| E-Mail | Introduction | Archives | Message Board | August, 22, 2002 Issue #614 of 1276 |
Title: Powermowerman And Power Mower Safety
Issue: None
Date: 1966
Publisher: Outdoor Power Equipment Institute/Frank Burgmeier Co.
Cover Artist(s): Vaughn Bode
Whether smoking it or drawing it, underground “cartoon gooroo” Vaughn Bode dealt with a ton of grass, as today’s Oddball Comic -- the goofy giveaway, funnybook -- 'Powermowerman And Power Mower Safety' -- amply displays!
If for no other reason, Powermowerman deserves some sort of funnybook immortality for possessing what’s probably the longest single-word superhero moniker of all time! But names aside, a giveaway comic book about a lawnmower-safety themed superhero is odd enough, but when you consider that it was written and drawn by a young underground cartoonist-be-be, POWERMOWERMAN AND POWER MOWER SAFETY definitely crosses over into Oddball Comics turf!
Self-proclaimed “cartoon gooroo” Vaughn Bode (7/22/41 – 7/18/75) was one of the best known and most influential creators of underground “comix”. While a commercial art student, before he began to establish his distinctive characters in the pages of his Syracuse University college newspaper, Vaughn wrote and drew this 16-page, four-color giveaway comic for the local Frank Burgmeier Co. Two years late, he was contributing strips to the underground newspapers THE EAST VILLAGE OTHER and the short-lived GOTHIC BLIMP WORKS (which he also edited), as well as many science fiction fanzines, and in 1969, he won the Hugo Award for “best fanzine artist”. Meanwhile, he was contributing material to the men’s magazines CAVALIER and SWANK and the science fiction digest magazine GALAXY from 1969 to 1971. In 1972, Vaughn’s CHEECH WIZARD began appearing in the pages of THE NATIONAL LAMPOON. Over the years, his output also included such work as THE MAN, DEADBONE EROTICA, COBALT-60, JUNKWAFFEL, MACHINES, and DAS KAMPH, among many others. In 1975, he received the Yellow Kid Award in Lucca, Italy, but later that year, he died at the age of 34 in an accident that remains controversial to this day. Bode’s son Mark (also a cartoonist) refers to his father’s untimely passing as “a mystic experiment gone wrong”, but others say that Vaughn died while engaged in the dangerous practice of auto-erotic asphyxiation.
Cartoonist Vaughn Bode’s work was also highly influential on Ralph Bakshi’s animated feature film WIZARDS (1977), but Vaughn was neither credited nor compensated for his original material that obviously provided much of the film’s content. (Cartoonist Wallace Wood (1927 – 1981) was the other, primary – if unofficial -- contributor to that project, also uncredited and unpaid for material from his THE WIZARD KING.) In addition to working on the printed page, Vaughn also performed a live “Cartoon Concert”, combining music, narrative, projected images and on-the-spot drawing. His unique style also influenced many graffiti artists, who drew inspiration from his bulbous characters and distinctive lettering.
This 16-page, four-color giveaway comic contains the stories:
“Powermowerman To The Rescue” -- “Mild-mannered power mower dealer” John Sellers is in reality, Powermowerman, a superhero, dedicated to the prevention of unnecessary power mower accidents. When The Scamp, “that vile, underhanded wrecker of peaceful Suburbia City” threatens to “cause carelessness which always results in accidents to the hapless citizen”, Powermowerman and his faithful sidekick Clipper rush to clobber the green-skinned demon!
“For Safety’s Sake” – The Scamp returns, and after he uses knockout gas to subdue John Sellers, he takes over the mild-mannered power mower dealer’s shop to misinform customers and swipe the instruction manuals to their new power mowers! Fortunately, Powermowerman escapes and he and Clipper foil The Scamp’s evil plan!
“On The Air For Safety” – While patrolling in their streamlined, custom-built hovercraft, the Powermowermobile, Powermowerman and Clipper finally capture The Scamp and force him to appear on TV on a special public service program on power mower safety, but the strain of telling the truth causes the impish master-villain to pass out while on the air!
ODDBALL Factoid – Despite its innate oddness, POWERMOWERMAN AND POWER MOWER SAFETY is a genuinely rare and scarcely-seen item, commanding as much as $250.00 on the collectors’ market!
For more from Scott Shaw!, visit his Web site at http://www.shawcartoons.com/.
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