July 28, 2005

• Maakies is great.
• I'm more partial to Sock Monkey and Mr. Crow.
• [this is good]
• You know, I'd never heard of Maakies until two days ago. We went to the library, and my middle child checked out a comic book collection of Maakies. Weird how once you become aware of something, you see it everywhere.
• [this is bad] b/c I stayed awake last night until after moonrise, reading these
• I have a large collection of old Maakies strips clipped from the NY Press back when it was still worth reading, and I thank you for prompting me to rummage through them. I don't think any comic artist has made me laugh harder, and I'm quite sure none has given me that same queasy feeling caused by the juxtaposition of impeccable technique (nobody draws ships and old houses like Tony Millionaire), a bizarre sense of humor, and a preoccupation with violence, misogyny, and excretion. He's sort of a fourth-grade humorist morphed into a brilliant adult without losing that, uh, untamed quality. Here's one that doesn't seem to have made it into the online archive: Panel 1: General: All right Mr. Gabby, light your head on fire and run over there to distract the enemy! Gabby: Aye, sir! 2: [Gabby, head on fire, running through enemy camp brandishing an ax] I'M A BARREL FULL O' HATE, BOYS!! COME OPEN ME UP!! 3: [Gabby, smoldering, hand chopped off, X's for eyes, sits on ground as enemy soldiers exit stage left; his foot says to him:] Hello! I'm your new broken leg! 4: [Drinky Crow to Gabby in hospital bed] How are you Uncle Gabby? 5: [Close-up of Gabby, still with X-eyes] Well, last week my ass grew over with scar tissue, but ever since the doctor cut these holes in my armpits I'm shitting just fine from up here! (I also have the "King of Pop" strip I painstakingly pasted together from the original cut-up-into-tiny-strips form; it's the single most scurrilous, libelous, and disgusting comic I've ever seen.) Dook dook dook...
• The animated Maakies are delightfully perverse--I think there are six episodes in all, aired on Saturday Night Live. While trying to find a link that had them, I ran across this interview with Tony Millionaire int he Comics Journal.
• Maakies and Sock Monkey both rule. I believe it was an issue of Sock Monkey in which Onkel Gabby sells out and Onkel Gabby Sock Monkeys are sold everywhere. It felt like Tony Millionaire was trying to come to grips with the newfound popularity of his work and the merchandising thereof. I nevertheless own such an Onkel Gabby Sock Monkey despite his misgivings. Tony Millionaire, I spit in your eye! Ha ha! Dook dook dook indeed.
• The animated Maakies are included in the God Hates Cartoons DVD available from Bright Red Rocket. While you're there, check out Gilbert Hernandez' sublimely wacked-out Naked Cosmos, whose trailer you can download here.