Russ Cochran’s Inventory Clearance Sale!

2011 is still going to be a rough year for publishers, and longtime beloved publisher Russ Cochran is one of those having a troubled time.

I first learned about Russ's problems at Comics Beat. Now Alan David Doane at Trouble With Comics is reporting that Russ is holding a benefit sale to benefit himself… and he could use it.

To keep his books from falling into the wrong hands ("I would rather sell them to you, my faithful customers, at a lower price than to wholesale them to dealers and booksellers"), Russ is cutting deals by slashing prices to move out his inventory.

Some of the price cuts are outrageous. There's a list and a link at the Trouble With Comics post.

Russ has done some brilliant work over the years, creating beautiful hardcover volumes that preserve the work of classic EC Comics and MAD Magazine. I have a complete set of the MAD reprints in a nice slipcase and they are sweet, and yes, I take them out and read them pretty much every year.

If you've ever wanted to pick up some of these books, but have put it off for whatever reason, now's the time.

[Artwork: Tales From The Crypt, snagged from The Daily Crosshatch which also has a nice review of the book]

Al Jaffee: Tall Tales, MAD Magazine & Mocca

“Is this a blog post about Al Jaffee?”
“No, it’s about Harvey Kurtzman. I just can’t spell.”

Al Jaffee, the creator of the classic Fold-In for MAD Magazine, as well as “Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions,” has a style that’s all his own. Goofy, buoyant and bouncy, you can enjoy his work even before you get to the gag.

From 1957-1963, he had a syndicated comic strip called Tall Tales that’s one of those classic strips that’s recently been rediscovered and thank goodness for that. Jaffee, a Reuben Award winner, is also getting his own exhibit at Mocca, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, in New York City. Titled “Is This The Al Jaffee Art Exhibit?” the show will debut later this fall.

Continuing my series on cartooning and cartoonists, Jaffee wrote about himself and his work back in 1964. This is pulled from an oversized saddle-stitched magazine from Allied Publications with the creatively-challenged title These Top Cartoonists Tell How They Create America’s Favorite Comics. It featured an introduction by Beetle Bailey’s Mort Walker and was compiled by Allen Willette.

Here’s Al on Jaffee and Tall Tales:

Click to continue reading Al Jaffee: Tall Tales, MAD Magazine & Mocca