Prince Street News: Monster Mash!

I think my favorite issues of BACK ISSUE! are the annual Halloween editions. They certainly are the most fun for which to do Prince Street News. For this year's issue (#116, available now!), the theme is Superheroes vs. Monsters, something which happened a lot in the Bronze Age, as the Comics Code relaxed to allow vampires, ghouls, and zombies once again (take THAT, Wertham!).

This 31st installment of PSN is a mish-mash of monster / superhero themed gags, so I really had no choice but to call it "Monster Mash." Right? I mean, I know it's obvious and overused and that song is really annoying, but COME ON, WHAT ELSE WAS I GOING TO DO?!?!?

The movie poster parodies should be (mostly) obvious, while some of the jokes in the "Comic Characters' Favorite Scary Movies" segment might take a minute (as with my "Comic Characters' Favorite Musical Artists" strips). As for the Dell Comics covers, if you're unfamiliar with that publisher's Silver Age attempts to make superheroes out of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman (or, Werewolf, the comic's vernacular), you are missing out on some campy goodness, my friends. Might I suggest you pick up Michael Eury's ridiculously entertaining HERO-A-GO-GO, which highlights these books and much more goofy and glorious pop culture of the Camp Era.

Next up in PSN: THE REPLACEMENTS! (No, it has nothing to do with football)

Black Light Classifieds

It's ironic that I'm not a fan (at all) of Roy Lichtenstein because a lot of the work I do is basically his schtick. Shtick. Whatever. To wit, this is a small series of details from old comic book ads (mostly classifieds), colored in fluorescent marker for optimum viewing under black light. Offers void where prohibited.

Kalligrafonts stickers!

Hey! Are you on Instagram? What's that? You ARE? Well, then you should be following both of my accounts, Pops Gustav (there are a lot of posts of my stuff) and Kalligrafonts (not my first choice of name, but I had to take what was available and worked), highlighting my hand-lettering work. AND SPEAKING OF, here's a spankin' new set of Kalligrafonts stickers (featuring quotations from movies and TV shows I happen to love), which can be YOURS for the low, low price of five for $5 (mix and match), postage included! Paypal to karl@popsgustav.com, Venmo, checks, money order, cash, barter, whatever.

Prince Street News: Batmania '89

 The new BACK ISSUE! (#113) celebrates the 30th anniversary of Tim Burton's BATMAN (a movie of which I am not really a fan, even though I convinced myself at the time that it was worthy of the hype). In this installment of Prince Street News, the "real" Caped Crusader stops by Julie's Bar (that timeless tavern where comic book characters toss one back) to bask in his newfound cinematic success. This one doesn't need much explaining to the non-fanboys out there, particularly the final punchline. Ouch!

R. Crumb's The Avengers

Part of a Prince Street News installment, "Alternate Alternate Realities," this faux-cover ponders the impossible outcome of legendary underground comix artist Robert Crumb working for Marvel in the 1960s. I had to keep it relatively clean for the magazine. Heh.

The Bootleg League of Many Countries

Based on the cover of Justice League of America #48, this part of a Prince Street News installment, "Alternate Alternate Realities" depicts a group of "super heros" (sic) as seen in various bootleg action figure incarnations (packages of grouped figures often mixed DC and Marvel heroes, hence the addition of Spider-Man into the League).

The Hulk prefers bold patterns to purple

Punk Supergirl

Hipster Spidey

What if Daredevil's dad were a wrestler instead of a boxer?

Jughead Jones... GREEN LANTERN!

BATZAM!

Jonathan Kent... The Spectre!

After Jim Corrigan, Hal Jordan, and Crispus Allen, what if kindly old Pa Kent took up the mantle of the Spirit of Vengeance?

Marvey Comics' THE AVENGERS in HERO LAND!

Based on the cover of THE AVENGERS #58 by John Buscema, this piece (part of a PRINCE STREET NEWS montage strip of Alternate Alternate Realities) posits a Marvel / Harvey Comics mashup in which Richie Rich (as Super Richie), Wendy the Good Little Witch, Hot Stuff the Little Devil, Stumbo the Giant, Jackie Jokers, and Sooper Hippie meet Casper the Friendly Ghost. I was gonna call this "Harvengers," but nah.

Prince Street News: Alternate Alternate Realities

The new BACK ISSUE! (#111) is out, and it's a doozy! A deep dive into Marvel and DC Comics alternate reality tales, covering Imaginary Stories, WHAT IF?, DC's Elseworlds, and much more. For this installment of PSN, I came up with a bunch of gags that are mostly costume-based (as I defensively admit at the bottom of the second page), like What If Matt (Daredevil) Murdock's father were a pro wrestler instead of a boxer? Just Imagine if Abin Sur's ring chose Jughead instead of Hal Jordan? And how about those Teen Titans and their damn cell phones?!? Okay, that last one is kind of lame (and the perspective is wonky, to boot!), but whattyagonnado.

I'm also going to post all of the separate elements from this strip as separate posts on this blog if anyone wants to save or share some higher res versions.

NEXT UP! We return to Julie's Bar, that timeless tavern for comic book characters, this time during the summer of 1989... can you guess what the topic of conversation is?

Prince Street News: Getting Superman

The new BACK ISSUE! is a loving tribute to the benchmark of all superhero cinema, Richard Donner's 1978 epic, SUPERMAN (aka ...THE MOVIE). I've written and drawn thousands and thousands of words about this movie and my love for it many times for many outlets over the years (even in a previous installment of this comic strip!), but this one is, upon the 40th anniversary of the film, a look at WHY that movie worked as well as it did (and as someone who just saw it again on the big screen as part of Fathom Events' anniversary screenings, I can attest that it still works...).

Having said that, this episode of PSN makes me wince a bit because I am still utterly inept at capturing likenesses. It's a failing. But I hope that doesn't impede your enjoyment of the strip too much. I mean, we all have our little faults... Lex's is in California.

Prince Street News: From Lancaster to Riverdale

Oh, did I love doing this one. BACK ISSUE! #107 is a deep dive into the Bronze Era of Archie Comics, a line for which I have tremendous love. The clean, crisp cartooning of some of those books had probably more of an impact on my style than the "straight" comic book artists I loved. To the extent where in hindsight, maybe I should've taken my portfolio to Archie instead of DC Comics back in the early '90s when I still thought this was what I wanted to do for a living.

Oh, well. At least I finally got the chance to draw the Archies... and Josie (after the New York Dolls)... and Sabrina... and Bingo... and the Mad House Glads...  and even Li'l Jinx (whom I hate). Unlike most installments of this comic strip, I'd imagine that this one will be relatable to a lot more of you beyond the aging hardcore fanboys like myself. At least I hope so.

Next up! Another look at Superman: The Movie (really!) on the cusp of its 40th anniversary.

Prince Street News: Golden Agers' Night!

The new BACK ISSUE!, #106 is on the stands, focusing on Bronze Age revivals of Golden Age characters (I've lost the non-fanboys already, haven't I?). For this installment of PSN, we return to Julie's Bar, the timeless tavern for comic book characters. This time we're bellying up to the bar in the 1974, a time when DC Comics was starting to bring back old characters such as The Spectre, Dr. Fate, and other Earth-2 members of the Justice Society of America (look it up). The gags in this one are pretty much all just for the fanboys, except maybe the first panel on page two. This is the second PSN in which I get to make "Comic Characters' Favorite Adult Beverages" jokes, a topic that combines two of my great loves (in case it helps you get the jokes, the characters are Uncle Sam, Bulletman, the "big guy" from Harvey Kurtzman's "Hey, Look!," Captain Tootsie (from comic book ads for Tootsie Rolls), the Spirit, The Blue Beetle, and Wonder Woman's pal, Etta Candy (who actually used to constantly shout, "Woo! Woo!"). Hilarious, right?

Okay, anyway. Next issue contains a strip that'll appeal to a wider audience, being anyone who's ever read an Archie comic book, particularly from the 1960s or '70s. Watch this space!

Barcade Jersey City 7th Anniversary Poster

As I post this, it's still in the future! So if you're seeing this prior to Thursday, May 10th, 2018, come to Barcade Jersey City and have some delicious beers with me! If, however, you're seeing this after that particular date in time, you lose, jerk!

But you should still hit a Barcade.

Tomorrow poster

My friend Joanna asked me if I'd be interested in doing the poster her Lancaster PA theater company's production of Joseph Eck's play, TOMORROW, based on the struggles of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. 

Duh!

Joanna offered to send me the script, but I assured her I was somewhat familiar with the story. Anyway, the poster is (obviously, to some of you) based on the cover of 1939's SUPERMAN #1, the first comic book dedicated to a single character (that Superman guy sure did feature in a lot of pop culture firsts).