Ronald Searle: Big Foot Family and Friends

Happy Halloween, everybody! Here is a creature fest from the pen of Ronald Searle.

Ronald Searle, Big Foot Family and Friends, 1986

http://www.chrisbeetles.com/gallery/cartoons/big-foot-family-and-friends.html

Sold by November 17, 2013

Note:  Be sure to check out all the creepy Halloween posts that have made their way onto this blog.

There's a lot to see of Mr. Searle's work as well and most of it isn't a bit creepy. Well, some of it isn't.

01327

Puttin' on the Ritz

The logic is inescapable unless you think about it. Irving Berlin's hit song "Puttin' on the Ritz" is performed on stage by Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.

"Puttin' on the Ritz" from "Young Frankenstein" (1974)

Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein

Peter Boyle as the Monster

Directed by Mel Brooks

Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/4298205

Before we go, please pardon me, but what is your name?

Note:  Get your fill of seasonal Halloween blog posts right here!

01326

Jack Davis: Creepy's Loathsome Lore

Some ghoulish original Jack Davis art for Creepy was on display at MoCCA Fest 2014.

Jack Davis, Original artwork for "Creepy's Loathsome Lore," Creepy #3, June 1965

Jack Davis, "Creepy's Loathsome Lore," Creepy #3, June 1965

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tom1231/3670478902/

Note:  I have a little more Jack Davis art on the blog. Don't miss it.

There are quite a few more MoCCA Fest posts as well. Don't miss them either.

If you haven't lost your lunch yet, why not check out all the haunting Halloween posts that have made their way onto this blog over the years?

01325

There's a Light Over at the Frankenstein Place

What could be more dispiriting than the experience of a young couple who gets stranded by a flat tire during a horrible thunderstorm. Not to worry. From "Rocky Horror" comes a message of hope, or something very much like it:

"Over at the Frankenstein Place" (1975 film version)

"Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Tribute Show" (2006)

Adrian Edmonson as Brad

Sophie Lawrence as Janet

Kraig Thornber as Riff Raff

Tony Slattery as the Narrator

Music and Lyrics by Richard O'Brien

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/the-rocky-horror-tribute-show-with-anthony-head-and-michael-ball-due-on-dvd-144012

Note:  A Halloween without pumpkins would be unthinkable, but then so would a Halloween without Attempted Bloggery's collected Halloween blog posts. Think about it.

01324

Where to Prepare for Halloween

If you must know, this is where I go to get my Dracula costume ready for Halloween.

Fang Cleaners

Note:  What's this?  Attempted Bloggery is making fun of someone's name? Say it isn't so! See more eerie Halloween posts to reassure yourself that this is a rarity.

01323

Together Again for the First Time

In 2007, Mel Brooks brought to the Broadway stage a new musical based on his 1974 movie "Young Frankenstein." Let's listen in as the grandson of Dr. Frankenstein and the grandson of Igor, who have just met in Transylvania station, inevitably resume their ancestral partnership. Walk this way:

"Together Again" from "Young Frankenstein" (2007)

Cory English as Igor

Roger Bart as Dr. Frankenstein

Music and lyrics by Mel Brooks

Photo by Paul Kolnik, Daily Pilot

http://articles.dailypilot.com/2010-09-09/entertainment/tn-dpt-0910-happs-20100909_1_transylvania-heights-young-frankenstein-english

"Together Again" first page of sheet music

http://www.sheetmusicdirect.us/sheetmusic/song/1000063398/together-again

Note:  "What hump?" Can you believe what passes for a Halloween post around here?

01322

Edward Gorey's Grand Curtain for Dracula

Edward Gorey took a playful delight in the macabre. A photograph of his Grand Curtain from "Dracula" signed by the artist was sold at Swann Galleries in May. (Would someone please tell Swann that "Dracula" wasn't a musical?) Actor Jeremy Brett, who starred in Edward Gorey's "Dracula" from 1978 to 1979, complicates matters by posting a photo of the stage curtain which shows the design in reverse. To my eye, the orientation in the photo signed by Gorey is correct.

Swann Galleries, May 7, 2014, Sale 2349, Lot 286

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2349+++++286+&refno=++684741&saletype=

Jeremy Brett's photo of the stage curtain

http://sillygirlblue1.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/347/41920

Note:  Not to worry! More posts about Edward Gorey's art may be found all over this blog.

Save some time for the Halloween posts as well.

01321

Grim Grinning Ghosts

"Grim Grinning Ghosts" is the spooky theme music to the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disney theme parks. It's difficult to make out all the lyrics in the course of the ride, but it's all very clear and even spelled out for you in this sing-along video filmed in Disneyland. The music is outstanding and has stood up extremely well over the years.

"Grim Grinning Ghosts" Sing-Along

Performed by Thurl Ravenscroft

Music by Buddy Baker

Lyrics by Xavier Atencio

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/11995748_disneyland-haunted-mansion-attraction-poster

Note:  More Halloween fun awaits you within.

01320

Edward Gorey's Jekyll & Hyde

"Mystery!" presented "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" on PBS and Edward Gorey illustrated the 1981 poster. Gorey does a fine job depicting the two natures of Jekyll and Hyde.

Edward Gorey, "Mystery!" Presents "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde," poster, 1981

Edward Gorey poster

http://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2349+++++271+&refno=++687875&saletype=

Note:  Get into the Halloween spirit with my most chilling blog posts.

It's also the perfect time of year to survey the older posts about Edward Gorey.

01319

My Entries in The New Yorker's Facebook Cartoon Caption Contest

Recently, The New Yorker reached two million "likes" on Facebook. They celebrated this social media milestone with--what else?--a cartoon caption contest. Who could resist? The drawing is by New Yorker cartoonist Benjamin Schwartz.

https://www.facebook.com/newyorker/photos/pb.9258148868.-2207520000.1414363625./10152428302863869/?type=3&theater

For starters, this pretty darn good even without a caption, right? There were hundreds of captions entered as comments, way too many to absorb and way too clever to outdo. I went ahead with the following two submissions and I hope they didn't duplicate anyone else's earlier efforts.

"Apparently, they liked antelope."

Clearly, that was way too low-key for a cartoon caption contest. I hope this second submission packed just a little more punch.

"Personally, I prefer cat videos."

Note:  Looking back on my past entries in Benjamin Schwartz's New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contests, I'm pretty much pleased with what I came up with, especially when I didn't forget to submit them.

The whole sorry history of my entering cartoon caption contests can be relived in reverse chronological order for those who enjoy seeing me publicly humiliated.

My Halloween posts from days gone by are your required reading this week. Go ahead, check your syllabus.

01318

My Entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #447

Here is my entry in the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #447 for October 20, 2014. The drawing is by Victoria Roberts.

"We could all use a belly rub, Doctor."

These captions never made it off the couch:

"My wife says this is the best hour of her week."
"I'm the only one who accepts his animal nature."

October 27, 2014 Update:  The Finalists

November 10, 2014:  Winning Caption

Note:  Last week cartoonist P. C. Vey took us into an unusual do-it-yourself restaurant. My caption came out a bit overdone. See the unpalatable results of Contest #446.

As it happens, Victoria Roberts drew the cartoon for Contest #375, the very first New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest I ever entered. That was a year and a half ago, and I still can't write psychiatrist gags.

01317

Dan Piraro's Pez on Paper

Dan Piraro no longer draws his Bizarro strip on paper. Like many others, he now uses a computer. Strips created up until November 2011 had paper originals. This one from 2007 sold in January on eBay for more than his usual $600 asking price. It's a very good strip, but collectors are also mindful of the coming scarcity. When the paper originals are gone, they're gone. I'm a great fan of works on paper, and I suppose they'll always exist to some degree, but artists are going to continue to embrace digital programs and the freedom they offer to manipulate images.

Dan Piraro, Original comic strip artwork for Bizarro, July 22, 2007

http://bizarrocomics.com/2014/01/11/bizarro-original-art-for-sale

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-BIZARRO-ORIGINAL-SUNDAY-COMIC-STRIP-DAN-PIRARO-2007-BONUS-DRAWING-/350971906118?ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-BIZARRO-ORIGINAL-SUNDAY-COMIC-STRIP-DAN-PIRARO-2007-BONUS-DRAWING-/350971906118?ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

Dan Piraro, Original comic strip artwork for Bizarro, July 22, 2007

Note:  Just take a look at Dan Piraro's past appearances on this blog!

Every now and then I like to post examples of original comic strip art.

I have only one previous Pez post, and the Palace at least is not trying to hush it up.

01316

Dan Piraro Plays Ball

In 1997, cartoonist Dan Piraro decorated a baseball with  no fewer than three drawings. Today this Bizarro ball is being sold off from "one of the best cartoonists-drawn-on-baseball collections in the world." That's an ungainly phrase, so I think we should shorten the name of this collection to "cartoonists' balls."

EBay Listing

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIZARRO-SIGNED-DRAWN-ON-BASEBALL-ORIGINAL-COMIC-ART-DAN-PIRARO-/271613558554?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3d6dff1a

EBay Item Description

Note:  How does one celebrate the World Series? Why, by reviewing my archive of baseball posts, of course!

You can be forgiven if you didn't realize that Dan Piraro has been seen on the blog before.

Does Garfield deserve equal time? See him in the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade where you won't see a Bizarro balloon.

01315

Marc Davis Plays Ball

One of the more unusual baseball collections to appear on eBay consists of balls which have been drawn on by some well-known cartoonists. For example, a drawing of Maleficent from Walt Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) is by animator Marc Davis, one of Disney's legendary "Nine Old Men." Such baseballs make for unusual novelty items, to say the least.

EBay Listing

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARC-DAVIS-DISNEY-MALEFICENT-SIGNED-DRAWN-ON-BASEBALL-ORIGINAL-COMIC-ART-WOW-/390925635248?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b04fbceb0

EBay Item Description

Note:  The World Series is in progress. What a perfect time to see more baseball posts!

And let's not forget about Disney animator Marc Davis.

01314