2024 Donald Trump = 1960 George Wallace ?

When your own fans compare you to George Wallace...

...as a retired welder at the Trump rally in Alabama did...

"Donald Trump is telling the truth and people don't always like that," said Donald Kidd, a 73-year-old retired pipe welder from Mobile.
"He is like George Wallace, he told the truth. It is the same thing."

...you know Trump's hitting the target demographic he wants.
Nativist, reactionary, undereducated.
Wallace was so proud of his racist attitudes that he had them included in a comic book produced in 1960 during his election campaign!

These pages are excerpts of the 16-page comic considered instrumental in Wallace's victory in 1960.

You can see the complete comic HERE.

You'll note an emphasis on "states' rights" of the sort MAGAs advocate as well as the paranoid fear that the Feds wanted to "take over" Alabama.

BTW, In his inaugural speech after winning the race, Wallace promised "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

Note: Ironically, Wallace was a Democrat.

However, Federally-forced desegregation as well as the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 caused many racist Democrats aka Dixicrats to switch to the Republican Party (which began catering to the right-wing audience with the "Southern Strategy") or, as in the case of Wallace, joining the newly-created American Independent Party.

In the late 1970s, Wallace became a born-again Christian and recanted his racist attitudes.
But I don't think the 1970s Wallace was the one Donald Kidd was referring to...

Monday Madness REAL FACT COMICS "Rookie of the Year" & PICTURE NEWS "California Flash"

For the past few weeks, we presented a fictional tale about a ballplayer facing prejudice...

...today, it's the "real deal" with the guy who broke the racial barrier in Major League Baseball!

The story from DC's Real Fact Comics #14 (1948) presents the story in a straightforward, if slightly patronizing, manner.

The following tale from Parents Magazine's Picture News #4 (1946) by writer/artist Charles Wessel, predates his being called up to the majors.

Note it does contain a couple of racial stereotypes common to the era, and may be NSFW.

There was also an official Jackie Robinson comic book from major comics publisher Fawcett that lasted six issues (longer than most other comics based on real-life sports figures) from 1949-52.

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...of Jackie's Own Comic as a Collectible Poster or Print!

Digitally-restored and remastered from a scan of the actual original cover!

Monday Madness: Scott (Dilbert) Adams

As of today...

...Andrews McMeel Universal, the syndicate which carries/carried Dilbert has deleted the strip from its' official page, leaving the following announcement...

The page you are searching for has moved.

...but a search shows no Dilbert content...except in the store section where books and calendars are available...though the syndicate stated they were dropping all ties with him!

 GoComics, which features daily and Sunday strips has dropped Dilbert entirely, as both current and archived strips are no longer accessible.

For the record, I agree with the actions taken.

I've long been a believer in separating the artist and their work from the person, as I have done with Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Frank Miller, among others.

All of them have produced outstanding work (which I have in my various collections), even if the persons themselves are not the sorts I'd want to associate with or even be seen in public with.
But, in each case, what they did (or believed), while repulsive, was not a provocative move to generate attention.
Adams' apparently-deliberate attempts at inflaming racial prejudice at a delicate point in our country's history goes beyond the pale.
I'm not throwing out my existing Dilbert material, but I'm certainly not giving any more revenue to him.

Helluva way to end Black History Month, eh?
BTW, Rube Rooky will return for its' finale next Monday...

Space Hero Saturdays WEIRD FANTASY "Judgement Day!"

Not every Space Hero uses a ray gun to save the day!

Sometimes, simply talking, the way Tarleton does, is the most effective way!

As Rod Serling, Gene Roddenberry, and Al Feldstein (who wrote this story) could tell you, one of the best aspects of science fiction is the opportunity to present commentary on social issues that you couldn't otherwise show due to censorship.
Most of this blog's audience is too young to know, first-hand, that the societal conditions shown on Cybrinia were, in fact, the way society in most of America was structured up to the mid-1960s.
(And there are aspects that continue to this day!)

This story originally-appeared in EC's Weird Fantasy #18 (1951) to mostly-positive feedback.

But that was pre-Comics Code!

When it was scheduled to be reprinted in Incredible Science-Fiction #33 (1956) it had to be submitted to the newly-created Comics Code Authority.

As explained in the superb book Tales from the Crypt: the Official Archives by Digby Diehl...

This really made ‘em go bananas in the Code czar’s office. 

“Judge [Charles] Murphy was off his nut. He was really out to get us”, recalls [EC editor Al] Feldstein. “I went in there with this story and Murphy says, “It can’t be a Black man”. 

But … but that’s the whole point of the story!” Feldstein sputtered.

When Murphy continued to insist that the Black man had to go, Feldstein put it on the line.

“Listen”, he told Murphy, “you’ve been riding us and making it impossible to put out anything at all because you guys just want us out of business”.

[Feldstein] reported the results of his audience with the czar to [EC publisher Bill] Gaines, who was furious [and] immediately picked up the phone and called Murphy.

“This is ridiculous!” he bellowed.

“I’m going to call a press conference on this. You have no grounds, no basis, to do this. I’ll sue you”.

Murphy made what he surely thought was a gracious concession.

“All right. Just take off the beads of sweat”.

At that, Gaines and Feldstein both went ballistic.

“Fuck you!” they shouted into the telephone in unison.

Murphy hung up on them, but the story ran in its original form.

It was the final color comic book EC Comics published.

MAD was converted into a b/w magazine, removing it from Comics Code approval, and reprints of EC's comics (including this story)...

...in Tales of the Incredible (1965). were published in standard paperback format by Ballantine Books also exempting them from the Code.
EC tried a line of four magazine-sized b/w titles known as "Picto-Fiction" with a more adult approach to storytelling, like pulp magazines, but with more illustrations.
Like MAD, their magazine format bypassed the Code's restrictions, but none of them got past the second issues.

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Tales from the Crypt

Official Archives

(which covers a lot of EC Comics history, not just the horror titles!)

Friday Fun / CoronaVirus Comics CRAZY "Flu Strains from DIfferent Countries"

You thought that, during the 1970s, we were becoming more sensitive to ethnic humor?

You obviously weren't around then, bunkie!

While TV series like All in the Family and films like Kentucky Fried Movie were cleverly skewering racial stereotypes, some pop culture contributors were still indulging in them, as this (not surprisingly) never-reprinted feature from Marvel's Crazy Magazine #43 (1978) proves!

I don't know what writer Fred Wolfe and artist John Langton were thinking when they created this, but the fact that editor Paul Laikin let it see print doesn't speak well for any of their sensibilities!

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Sincerest Form of Parody

Monday Mars Madness STRANGE STORIES OF SUSPENSE "Beware...a Martian"

Here's a tale of racism and innuendo involving an "illegal alien"...

...that all Reich-wingers should take note of!

Written by Carl Wessler, penciled by Al Williamson, and inked by Ralph Mayo, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Strange Stories of Suspense #14 (1957) uses science fiction to tell a civil rights parable, substituting a Martian (and the paranoia about his race) for a African-American, Hispanic, Japanese, or other minority group about whom equally-inane fantasies have been concocted!

Note: it's interesting that Nardo the Martian has the same appearance as DC's J'Onn J'Onzz: the Martian Manhunter (except for skin color), as well as MM's specific ability to shape-shift, not a talent usually attributed to inhabitants of the Red Planet!

Note: J'Onn had debuted almost two years earlier!

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Mars in the Movies

A History

Asians and Asian-Americans in Comics...the Saga Continues

Even more from our ongoing examination of how American comics portray Asians and Asian-Americans...

Start with the only Golden Age Desi jungle girl in (where else?)

Heroines

The Lone Ranger rides to the rescue of oppressed Chinese settlers in the old West, first in a never-reprinted comic tale in...

Western Comics Adventures...

...then listen to the dramatic radio show the comic was adapted from at...

Secret Sanctum of Captain Video!

and finally, witness the villainy of the character who personified the racist concept of "Yellow Peril" for over a century in...

Seduction of the Innocent!

There's lots more coming!
Don't miss it!

Asians and Asian-Americans in Comics...Continued

More from our ongoing examination of how American comics portray Asians and Asian-Americans...

Meet the only costumed Golden Age Asian super-heroine in (where else?)

Heroines!

The Blackhawks' Chinese teammate "Chop-Chop" gets not just one, but two different stories of how he joined the already-established aviator team!

His Silver Age origin at

Hero Histories...

...plus his politically-incorrect (and somewhat racist) Golden Age Origin at

Not Safe for Work Comics!

Meet the immortal "World's Greatest Lover" who seduces (among others) Pacific Islanders in...

True Love Comics Tales!

Discover secrets about the 1970s Charlie Chan cartoon (and other media versions) that you never dreamed of in...

Secret Sanctum of Captain Video!

and finally, meet the villain who's personified the racist concept of "Yellow Peril" for over a century in...

Seduction of the Innocent!

There's lots more coming!
Don't miss it!

Asians and Asian-Americans in Comics

How have American comics treated Asians and Asian-Americans?

We're presenting a RetroBlog-wide look, starting with a comic based on the 1960s Dr Kildare TV series in Medical Comics and Stories!

Then we flash back to World War II, and American comics' first solo Asian superhero, The Green Turtle at Hero Histories!

(Note: that doesn't include partners/sidekicks like the The Green Hornet's Kato or Crimson Avenger's Wing who didn't have their own strips. But Hero Histories will get to them!)

And tomorrow, you can see the comic book based on the second American TV series starring an Asian character...played by an actor of Asian descent at Secret Sanctum of Captain Video!

There's more coming, as every RetroBlog presents a post you won't want to miss!

Trump Reading Room / Friday...Fun? HELP! "Now, Just to Save Time..."

After watching last night's Triumph of the Will-type convention rally by Don da Con...

...do you really think this "humorously"-captioned pic from Warren's HELP! #26 (1965) isn't as relevant today as it was 55 years ago?

Be Afraid!

Be VERY afraid!

For another, even more horrifying, look at American racism from the same issue of HELP!, click HERE for Not Safe for Work Comics!

Trump Reading Room UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Part 2

Depending on your sensitivity, may be NSFW...

First edition cover. Art by Rolland Livingstone.

We have already seen..
Running up large debts, Kentucky farmer Arthur Shelby faces the prospect of losing everything.

He raises money by selling two of his slaves, Uncle Tom (a middle-aged man with wife and children), and Harry (young son of maid Eliza), to Mr. Haley, a coarse slave trader.

When Shelby tells his wife about his agreement with Haley, she is appalled because she has promised Eliza that Shelby would not sell her son.

Eliza overhears the conversation and, after warning Uncle Tom, takes Harry and flees to the North, hoping to find freedom with her husband, George, in Canada.

Haley pursues her, but two other Shelby slaves alert Eliza to the danger.

She miraculously evades capture by crossing the half-frozen Ohio River, the boundary separating Kentucky from the North.

Haley hires a slave hunter named Loker to capture Eliza and Harry, who make their way to a Quaker settlement.

They are joined at the settlement by George, who reunites joyously with his family for the trip to Canada.

Meanwhile, Uncle Tom sadly leaves his family and travels with Haley by Mississippi riverboat to a slave market.

On the boat, Tom meets a little girl named Eva, who befriends him. 

Saturday: As if things couldn't get worse for Uncle Tom...
Enter Simon Legree!

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Uncle Tom's Cabin