I've got to give a big shout out and heartfelt
thanks to Dave C. for sending me a killer care package full of readable radness! Just look at all of this beautiful bookocity...
First up, we've got some classic comics from Dell and Gold Key, two of my all-time favorite comic companies from the olden days. These comics (all printed in 1962) remind me of the type you'd get in packs of 3,4 and 5 at highway rest stops. I think the Beetle Bailey issue is my favorite of this batch. I liked the comic strip when I was a kid and have always been a friend of Mort Walker's art style.
Some of you may not recognize
Little Iodine, but that unfortunately named character actually had a bit of a heyday in the comic strip world back int he 1950's. She's a weird character that sort of came and went, so it's cool to come across this little slice of comic strip history when this obscure character vied for a fresh start in the comic book world.
The one that really has me scratching my head is this issue of Dondi. I've never heard of this comic in my life! I flipped through it a bit and was mystified by what I picked up from the story. He seems to be some sort of mix between Huck Finn and Johnny Quest. Weird, yet awesome.
But the true hidden gold in this stack of comics is this absolutely gorgeous ad on the back for the Schwinn 5-Speed Corvette bicycle. Good lord. This ad just screams vintage Americana. I mean, the bike itself is stunning, but from a graphic designer's point of view, just look at the classic typefaces used and the Norman Rockwell-like illustration of rosy cheeked kids losing their minds over Timmy's new Christmas present. Just beautiful.
Next up, we have volume four in the
Mighty Marvel Superheroes Fun Book series! I have the first book, and have seen the second installment in a used book store (but they were asking a bit too much for my taste), so I was stoked to find this in my book care package.
Like most Marvel Fun Books, it's full of all kinds of classic puzzles and games. I used to eat these types of books alive when I was a kid.
One of the funnest pages, I thought, was this one, which tests your knowledge of some of Marvel's biggest villains from the '70s. Can you name them all?
And finally, the book that made me practically flip out as soon as I saw it, here we have
Lucha Loco, a collection of portraits of the greatest living Mexican wrestlers.
The format of this book is so simple, so sublime. Just a portrait of a Luchador, their name and a small quote. That's it. I spent well over an hour going through this book, and when I was done, i found myself needing to add a few new masks to my collection.
One of my favorites from the book was a wrestler that is clearly not worried about copyright infringement...
Again, my thanks to Dave C. for his generosity. You da man, Dave!
Now then, I've got some reading to do.
