Will Pfeifer's Blog, page 42

And the Nobel Prize for Condiment-related Technology goes to ...

... the geniuses at MIT who came up with this, a ketchup bottle that actually pours. Watch and wonder at the ever-vanishing boundaries of scientific know-how.



Guess this commercial is now officially obsolete...



Obsessive, last minute pop culture update: Say, I think the kid on the left in that Heinz commercial might be

Will Elder Weekends: Elder gets serious

If you own a copy of the book "Will Elder: The Mad Playboy of Art" (an excellent tome that I highly recommend -- here's a more detailed look), you've seen some of Elder's serious work -- family portraits, celebrities, landscapes, etc. It lacks the manic energy of his comedic art, but there's a skill on display that's impressive no matter how serious the tone.

Here, for example, is a painting Elder did of poet Robert Frost:



I first saw that painting in the book, but it was also recently posted by the fine folks behind the Will Elder Facebook page. If you're a fan of Elder -- and hell, why wouldn't you be? -- I'd recommend giving them a "like."

Will Elder Weekends: Elder does Rockwell!

Here's a classic painting Elder did in the heartwarming style of Norman Rockwell, depicting a scene that becomes less and less heartwarming the more you look at it (then again, the activity does bring the generations happily together).



It was originally intended for the third issue of Trump, which sadly was never published. Note the "Rockwill Elder" signature at the bottom, done in the style of (who else?) Norm himself.

Will Elder Weekends: The epic of man

I've devoted a lot of space to Elder's pen-and-ink work in this series, but the guy was a very talented painter as well. Here's an image from the "Our Own Epic of Man" piece from the short-lived Kurtzman mag Trump that spoofed the elaborate, ponderous pieces about early man that ran in magazines like Life and Look.

If you look carefully at Elder's painting, you'll see that the scene takes place not in caveman times, but in the modern era. Here's the intro spread, complete with text, if you want a better idea of what the "Our Own Epic of Man" piece was like.


By the way, you really need to click on that image to get the full effect. As with most Elder work, it's loaded with in-jokes, fun bits of business and other "chicken fat."

By the way, whatever happened to that Trump reprint Dark Horse announced years ago? Anyone have the scoop?

Movies I saw in April

Once upon a time, I used to do an annual recap of the movies I'd seen, but to make things a little less overwhelming for you, a little more visually interesting and, of course, a little less work on my part, I decided to make that recap monthly and post a poster for each movie, with some (very brief) comments. The rules remain the same -- I had to watch the entire movie, though I could do so in more than one sitting. Here's the rundown for April...
Interesting career-spanning doc about legendary producer Corman, though, oddly enough, not quite as interesting as "Machete Maidens Unleashed," which limits its focus to the movies Corman and company filmed in the Philippines. Still, worth it if only for the sight of Jack Nicholson (and Corman alum) actually shedding a few tears.

A childhood favorite, and one of the strangest movies ever made. Introduced it to my own child, who seemed to get a kick out of it. Not available on Region 1 DVD, though. Sorry, kids. Get that all-region player you've been meaning to buy.

Definitely not one of Welles' finest (it drags, it doesn't make much sense, and Welles' Irish accent is awful), but the much-discussed finale in the hall of mirrors is still pretty damn amazing.

Pretty decent melodrama about Ginger Rogers fighting the Klan in a small town. Doris Day has a small part as the wife of twitchy Steve Cochran, who is, of course, a Klanster. Ronald Reagan saves the day, but not before Rogers is viciously whipped at a Klan rally -- with plenty of Klan-klad kids watching. Creepy!

Saoirse Ronan, who must be one of the most interesting actors working today, plays a girl bred for fightin' (and killin') in this action flick from director Joe Wright, who also worked with Ronan in the excellent (though completely different) "Atonement." No deep meaning, but boy, it looks beautiful -- and has another fun performance from Cate Blanchett.

Smart, satisfying reboot (prequel?) of the apes franchise that focuses squarely on Caesar, the chimp who leads the revolution. Plenty of nods to the old movies, my favorite being the background news reports that show the rocket blasting off ... that will eventually land back on Earth thousands of years from now on, well, you know which planet.

Wish I'd seen that one on the big screen, but even on TV, those scenes of Tom Cruise scampering around on the tallest building in the world are still jaw-dropping. Rest of the movie is very good, too.

Had high hopes after really, really liking Ti West's "House of the Devil," but this one was just a whole lot of boring buildup and virtually no payoff. Too bad.

Odd little baseball comedy with Joe E. Brown playing a baseball phenom aimed at winning it all for the hapless Chicago Cubs. It's actually pretty funny -- in that distinctly old movie way -- and unlike a lot of other actors, Brown actually seems to have some athletic ability.

Entertaining pre-Coder about an amoral journalist (how amoral? He plots to keep his job by faking an assassination -- with real bullets) hanging out in post-revolutionary Russia. Lee Tracy is very good in a role tailor-made for him, and James Gleason (later promoted to editor in "Meet John Doe") is a solid sidekick. But the theatrical roots of the story drag it down, and the movie feels sadly stage bound.

Saw it in the theater, enjoyed it in the theater. Now it's on Allie's heavy rotation list, so I'll probably be seeing it a lot at home, too. That's fine -- it's fun, and the scene at the end where Kermit opens the theater door is one of my favorite movie moments of last year.

Stark 1961 drama about an up-and-coming lawyer (Dirk Bogarde) who gets involved in a blackmail scheme involving a gay lover and decides to sacrifice virtually everything to bring the blackmailers to justice. Not the sort of subject matter you expect to see in a 1961 movie, to say the least. Part of Criterion's excellent "Basil Dearden's London Underground" DVD set.

Will Elder weekends: The man (or boy) himself!

First of all, I assure you I am still alive. Despite my woeful neglecting of this blog, which I think I'll blame on a combination of the recent C2E2 comic book convention, work stress and the usual child and/or lawn care issues, I remain a living, breathing human being and  occasional blogger.

OK, that's settled. I'll try not to stay away as long again. In the meantime, here, in honor of our (semi) weekly series devoted to cartoonist extraordinaire Will Elder, here's a photo of the man himself (he's on the right) taken in 1939 when he was in high school in (where else?) New York...


Is that a great photo or what? All the crazy energy of youth, soon to be channeled into some of the most beautifully drawn satire the world has ever seen.

Oh, and that kid on the left? That's none other than Al Jaffee, cartoonists, longtime MAD man and inventor of both the Fold-In and Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions. How much I'd give for a time machine and a seat at that cafeteria table!

Photo from Shelley Davies & Julie Fortenberry's Children's Illustration blog, which can be found here. Check it out!

Advance Team Tuesday: Hey! Look what I found at my local Barnes & Noble...

Why, what's that sitting on the shelf of Barnes & Noble, right between "30 Days of Night" and "The Adventures of Tintin"?


Is it a couple of copies of "The Advance Team"? Why yes it is. Let's move one of them up to a higher shelf so the cover can be seen by all who pass by ...


Even better, let's get a cute spokesmodel to hold the book and thus draw additional attention to the graphic novel greatness contained within ...


And, while we're at it, let's have that adorable spokesmodel offer potential buyers a peek at the inside art by the talented German Torres...

Thanks, spokesmodel! Your work here is done. And as for you people reading this bit of shameless self-promotion, your work is just beginning -- in other words, go buy the book already!

Will Elder Weekends: More from TV Guide

Here's another TV Guide ad from Will Elder, this time from the 1980 TV movie "Make Me an Offer." If you're looking for a connection to Will's glory days at Mad, I suppose you could say that the movie co-stars

Advance Team Tuesday: Finally. Today's the day.

So, did you pick up your copy yet?


If not -- and if you'd like a taste of what's behind that oft-used* cover image, check out this dozen-page excerpt from the graphic novel over at Tor.com.

And, of course, if you've got any comments or questions regarding "The Advance Team," feel free to express them in the comments below.

* on this site, at least.

Will Elder Weekends: The Love Boat ... soon will be making another run

Here, as promised last week, is the ad Will Elder drew for the second "Love Boat" TV movie, before Gavin McLeod and the rest of the crew took over command of the Pacific Princess in the actual series. If you look closely, you can spot caricatures of most of the stars named in the ad, though I'm guessing the actual content of the show's storylines differed from the picture. (Did Bert Convey really shoot someone in the ass with a blowgun? Somehow, I doubt it.) 

You can also spot Elder's signature under the distinctly Little Annie Fanny-esque tableau near the smokestack.

Image from the Golden Age Comic Book Stories site.