BLACK FRIDAY COMC PICKUPS - PART 54: SKEERY

WE ARE FULLY INTO EXTREME WEIRDNESS MODE NOW. THIS ONE'S STRANGE, EVEN FOR ME

1937 CHURCHMAN'S CIGARETTES HOWLERS - THE SUPERNATURAL

MOST HUMOR IS FARTS: FUNNY IN THE MOMENT BUT WHEN IT LINGERS IT STINKS. THERE ARE QUITE A FEW HUMOR-THEMED TOBACCO CARD SETS OUT THERE BUT 100+ YEAR OLD JOKES ARE USUALLY BAFFLING AT BEST AND BIGOTED AT WORST. AS SUCH I HAVE USUALLY PASSED ON THE PRE-WAR JOKE SETS BUT THIS ONE GRABBED ME WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER. YOU'VE PROBABLY NOTICED A LARGE NUMBER OF THESE COMC PICKUPS ARE OF MONSTERS, FROM MONSTER MOVIES OR JUST SPOOKY SHIT IN GENERAL. I LOVE ALL THIS NONSENSE AND AM SLOWLY BUILDING UP A BINDER FULL OF FUN MONSTER CARDS. THERE AREN'T A LOT OF MONSTERS IN PRE-WAR TOBACCO SETS THOUGH, MOST OF THAT STUFF STARTED POPPING UP IN THE FIFTIES ONCE MONSTER MOVIES STATED GETTING HEAVY ROTATION ON TELEVISION SO IT WAS A NICE SURPRISE TO SEE A SKEERY GOOST ON A CARD FROM THE THIRTIES. JOKES MAY NOT AGE WELL BUT ART HAS A MUCH LONGER SHELF LIFE AND THIS INTERPRETATION OF A TRADITIONAL FLOATING SHEET GHOST IS STILL PRETTY FUNNY. CHECK OUT THOSE GHOSTLY EYEBROWS. THIS SET WAS DRAWN BY ILLUSTRATOR RENE BULL AND IS PRETTY GOOD STUFF. EVERY CARD FRONT HAS A BACK AND THAT'S WHERE THE JOKES ARE

EACH BACK HAS A HANDFUL OF ONE-LINERS BASED ON THEIR FRONT SUBJECT. A LOT OF THEM READ LIKE A LIST OF SARCASTIC FACTS AS A FEW OF THE CARDS ARE OF HISTORICAL SUBJECTS LIKE HENRY VIII AND NAPOLEON AND SEEM TO LEAN HEAVILY ON ENGLISH IN-JOKES. THE WRITERS OF THIS SET SEEM TO BE MORE INTERESTED IN HISTORY THAN THE OCCULT AS THE GAGS FOR THE SUPERNATURAL ARE KIND OF THIN AND THERE'S A LOT MORE BLANK SPACE ON THE BACK OF THIS CARD AS THERE IS ON SOME OF THE OTHERS. OUR FIRST JOKE SEEMS MORE LIKE A ZEN KOAN, A MEDITATION ON SOMETHING INVISIBLE THAT CAN BE SEEN. OUR SECOND JOKE IS QUALITY STUFF ALTHOUGH IT WOULD PROBABLY BE MORE APPRECIATED BY LINGUISTS. I HAVE TO ADMIT 'A MYTH IS A FEMALE MOTH' MAKE ME CHUCKLE DUE TO THE SHEER ABSURDITY OF IT ALL. THE LAST JOKE REDEFINES DEAD LANGUAGE TO TAKE A POKE AT DEAF PEOPLE AND IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE REASON IT'S NOT MUCH FUN TO REVISIT A LOT OF OLD COMEDY. I BOUGHT IT FOR THE ART, NOT THE GAGS, AND CAN JUST IGNORE THE BACK AND ENJOY MY SKEERY EYEBROW GHOST