wasting bandwidth since 2005

I usually don’t take requests but this one is such a classic it’s hard not to. And it’s a 2fer to boot. So Mike not only got his request but an extra helping of Mr Atlas to ensure satisfaction is guaranteed.

I think the thing that cracks me up to this day about the “classic” Atlas ad is the implication that the only way to impress the broads was to be able to bludgeon some hapless jackass with your bare fists. Now just a couple other interesting points of observation I would like to pass along. Firstly judging by the blond on his arm when he was “skinny” he was doing pretty damn good with the ladies. And really, when you want to hurl some insult at someone is “hey skinny…” the first thing that pops into your head? And lastly the final panel of the strip in the ad has the adoring crowd admiring what a “man” Joe has become. This is also not the first thing that would pop into my head in this situation. “Ass clown” maybe “man”, I doubt it.

The one below is just a large serving of locker room chat between 2 guys with a dash of gay. Just a dash mind you. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s there. Maybe it’s the whole bodybuilding, outside the shower, locker room vibe.

Masto.

Hey my first blurry with my new phone.

Masto.

If you are over, say, 38 I need not explain what the hell this is. If you are under, the conversation is something like this.

Young person: ” So let me get this straight. You would skin a perfectly good apple. Make a couple cuts in it to roughly mimic the features of a human face, eyes, ears, nose, and a mouth. And then let it set out until it was completely rotten. A shriveled brown husk of former apple.”

You: “Yeah, that’s about right.”

Young person: “And then, if I am not mistaken you would take this piece of refuse and decorate it with hair and other items to make it look like a tiny shrunken head.”

You: “Sounds like you got it.”

Young person: “What would you do with this once it was finished?”

You: “Oh I don’t know. Hang it from your rearview mirror. Use it for decoration. Maybe make a necklace.”

Young person: “Don’t tell me, you also made your own clothes from road kill and foraged in packs.”

You get the idea. I don’t remember what anyone actually did with these things once they finished with them. The ad says use as necklace so why the hell not. The perfect accessory to go with your bell bottoms and earth shoes. Matter of fact the only way this could get more 70′s is if the shrunkenhead was actually wearing earth shoes. Don’t know what earth shoes are? Go ask your parents.

This is a prime example of some company (in this case Milton Bradley) trying to cashing in on a short lived fad. And they didn’t skimp either. That illustration is by Mort Drucker and they got Vincent Price for gods sake.

Apple sculpture my ass.

Masto.

Well it’s that time of year. That’s right Halloween. So I will probably get heavy with the spook stuff in the posts for the next couple of weeks.

This pic is from the Double Eagle in Mesilla New Mexico. Mesilla is an almost 200 year old town that at one time was the capital for Confederate Territory of Arizona . It has a long and checkered history involving such characters as Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa, and Pat Garrett. Once a place feared because of the constant Apache raids, it has mellowed into a odd historical destination outside Las Cruces. 6 years ago my brother-in-law got married in the little town pavilion in the center of the square. The reception was held in the Double Eagle. The history of the Double Eagle is lengthy unto itself. Wandering around the building during the reception I was taken by the old world creepiness of it. It is the oldest building in the town and has not changed drastically over the decades. In the picture you can see the portrait of Maximilian I of Mexico that has hung there since he reigned in the 1860′s. That’s just how much this place has not changed.

The whole time shooting photos of the building and walking around to explore the darker corners of this historical landmark I was taken by the creepy weirdness of it all. Everything felt like it was watching you. especially the portraits. You never felt alone even in the darkest corners. It had that kind of vibe to it. When we got back to my brother-in-laws I was commenting about how the place just had a weird feel to it. He laughed. He then informed me it was probably the most haunted building in all of New Mexico. That the sightings there were quite frequent.

Listen to your gut.

Masto.

Well that’s that. As a little project I wanted to post a panel a day for a month. Well except for Cox screwing up and shutting down my service for a couple of days and a day or two out of town I pretty much did that. Why I did it? I will never tell but I was partially successful. As always I do it for myself. If anybody comes along for the ride, cool. I enjoy the panels so much I will continue to post them. Maybe with comments from myself, maybe not. But I will fold them into the usual array of posts. I will post a gallery of the first 30 panels on it’s own page so if your interested in seeing the whole lot of them on one page it will be up soon.

Masto.