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Blog Entry 39 of 44 Welcome to The Retroplex
I'm usually in full-blown reminisce mode anyway, so why not make the rest of you poor saps suffer along with me, right?

Here, you'll find no shortage (well...unless I can't think of any new material) of meaningless but ultimately harmless bits of ephemera covering the past 20 or so years of pop culture, and my occasional interactions with it. Whether you're into the iconic or the ironic, sooner or later, I'll probably get around to it.
Watch, as the hilarity ensues! Or, if you prefer, gawk like a shocked passerby witnessing a horrible accident!

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~TheRetroplex

Unfortunate comic books

Contributed by: Jared Keller   on 10/9/2007

As a long-time nerd/comic book fan, I'm well acquainted with the dangerous and foolish thought that just about any messaged can be effectively transmitted in comic book form.

This is simply not true.

As a greedy little newbie back in the mid-80s, I snagged any and every comic book I could get my hands on - especially if it featured the words "First Issue!" somewhere on the cover; comic books, after all, were to represent my road to indescribable wealth.

Just like my baseball cards.

Eventually, once I learned that the whole world of "book values" was approximately as logical and balanced as Andy Dick, I began to appreciate comic books (and baseball cards) for what they were: nifty things that I enjoyed having by virtue of their own niftiness.

Once in this newfound state of comic book appreciation, I decided to wade through my collection and see what sorts of chaff I'd picked up with the wheat. There was plenty more of the former than the latter, I assure you.

Take some of my Marvel #1s, for instance. I had a collection of shinola that included winners like Speedball #1, and Air Raiders #1 (in support of a VERY short-lived toy line).

Worse still were the Tandy comic books. As in Tandy computers. From Radio Shack. These were given away free at Radio Shack stores across the country, and I had three or four of 'em. My favorite, however, involved the book shown in picture #1 - The Answer to a Riddle. Each of the Tandy Whiz Kids books recounted an adventure featuring Alec and Shanna - two elementary school kids from "Coastal City" who solved problems, helped apprehend drug smugglers, and generally do-gooded about the pages of books designed to hock overpriced PC clones.

These books were troubled, to say the least. Take the whole "elementary school" aspect; I mean...look at the kids in picture #2. The dude in the blue shirt looks like an ABA center, and the kid in green sitting next to him is apparently suffering from some kind of horrible pituitary gland problem that's given him a 6'3" body, and an itty-bitty, nose-less head. Poor fella.

Then, skip ahead to picture #3. Notice the freakish blond kid in panel #2? That's Alec - one of the aforementioned "Whiz Kids", who in this case, seems about ready to have an aneurysm should his teacher not immediately follow through on her earlier promise to spill the beans about some surprises for the upcoming school year (those surprises? New Tandy Computers! Hurrah!). Yikes. That's one creepy kid right there.

Things don't get much better, but thanks to the folks at Atari Magazines.com, you can read ALL of the Tandy comics online. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot.

Except for picture #4, that is. Picture #4 provides conclusive evidence that Ronald Reagan was, in fact, the greatest President in US history. Like there was ever any doubt.

Nope - no idea where it came from, but it just goes to show you that while not every idea should find expression in comic book form, there's no shortage of entertainment to be found in the misfires.


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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Submitted By: Nikki Britain
posted on 10/14/2007 @ 7:06:40 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Can't say I'm a comic book fan, but anyone who references Andy Dick is a friend of mine.
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Submitted By: Charmaine Robledo
posted on 10/10/2007 @ 1:53:33 PM
Rated Blog Entry
I loved reading my brother's comic books: X-Men, Superman and my favorite, Archie. He also had a few Tin Tin books which I liked.
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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Jared Keller

Littleton

Jared Keller has posted 44 blog entries and 57 comments since joining on 12/1/2005. Jared Keller 's average blog rating is 5.
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