It’s been a long weekend, so you’re just getting a link today…
…but it’s a good link. So it seems Andrew may have found a possible inspiration for Jack Kirby’s character Flippa Dippa from the 1970s incarnation of the Newsboy Legion.
Yes, “Flippa Dippa.” The kid who wore the scuba gear all the time. Of all the weird-ass things Jack put into his comics, Flippa Dippa…well, may not crack the Top Ten of Weird-Assedness in Kirby’s work, but he’s on the list somewhere. Like, maybe at number 39. But that something very specific may have inspired Kirby to introduce this character…that’s even weirder. Anyway, go check out Andrew’s article and decide for yourself if he’s onto something, there.
The thing about Kirby’s clunkers is that they tend to be so utterly Kirbyesque that they’re kind of good at the same time.
Scuba Duba, Flippa Dippa. I see.
What are the top 10 of Kirby’s Weird-Assedness?
Mike, did you go on another of your infamous benders this weekend? Drinking Sterno and rubbing alcohol is no way to go through life, son. ;)
I always thought Flippa Dippa was Kirby riffing on Flip Wilson, but yeah, this seems a likely influence. Kirby was always great at absorbing and recontextualizing random elements to suit his fancy.
Thanks for the shout-out, Mike. Once again, YOUR FATIGUE IS MY GAIN.
J.W.: I would reckon half that entries on such a list would come from Captain Victory alone.
A.L.: Knowing Kirby, it could very well have been both.
zeitgeist!
OMG, I wish there were filmed footage of Jerry Orbach obsessing over “a bizarre Negro bogeyman who spears fish.”