How to Love Golden Age Comics

April 3, 2009 8:24 PM

How to Kick a Person in the Teeth | How to Contemplate the Back of Your Pate | How to Eat Beans Without Soiling Your Jeans | How to Get Your Beard Sheared | How to Sharpen Your Wits | How to Block a BackSlapper's Sock | How to Grope for Bathtub Soap | How to Eat Crackers in Bed | How to See TV | How to Keep a Cool Conk | How to Double Your Bubble Gum Bubble | How (Not) to Reel on a Banana Peel | How to Tweak a Beak | How to Fall on Your Face | How to Laugh at a Bum Joke
...and many more hilarious how-tos from Basil Wolverton's Culture Corner.

All the Culture Corner strips are also available together as a PDF or Comic Book Archive (.cbz).

For lots more classic comic strip goodness check out the Golden Age Comics archive, an amazing collection of public domain comics freely available for download.

posted by carsonb (12 comments total)

Very good!
Some time ago, I found Barnacle Press.... similar idea, different sources.
posted by drhydro at 9:14 PM on April 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

I see elements of what became R. Crumb's distinctive style here, nice to see his potential influences.
posted by idiopath at 9:40 PM on April 3

How to create a really awesome FPP
posted by not_on_display at 9:43 PM on April 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Aw, shucks. How to make a grown man blush.
posted by carsonb at 9:47 PM on April 3 [1 favorite has favorites]

Is this another orange swan crafts post?
posted by shakespeherian at 10:10 PM on April 3

ok, that's wicked cool and all, but this book of his (via the last link) looks freakin' bonkers! be sure to scroll down for the movie/slideshow...wow!
posted by sexyrobot at 10:44 PM on April 3

I look forward to seeing these as responses to AskMe posts.
posted by alexei at 10:44 PM on April 3

Wolverton rocks, I've been wanting to do a FPP on him for awhile. I wish some had the images from his book Common Types of Barflyze online. This crowd would love that book. I've got a copy somewhere but can't get my hands on it. Previous Wolverton post here.
posted by marxchivist at 3:57 AM on April 4

I see elements of what became R. Crumb's distinctive style here

First thing I noticed, too.

I even thought that at an initial glance it might be R. Crumb under a pseudonym, but then saw
some enough differences to question it.

Not only did Crumb grab from the style of the character drawings, he seemed to also have picked
up on the print. It's cool, because I've always wondered where Crumb snatched that up.
posted by gcbv at 4:32 AM on April 4

A++++++++++++ post, would read again!!!!!!
posted by caddis at 7:56 AM on April 4

How could anyone be familiar with Robert Crumb yet not know about Basil Wolverton?? Wow. Now I feel extra-hip. Or old. Or something.
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:24 PM on April 4 [1 favorite has favorites]

Great post. Had no idea bout Wolverton.

Maybe it's because I just watched Crumb again last night but it's uncanny how similar this character is to Mr. Natural!
posted by inoculatedcities at 3:46 PM on April 4