I had Sea Monkeys when I was a kid. They are actually quite fun, once you get the hang of the back that they basically little insects and not little naked underwater people at all. You'd actually have to work quite hard to keep them healthy, making it good practice for serious aquarium keeping.
I had X-Ray Specs (from the joke shop on Blackpool Pier). I was too young to particularly care about naked ladies one way or the other, but the illusion of seeing the lead in a pencil is quite convincing.
Hostess Twinkies I had in a service station in Somewhereville, when Scientist Buddy was driving me to the Grand Canyon. I can see why they had to advertise them so aggressively.
I believe the Charles Atlas course is still available, and actually works. I was more interested in the hypnotism disc, which I suspect didn't.
I always assumed "sea monkeys" were something like Triops. Our boys had a few of these when they were younger.
But to me, the idea of sea monkeys, X-ray specs, Hostess Twinkies or Charles Atlas body-building courses actually existing feels very beside the point. They were all part of the exoticism of the Marvel milieu, just as must as Stan and Steve and the Bullpen and indeed Spider-Man. (If one of your subsequent posts on Spider-Man majors on these adverts, I for one will not be disappointed.)
I always liked the "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" joke. To me, Spider-Man is an inversion of the deadly serious superhero formula--almost a mock-heroic figure--and the joke is a self-deprecating part of that. No one would ever imagine a friendly neighborhood Batman or Superman or Captain America. Spider-Man gave us permission to laugh at--but also to laugh with--our superheroes. We don't have to regard Spider-Man with humorless awe and wonder, because Peter Parker doesn't.
Yes, I think that's probably right. (And the mock heroism is the flip side of the angst and tragedy of the sub-plots)
Thursday, 22 September, 2016
In the neighborhood...
"Neighbor" is, of course, a Biblical word (standing for
the Greek plēsion) meaning "a member of the community".
Loving your neighbor as yourself was said by Jesus to be the whole
heart of the Torah. The Old Testament arguably taught that
"neighbor" meant only other Jewish people; the New
Testament arguably teaches that everyone in the world is everyone
else's neighbor.
The word "neighborhood" originally meant simply
neighborliness or the state of being neighborly; but by the middle of 19th century it had acquired the present sense of "locality" "home" or "the part of the world where all your friends live". It wasn't until the late
20th century that the abbreviation 'hood came to mean a
specifically black neighborhood – a ghetto.
In 1964 the phrase "your friendly neighborhood" was already a well-worn cliche. Sam’s Market in Glenfield, Los Angeles was advertising itself as
"your friendly neighborhood grocer" in 1958; the National
Association of Retail Druggists was talking about "your friendly
neighborhood drug store" in 1947. The earliest example I could
find was a Methodist Church in Wisconsin which claimed to be "your
friendly neighborhood church" as far back as 1935. Ed Wood's infamous movie Glen or Glenda refers ironically to "your friendly neighborhood milkman" (he's actually sleeping with the women of the neighborhood while their husbands are at work.)
Back in issue #4, Spider-Man sucked the Sandman into the vacuum
cleaner with the words "Here’s the first part of your
education courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." I
suppose the joke is that Spider-Man is unique; every neighborhood doesn’t have one; and that the Bugle still presents him as anything
but friendly. Or perhaps "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man"
just sound a little like "friendly neighborhood milkman". It's funny: but not very funny.
On page 2 of the Torch story in issue 8. Spider-Man tries to scare
the Human Torch’s guests with a giant bat. (Why a bat, for heaven’s
sake? Why not a spider?) The Torch says that it’s made of threads, and
Spider-Man replies "Not threads, sonny boy!…Webs! Gen-u-wine
Spider-Man webs!…The kind your friendly neighborhood grocer
doesn’t sell". "The kind your grocer doesn’t sell"
sounds as if it ought to be a well-known advertising slogan, but I
can’t track down any example of anyone using it.
Spider-Man’s web is, of course, a secret formula known only to
himself. He has spent a lot of photo money developing it in his bedroom. Obviously, they are completely unique. So it's funny, but not very funny, to claim that you
couldn't by similar webs in your local supermarket.
But the joke will run and run. Spider-Man will increasingly use it
as a catchphrase. It will be referenced in the lyrics of the
Spider-Man TV theme song; and decades later it will be the title of a
spin-off comic. And it still won't be very funny.
Listen BudA Close Reading of the First Great Graphic Novel in American LiteraturebyAndrew Rilstone[Image]Andrew Rilstone is a writer and critic from Bristol, England. This essay forms part of his critical study of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's original Spider-Man comic book. If you have enjoyed this essay, please consider supporting Andrew on Patreon. if you do not want to commit to paying on a monthly basis, please consider leaving a tip via Ko-Fi.
Pledge £1 for each essay. Leave a one-off tip Amazing Spider-Man was written and drawn by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and is copyright Marvel Comics. All quotes and illustrations are use for the purpose of criticism under the principle of fair dealing and fair use, and remain the property of the copywriter holder. Please do not feed the troll.
"Amazing Spider-Man 8 (V): In the Neighbourhood..."
7 Comments -
"Loving your neighbor as yourself was said by Jesus to be the whole heart of the Torah."
Actually, he said it was the second part of the Law. See Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:29-31 and (for a slightly different account) Luke 10:25-28.
-- Your friendly neighbourhood Bible pedant.
Thursday, 18 August, 2016
Your No Prize is in the post.
Thursday, 18 August, 2016
While a No Prize is always welcome, I feel that sea monkeys, X-ray specs, Hostess Twinkies or a body-building course would be more appropriate.
Thursday, 18 August, 2016
I had Sea Monkeys when I was a kid. They are actually quite fun, once you get the hang of the back that they basically little insects and not little naked underwater people at all. You'd actually have to work quite hard to keep them healthy, making it good practice for serious aquarium keeping.
I had X-Ray Specs (from the joke shop on Blackpool Pier). I was too young to particularly care about naked ladies one way or the other, but the illusion of seeing the lead in a pencil is quite convincing.
Hostess Twinkies I had in a service station in Somewhereville, when Scientist Buddy was driving me to the Grand Canyon. I can see why they had to advertise them so aggressively.
I believe the Charles Atlas course is still available, and actually works. I was more interested in the hypnotism disc, which I suspect didn't.
Thursday, 18 August, 2016
I always assumed "sea monkeys" were something like Triops. Our boys had a few of these when they were younger.
But to me, the idea of sea monkeys, X-ray specs, Hostess Twinkies or Charles Atlas body-building courses actually existing feels very beside the point. They were all part of the exoticism of the Marvel milieu, just as must as Stan and Steve and the Bullpen and indeed Spider-Man. (If one of your subsequent posts on Spider-Man majors on these adverts, I for one will not be disappointed.)
Thursday, 18 August, 2016
I always liked the "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" joke. To me, Spider-Man is an inversion of the deadly serious superhero formula--almost a mock-heroic figure--and the joke is a self-deprecating part of that. No one would ever imagine a friendly neighborhood Batman or Superman or Captain America. Spider-Man gave us permission to laugh at--but also to laugh with--our superheroes. We don't have to regard Spider-Man with humorless awe and wonder, because Peter Parker doesn't.
Thursday, 22 September, 2016
Yes, I think that's probably right. (And the mock heroism is the flip side of the angst and tragedy of the sub-plots)
Thursday, 22 September, 2016