Rocky

I’m sure I’m not the only one who immediately purchases any new comic book with Roger Langridge listed as one of the creative team, as is the case with “Rocky and Bullwinkle” #1. Joined by writer Mark Evanier, Langridge brings everyone’s favorite moose and squirrel team to comics and even packs in an exceptional amount of the supporting cast from the fan-favorite cartoon. Boris Badenov, Natasha Fatale and Captain Peter Peachfuzz all make appearances, while Dudley Do-Right provides entertainment in the comic book equivalent of an intermission. Do-Right is joined by Nell and Snidely Whiplash, rounding out the cast of characters in “Rocky and Bullwinkle” #1 to make this a paper version of the classic cartoon. The intermission even has a lead-in bumper that provides two possible titles for the continuation of the lead-in adventure, just as the cartoon always did. Puns and word play pepper the issue. Some of those are groaners, some are chuckle worthy, but all of the humor in this comic

This is Foggy Ruins of TIme, a feature that provides the cultural context behind certain comic book characters/behaviors. You know, the sort of then-topical references that have faded into the “foggy ruins of time.” To wit, twenty years from now, a college senior watching episodes of “Seinfeld” will likely miss a lot of the then-topical pop culture humor (like the very specific references in “The Understudy” to the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal). Reader Rob H. wrote in because he wanted to see a bit about the debt that Marvel Comics owes to the TV series, Rocky and Bullwinkle. In case you’re not familiar with the program, Rocky and Bullwinkle was a cartoon variety series that aired from 1959-1964 by Jay Ward Productions… One of the most popular characters on the show were the villainous Boris Badanov and Natasha Fatale, Russian spies who constantly clashed with our heroic moose and squirrel… Boris and Natasha became ve

The rocky romance of D. P. Davis and Elizabeth NelsonOf the dozens of stories perpetuated about Davis Islands developer David P. Davis, few are as salacious as the ones that surround his marriage, divorce, and remarriage to Elizabeth Nelson.  The story began during the heady days of the Florida Land Boom.  Blessed with success, cash and an extraordinary ego, Davis cast his determined stare in a more personal direction. One of the enduring legends regarding Davis at this time centers on what seemed his almost absurd New Year’s Eve declaration that he would marry the next queen of Gasparilla. Davis once again, the legend goes, showed he could accomplish anything he truly desired, marrying twenty-two-year-old Nelson, Queen Gasparilla XVII, on October, 10, 1925—one month shy of his fortieth birthday.Assuming the story of the boast is true, how did queen dp Davis manage to fulfill his daring prediction? The naming of the court of Gasparilla is a secret, but it is de