Yabbers

O. Soglow

Among the few truly brilliant cartoonists of the early twentieth century, Otto Soglow remains perhaps the least appreciated today. His illustrations appeared regularly in high culture publications like the New Yorker, Life, and Collier's Weekly; he inked a slew of magazine ads for Pepsi-cola and he had a widely syndicated strip: The Little King, which Soglow produced from 1931 until his death in 1975.

So it is a surprise that his body of work has not yet been collected in an anthology of any kind. Given the popularity of George Herriman's work - done in the same period - and the buying power of New Yorker readers, one would think Soglow would be a guaranteed sell. His insights are piercing, often confounding - many strips take several reads to comprehend - to the effect of pushing one off balance enough to confront the silliness of being.

I first saw his work at the Cartoon Art Museum and I was blown away by his strong, minimal line and keen wit, a veritable pageant of forethought. That a company like Picturebox or Fantagraphics has not yet released the collection is a travesty; probably it has something to do with a certain monocled gentleman wishing to profit greatly on this somehow forgotten genius. I suppose one can't blame them; after all, Soglow himself supported the methods of capitalism - at least for most of his life, as The Comics Journal pointedly revealed last October. 

Anyway, for the time being you'll have to do as I've done: scour eBay and Amazon for eighty year-old copies that are far too expensive for yr average reader. In the mean time, you can check out the animated cartoon, one of several which licensed the Little King over the years; it does a good job capturing the essence of Soglow's vision, one of tepid whimsy betrayed by astute metaphor. This is the meeting-place of high and low culture.

Pyrite Radio

Here's the second C&C podcast. Lots of different stuff here, mixed by me. Hope Valentine's day kicked ass for you, as it did for me. Don't forget, you can subscribe to the iTunes podcast at the top right-ish corner of this page. Thanks for downloading. Yer rad.

Podcast #2: Yabbers

1. The Mae Shi // 1

2. Atlas Sound // Rendered

3. Red Krayola // An Old Man's Dream

4. Hüsker Dü // What's Going On

5. The Kinks // Brainwashed

6. Au-Pairs // Unfinished Business

7. The Standells // Dirty Water

8. The Modern Lovers // Girlfren (Original LP)

9. Shit Dogs // Flippin' Burgers

10. The Death Set // Hikoichi Is Very Happy

11. Yummy Fur // LiLiPUT

12. LiLiPUT // Ain't You

13. Abe Vigoda // Wheelers

14. King Khan & His Shrines // Welfare Bread

15. The Poppy Family // Where Evil Grows

16. 1910 Fruitgum Company // Red Light

17. The Ramones // Carbona Not Glue

18. Les Savy Fav // What Would Wolves Do?

19. Wet Confetti // Sorry Dinosaur

20. Belaire // Step, Step, Step

21. The Pink Mountaintops // Can You Do That Dance?

22. Sleep // Dopesmoker (Broken Flowers Excerpt)

23. The Vaselines // Son Of A Gun