Not Much


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Hi Reader (s). Sorry it’s been a long time since my last post, but I needed to scan some more material and the scanner is far away. Now at last I have more comics to entertain you with. A lot of scary stuff going on with the nation and the ecomomy. I believe it’s compounded by having a Presidential election at the same time as the Stock Market and Credit problems. It’s really hard to know who or what to believe. I have my own theory of economics, I call it the “cat food” theory. A few years ago, some poison meat crept into the pet food industry by way of China and Canada, then came across the border into the U.S. market. A lot of compromised cat food and dog food disappeared from store shelves, and when the kibble settled, what had been a fairly competitive market, with at least five manufacturers of pet food, shrunk to three, two national brands and one store brand. The two pet food makers, and others, who had trouble with their products, never returned. Cat food used to be 25 to 35 cents before the big shakeout, now it’s 50 cents a can and up, why? Reduced competition. The current economic crisis is shaking down the bank industry with the “poison” of bad mortgage loans made during an artificially created housing “boom”. This poison is now spreading through the banking industry and economy, felling one big bank after another. When the gold dust settles, it looks like we will have a lot fewer (and bigger) banks making a lot fewer loans. It will be harder to qualify for a loan and the interest rates will be higher. Why? Reduced competition.  Was this whole crisis engineered? You be the judge as you buy your 50 cent can of cat food made by either Purina or Friskies (no other choice around here), and try to get a small loan from an institution “too big to fail”.

        In this week’s comics, we have the last Mangy story to see print, originally in MAD RACCOONS #7, I call it “Mangy’s Stormy Night”. It’s a charming and beautifully inked comic story by Cathy Hill. I especially love the beautiful use of black in the first page as Mangy is awakened by the lightning flash. Page two is fun to look at as well, as Mangy leans over Virgil with her food bowl in the first panel. I like the distortion Cathy put into that drawing, as Mangy’s head moves toward Virgil’s nose. The conclusion of this story will be in the next post. Marvelous Mike this week is from 10/15 to 10/20/1956. I think this is the windup to the “Big Donation” story. Mike solves Cliff’s amnesia with the old cartoon cure, a hammer blow to Cliff’s head. When he awakens, Cliff finds that Mike has won the contest for him but he still doesn’t believe it. Krazy Kat is from 3/6 to 3/11/1939 and involves Ignatz’s two pals, Church and Door Mouse. They make things very confusing for Offissa Pupp. “Looks Are Deceiving” continues from Felix #8 by Jim Tyer. The drawing and staging are up with Tyer’s best stuff here, Pussyfoot’s laughing poses are amusing to look at and the inking is really dynamic. I like the comic action of Felix spinning the cocky Pussyfoot around by his tail in the second page, so typical of Tyer’s animation. I hope you enjoy the comics, there will be some more vintage Tyer to come after Felix #8. Please come back and see. If anybody asks you what you’re doing when reading this humble blog, just say “Not Much”. Any comments, either click the link below or write me at blogmolasses@att.net.

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