Truth, Beauty, Comics

Wash Tubbs, Captain Easy, & Popeye the Sailor Man.

Two daily newspaper strips, beginning as gag-a-day comics centering on the romantic foibles of their central characters, would feel the irresistible call of adventure: Popeye would step into E. C. Segar’s meandering Thimble Theater and transform it into something more like Treasure Island, with pirates, lost treasure and hamburgers. Wash Tubbs, a short, bespeckled, girl-crazy lead character of Roy Crane’s strip, would eventually meet Captain Easy and follow him on one thrilling adventure after another, pushing them both to the limits of endurance. In selections from the Smithsonian collection of newspaper comics, we find both of these strips caught up in adventure on the high seas: Popeye in comedic fashion, Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy in a harrowing tale aboard the doomed whaler “Jonah”. We're reading through The Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams.   If you're listening to this episode, we recommend viewing the video on YouTube to follow along as we read though the comic pages: https://youtu.be/wAFk5R_sf_s [https://youtu.be/wAFk5R_sf_s]   Read along with us here: https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/ [https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/]

Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

What do you get when the Spawn of Satan carries a rosary? You get Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, a half-demon, half-human creature adopted by a kindly, devout catholic and raised to fight supernatural evil as a member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. Today Hellboy is a bestseller but his debut was a long-shot. Mignola was miserable and not playing to his strengths drawing typical super hero stories. Hellboy was his chance to draw what he loved: monsters, gothic castles, cemeteries, and churches with a gruff protagonist inspired by his father at the center. In March of 1994, Hellboy: Seed of Destruction hit the shelves. Today on Truth, Beauty, Comics! We're reading from the Hellboy Omnibus, available on Amazon. [https://www.amazon.com/Hellboy-Omnibus-1-Seed-Destruction/dp/1506706665/] If you want to follow along as we flip through the pages, watch this podcast on Youtube [https://youtu.be/4sYRDrZH1K4].

Newspaper Comics: Classic Characters Take The Stage

After bursting on the scene in the first decade of the 20th century, newspaper comics were exploding in popularity: Weekend sections went from 4, to 8, then to 16, and even 32 pages in 1935. And all those pages made room for a flood of new strips by a talented group of cartoonists: Long-running stories, increasingly complicated characters and plotlines filled the newsprint. We’ll see the first appearance of Barney Google, Blondie, Uncle Walt and Skeezix – characters who still appear in newspapers today. With a massive, colorful canvas to explore and seemingly endless creative possibilities, comic strips would never again be so glorious as these prewar decades. We're reading through the third chapter of the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams.   If you're listening to this episode, we recommend viewing the video on YouTube to follow along as we read though the comic pages: https://youtu.be/OsSWxE1uYn4 [https://youtu.be/OsSWxE1uYn4]   Read along with us here: https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/ [https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/]

Bleach, Vols 7 & 8: Crossing over to rescue Rukia

Up until now the world of Bleach has been contained to Ichigo's hometown, high school and circle of friends. That changes in a big way in Volumes 7 & 8 when we finally meet more of the mysterious Soul Society, who show up to arrest Rukia and bring her to justice. Ichigo will have to get stronger quick if he wants to rescue her from these warriors with seemingly unlimited powers.   Today we wrap up the first arc of Bleach discussing Volumes 7 & 8 on Truth, Beauty, Comics!

The Birth of the Newspaper Comic: The Yellow Kid, Little Nemo, and More

Yellow Kid, Little Nemo, Buster Brown – the first few decades of American newspaper comics saw a youthful cast of precocious heroes, villains and every shade in between. Subject matters ranged from the urban, practical jokes of Buster Brown to the vast, intricate dreamscapes of Little Nemo in Slumberland. In its first decades comics entered the world in a glorious explosion of art, vernacular dialogue, and whimsy. We're reading through the first chapter of the Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics by Bill Blackbeard and Martin Williams.   If you're listening to this episode, we recommend viewing the video on YouTube to follow along as we read though the comic pages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LxevUsMq-4 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LxevUsMq-4]   - https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/ [https://www.amazon.com/Smithsonian-Collection-Newspaper-Comics/dp/0874741726/]