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violetturtledove's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
ederwin's review
4.0
Read this with a group. All but one of them assumed the characters were purely fictional, but Smilin' Ed McConnell really did have a kids TV show including a creepy-eyed kid "Buster Brown", played by a little person actor, and "Froggy the Gremlin" who would magically appear after hearing "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"
That show was bonkers. Far, far worse than Howdy Doody or Kookla, Fran and Ollie. Like a version of Krusty the Klown show as filmed by David Lynch.
Froggy is creepy, but the most nightmare-inducing segments involve "Midnight and Squeaky", a musical cat and mouse. The cat and mouse (really guinea pig) were fastened securely, probably drugged, and had their arms moved by "invisible" wires to make them play organ, cello, and drums. If you are brave enough to watch this clip of them performing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me", it will haunt your dreams forever! (That clip has Andy Devine who took over after Ed's death.)
The story told here is non-linear and weird but goes something like this: Maybe it starts with the true story of Deitch's brother making an offhand remark about how Smilin' Ed's body was never found. Or maybe that isn't how it starts. Alternatively, Kim Deitch has a dream or nightmare involving Smilin' Ed, Froggy, Elvis, etc., where he learns the truth of aliens and demons living inside the earth and cataloging human entertainment. In the dream he is given a web address. On waking, he goes to that website and it tells more of the story day by day, and he writes what it tells him, giving this book. One of the discoveries is that after Smilin' Ed died, his body was replaced by a wooden replica which became possessed by a demon. And so on. Making it more complicated is the fact that all of Deitch's books contain shared characters, like Waldo the demon cat.
The art is fantastic. Black and White in the style of woodcuts, not too different from Jim Woodring's art. The story is confusing, but it ultimately doesn't matter whether you understand it. It was originally printed in separate chapters, so each chapter starts with a re-cap of the previous one.
That show was bonkers. Far, far worse than Howdy Doody or Kookla, Fran and Ollie. Like a version of Krusty the Klown show as filmed by David Lynch.
Froggy is creepy, but the most nightmare-inducing segments involve "Midnight and Squeaky", a musical cat and mouse. The cat and mouse (really guinea pig) were fastened securely, probably drugged, and had their arms moved by "invisible" wires to make them play organ, cello, and drums. If you are brave enough to watch this clip of them performing "Yes, Jesus Loves Me", it will haunt your dreams forever! (That clip has Andy Devine who took over after Ed's death.)
The story told here is non-linear and weird but goes something like this: Maybe it starts with the true story of Deitch's brother making an offhand remark about how Smilin' Ed's body was never found. Or maybe that isn't how it starts. Alternatively, Kim Deitch has a dream or nightmare involving Smilin' Ed, Froggy, Elvis, etc., where he learns the truth of aliens and demons living inside the earth and cataloging human entertainment. In the dream he is given a web address. On waking, he goes to that website and it tells more of the story day by day, and he writes what it tells him, giving this book. One of the discoveries is that after Smilin' Ed died, his body was replaced by a wooden replica which became possessed by a demon. And so on. Making it more complicated is the fact that all of Deitch's books contain shared characters, like Waldo the demon cat.
The art is fantastic. Black and White in the style of woodcuts, not too different from Jim Woodring's art. The story is confusing, but it ultimately doesn't matter whether you understand it. It was originally printed in separate chapters, so each chapter starts with a re-cap of the previous one.
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