RorschWEEK 10

Well, here is the final Rorschach blot in the series.

What do you think?

This has been silly, but I trust that this experience hasn't put you off flying.  Statistically, it's ....

Whoops, wrong disclaimer!

I also hope that this image is the closest you get to French crabs.



We'll see you after the weekend with some alternate pages from Watchmen.

RorschWEEK Number 9

Now, the term "cretin" is purely a generic term and no insult to any cretin, living or dead, is implied.

Unless you know somebody who looks like this.

If so, tell them not to worry, because the President has promised to take care of EVERYBODY.  Especially those who need dental work.

Our big, flamin' (or foolish) finale to the Rorscach Self-Inspection Series will be the TRUTH behind this image, Plaat x.

Sometimes I wonder if the blots are deliberately faded-looking to encourage your subconscious to dive in there and "fill in" some blanks.

After the end of RorschWEEK, we'll continue in the blotty spirit by showing you three unseen pages from an alternate ending of Watchmen, by illo-guy Dave Gibbons, himself.

RorschWEEK Number 8

You Know, I don;t see what's so complicatedc about the whole "seeing things" in the Rorshach blots.

Doesn't everybody see an elephant, Iowa, a mountain lion, and Australia?

Of course, I could understand if you were reminded of Montana ...

Here's a preview of the unadorned Rorshach Plaat ix so that you can start the propellors on your thinking caps a-spinnin'.

You know, do I sense a return of the dancing poodles in the top portion of Plaat ix?

Naaahh ...

RorschWEEK Number 7

Surely you could see this one coming!

When else could Rorschach Plaat vii remind ANYBODY of?

Well, OK, maybe a pan of pork chops ...

Now, our next image, Rorschach's Plate viii, may seem mysterious, but in fact you don't have to make it hard on yourself to come up with an idea.

Think about it for a day or so...

RorschWEEK Number 6

Here is another macro-image.

An easy one, eh?

The Rorschach book said that oftentimes folks would "see" a flayed animal in this inkblot.

Of course, since the Rorschach blot test came around BEFORE Star Trek, it's always possible that Matt Jefferies, or whoever designed the original Klingon ship, had seen a few inkblots and decided to incorporate one!

In a few days, we'll see what you think about "Plaat vii."  View the original below.  It may remind you of one of those "do you see the vase or the faces" ads in the back of SAGA magazine, but I think you'll agree with me in a few days, that my take is more dead-on.

And, no, "dead-on" was not a clue.

RorschWEEK Number 5

OK, this is another easy one.  But on the other hand, you could consider it a two-fer!

If you've seen the wonderfully creepy movie The Mothman Prophecies, or are simply an amazed observer of Our Haunted Planet (to steal a phrase from John Keel), you've heard of Mothman.

This image of Mothman is actually one of the earliest eyewitness depictions.

Now, First Impression Number Two (is that possible?) is simply that the Rorschach V plate is pretty reminiscent of Arthur, longsuffering sidekick to The Tick.

Don't tell me you don't see it too!

Now, our little what-do-you-see for next time is Rorschach Plate VI, as seen on the left side.  You don't get to say it looks like Bill the Cat!

Until next time, ACK! or is it SPOON!

RorschWEEK Number 4

This time, it's EASY to tell the picture in the Rorschach blot.  Even someone who doesn't read comic books will recognize a bat, huh?

Although, I must admit, if you imagined a wild boar's head split down-the-middle like the rapist's pooch in WATCHMEN, I could understand that too.

But where are the "hidden" pictures that I keep hearing about?

Next post, another EASY ONE.  It's Mr Barlow the vampire from the original Salem's Lot miniseries, with only his hands peeking out from between two curtains.

No? then what do YOU see?!?!?

RorschWEEK Number 3

OK, this is going to be longer than a week, until we share all the workings of my benighted little brain, at least in regards to the infamous set of Rorschach images.  They're infamous not only because they were the inspiration for Alan Moore's character, but because they were DELIBERATELY intended to provoke the viewer to see "things" whose mentioning would make the viewer seem deeply disturbed, to tne analyst well-trained in their use.

Don't forget, you can't have "analysis" without "anal."

Here is Rorschach blot number three.  Look deeply at it and decide what you see in the image.

Then see if you don't agree with me that, at first glance, Rorschach blot number 3 reminds you of:

some tribal folks who've been shopping for new purses!

Until next time, ruminate on Rorschach blot number four.  What do you see?

(Surely not Wonder Warthog!?!)

RorschWEEK Number 2

Well, by now you should not have expected profundity.

If you knew we had a seven-year-old kid in the house, then you might have expected something like this.

Also, if you had known in advance the Rorschach blot.

So, starting now, I'll show you the ORIGINAL blot for our next post so that you can discover your own twisty little subconscious imagery!

Here is Rorschach Blot "Plaat III" (Plate 3 for unGerman-types).

Cool DVD Alert!

I'm happy to share the news that  the 1994 FOX series M.A.N.T.I.S., which died after one season in the Friday-night "death slot," has been released on DVD!

I just ordered mine.  I understand that there aren't any special features included (ARGHH!) but on the four discs are the pilot and all of the produced episodes, including some that weren't aired.

We now return you to your thoughts about ink blots.

RorschWEEK Number 1

Henh-henh.

You thought this would be about Watchmen's Rorschach!

Actually, a recent thrift-store find was a book on how to show-and-grade the ten Rorschach cards.  It is probably a symptom of my own mental sicknesses that, while reading the book,  I needed the authors' help to find all the penises and female parts that some of those respondents gave.

To give a Rorschach test properly, you (the Mental Health Guru) also have to learn/memorize a lots of code initials so you can make rapid notes concerning your test subject.  You make notes about whether the person "sees" humans or animals, or various forces of nature; and whether the image is perceived as moving or not; and whether or not an inanimate object is "natural" or not; and lots of other stuff.

You know, when I briefly saw a child psychiatrist in my grade school years, I was probably given a Rorschach test.  Considering how deviant some of the "common" responses are -- according to the book -- I must have passed muster or just acted innocent --, because after a year or so I didn't have to see Dr Coutant (spelling?) any more.  Mostly I recall how fun it was to be allowed to play with the set of Lincoln Logs he had in his office.

Anyway, RorschWEEK entries will be about what the Rorschach blots look like to me.  I hope you agree, or at least consider my ideas a brief diversion.

What do YOU see?

A (exceedingly) Small History Lesson

Some of you, my friends, hang about because you know me. Some have droppeth as the manna rains from Heaven.

Anyway, a few of you guys might have some interest in STAR OKC, central Oklahma's SF/Fantasy Club (now defunct).

After my pal (and fellow STAR OKC survivor)Larry Nemecek (see his Blog Listing to the right) asked if there were any STAR OKC records online, I took the bit into my (figurative) teeth and figured I would just throw up a STAR OKC blog about it.

STAR OKC started in 1973 as part of the Star Trek Association for Revival movement. Some of you may recall a time when the ONLY STAR TREK was local syndicated reruns, ususally trimmed for time as desired by local stations.

So, the S.T.A.R. groups decided to change all that.

As far as actual influence, I figure maybe .005% is a generous estimate of our "push power". But we sure felt vindicated when the gears began grinding exceedingly slow towards a movie -- now, a series -- no, a movie.

Anyway, if you was to see a drip-by-drip posting of some Fandom Days Gone By in Oklahoma City, then check out the blog at http://starokc.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned right here in a couple of days for

RORSCH-WEEK, Day One

Shake It Shake It Baby

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In about 1975, you could pop into your local Thrift-T-Wise and pick up one of these salt-and-pepper shaker sets, for 39 cents.

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I'm not sure in which Provinces these were marketed, but these were bought in Oklahoma.

I am pretty sure that "Table Size" means that these are the right size to go on your table. They are NOT the size of your table.

Unless you're Captain Action, maybe.

In case you wondered, these fine shakers with stylized Gypsies and elaborate "S" and "P" symbols did not come with the seasonings inside. So you could be a very subversive seven-year-old and put salt in the "P" shaker and pepper in the "S" shaker and wait for Dad to get mad.

Random Consumer Item

If you are "of a certain age," you will remember when it was a luxury to have an icemaker in your refrigerator.





If you are MORE of a certain age, like me, you will remember when it was not even imaginable to have an icemaker in your refrigerator.





That is when you had ice trays in your freezer. Not PLASTIC ice trays, they did not yet exist.





But, aluminum ice-cude trays. What you did was, you filled 'em with water and put 'em into the freezer. Simple, henh?





The trick was getting the ice OUT of the trays after freezing!

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The first thing you would do was turn the frozen tray over and run cold water from the sink onto the bottom of the tray. The idea was to loosen the ice from sticking to the bottom of the tray. Then you'd turn the tray right-side-up.



The thing running left-to-right was a handle to grip. You'd set the tray on your kitchen counter and try to hold it down with one hand while you lifted up on the handle with the other.



You see, the handle was hinged and when it was pulled up, the ice-cube dividers, which were hinged together with the handle, would turn a little and thus break the ice into the cubes formed by the dividers.



That was the theory. In my house, the next step was knocking the partial pieces of ice loose from the aluminum dividers and trying to find the biggest pieces for your drink. In other words, it didn't work too good.

You also had to be strong enough to crack the ice!

Captain Kirk vs Dick Tracy?

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From Superboy #86 and January 1961, we have an Amazing Wrist Radio!

Of course, unlike Dick Tracy's 2-Way Wrist Radio and the wrist-banded Communicators from Star Trek TMP and STII, these were receive-only.

Don't you bet, though, that lots of kids PRETENDED, by talking into them?

And, what exactly is a "permanent germanium diode"? Well, according to http://www.reuk.co.uk/Germanium-Diodes.htm , they "are a very important component of most alternative energy generating systems" -- and lots of stuff like that. They're also pretty delicate. So you wonder how long these things would have lasted on the wrist of a kid on a set of monkey bars or riding through a meadow on his Schwinn Sting-Ray bike.

And speaking of pretending, one of my favorite pretend-spy things, when I could get it, was a simple spring-loaded measuring tape. I would pull out the tape about eight or ten inches, stick the tape straight up, and talk into the case like it was a walkie-talkie. Then I could sign off and hit the RETRACT button, making my "attenna" disappear automatically!

Now, THAT was cool!

PS a shout-out to Paul Howley for his kind words. Read through the links on the right-hand sidebar and check out his blog, "My Life with Comic Books."

Did You Know What a Hessian Was, When You Read This Ad?

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I did, because I'd read The Adventures of Bob Hope #89, in which Bob Hope and his talking dog (who was kind of like Peabody to Hope's Sherman) time-travelled to the Revolutionary War and messed up a bunch of Hessian mercenaries' plans to attack General Washington on Christmas Eve.

As far as the ad goes, I like how the "204" is filled with red, white, and blue stars. Any bets on which of those "2 complete armies!" might win? I would guess that the "up to 4 inches long" probably refers to the field cannon.

Anyway, this is the back cover of Superman 171 and the end (did I hear a "FINALLY"?) of our page-by-page stroll through a representative copy of a sample Silver Age comic.

Since we began, I've lost my Mom and my job. I hope that you, my friends, haven't fared the same.

My plan for this was to make folks acquainted with all the components of a Silver Age comic book. We had three stories, plenty of ads, a text piece, a letters page, and the like. Lots of those ads are for things not around any more (Tootsie Roll Fudge, anybody?) but some are still with us (Lucky Charms, Cheerios, Silly Putty).

I think it's a shame that my kids and grandkids won't have the chance to "Make Money! GET PRIZES!" or to order some Roman Warriors from a comic book. A comic book that could be bought with the change you earned while walking to the grocery store to buy it! That's because if you found six pop bottles along the way (as I did more than once in the 1960s), you could turn them in for the 2-cents-each deposit and -- buy a comic book!

Personally, I think it might take more skill, talent, and/or craftsmanship to write a six- or eight-page comics tale, as opposed to "arcs" and such which are spread across several months or years.

I also think you're a lot more likely to pick up a casual reader with self-contained stories.

Thank you and good night. Soon we'll look at a little Super-Avon, a few book reviews, and -- who knows what?!?

aka "Make Money! Get Prizes!"

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You know, this is the first time after reading a million comics that, along with all the other come-ons from this ad for the Junior Sales Club of America, "You can get this OFFICIAL J.S.C.A. BADGE."

Now, what would you do with this badge, anywho? Show it to your teacher as an excuse for being tardy? Tell your mom that you were late coming home from school because of OFFICIAL J.S.C.A. business?

Or maybe you could just show it to the cranky lady at the end of the block after she threatens to call the police because you rang her doorbell.

Now, the cards are $1.25 per box (a little steep for 1964, I think) but yet making 50 cents off each box sounds like a good deal. Assuming that twenty other kids at your school weren't pitching in the same neighborhoods!

I can just imagine some little old lady or man with an inability to say no, and with a closetful of greeting cards with nobody to send 'em to. *sniff*

Soldiers and Romans, Oh My!

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I never sent off for anything by mail from a comic-book ad.

I would guess that the Toy Soldiers were pretty much the same army men that most of us played with, and like the ones imitated in the Toy Story movies.

The footlocker-type case was probably made from card stock, wouldn't you imagine?

If you'll read the text for the Roman Armies, you'll see that one set is blue and one is yellow -- 66 of each, I suppose. And while they look pretty bloodthirsty in the illustration, I bet opening the box and finding little yellow and blue injection-molded guys *might* have been a let-down for some.


The ads, while for similar products, list different companies and addresses. That's more evidence that once upon a time, there were a lot more businesses and manufacturers in this great country of ours.

Metropolis Mailbag and Fudge -- mmmm!

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Here is the "Metropolis Mailbag" for Superman 171, which you'll recall is cover-dated August, 1964.

Here readers asked questions, pointed out errors, and otherwise interacted not only with the world of Superman, but the world of ADULTS.

Taking the letters in order ...

The first refers to Sally Selwyn, a beautiful heiress who had appears in Superman 165 and 169. Chalk up the editorial reply to "empty promise," because Sally didn't appear again. Of course, maybe a story was in the pipes but didn't make it into print.

Next we have the exposure of a prank letter, where a reader asks about somebody's previous request to have plastic surgery to copy Superboy's face. The reply admits as much and says, in effect, at least we got a story element from the affair.

The third letter proves editor Mort Weisinger's theory that the comic-book audience would rotate every few years. The writer -- probably about ten years old -- has never heard of the Superman radio show. So the editorial reply confirms that To Tell the Truth's TV host Bud Collier DID play the Man of Steel on the radio.

Next we have a smart-aleck who tries to tie up DC in a wrangling over tetanus/lockjaw, regarding Mr Mxyzptlk's recent appearance when he couldn't talk. In turnabout fashion, the smart-aleck editors reply that Mxy's docter in Zrfff made the mis-diagnosis, not DC.

The last letter also tries to catch the staff in a wrong-side-of-the-road snafu, which is easily slipped out of.

In between is a letter asking DC to reprint its stories featuring JFK. Besides the cover story, "Who Is the Mystery Masquerader?" which appeared in Action 309, there were several others, such as "Superman's Mission for President Kennedy!" which appeared in Superman 170, the issue immediately preceding this one. Also, JFK welcomed Supergirl to the White House in Action 252. (There are surely others.) The editors wisely reply that "it's too soon after Mr Kennedy's tragic death to reprint them."

Now, notice two things about this reply. First, the editors call him "Mr" not "President" Kennedy. I wonder if this were intentional. Secondly, the publishers of today would have rushed out a reprint "Special Memorial Edition" of those stories before the last assassin left Dallas city limits!

The bottom third of the page has an ad for the now-defunct "Tootsie Roll Fudge." Nowadays you can't buy the stuff. It was crowded from the marketplace by Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Roll Pops.

Superman Looks Like My Dad

In the first panel of this, the last page of "The Nightmare Ordeal of Superman" from Superman 171, a bearded, unkempt Superman peers out of his darkened cave at the reader, and also at his rescuers -- Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Dr Luring.

When I came to see my Dad in the emergency room (after the VA nearly killed him) at Jane Phillips in Bartlesville, he looked similar to this. It's sad and scary when somebody you have known for your whole life as always neat and clean -- suddenly they're scruffy and unshaven and their hair is all messed up.

Unlike my wonderful Dad, Superman will recover from being laid low like this. He has recovered from his delerium and figures that it's a cinch that Lois and Jimmy will recognize his unpowered self as plain Clark Kent.

Obviously, there's no reflective surface in that cave! Because as we can tell from that selfsame first panel, our hero does NOT look like good ol' "CK."

It is kind of funny that supposedly "his hair and beard have grown tremendously!" but that same short Super-haircut has stayed, despite enough passage of time to allow a super-scruff.

Next, how to retrieve that costume from Krypton? Well, brash Jimmy Olsen volunteers to do that -- and is stuck for a way to do it, until inspiration arrives with a glance at that red sun.

Whether or not you believe it would work on these savages, Jimmy's method is a slick piece of psychology. Red hair = red sun!

Of course, Jimmy takes the opportunity to let Superman think that he beat up the troglodyte to get the costume back!

(Parenthetically, I get Supes was glad to get his old threads back on!)

In our last panel, we're on our way back to Earth. Superman's powers are restored as they exit the red sun's influence, and more adventures lie ahead.

Next -- Metropolis Mailbag!