Cover art by Frank Robbins |
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Random Reads: "A Connecticut Ice Cream Man In King Arthur's Court" by Fleischer and Toth
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! Last week we took a look at Michael Fleischer's "melting man" trope (for the second time, that is--oops). Well, Groove-ophile B Smith noted that Fleischer gave his "melting man" a new (Ol' Groove's gotta say it) twist with House of Secrets #123's (June 1974) "A Connecticut Ice Cream Man In King Arthur's Court" with scrumdiddlyumptious art by the great Alex Toth! You won't be able to resist this'un, Groove-ophiles!
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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!
Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.
All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.
As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!
Note to "The Man": All images are presumed copyright by the respective copyright holders and are presented here as fair use under applicable laws, man! If you hold the copyright to a work I've posted and would like me to remove it, just drop me an e-mail and it's gone, baby, gone.
All other commentary and insanity copyright GroovyAge, Ltd.
As for the rest of ya, the purpose of this blog is to (re)introduce you to the great comics of the 1970s. If you like what you see, do what I do--go to a comics shop, bookstore, e-Bay or whatever and BUY YOUR OWN!
Thanks again. I've noticed this cover over the years, but did not know it referenced an Alex Toth story. Nice!
ReplyDeleteRip Off
Toth made great drawing look so easy & as natural as breathing, but it isn't. His layouts, storytelling, & characterizations are also magnificent. If I have only one criticism it is that he was TOO GOOD for a medium which didn't monetarily reward him as he would be with today's royalties & reprints. This was published & largely forgotten after it saw print.Alex Toth was a GENIUS who was as much an auteur as any great film maker.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Chris A.
He spent a good deal of his career in animation, which I'm sure did provide the safety net he needed in old age. That is why his comics output from the 70s on was a rare treat. Also, to add to your effusive praise he lettered all his work, giving it another Tothian distinctiveness.
Deleteawesome, once again Alex Toth delivers the goods.
ReplyDeleteLove Alex Toth. As Dick Giordano observed, he is a genius.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm saying Toth used Phil Silvers as a model...
ReplyDeleteHe may have! Toth used Errol Lynn's likeness in "Bravo for Adventure," along with Katherine Hepburn & C. Aubrey Smith in the supporting cast. In Hot Wheels 1-5 one of the characters was based on the likeness of Beau Bridges in the film "For Love of Ivy."
DeleteBest regards,
Chris A.
Errol Flynn. Autocorrect will drive you crazy.
DeleteRwgards,
Chris A.
The Ice Cream Man bears an uncanny resemblance to Phil Silvers' character in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."
ReplyDeleteIt could be Phil Silvers. But it also looks like the young Julius Schwartz back in the days when Julie had black hair and heavy dark eyebrows. And based on Toth's bad history with Schwartz, it's not hard to imagine he might have worked an unflattering caricature into a story where the character is a greedy backstabber who receives an ugly revenge...
ReplyDeleteKind of like Jack Kirby and Funky Flashman (Stan Lee).
Delete