Sick #85, 2 of 3

Counting the number of dated gags here is like those games they have at carnivals where you have to guess the amount of jelly beans are in a jar. The following pages are from Sick #85 From August 1971. The previous few were posted last week here.

This piece was drawn by Jack Sparling

These were some of the celebrities of the time. Only two are still alive today.

More borderline kiddie porn (though technically Little Orphan Annie was in her 30s)

Like I said last week. The budget didn't seem to allow for much new artwork, as noted by using art from other articles.

Bonus: See if you can guess what would be illegal here. Hint: The very same thing was in the news this very week (I believe I'm in the clear since everyone involved is now dead.)

John Costanza

The Andromeda Strain

CRACKED #113, 3 of 3

Nothing really to say about this issue of Cracked from November 1973 from the last two times I posted from it.

John Severin did these two articles:

Charles Rodrigues admits his devout religiosity in his signature.

Something Else, 2 of 2

More of the establishment's attempt to co-opt youth culture from Something Else #2 in March 1971... Based on the popular phrase about Nixon, “Would you buy a used car from this man?”

CRAZY #8

Another issue of Marvel's short-lived Mad competitor Crazy from December 1974.

Like the previous issues, it's not that funny but interesting because it represents a certain period of time. Cover by Nick Cardy More lampooning of Nixon by Tony Isabella and Dick Wright. Parody of Police Story by Stu Schwartzberg and Vance Rodewalt. After this was The Crazy White Paper on Hamburgers

This parody of Casper by Marv Wolfman and Marie Severin used to creep me out as a kid and now it does for a different reason. It's ironic that Harvey comics are looked down on as formulaic and kids' stuff by a publication that is formulaic and kids' stuff. Marvel even published their own Harvey imitations at one time. This was reprinted several times and they tried to duplicate its “success” with a Richie Rich/SLA mashup.

Marvel was in the same building as National Lampoon and their staffers were constantly trying to pitch them stories. This was apparently one of them.

I don't always post things because I think they are funny, often it's because they're supposed to be. People who know me know I have a grim sense of humor, sometimes I even joke about how I've had to have an MRI immediately after waking up in a pool of my own blood (don't worry, it doesn't happen anymore). I don't find any subject off-limits. Someone made a YouTube video of the 9/11 footage juxtaposed with Yakkety Sax. It's completely tasteless, I couldn't watch it all the way through, anyone who would laugh at that is an asshole, but at least I can see what's supposed to be funny about it. This story nowhere near that level. Doesn't offend me much. However, I don't know exactly what the joke is here. Do they think wife-beating and infanticide are funny in and of themselves? Is it iconoclasm? Were they trying to do something a sixth-grader would like? What exactly is the joke here? After that is a story by Barry Hepp called If Human Interest Stories Were Written Like Crime Stories.

More History of Moosekind by Bob Foster

And keeping with the law and order theme, is Crazy's Prison Crazies by John Stevens.

Insipid Romances by Steve Gerber and Marie Severin parodies the many romance magazines that existed at the time. This was mocking the Saturday Morning cartoons of that year which I think was done by people that worked on those cartoons, hence what I think are mostly fake names. The writing is credited to “Lance Boyle”. The only name I recognize is William Stout.

They also parodied Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch, These Are the Days, Partridge Family: 2200 A.D., Devlin, and Hong Kong Fooey There was Serpikette, a parody of Serpico in collage and fumetti form.

Then a collaboration by Marv Wolfman and Robert Graysmith

Parody of the Bounty Paper Towels campaign.