STANLEY STORIES: John Stanley's Tropical Nightmare Noir: The Complete Tramp Doctor

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

John Stanley's Tropical Nightmare Noir: The Complete Tramp Doctor

NOTE: A newly revised and re-uploaded version of the linked file was established 8/17/14. It's on Box.com, and should work for the foreseeable future.

Happy 2013! To ring in the new year, I present the complete run of John Stanley's intense, unusual and highly personal "Tramp Doctor."

You may download a CBR file (which can be converted to an RAR file by just changing the file extension) HERE. This file includes a three-page piece on the series I've written.

It does not, by far, contain all my thoughts on "Tramp Doctor." I have more to say about this series -- and about all of John Stanley's work.

Truth told, I've been giving this stuff away for free since 2008. This is the year I will write a book on John Stanley, his life and his work.

Who will step forward and publish it?

I've tried to interest my agent in the project, but I think it falls outside of his perimeters. I've pitched the project to one major publisher, but not heard back from them. (The person I pitched it to is crazy-busy, and I understand that some things fall off his radar, but I hope to be able to discuss this project with him in this new year).

With the 250th post, I will end Stanley Stories the blog. It has been a pleasure to do this blog, and I'm grateful for all the great people I've met, and all the information I've found, as a result of this project. I'm at a crossroads in my life, where I can keep giving away my gifts, and suffer in poverty, or commit them to a more permanent form, in the guise of a book.

Comics scholarship, like creating comics at all, is not a path to fortune -- of this I am gravely aware. I would like to have something more solid to show for all the work and thought I've put into my in-depth study of the comics of John Stanley.

I'm more than ready for the task, and I feel such a book would add greatly to existing comics and popular culture scholarship. Publishers, you have a potentially great book here. Will you step up and publish it?

7 comments:

Gabriel said...: Thanx for this new present, and for all the work, thoughts and sweat you're poured here, Frank. It's been a real pleasure to drop by here time and time again. I've grown richer on doing it. You can bet on it.

I wish you all the fortune for this new year and the best of luck for that promising book!; January 1, 2013 at 1:10 PM
Mestiere said...: This is post 241. You posted 20 times in 2012 so, perhaps five or six more months before The End?

I have had a great time visiting your blog and appreciate all your efforts. I wish you the best of lucks with your book about John Stanley!; January 5, 2013 at 6:29 AM
Frank M. Young said...: To Mestiere

Yes, given my rate of posting, nine more posts will likely take us into summer. I want to leave 250 posts on this blog.

And, knowing myself, I will probably post on the blog intermittently afterwards... who knows?

There's still plenty of time!; January 5, 2013 at 8:38 AM
mr ed said...: I will strongly prefer the book, and if no one steps forward to publish it may they all go out of business.
There are many things I read on the computer I wouldn't pay for, and there are things I read and then wish they were on paper between covers.; January 5, 2013 at 9:29 PM
Gabriel said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; January 7, 2013 at 12:35 PM
Frank M. Young said...: Hi Gabriel,

It's not just hollow rhetoric. This is my 2013 resolution. I just want to prepare people. Thanks!; January 7, 2013 at 1:04 PM
mr ed said...: God, You know what I hate? Not long ago Dark Horse and D&Q were both publishing lots of Stanley material. They even published some Tubby stories which were close to the exact same content at the exact same time. And just about since then they have both dropped Stanley. Fantagraphics, anybody, please get on the ball.

Patrick Ford; February 8, 2013 at 9:08 PM

THE JOHN STANLEY COMICS BIBLIOGRAPHY SERIES

I have compiled a detailed, fully illustrated (in color) story-by-story career bibliography of the comic book and magazine cartoon work of John Stanley, in three decade-specific oversized paperback editions. They're available in book form at Amazon.com.

You can read more about the 1940s volume HERE.

Check out the 1950s edition (the longest of the three books) HERE.

The 1960s volume can be previewed HERE.

Covers of the three books are seen below--and that of THE TAO OF YOW, a lavishly illustrated book of essays on John Stanley's world and his work, including expanded versions of essays first seen on this blog. TAO OF YOW may be perused HERE.

A FERVENT PLEA TO FELLOW BLOGGERS

I would like to suggest that the following grammatical and punctuation errors be avoided by one and all;

1) misuse of the possessive apostrophe-s. It's means "it is," not "its." Appropriate use, e.g.: "It's hot outside today." Wrong usage: "I looked at it's cover."

I see this horrid mistake committed hundreds of times daily on the Internet and elsewhere. If a word ends in an s, chances are someone will ram that apostrophe in there. (e.g., "Today's Special's").

Please, please, PLEASE--unless you intend to convey that a person, place or thing is being discussed, in the present tense, or is in use as a contraction of two words (i.e., "it is, let us, what is"), DO NOT USE THE APOSTROPHE!

2) misuse of the apostrophe in dates. Again: unless it is intended to convey the location or possession of a certain quality, such as "1867's drinking water supplies" or "1978's energy crisis," DO NOT USE THE APOSTROPHE! The same applies to the use of decade-connoting dates. It is the 1950s, or the '50s--NOT the 1950's or the 50's!

3) the two most abused words in the English language are "amazing" and "hilarious." It pains me to see these words used thousands of times a day in print and in conversation.

If everything is amazing and/or hilarious, then NOTHING is amazing and/or hilarious.

There exists a wealth of synonyms--delightful words that convey these two properties. Please, please, please use them in the place of these two horribly over-worked adjectives.

Visit synonym.com for easy access to other words that will help you communicate better and smarter.

4) When in doubt, use Spell Check.

Computer users have a luxury--we can instantly determine if a word we've typed is properly spelled. Any computer's spell checking program will inevitably have bugs, but most of the time it's quite helpful.

There is no good reason (aside from un-caught typos) that Internet writing should have spelling errors. We no longer have to interrupt our work, walk over to the bookshelf, pull out the dictionary, find the word, and return to our task. Right-click on a highlighted word and you'll know if it's correct or not.

The speed of the Internet sometimes inspires sloppiness--in myself and in others. In our excitement to get our writing on-line, it's easy to forget that finely-tuned prose may require a little more time.

It is worth the effort--and it takes little effort anymore--to double-check spelling before you make a post live. I often go over old posts and correct typos or poor writing. I feel it makes a difference, and that it supports my worth as a scholar and critic.

If this plea can prevent the egregious misuse of proper English in the blogosphere, my life will not have been in vain.