll let you have a peek and decide for yourself.

Wolfie Warm Ups!

Not to be confused with a sweat suit.  Or maybe you thought of THIS warm up:

But what I'm really talking about are doodles, preliminary sketches, and stuff I do when I need a break so that I don't break something.  Here, for example, is a quick page in tribute to one of my cartoonist heroes, Marie Severin! 

Here are some "life sketches" of spankable girls:

You remember the fairy being dragged off by the leprechaun?  

 

They were the "secondary" couple in a St Pat's WolfieToon at "Discipline And Desire."  Here's the first sketch, and there is a quality I like.

Another D&D cartoon featured the One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Spanker.  Here are the Purple People Spanker Preliminaries:

And here is the final version;  you may have seen this one at Devlin O'Neill's Web Log (And Poppy's, Too!)

Oh--by the way...

Comparison Gawking

Pretty good:

Even better:

We interrupt the usual frivolity...

... for me to comment on the profound moment that is the execution of Osama Bin Laden.  It's an event I was afraid I'd never see, and I am thrilled and awed at the perseverance of American justice.  It's obviously not the end of all this, but deeply significant.

The usual facetiousness will resume here shortly.

¡Dios mío!

These are Chi-hoo-ah-HOO-ahs.  

 

Springrose calls them "Taco Dogs."  

They also go by the affectionate epithet "Drop-Kick Dogs."

You can hear them mutter, "¡Ay, Chihuahua!"  

But just what is causing their apparent apprehension?  You can find out at this week's update at "Discipline And Desire!"   

And while you're there, tenga una cerveza!

Behind the Scenes

If you peek at this week's "Discipline And Desire" update, you will see the actual tools I use for creating WolfieToons.

                                           

It's a look behind the scenes.  Oh, and you can also look at a behind. 

Wolfie Well Wishes!

 May Spring, Passover, and Easter bring you Joy.  Here's some whimsy from "Discipline And Desire" 2008.

And here's what that cartoon looked like in the womb:

(Edit --  It's such a hoot to see WolfieToons translated into French!  Have a look at Stan /E's entry  at "Au Fil des Jours!"  Thanks, Stan!)