"Master Comixx" - "THE FURRY SEASON" - 1982
Posted: April 24th, 2022, 2:01 am
You may have recently read the "Men of Action" comix that I posted on another thread - comix that I drew, with my buddy John, for the Northwestern University Law School student newspaper from 1985-86.
But those were hardly the first comix that I drew (in fact, they were among the last). Several years earlier, while in college, I had drawn a series of comix titled "Master Comix". The first thing I have to tell you is that they were not drawn for publication, or even for a wider audience. In fact, they were drawn for precisely 4 people: myself and three of my close High School & College friends aka "The Four Masters". I drew them as a way to amuse myself and my friends.
It was quite a drawn-out series - of which this one is the only one that I deem to be "almost ready for prime time". Most of the others would be either too personal, too daffy, or even occasionally too politically offensive to SOME, despite 40 years having passed. So you won't get to see those.
This one, "The Furry Season", I have deemed acceptable for posting here - despite the amateurishness of some of the drawings, and the lower quality in general (they were done using a regular fountain pen on both sides of typewriter paper. You will note that some of the drawings on the backs of the pages are often visible through the paper. C'est la vie. They were meant for cheap entertainment only.)
I would read these comix out loud to my friends, and they vouch to this day that my narration was half the enjoyment. (No, I am not going to record it for you. If you imagine a deep, gravelly, often raving and screaming and slightly demented-sounding narrator - you might not be too far off. Did I just write "slightly-demented sounding"? Oh, OK - how about "totally unhinged sounding"? That would probably be closer to the mark!)
Who were "The Four Masters"? They were - myself, my high school best friend Aaron, his older brother Mel (aka "The Billy-Master" aka "Mellvin"), and my college friend "Seymour" - this was actually his last name, but he was the "John Belushi" of our college and everyone called him simply "Seymour". His (mis)adventures at the State University of New York at Binghamton were legendary. So legendary, in fact, that he failed to graduate by just a couple of courses in his last semester, largely owing to the excesses of his real-life personality. (Let that be a warning to any youngsters out there. Misbehavior is only funny for so long. )
How to ID the "Masters": I am the tallest, skinny moustachioned one, Aaron is the next-tallest big-nosed bearded one, Seymour is the next-tallest rounded bearded one, and "Melllvin" is the shortest and fattest one with the walrus moustache and glasses. Just in case y'all were wondering.
What were we "Masters" of you may ask? Well, the long cartoon answer would be: "of anything that we wanted to be"', while the shorter answer would simply be: "of Mayhem".
So - prepare yourselves for an adventure partly (and quite obviously) influenced by a. the Warner Brothers Loony Toon "Base Ball Bugs", b. the surrealistic, iconic and epic "Alan Ford" comic (that you've never heard of because it was only iconic in its native Italy - and across the Adriatic in Yugoslavia, where its surrealism and verbal gags became part of popular culture). c. a "Second City TV" sketch about "Rats coming to kill us" that ends with Joe Flaherty scaring his son literally to death by reading him a story about rats, and d. the then-popular and new "Slasher Flick" craze. So now you pretty much know where the inspiration for this comix madness came from.
What's not to like? You've got "The Four Masters", the Great American Pastime, the Yankees, a homicidal George Steinbrenner, a mysterious new team (loosely based on the early 1980s Milwaukee Brewers) ... and even a cameo by Elton John (I was then the World's #1 Elton fan. Actually I am going to see him play San Antonio during his current farewell tour with my adult son - 30 years after last seeing him in concert - but I digress).
I will "serialize" this comix by posting it in segments over the next several weeks. May God help you if you actually hold on til the end.
So, for your viewing pleasure, I now present to you, straight from 1982, 'THE FURRY SEASON"!!!
What can the Yankees do to stop this furry onslaught? What will George Steinbrenner do? Where can he turn for help? Stay tuned - and all will be answered shortly ....
But those were hardly the first comix that I drew (in fact, they were among the last). Several years earlier, while in college, I had drawn a series of comix titled "Master Comix". The first thing I have to tell you is that they were not drawn for publication, or even for a wider audience. In fact, they were drawn for precisely 4 people: myself and three of my close High School & College friends aka "The Four Masters". I drew them as a way to amuse myself and my friends.
It was quite a drawn-out series - of which this one is the only one that I deem to be "almost ready for prime time". Most of the others would be either too personal, too daffy, or even occasionally too politically offensive to SOME, despite 40 years having passed. So you won't get to see those.
This one, "The Furry Season", I have deemed acceptable for posting here - despite the amateurishness of some of the drawings, and the lower quality in general (they were done using a regular fountain pen on both sides of typewriter paper. You will note that some of the drawings on the backs of the pages are often visible through the paper. C'est la vie. They were meant for cheap entertainment only.)
I would read these comix out loud to my friends, and they vouch to this day that my narration was half the enjoyment. (No, I am not going to record it for you. If you imagine a deep, gravelly, often raving and screaming and slightly demented-sounding narrator - you might not be too far off. Did I just write "slightly-demented sounding"? Oh, OK - how about "totally unhinged sounding"? That would probably be closer to the mark!)
Who were "The Four Masters"? They were - myself, my high school best friend Aaron, his older brother Mel (aka "The Billy-Master" aka "Mellvin"), and my college friend "Seymour" - this was actually his last name, but he was the "John Belushi" of our college and everyone called him simply "Seymour". His (mis)adventures at the State University of New York at Binghamton were legendary. So legendary, in fact, that he failed to graduate by just a couple of courses in his last semester, largely owing to the excesses of his real-life personality. (Let that be a warning to any youngsters out there. Misbehavior is only funny for so long. )
How to ID the "Masters": I am the tallest, skinny moustachioned one, Aaron is the next-tallest big-nosed bearded one, Seymour is the next-tallest rounded bearded one, and "Melllvin" is the shortest and fattest one with the walrus moustache and glasses. Just in case y'all were wondering.
What were we "Masters" of you may ask? Well, the long cartoon answer would be: "of anything that we wanted to be"', while the shorter answer would simply be: "of Mayhem".
So - prepare yourselves for an adventure partly (and quite obviously) influenced by a. the Warner Brothers Loony Toon "Base Ball Bugs", b. the surrealistic, iconic and epic "Alan Ford" comic (that you've never heard of because it was only iconic in its native Italy - and across the Adriatic in Yugoslavia, where its surrealism and verbal gags became part of popular culture). c. a "Second City TV" sketch about "Rats coming to kill us" that ends with Joe Flaherty scaring his son literally to death by reading him a story about rats, and d. the then-popular and new "Slasher Flick" craze. So now you pretty much know where the inspiration for this comix madness came from.
What's not to like? You've got "The Four Masters", the Great American Pastime, the Yankees, a homicidal George Steinbrenner, a mysterious new team (loosely based on the early 1980s Milwaukee Brewers) ... and even a cameo by Elton John (I was then the World's #1 Elton fan. Actually I am going to see him play San Antonio during his current farewell tour with my adult son - 30 years after last seeing him in concert - but I digress).
I will "serialize" this comix by posting it in segments over the next several weeks. May God help you if you actually hold on til the end.
So, for your viewing pleasure, I now present to you, straight from 1982, 'THE FURRY SEASON"!!!
What can the Yankees do to stop this furry onslaught? What will George Steinbrenner do? Where can he turn for help? Stay tuned - and all will be answered shortly ....