by John | Apr 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
Someone in my family supposedly predicted that both of my marriages would fail within six months. (For the sake of family harmony, I’ll call her “Grand Aunt Gloompuss.”)
Given my family’s history this seemed like a pretty safe bet.
There are an unusual number of divorces in my family: My parents. Both sets of grandparents and at least one set of great grandparents.
So the odds were stacked against me. However…
My first marriage lasted nearly 10 years and would still be going strong if I hadn’t been widowed.
My second marriage is closing in on 30 years now. And that’s considerably longer than any of Grand Aunt Gloompuss’s three marriages.
I don’t have a reliable credit for the original art, but it’s likely that it was done by the Vince Colletta Studio. Allen Freeman extended the art for me when he colored it. The original appeared in First Kiss #10, 1959.
↓ TranscriptSCENE: As a car drives away with a "Just Married" sign on the back, a woman, a young boy and a young girl watch.
BOY: They’re so young!
GIRL: I give it six months!
Color by Allen Freeman
©2013 Last Kiss Inc
10.1.1.2
by John | Apr 7, 2013 | Uncategorized
This is one of several gags that I’ve done for the anthology “Anything That Loves.”
The book has some incredibly talented creators (Ellen Forney, Erika Moen, Kevin Boze, Roberta Gregory, Roberta Gregory, Stasia Kato, and more) in the lineup.
And the topic? Well, to quote from the Kickstarter campaign: A bold new comics anthology that explores and celebrates the complex world beyond the categories of “gay” and “straight”.
I normally don’t talk about my sexuality, but here goes. (Prepare to be shocked.)
I’m straight.
Yeah, I know what you were thinking. But that’s sort of the point. Most of the time we make assumptions about people’s sexual orientation, but we don’t really know.
Some people don’t fit into our assumptions. And that’s one of things this book explores.
Original art from First Kiss #2, 1958. Click to enlarge.
↓ TranscriptSCENE: In the foreground we see someone's hand flipping a coin as a woman looks on.
MAN: Heads you’re straight! Tails you’re gay!
WOMAN: But... it keeps landing on its side!
Pencils by Art Cappello Color by Allen Freeman
©2013 Last Kiss Inc
2.2.3.5
by John | Apr 4, 2013 | Uncategorized
The great thing about my Last Kiss characters is that they’re all so tactful—just like me.
It’s like I was telling one of my girlfriends…uh, I mean my wife, “If you can’t say something nice, shut the **** up!”
See? What could be more tactful than that?
This is a scan of the original art from Thrilling Romances #20 (1952.)
↓ TranscriptSCENE: Woman sits on a sofa with three smiling men around her. One of the men holds out a box of candy to the woman.
MAN (on couch who isn't holding box of candy): I almost got you candy too! But I didn’t want you to
get fat!
©2013 Last Kiss Inc
Color by Allen Freeman
Cheated1.1.ThrillingRom
Thrilling Romances #20
by John | Apr 2, 2013 | Uncategorized
I originally wrote a different Hugh Hefner gag to go with this image. I thought it was going to be hilarious if some sweet young thing decided that she was too old to date Hef.
I’ll admit that my inspiration was an old joke that I heard about Hefner. I first heard it several decades ago when Hef was in his 50s.
In the joke, Hefner asks a beautiful, 18-year-old girl out on a date. The girl responds, “But, Mr. Hefner, I’ve never gone out with anyone over 20.”
Hef replies, “Me either. ”
Alas, real life is more complicated—and absurd.
After I wrote my Last Kiss gag, I went online and discovered that in December Hefner got married. To a 26-year-old woman.
So I quickly rewrote the gag. Maybe not as quickly as Hef used to “date” young women. But quickly!
↓ TranscriptSCENE: Crying woman
WOMAN: I just found out Hugh Hefner’s married! Oh, well! I’m
probably too old for him anyway!
Art by JohnTartaglione Color by Allen Freeman
©2013 Last Kiss Inc
3.1.4.2
by John | Mar 31, 2013 | Uncategorized
This one’s for my wife Shelagh—an eternal optimist. (In short, a Seattle Mariner’s fan.)
What? You thought I was the baseball fan in the family? Not likely!
But—for Shelagh’s sake—Go Mariners!
Original art and text from First Kiss #20, 1961,
↓ TranscriptSCENE: Woman crying.
WOMAN: “Fantasy baseball?” Oh,
%#@&! I thought he wanted “Fantasy sex!”
Art by Vince Colletta Studio Color by Allen Freeman
©2013 Last Kiss Inc
20.1.3.1
