Who, What, When, Where & Wiandt

Along with Archie comics, I had a chance to finish reading “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle. Good book. A novel for all ages, and winner of the Newberry Award, “Wrinkle” is an imaginative story of courage and love, and good vs. evil. The book combines elements of suspense, horror, fantasy and science fiction. Teens and preteens may find the 1962 book tame by today’s standards, but the story of Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace’s quest through time and space to find their father is inspirational (the book has several scripture references). My copy of “Wrinkle” was printed in the mid to late 1980s. I don’t know who painted the stunning cover art.

I love this record album art. Sorry I couldn’t scan the top, but the illustration by Pete Hawley graced the dust jacket for “Walt Disney’s Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.” (Click on it for a larger view.) I think it’s beautiful, and although I’ve yet to learn about the man, I’ve appreciated his work for some time. I plan to post more of it later.

I ran across my copy of Famous Monsters of Filmland No. 125 (May 1976) with King Kong 1977 on the cover. Notice he’s straddling the World Trade Center.

TCM is showing “Ben Hur” starring Charlton Heston tonight at 9. I’ve seen it before, but it’s been a while. It’s a classic, so I’m DVR’ing to view later in case I can’t watch it  ”live.”

Remember the great parodies of classic comic strips in Mad? (John Whitacre remembers.) The Mad artist could really imitate the newspaper cartoonists. Bill Elder, Wallace Wood and Bob Clarke were experts. They were all good. Jack Davis did a great takeoff on Mark Trail titled “Mark Trade.” Don Martin and Sergio’s satires were especially funny because they kept their unique styles while drawing comic book heroes such as Superman and Spider-Man.

This particular issue included a reprint of “The Mad ‘Comic’ Opera” by Frank Jacobs and Wallace Wood. Wood’s art is great. His added attention to shading and detail gives such characters as Dick Tracy and Dagwood Bumstead a three-dimensional look they never had before. Here’s the Mad Comic Opera finale. The article on  “Obituaries for Comic Strip Characters” is good too.