Don’t mess with Alvin.

§ January 25th, 2008 § Filed under Uncategorized Comments Off on Don’t mess with Alvin.

The Little Lulu story “Boy Cannon Ball” (as featured in this week’s Dark Horse release of Little Lulu Vol. 18: The Expert) contains some of my favorite little gags from the series, where Alvin, in the audience for Tubby’s alleged human cannonball trick, continually declares “FAKE!” Like so:


He’s paid his nickel for the privilege, he insists on sitting through the trick multiple times, and he’s entirely unconvinced, shouting “FAKE!” or otherwise heckling the festivities.

And when there’s activity away from the main stage, our man Alvin doesn’t care, because he’s too busy being pissed off and glaring distrustfully at the cannon:


Of course, Alvin is right, and it is a fake…but once the trick’s exposed, suddenly he’s happy and can’t wait to see Tubby “get shot out of the cannon again.”

The focus is primarily Lulu and Annie trying to figure out how the boys are pulling off this stunt, which I’m sure in the able hands of John Stanley and Irving Tripp would have been enough to form an entertaining story. But the willful contrariness of Alvin just kills me, every time, and adds yet another dimension of humor to the shenanigans. I mean, just look at him:


That kid’s got no time for your shit, so don’t even try it.

And he’s right not to trust Tubby, because check this out:

TUBBY

NO

I mean, between that and this, I think that young man has some self-control issues.


In other news:

  • If you work in, or shop at, comic book stores, and if you’re already in kind of a downer mood, I don’t recommend you read Tim O’Neil’s comic shop manifesto, because you’ll turn to the drink. I’ve been in shops like he describes. It’s depressing. (Though I have to admit our shop used a cigar box for transactions…like, over twenty-five years ago, when the store was just a hole-in-the-wall inside another store. We’ve improved slightly since then!)

    For some related reading, here’s a post of mine from a while back.

  • Nothing quite like checking the ol’ answering machine and having a message from none other than Dave “Cerebus” Sim, promoting his forthcoming funnybook Glamourpuss and offering to send us a promotional item. Even better: getting to call him back and give him our correct address, since he had an old address and couldn’t quite make out the new one from our machine’s message. (Not Dave’s fault…I need to rerecord it. EDIT: Not because we have the wrong address on there…just the playback’s a bit garbled.)

    Alas, I didn’t get to talk to the man himself, but I did get his answering machine, featuring a message from a woman portraying “Glamourpuss,” plugging the series. Fantastic.

  • Speaking of creators doing some promotional legwork (and believe me, nothing quite gets your attention like Dave Sim calling YOU), comics weblogger and all-around swell guy Matt Maxwell has the first chapter of his forthcoming graphic novel Strangeways: Murder Moon up for your perusal. Good stuff, give it a read.
  • You know, I put in this fourth spot without really having anything in mind to put in it. So, what the hell, here’s more Sluggo, repurposed from this post by reader The Mutt:


    What more is there to say, really?

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