People's Popular Monthly (March 1922)

People's Popular Monthly (March 1922). Art by William Herman Schmedtgen.

The Last Easter Bunny

Original one sheet movie poster for the 1964 holiday thriller featuring Hayley Mills, The Last Easter Bunny.

"You'll SHUDDER when you discover 

where HAYLEY hid her EGGS!"

Have a great Space Easter!

Marvel Science Fiction Cover Caption Contest

Marvel Science Fiction is a science fiction magazine that existed for a very short publication run  near the end of the pulp era. For a time pulps were changing into the SF/Fantasy anthologies that would populate racks but they had a rough time of it. Published by Martin Goodman it was the descendent of Marvel Science Stories, Marvel Tales and Marvel Stories. 

Stating that sales and longevity of SF & Fantasy magazines in the 1950s was fair to middling is an understatement. Often the lurid covers, in an attempt to attract male readers, had the mixed result of catching a few sales but because of mature themes sales were probably lost because the books were considered for older readers and kept out of reach of younger buyers (at least as far as parental oversight was concerned).

One of the ways a limited promotional budget was stretched was to offer reader contests with prizes. Marvel Science Fiction held a Cover Caption Contest that encouraged readers to send in funny or pertinent one-liners to accompany the cover. The prizes from MSF consisted of original scripts and artwork, a mind-boggling thing today. It was an early form of the lolcat meme phenomenon, or to coin a phrase, the beginning of the lolpulp. Until relatively recently publishers considered art for such publications as pulps and comic books entirely disposable and outside of the initial cost to the creator ultimately worthless. This was an extension of the final product likewise being thought of as worthless after initial sale. Few artists ever felt this way but that was the nature of the work for hire business model. Unless the artist had a previous deal then art was often thrown out, given away to visitors or employees or re-purposed by the publisher with no thought to the cultural value. So giving away scripts or art made perfect financial sense. Outside of postage there would be little added expense to the publisher.

The results of the MSF caption contest had responses that were not the height of wit or insight. But attempts at seriousness or humor aside the great draw of winning the contest were the prizes. The first prize was a script from the issue and believe it or not, original art was the second prize. Don't get me wrong, an original script by Fritz Leiber would be nice but a spot illustration by Frank R. Paul or Hannes Bok would be killer. I already own a few Paul illustrated pulps and they are becoming increasingly difficult to find in both good condition and in my price range. FYI, one of the most expensive vintage comics that exists has a Frank R. Paul cover, that of Marvel Comics #1 (1939). Amazing how perception has changed over the years that a script would be preferred over artwork. I'd say this change was mostly due to the monetary worth and cache of an original Hannes Bok over a typed script.


The first caption contest shown here is for the August 1951 issue and the publisher is behind the idea enough to devote a full page to it. The winning entries are variations of "They Went Thataway" and "Guided Tour". Serviceable enough. Simple enough that if I read that I'd be mailing in a thousand variations myself confident that I could put the previous winners to shame and reap all the prizes. As it turned out wit, talent and hard work wasn't really necessary.

The next contest is to caption a classic Hannes Bok good girl art cover of a world where gravity fails. And that is where things go south in several figurative ways. The November issue of Marvel Science Fiction was the last one before the publisher would turn to other, presumably less expensive efforts with a higher rate of return, namely Atlas Comics, which would one day revive the Marvel name.

The winning entries of  "Another Law repealed?" and "Paging Mr. Newton" are okay but not great and belated kudos to the winners. But in particular the last four entries were particularly uninspired and generate untold amounts of jealousy in me decades later.

The winning 3rd-6th place submitted the despairingly the lame "HUH?",  "HEY!" and a tie for "OOPS!" which depresses me no end. Unbelievably these entries were awarded original art. The illustrations in this issue are credited to Harry Harrison (who did illustrations before becoming an author), the legendary Frank R. Paul, Hannes Bok and veteran pulp contributor Ames. If these pieces still exist somewhere think how important to art and pulp history they would be that if in a museum or library collection.

It is nearly impossible to say if the winners did or did not receive their prizes since MSF ceased publication with this issue. If they did then the people who won are some fortunate few and proof that the world is indeed topsy-turvey.

Monday With Hayley Mills: Waiting For the Future

It has been promised that someday, perhaps in my lifetime, we will be able to carry upon our person devices that contain all the movies Hayley Mills has been in so she can be available at a moment's notice for soothing viewing pleasure as required by law. The future can not come fast enough.

Fan-Designed Fashions For Patsy Walker Paper Doll

Paper Doll feature from Patsy and Hedy #51 (Mar 1957)

Patsy Walker is a Golden Age teen humor and romance comic book Marvel Comics character that first appeared in magazines in the mid-1940s. Patsy later made a Silver Age appearance long after she was retired as a character and was later revived as the super-heroine Hellcat in 1976.

Art by this gang I assume: Pencils: Al Hartley, Inks: Al Hartley, Colors: Stan Goldberg, Letters: Artie Simek. Might be some Colletta in there but I can't say for sure as there is no issue info on who created this.

BONUS! Mix-and-Match Bunty's Electronic Brain of Atomic Death for more paper doll fun!

Show your work.

Knot Problemo

I need to quit sitting at the same table when I eat here. That knot in the wood repeatedly catches my eye and I keep thinking I dropped some food. Moving to the other side of the booth won't work either. I won't see it but I'll know it is there.

Comic Book Page

Not everything in a comic book is fictional, not even in romance comics! From the October 1951 romance comic title Boy Meets Girl #16 the song a happy, in love Margo is singing to herself as she walks home is from the real world tune All My Love, popularized by singer Patti Page in 1950.

While her most famous hit was the 1950 cover of  Tennessee Waltz Patti had a long and successful career in entertainment. She recently passed away last January at the age of 85, leaving behind an impressive musical legacy.

That's pretty racist considering it's 2012

Time to re-brand.

Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Eye want you to drive safe, eat too much and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Dolsotbab and Nurunji

Dolsotbab is a traditional Korean way of cooking rice in a very hot stone pot. The heat of the stone rapidly cooks a single serving of  rice. Nurunji is a way to prepare and eat the sometimes burnt but definitely over-cooked rice that remains adhered to the sides of the pot.

Foodies might be all into this for the experience but for me it reveals a bit of social engineering.

Preparation of rice in non-stick pots or steam cookers is a fairly modern addition to the kitchen. Regular pots are still a bit messy, prone to overheat and so are only a slight advance over the old stone bowls heated on a fire. Making another dish to add to the meal out of the scorched remains of the rice is frugal and common sense solution to scarce resources.

Just because the rice may be browned or burnt is no reason to waste it. The preparation of Nurinji requires one to add water to the stone pot, which boils up, softening the burnt rice. The diner then has to put in some work to scrape the scorched rice off the sides and bottom, giving them not only a hot soup but a extra few ounces of rice. Basically the diner does a lot of the pre-soak and cleaning of the bowl which anyone who regularly cleans burnt food off of a pan knows is a bit of a chore. Diners probably get an added bit of minerals in the diet from scraped stone though in the modern era the downside is ingesting aluminum from the flatware flaked off while scraping.

While in the past Nurunji would be created and eaten out of necessity out of being mindful of not being wasteful in an environment where stored food spoiled quickly or attracted pests it has since become a luxury process as a side dish to the modern Korean dining experience.

2012 Limited Edition Undercover Wing-Nut Optimus Prime action figure set

Prod. #KRZE: 2012 Limited Edition Undercover Wing-Nut Optimus Prime action figure set

From the Manufacturer: For 5000 years, noble Optimus Prime has led the Autobots in defending their friends against the Decepticon empire. To Optimus Prime nothing is more important than preparing for the final battle between good and evil! To that end the Autobot leader has ensured he is ready for any situation, from open combat to stealthy covert operations! Optimus Prime has undergone his most dangerous and awesome transformation yet, to that of a semi-truck promoting Christian jingoism!

No one, including the evil forces of Megatron, will suspect that the savior of humanity hides in this ubiquitous, easily ignored semi-truck. Like the real world “Jesus Christ Is Not A Swear Word” trucks that are typically over-looked by millions of people daily, you can have hours of play fooling Megatron by hiding Optimus Prime in plain sight by parking on highway overpasses and in the lots of bankrupt shopping malls! But unlike most of the followers of useless Bronze age platitudes and oppressive belief systems Optimus Prime is always ready for action! Beware, evil! Optimus Prime and his Autobots don’t act on faith, THEY ACT!

Accessories included:

• (1) Crate of guns 
• (1) Bible (mint condition, never read)
•  (1) Box of limited edition Decepticon authentic tithing envelopes 
• (1) Pad of Accounts Receivable billing receipts to charge church-goers for the truck rental.

I SAID I was sorry

Here's one that has been in the back of my mind for years: In Legion of Super Heroes v4 #15 from December 1990, Kono is depicted wearing a jacket with the design  “I said I was sorry” design on the back. There is an added emphasis in the statement which seems to reveal some frustration that someone isn't accepting an offered apology.

I thought it might be Kono's smart-ass apology to one of the Legionnaires, Kent Shakespeare, that she photographed in the nude without his knowledge, but that happened in the books much later in issue #20.

Was it nothing but a fashion statement, the scene shown out of sequence with issue #20 or a message from the creative team to fans or some person?

A deer in the headlights

I guess we should be grateful for small mercies in that these backwards, obstructionist, mendacious and pathetic politicians never learn. It's a form of Darwinism that they keep taking themselves out of the running by speaking and speaking and even more speaking of subjects they are too stupid to realize they are not smart enough to address. 

Pity them a bit. Technology more advanced than a steam engine seams to baffle them.  Politicians, particularly the kind of repressive, oppressive types that embrace magical thinking (what little there is) fear of science and of all things being equal seem unable to grasp a certain basic fundamental of being on a campaign trail. One of which being: What you say can come back to you.

Almost every person evolves a bit during their lifetimes. Experiences and exposure to things change you, or should. So it is okay if a belief changes over time or is tempered by maturity and progression. People may over time come to have a different opinion on some things than they did in the past. The problem arises when those views change swiftly depending upon the environment or venue as in cases where a politician 'flip-flops'. Or when those views and beliefs in spite of all evidence to the contrary will not evolve or progress beyond what they perceive as the norm in their insular frightened little world.


What the ridiculous samples of humanity, the Akins, Mourdocks and even the Romneys don't seem to understand is that their statements, once uttered, do not fade away. They haven't for years upon years. The time of campaigning when aspirants to office stood on the caboose of a train and speechified to a gaggle of miners in Kentucky is long gone. Politicians are not able to say one thing then fire up the boiler, leave the miners in their coal dust and ten miles distant vomit an entirely different set of promises to farmers knowing the disparate groups will never meet and compare notes.

Say one thing, assert another, promise something, dissemble another and millions, not a gathering of a few dozen, will know about it within minutes. They become caught like a deer  in the headlights of a on-rushing truck. The speech to a group of the like-minded will without fail will be shown to the world at large to be regressive, disgusting and exclusionary. Hypocrisy will be revealed, stupidity exposed, guilt under a harsh spotlight. These distinguished public servants are gobsmacked when the waiters at their millionaire's luncheon spread their vile opinions via the internet. They are stunned when the waiters dare not to be deaf or blind robots but people with feelings and opinions. The politician who belittles more than half the nation in one generalizing sweep cannot comprehend that the message they spew in from of a camera will be seen by everyone who cares to look. In spite of what some media outlets attempt there is no technological or magical filter that ensures the public message reaches only the eyes and ears of the similarly minded.

Their fear of loss of money or power is almost comical. Almost inevitably the politician, shown to what a pathetic specimen they really are then back-pedals, performs an insincere 'flip-flop' or worse, reinforces through stupid false pride their previous statements. The system, however flawed, crashes against them hurting them, often fatally where it will cause the most damage. The campaign chest. Money dries up. Next comes influence and support as the other deer not yet foolish enough to make the dash from forest's edge shrink away from the exposing lights. They bide their time, waiting for the road to clear, not understanding that every time they make the mad run out from cover the car is almost there, racing down the road to meet them.

So it is somewhat good these politicians do not learn from their mistakes. The more they speak the more they are outed and marginalized by the rational population. Eventually even those that do not believe in allowing people to thrive, those that adhere to some disgusting cult of suffering, those who desire nothing more than money and influence and sell principles and people to get it will have to change or pretend to. Each time they spew some ridiculous bigoted or ignorant rant the world reacts by healing and improves by relegating them to irrelevancy. Slowly, steadily, eventually they will fade away to be replaced by better persons who actually believe in liberty and equality.

Footprints in the Sand

Footprints as adapted by me for the cover of Wonder Woman #13 (Dec 2012) published by DC Comics, with original art by Cliff Chiang. I really liked how the tweaking of that poem worked out for this. Wonder Woman appeals to one of her patron Gods then is enlightened when she realizes she doesn’t really need them. As a character and symbol Wonder Woman kicks ass.

And for those that don’t get the point and think Hera abandoned her, the lesson is: when Wonder Woman didn’t need any help she left Hera behind. Maybe they missed the ‘stood on your own’ part. There is also a reference to 'panels of her life' and not 'scenes' because comic book character. This isn't a jab at Christianity or religion either. This is, however.

Issue Credits: Story: Brian Azarello, Art: Tony Akins & Dan Green, Colors: Matthew Wilson, Letters: Jared K. Fletcher.

Fun in the Sun

In case you were unawares it is Jenna Russel who performs the sadly short yet nifty song 'Fun in the Sun' for the end credits of the UK Sci-Fi comedy series Red Dwarf.  Undoubtedly many have heard the tune but few have probably ever connected the person to who sings the song. 

Yes, this is on my mp3 player.

Monday with Hayley Mills: Summer Magic player piano LP

From Disney Hipster Blog, Summer Magic Player Piano Sing-A-Long.

As far as representing  Hayley Mills this LP cover makes only the barest attempt to represent the cast in caricature but the above link has a nice video of Hayley Mills singing Flitterin'.

Grocery Store Artifact: Probable Causes

This is a follow up to the post Before donating at the register.

Went in to work last week to see the signs threatening employees that don't ask for donations were all removed. They were removed by a directive from the corporate level. The store manager informed everyone that they are no longer allowed to post signs offering free items for not begging for donations or run raffles. Their are a few likely reasons I can speculate about for this but I doubt it is because the company is taking pity on the cashiers. In last month's big training session the district manager spent 30 minutes impressing upon everyone to get as much in donations as possible because it is a good thing to do and you can make a difference. The 'or else' was inferred but unspoken though we were told a charming story of how the least-donation earning employee in the district in danger of being terminated turned her prospects around and is now a shining example of a 'can do' attitude.

Here are some of the reasons I can think of why the signs were disposed of:

Compliance: One scenario is that the law prohibits it or the union has finally responded to what must be a huge flood of grievances from workers. People have been terminated, censured and demoted because they are not bringing in enough in customer donations. A manager would be pretty stupid to put that cause as a reason for termination so they dissemble or fabricate other reasons. An investigation would reveal a disturbing trend and restore the job but unfortunately even with a union at their side many young employees give up knowing they can get a job for same pay with less work somewhere else.

Cost: Since most stores that give away free items have no way to account for them being disbursed (this is a trail many managers would be uncomfortable being tracked and accounted for). The amount of shrink, or rather product loss, on whatever is being given to the customer (2 liter soda, reusable shopping bag, etc) must be prohibitive company-wide. For example, a large retail chain used to give away boxes and books of matches for free. That is, until a few years ago someone saw the annual losses in matches sales and how much the store was giving away and put a halt to it. Likewise someone may have noticed how much the company was losing in bags and soda and made the connections to the timing of donation drives.

Complaints: At least once per hour I receive a complaint from a customer about us asking for donations. Some display a good nature, some resigned. A few are hostile. At more than 4000 customers a day per store imagine the complaints nationwide not just at the store level but those getting phoned in and via internet messaging to the corporate level. This is least likely reason some of the pressure is off the cashiers. Unlike other complaints about service, cleanliness and diversity of products so important is the goal of fund-raising that a company will commiserate with a complaint but they would never, ever stop their attempts to collect for a cause.

Public Perception: Increasingly, particularly due to the fraud and public relations disasters of the last several years charities are under ever more scrutiny as to what they do with their collected funds. Calls for clarity and transparency particularly during rough economic times of charities are increasingly frequent. Charity drives that pledge 'up to' 2 million in donations, yet regularly collect 7-9 million during the drive are being asked to account for where the surplus is going. Some companies are forthcoming with where the money goes and unsurprisingly some are very resistant to the idea of letting the people who gave them money become aware of where it all went. Is most of it going to cure a disease or to buy a sitting board member a Porsche or paying for fact-finding junkets to vacation resorts? Some companies that support causes, the most popular of which is for breast cancer awareness, use a marketing tactic known as 'pinkwashing'.  This is when a company has minimal involvement or is not actually participating in the cause but for marketing purposes gives the impression through imagery and color scheme that it does. I am also wary of any charity that states they are promoting 'awareness' and 'education' and not directly making the promotion of medical science and a cure their primary mission. Depending on the charity  the terms 'awareness' and 'education' could mean nothing more than pink ribbons on things to buy and may not be in their purview or mission to promote such basic preventive services as mammograms or a healthy diet.

Conflict of interest: This is the most likely cause for removing the signage on the registers and relieving the pressure on the cashiers. Among other things how much a store collects in donations has a direct bearing on a store manager's evaluation. Lesser known is that most companies also attach a financial incentive to performance. Bonuses for top-performing managers can be very lucrative. No single aspect of managing a store can ensure a large bonus and they are evaluated on a whole but politics coupled with success in desired 'sexy' areas lead to positive evaluations and then a bigger bonus.

Some time ago in the company I worked for the financial incentive for the cashier that collected the most for a donation drive was removed. It was eliminated because of the discovery that company-wide many would add a donation to the customer's bill without their knowledge. It would have been a good idea to stop the manager incentive at the same time but the corporate mind-set is that unless threatened the workers will not ask and the managers won't put in the effort unless they make it worth their while.


Managers are notorious for gaming the system to their advantage. Nothing wrong with that. It is expected they do the job the best of your ability by being smarter, faster and more competent than your peers. But there is a line you don't cross. They often collect donations prior to the official start date and continue to collect after the drive is completed. Funds from one drive may be diverted to the cause more favored by their direct superiors. Found money or errors in the store's favor, which is supposed to be applied to the total sales for the day will be instead added to the donation total (such funds are recorded separately and returned if someone claims the money or requests a refund, we just don't let it sit loose in a drawer). They hold raffles and do other stunts designed to create an unfair advantage over other stores.

Since the signs were removed and word came down that raffles and other donation attempts are no longer allowed then it is highly probable that enough managers made noise about their disadvantages compared to other managers. They may have felt they were marginalized or punished for following the rules. With the added aspect of employees grievances the issue may have been brought to someone's attention. It is probably that in the interest of ethics, keeping the peace and fairness put a stop to the practice which made life a bit easier for the cashiers. For now.

Truth is, requesting donations over and over sometimes in the same order bears good and positive results. Undoubtedly there will be a marked drop in donations merely due to many of the cashiers no longer feeling they have to request one from each and every customer. If that happens I speculate that the pressure on the workers will return multiplied many times over but be presented in terms that are not so public and will have to do more with an employees' general attitude and overall job performance.

Update: According to memos the new Breast Cancer partner (one that is more focused on an actual cure, not 'awareness') allied with the store did not want employees forced to ask for donations under threat of penalties so the practice was halted. It was not reintroduced in the ensuing donation drives since. 

Spread the truth about voting rights

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS! Spread the true word about voting & ID requirements: Get your info from your local Voting Registrar, not from billboards and television spots paid for by special interests and hate groups.

Monday with hayley Mills: Mary Marvel, Hayley Mills' 2nd Biggest Fan

From Formerly Knows As The Justice league #2 (Oct 2003),