First Issue Fever: SHAM COMICS #1

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Right off the bat, I want to give credit to Source Point Press and creator Tim Fuller for reviving the word “Sham” in an amusing way. I haven’t heard that word used in conversation for decades. It’s quite apropos for these troubling times - - now, more than ever!  For those unfamiliar, the word SHAM when used as a noun indicates “a thing that is not what it is purported to be”. As an adjective, it means “bogus, false”. When used as a verb, it calls out “falsely presenting something as the truth.” To get familiar with the word, try practicing it in some sentences. . . . Here’s one for starters: “Our sham President shams shamelessly on a daily basis, hoping that the public will come to believe that his sham doesn’t smell.”

 

SHAM COMICS #1  (Source Point Press) Rewritten and designed by Tim Fuller. Sham Comics Editor David Hayes. Art Director Joshua Werner. Special Guest Shammer Daryll Collins.

 

       Since many copyrights have not been renewed and expired, a huge variety of Golden Age comics from small, defunct publishers are now in the “public domain”. They can be reprinted without having to secure any rights or payments. 

 

     The first instance of utilizing these golden classics is the creative and hilarious six-issue run of MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATRE 3000 THE COMIC (Dark Horse), which took old comic stories, added dialogue, and inserted the MST3000 crew into the action. It repeated the funny shenanigans of the television MST3000 series to similar effect in comics. Here’s hoping there’s more to come. 

 

     In the meantime, SHAM COMICS goes one better.  It doesn’t insert any characters or apparently tamper with the original art in any way. What SHAM creator Tim Fuller does to great humorous effect is reimagine these stories and rewrite them with jokes, funny dialogue, and contemporary references.  I’ve gotta believe that he did change the names of the featured characters, but that’s about all: Bozo The Robot (Binary Over-Zealous Obliterator); Hilda Hogthrottle; The Red ‘Roid And Pooter (The Flatulent Duo); Randy Rocket (that might be the original name); and The Planet Of Pooches (wondering if maybe that last word was modified).

 

A nice bonus to this project is it puts back into print the original art from the golden days of comics for new viewers to marvel at some of the early works of some legendary illustrators. There are also some new and hilarious full-page ads for mail order devices, all done in the old style of comics. Who wouldn’t want to have a Bozo the Robot costume, a Spot Relaxxxer, or a Glow-On-The-Dork Necktie? 

 

RATING SYSTEM

 

 STORY: I’d repeat some of the funny dialogue and clever captions here to prove my point, but then you wouldn’t need to buy this book.  Trust me, you’ll laugh at these re-worked stories from Smash Comics #32 (1942), Out Of The Night #16 (1954), Wow Comics #64 (1948), Amazing Man Comics #25 (1941), and Alarming Tales #1 (1957). 3 POINTS

ART: Some of the best from that era is here, with some artists you will recognize: George Brenner (Wayne Reid), Milt Knopf, Carl Pfeufer & Bob Fujitani, Basil Wolverton, and Jack Kirby.  3 POINTS

COVER: Keeps with the Golden Age theme and makes it clear what’s in store for buyers. Love the design, especially the back page with a hilarious public service warning (“Comics Books, The Enemies Of Youth”) utilizing some early Frank Frazetta art.  2 POINTS.

READ AGAIN? Yes, I enjoyed many of the jokes the second time. 1 POINT.

RECOMMEND? Yes. I love this. Give me more. 1 POINT.

TOTAL RATING: 10 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 10 POINTS. NOT OFTEN ACHIEVED. DON’T MISS IT.

In case you remain skeptical about how funny this could really be, below is a very amusing explanation of the concept as featured on the Source Point Press web page.  Also, here’s another sample for you. Tim Fuller is taking the same approach to golden age newspaper comic strips and posting a new page every week at this link. . . . .  http://sourcepointpress.com/the-weekly-sham