scans_daily: Beatles Biography Comic: John Lennon

sandoz_iscariot (

scans_daily,
@ 2010-10-09 02:31 pm UTC

Current mood:	busy
Current music:	John Lennon: "(Just Like) Starting Over"
Entry tags:	genre: biography, publisher: dell publishing, theme: music

Beatles Biography Comic: John Lennon

In honor of what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday today, here are scans from a Beatles biography comic book published by Dell in 1964. Jelly babies! Fake beards! John's one terrifying creepface!

The comic comes in five parts: bios for each of the Beatles, and a general "history" of the band. Here are excerpts from John's section:

"the serious look of a married man" oh lord

Having been published at the height of Beatlemania, the comic is pretty fluffy, heavily-idealized stuff, in keeping with their "cute and innocent" image at the time.

John's first marriage to Cynthia Powell is depicted as something straight out of a 50s romance comic:

Not shown: the nearby jackhammer drowning out the entire ceremony, the Best Man secretly in love with the groom, the shotgun...

It even tries to put a light spin on John yelling at his fans:

NO HE IS KIDDING WHEN HE TELLS YOU TO SHUT UP, REALLY

Also, John only has one facial expression. Ever.

See? He even smiles while yelling at his barber. (And Inexplicably Ginger Brian Epstein gazes longingly on)

You know it's a real art gallery because the people wear berets. Also the artist apparently thought Julian Lennon was a girl, IDK.

JELLY BABY ATTACK

Beatlemania hits, making it hard to walk around freely. BUT JOHN AND PAUL HAVE A SOLUTION:

Beatles with beards? That would never work out.

And hordes of innocent young men have their beards brutally ripped off their faces. THANKS LENNON AND MCCARTNEY.

But I'll leave you with a wisecrack:

(45 comments) - (Post a new comment)
(Flat) (Top-level comments only)

	no subject kingrockwell 2010-10-09 07:18 pm UTC (link)
	i didn't even realize he was supposed to be playing harmonica in that panel i thought he was coyly holding his hands over his mouth in fake shock or something George probably wore the beard on purpose. He's such a troll. (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 13 comments) (Show 13 comments)

	no subject sandoz_iscariot 2010-10-09 07:47 pm UTC (link)
	Things this artist couldn't draw: harmonicas, more than one facial expression, Pete Best... god, if the Beatles were a band today they'd be such trolls (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 11 comments) (Show 11 comments)

	no subject psychopathicus_rex 2010-10-10 05:15 am UTC (link)
	In what context are you using that term? I presume you don't mean 'creep who provokes people on the 'net', but I'm not sure what else it could be referring to. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 10 comments) (Show 10 comments)

	no subject pseudo_tsuga 2010-10-10 07:25 am UTC (link)
	They used to say shit just to get a reaction out of people; I assume he's referring to that. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 9 comments) (Show 9 comments)

no subject

psychopathicus_rex
2010-10-10 10:15 am UTC (link)

I suppose - I don't really think it's the same thing, though. I mean, sure, the Beatles used to say some crazy things, but there's a hell of a difference between having a little fun with your audience and actively trying to provoke and incense random strangers for your own twisted pleasure. The Beatles messed with people's heads all the time, but they weren't trying to make them mad.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 8 comments) (Show 8 comments)

no subject

sandoz_iscariot
2010-10-10 09:41 pm UTC (link)

actively trying to provoke and incense random strangers for your own twisted pleasure. The Beatles messed with people's heads all the time, but they weren't trying to make them mad.

The Beatles, John Lennon in particular, could be cruel and deliberately provoking, not just to "random strangers" but also close friends and associates like Brian Epstein. Heck, in the the Hamburg years alone John flashed nuns, walked on stage naked with a toilet seat around his neck, and called their German fans "Nazis." Their jokes weren't all innocent, well-meaning mischief-making.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 7 comments) (Show 7 comments)

	no subject psychopathicus_rex 2010-10-10 09:55 pm UTC (link)
	Wasn't saying they were, necessarily - although I'll admit I didn't know about that stuff - just that there's a difference between messing around with people and, well, being trolls. The Beatles may not have been perfect, but they never struck me as being outright NASTY. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 6 comments) (Show 6 comments)

no subject

kingrockwell
2010-10-10 10:10 pm UTC (link)

"just that there's a difference between messing around with people and, well, being trolls"

That's, uh, pretty much the definition of trolling, so no, there really isn't.
hell, even the unmalicious mischief-making still fits

And like she just said, some of it could've been pretty malicious, no matter how they struck you.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 5 comments) (Show 5 comments)

no subject

psychopathicus_rex
2010-10-10 10:41 pm UTC (link)

Perhaps the term 'messing around' is too broad for what I mean. Trolling is BROADLY covered by it, yes, but I'd say it counts more as a sort of passive-aggressive form of bullying - you taunt people to get a rise out of them, secure in the knowledge that they have no idea who YOU are, and you may not even be there at that point. The stuff the Beatles did is different because they did it in PERSON - the people they messed with saw who did it, which left them open for retaliation in kind. If you're going to mess with people, that at least is a more honest way of doing it.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 4 comments) (Show 4 comments)

	no subject kingrockwell 2010-10-10 10:53 pm UTC (link)
	And it's still trolling. You're just going to have to accept that folks use the phrase for more situations than you might, not always over the internet, not always necessarily bullying. Internet-trolling is only one type of trolling, it is not the full extent of the concept. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject psychopathicus_rex 2010-10-10 11:22 pm UTC (link)
	Well, all I can say is that I'VE never heard anyone use the term 'trolling' to refer to in-person pranks or bullying or head games. Every time I've heard the term used, it's referred to people on the 'net. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject kingrockwell 2010-10-10 11:32 pm UTC (link)
	Well, you hadn't at least, but hey, live and learn. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject psychopathicus_rex 2010-10-11 12:07 am UTC (link)
	OK, fine, I hadN'T, but apart from you, I still haven't. I've yet to hear of someone be called 'you big troll!' for bullying someone, for instance. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject wasabi.livejournal.com 2010-10-09 08:09 pm UTC (link)
	Motto. It's like he's going "tee hee, I'm in a comic!" (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject skjam 2010-10-09 07:58 pm UTC (link)
	And of course, British jelly babies are not the same thing as American jelly beans--the latter hurt when you throw them at musicians. (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject hurricane-jam.livejournal.com 2010-10-09 09:39 pm UTC (link)
	Curses! Beat me to it! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject punishermax 2010-10-09 08:38 pm UTC (link)
	Holy Shit Lennon rules. The huge grin as he tells that girl to shut up is the funniest thing ever. (Reply to this)

	no subject geoffsebesta 2010-10-09 09:19 pm UTC (link)
	that pose where people grab their chin and try to look charming? I hate that pose. (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 4 comments) (Show 4 comments)

	no subject punishermax 2010-10-09 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	Looks like he's holding a John Lennon mask up to his face. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject sunaya 2010-10-09 10:13 pm UTC (link)
	Oh my god, it really does. Can't be unseen now. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

no subject

punishermax
2010-10-09 10:18 pm UTC (link)

It's actually Paul under the mask.

Mother of God...Paul killed John years ago....he created a clone after he was able to gain the technology....he posed as John during that time...

Holy shit people we are through the looking glass over the fucking rainbow and beyond the fucking wardrobe, motherfucking Aslan is teaching Bible stories and the White Rabbit's late, hold on to your seats mother fuckers we got a bumpy road ahead of us.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject kingrockwell 2010-10-09 11:58 pm UTC (link)
	It's why his face never changes! (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject hurricane-jam.livejournal.com 2010-10-09 09:39 pm UTC (link)
	Jelly babies aren't jelly beans. Uh, right? I thought jelly babies were gummies. I think I'd rather have people throwing jelly babies at me than jelly beans. That would hurt. (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 4 comments) (Show 4 comments)

	no subject nezchan 2010-10-09 10:22 pm UTC (link)
	The real thing are pretty hard. We had a shop that imported them, so they were popular with the Doctor Who crowd. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 3 comments) (Show 3 comments)

	no subject hurricane-jam.livejournal.com 2010-10-09 11:48 pm UTC (link)
	I know, I've tried to eat them. It's a work out. But still, they don't have a candy shell. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject nezchan 2010-10-10 12:14 am UTC (link)
	The trick is to treat them like a hard candy at first, and they soften. Same deal with floral gums. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject skalja 2010-10-10 10:23 pm UTC (link)
	They're not THAT hard. Granted, American gummies are much softer than their European counterparts, so different standards I suppose. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject teamrodent 2010-10-09 10:12 pm UTC (link)
	I guess George really was the forgotten Beatle. :( (Reply to this)

no subject

redstar
2010-10-10 12:52 am UTC (link)

I like the guy in the red beret in the art gallery, who's glancing worriedly offscreen. I get the feeling he's trying to identify his KGB contact (actually a KGB agent undercover as a CIA agent undercover as a KGB agent) so that they can swap berets, thereby passing on the missile plans encoded in the microdot hidden in the little tassel thing on top.

Also, John Lennon should be called "Boss Beatle" all the time.

(Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject destroyed 2010-10-10 01:31 am UTC (link)
	"Crenshaw's the mole! And his name's not Crenshaw, it's Kremenski. Definitely Russian, possibly a Jew - I don't know. Thoughts?!?" (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject quietprofanity 2010-10-10 01:53 am UTC (link)
	This post is the best post. XD (Reply to this)

	no subject superfangirl1 2010-10-10 02:19 am UTC (link)
	Happy birthday Lennon. :) (Reply to this)

	no subject inexpediency 2010-10-10 02:57 am UTC (link)
	Jelly and corn flakes? John John I love you but those are really lame favorite foods D: (Also, happy would-be birthday.) (Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 2 comments) (Show 2 comments)

	no subject meatwhichdreams 2010-10-11 07:30 pm UTC (link)
	I I have to agree with you those are incredibly lame favorite foods how can you just sit there smiling you're breaking my heart (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject inexpediency 2010-10-11 07:57 pm UTC (link)
	Jooooooooohn (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

no subject

cainofdreaming
2010-10-10 04:36 am UTC (link)

When the Beatles unfortunately mentioned that they enjoyed jelly babies, American's jelly beans, they started a wild new form of greeting! Jelly babies, tossed with loving abandon, hailed them at many of their appearances...

Well, it's a good thing no one mentioned that they liked brick houses. That'd have put a Pythonesque spin on the whole thing...

(Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

no subject

psychopathicus_rex
2010-10-10 05:23 am UTC (link)

Fact: When 'With a little help from my friends' was written, the line 'What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me?' originally went 'Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me?' Ringo insisted that this be changed, because the whole jelly babies thing was still fresh in his mind, and he didn't want crazy fans to throw tomatoes at him while he performed.

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

no subject

psychopathicus_rex
2010-10-10 05:28 am UTC (link)

Yeah, that little grin is kind of creepy. I mean, yes, that WAS the way he grinned, more or less, but nobody grins like that ALL the time.
And come on - corn flakes and jelly? Corn flakes, OK, but JELLY IS NOT A FOOD. It is a condiment, or an ingredient in a sandwich. It's not a stand-alone thing. You never hear someone saying 'boy, could I go for some jelly right now!'

(Reply to this) (Thread) (Hide 4 comments) (Show 4 comments)

	no subject cainofdreaming 2010-10-10 12:12 pm UTC (link)
	Maybe he meant corn flakes and jelly together? Okay, so that doesn't make it any better. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

	no subject psychopathicus_rex 2010-10-10 08:29 pm UTC (link)
	Yeee-eccchh! My gorge rises at the very thought. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject sailor_bardiel 2010-10-10 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	What we in England call jelly, you in America call 'jello'. It is to that that John was referring. What you call 'jelly', we call jam. And yes, jam is a food. Just because it's eaten with other things doesn't not make it a food. (Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent) (Thread) (Hide 1 comment) (Show 1 comment)

no subject

psychopathicus_rex
2010-10-10 11:19 pm UTC (link)

Ah - so it's a translation issue, and the artist didn't know what he was on about. I see.
I really think jam/jelly shouldn't count as a food - you never eat it by itself, which to my mind makes it a condiment. I mean, is mayonnaise a food or a condiment? What about mustard, or ketchup, or salsa? No one ever eats those things on their own, and they're all classified as condiments. (Of course, by those classifications, peanut butter is NOT a condiment, as people eat it on its own all the time, despite it being INTENDED as a condiment - but I can live with that.)

(Reply to this) (Thread from start) (Parent)

	no subject timgueugen 2010-10-10 06:52 am UTC (link)
	John's first marriage to Cynthia Powell is depicted as something straight out of a 50s romance comic But check out the expression on the reverend's face. "This marriage won't last long, mark my words." (Reply to this)

	no subject pseudo_tsuga 2010-10-10 07:26 am UTC (link)
	I don't like John Lennon, but no one deserves this. (Reply to this)

	no subject recognitions 2010-10-12 03:44 am UTC (link)
	Ahaha sure John is a devoted family man who just happened to take a stroll into an art gallery one day. What could possibly go wrong? (Reply to this)

(45 comments) - (Post a new comment)
(Flat) (Top-level comments only)