Bryan had an interesting comment on the sketches I posted earlier this week. He suggested the characters be developed into a Sunday-only serial strip. This intrigued me, because it brought back a memory from when I’d read the comics as a kid. In The Atlanta Journal, we’d see “Buz Sawyer” in the funnies Monday through Saturday. Buz had been a Navy pilot during the war years, but he was a civilian adventurer and corporate mercenary by the time I came along. His was a swashbuckling serial strip, expertly produced by Roy Crane, and I loved it. However, on Sunday, in the large color format, the strip was about the man who’d flown with him as a gunner in the Pacific; his name was Roscoe Sweeney, a bellicose sidekick who’d been providing comic relief since their flying days. By the 50s, Roscoe lived on his orange grove in north Florida, with his younger sister. The Sunday strip was titled “Buz Sawyer, Featuring His Pal Roscoe Sweeney,” but each week would be a self-contained comic happening within the Sweeney household. It was a sit-com premise that might seem a tame life for such an old war horse, but combat veterans like him literally were everywhere in those days. Domesticity and normalcy were in big demand, and I suppose this was Crane’s version. Anyway, I always enjoyed Roscoe Sweeney, and I’m happy to be reminded of him.
Wither Thou Goest
By Jimmy Johnson
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109 responses to “Wither Thou Goest”
GR…like the idea of a valium block 🙂 could have used one yesterday,
Debbe:
1. You are our major source of animal humor [felids, as in Cheezburger] and I posted a funny picture of a sad canid.
2. I was kidding.
Speelczech doesn’t recognize ‘canid.’ Speelczech is biased against dogs! Let’s try hominid. Recognizes that. Others: ursid, mustelid, murid, cervid, didelphid, geomyid, equid, corvid . . . all unrecognized. But bovid and sciurid are ok. What’s so special about cattle and squirrels? It also recognizes ‘speelczech.’ I don’t think it did when first used here.
Florid, humid, torpid, etc. don’t count.
Peace, emb
I’m glad to have inspired a pleasant flashback, Jimmy. I have only the vaguest of memories of Buzz and Roscoe as they weren’t regulars in any of the papers I read regularly as a kid. They were in the paper my grandparents took and, lucky for me, my grandma reused newspapers. When I’d visit I would go through her paper stash, pulling out all of the comics. I would spread them out on the living room floor and catch up on all the ones I didn’t get at home.
But why I came in this morning is actually to say a big ‘Thank you’ for this week’s strip. I loved the storyline, Doc’s artwork is fantastic, and then to conclude with a quote from one of the best protest era singer/songwriters was perfect.
Again, thank you!
Having trouble getting into Gocomics — AGAIN
emb, I believe this has been mentioned here and/or you already know it…correct but unrecognized spellings of words can be added to Speelczech. Of course, I’m not sure why we should have to do someone else’s work for them.
One of my grandmothers saved many years of Reader’s Digest issues. That’s how I learned much of what I know about WWII-era history.
One of the pleasant memories of childhood is being sick in bed with the measles. Hold on. An elderly neighbor (probably the age I am now) loaned a collection of the Saturday Evening Post going back to the ’20’s or ’30’s. I don’t remember now, but you can bet that I would love to have it now. Does anyone have any idea where they came up with the strange name of the magazine? Also, I had the (brief) pleasure of visiting the Norman Rockwell museum several years ago. I say brief because I arrived 15 minutes before closing time. I was also able to see his house from a distance.
While growing up, no one in my immediate family had served in WWII, so I learned what I know from books and movies of that era. My FIL served then, but as a cartographer, and so saw no combat. The few WWII and Korean War veterans I met never talked about combat, nor my friends who returned from Viet Nam. None of them saw “Saving Private Ryan” because their friends who had seen it convinced them it was a flashback inducer nonpareil.
OF will be spouting any second now.
Jerry:
“Does anyone have any idea where they came up with the strange name of the magazine?”
My guess is it was a weekly that arrived on the newsstands Sat. pm, or perhaps was mailed to subscribers by then. Back in the ’30s, mail came [in cities, at least] 2x / day. The SEP is older than the ’30s.
Peace, emb
I thought that there was some connection with Ben Franklin. This is what the Post said in 2011:
“Our first issue appeared on August 4, 1821, making us the oldest magazine in the United States. (Because our publication was interrupted in 1969, we are not the oldest continually published magazine, however; that honor is held by Scientific American.)
The Post began life as a weekly newspaper, printed on the same equipment Ben Franklin used to publish The Pennsylvania Gazette. The Post‘s four pages were crowded with dense columns of small type; there were no illustrations besides a few crude pictures of hats and boots in advertisements.”
But there was no mention of WHY it was called The Saturday Evening Post except that it was a weekly.
Gal, that reminds me of the story of how the Boston Whaler got its name…it wasn’t built in Boston, and it was never used for whaling. Sometimes a name is just a name. 🙂
An aspiring author had written a book but was stuck for a name for it it. He consulted a friend who was a published author and explained his problem. The friend thought for a moment and asked, “Does it have anything about trumpets in it?”
“Why, no.”
“How about drums. Anything about drums it in it?”
“No; it’s not that kind of book at all.”
“Then call it ‘No Trumpets, No Drums’.”
You know, looking at the retro “flower bed” cartoon makes me wonder how Janis morphed from (based on my recollections of A&J) a spirited teenager, sassy co-ed, and adventurous newly-wed into a young matron with what appeared to be serious self-esteem issues, as evidenced by her spates of sexual jealously, her feelings of worthlessness, and her demonstrations of serious personal insecurity.
Have any of you known people like that? Not to put too fine a point on it, but my experience has been that most people (including me) evolve in the opposite direction.
Like many here, I had to take a look at ol’ Rosco online. (All of the old strips I saw did not have the “e” at the end of his name.) Buz, as a pilot, would have been an officer, and it appears that his plane was an SBD Dauntless dive bomber, and Rosco was his backseat radioman/gunner, and was an enlisted man. Apparently this was the norm. Buz seemed to fraternize with Rosco a great deal; whether that was normal or not, I could not say. I found an article in which 3 such radioman/gunners were interviewed a few years ago, and all 3 indicated that they received ZERO formal training on how to fire their machine guns (the SBD Dauntless had one or two .30’s that could fire to the rear.) All were enlisted men and two were wounded in action. It was a dangerous job.
Sweeney’s face was every bit as expressive as I had remembered it to be, and it was very simply rendered with a few lines. His nose is simply amazing, as are his eyes. Roy Crane’s artwork on the planes, ships and combat sequences was extremely detailed, however… almost photographic in his depiction of smoke and flames. Crane drew other, more detailed faces that certainly took more effort than Rosco’s, but none were ever as stunningly expressive to me. Rosco’s sister had a feminine version of his face, and it was also fascinating to observe.
I also remember having tremendous sympathy for Rosco, because when his face looked sad, it conveyed such emotion. Such a simple face, and drawn so simply, but it affected me a great deal. Hmmmmmm, I know another artist like that…
Life, Look and the SEP. Mail and the newspaper were delivered twice a day. Milk, prescription drugs and dry cleaning were also delivered. Our mothers didn’t worry if they didn’t see us for hours. They knew that we were on our bicycle somewhere in the neighborhood and we knew every person that lived in every house on our street. Technology has improved some areas of life, but not all.
OF due 1832-1852 CDT
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
Peace, emb
OF due 2011-2031 CDT
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
Peace, emb
Janis seems far too young to feel “spent” or “useless”. I’d guess she can still do all the things she used to do at, say, 20 years of age. Note how young Gene is, to get an age reference.
Good morning Villagers…..
I’m ok with that explanation, Emb…..I enjoy posting those LOLS, but they’re posting too many videos and it takes a while for my girl here (Old Dell) to down load the page….perseverance, I say.
Uneventful day yesterday at work, thank the Good Lord. Took awhile though to get the teens get down in the pit to scrape beams though. They prefer to do it that way. After work, Evan took me for a ride in his 2004 Mazda 3, he had just put a PA speaker on his dash board….I could tell he was having too much fun shifting, and playing music….he even played “Chug-a-lug” by Roger Miller. Too funny.
And I didn’t know yesterday was National Cat Day, but I think every day should be National Cat day.
Love today’s real time….and the first comment “Janis knows were she is”.
ya’ll have a blessed day….
I hope this works…
https://t.chzbgr.com/ThumbnailCache/maxW500/i.chzbgr.com/completestore/15/8/3/UxEF6981dEG1FGRSJ49AoQ2.jpg
If it shows just the one pic, log on to cheezeburger.com, and read the story and there are more pics of Mike the cat mountain climbing……
And just where you last night, GR 😉 , and where’s my playlist? Hmmmmmm, so I’m going to hit you with my best shot 🙂 (hint, it’s not what you think it is)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVR6LIvmvAU
Brilliant Debbe!
Debbe, I’ve always meant to ask you. Are you on eastern time or do you really get up that early (4:30ish)?
Debbe 😉 Well, hon [::hangs head and gives best hang-dog look::], I was, ah, busy last night, and after I was busy, I was tired, and I fell asleep just as I was about to post your tune. So, go ahead… I deserve it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKDslK2dT0I
What has become of all the Villagers? It is 5:30 here in NH, no one has posted anything since Ghost at 9:38 am (that is, afternoon here, forgot to say). Last night I couldn’t get on the site — did anyone else find it impossible — could that have caused the nobody-is-around problem?