Pop focus: The vocal stylings of Freddie Lennon - John's dad

Freddie (also often called Alf) Lennon re-entered his son's life in an unpleasant fashion at the height of Beatlemania in 1964.

If you've read a lot about the Beatles, you've heard the different accounts. In a nutshell, the senior Lennon vanished from John's life when the future Beatle was age 5.

There was a dispute between Alf and John's mother Julia over his custody. It's tangled, but John was living with Julia's sister, Mimi, at the time. Alf made an attempt to take custody and Julia turned up to stop him.

John went back to living with Mimi and didn't see his dad again until he turned up in London looking for him. Alf, a former merchant seaman, was working in a hotel kitchen at the time and a co-worker pointed out he had the same surname, and looked like, one of the Beatles.

Alf either exploited this link, or it was exploited for him (probably a bit of both) and he ended up selling his account to the tabloids and making the 45 rpm single featured below.

John and Alf had a tense relationship that gradually settled, for the most part, into civility as the 1960s went on. John also provided his dad with a regular allowance, which helped prevent him from talking too much to the press, or doing more things like this:





Coming up: Barnaby Volume Three

Out July 18, 2015.
The long-lost comic strip masterpiece by legendary children’s book author Crockett Johnson (Harold and the Purple Crayon, The Carrot Seed), collected in full and designed by graphic novelist and Barnaby superfan Daniel Clowes (Ghost World). Volume Three collects the postwar years of 1946–1947, continuing five-year-old Barnaby Baxter and his Fairy Godfather J.J. O’Malley’s misadventures. Bumbling but endearing, Mr. O’Malley rarely gets his magic to work―even when he consults his Fairy Godfather’s Handy Pocket Guide. The true magic of Barnaby resides in its canny mix of fantasy and satire, amplified by the understated elegance of Crockett Johnson’s clean, spare art. In its combination of Johnson’s sly wit and O’Malley’s amiable windbaggery, a child’s feeling of wonder and an adult’s wariness, highly literate jokes and a keen eye for the ridiculous, Barnaby expanded our sense of what comics can do. This volume also features essays by comics historians Charles Hatfield and Coulton Waugh, as well as Johnson biographer Philip Nel. Black and white with over 50 pages of color.

New comics solicitations July 2015

Highlights. Click the links to pre-order discounted items from Amazon.


Coming up: Wally Wood's EC Comics Artistsan Edition

Out June 16, 2015.
The Wally Wood EC Comics Artist's Edition was a massive volume that collected some of the greatest Wally Wood stories from the classic glory days as one of the brightest stars in the EC pantheon of artists. Upon it's release it was a huge critical and commercial success, selling out two printings in record time. Now IDW Publishing, the industry originator and leader in producing original art scanned books, continues to blaze new trails by launching a new format within the Artist's Edition brand - the Artisan Edition. And we have chosen the immensely popular Wally Wood EC Comics Artist's Edition as the debut title in the line. Like an Artist's Edition, an Artisan Edition collects complete stories that are all painstakingly scanned from the original art. But this series will be reproduced at a much more manageable 8 x 12 inches, and in softcover format - making this much easier to peruse and store while all other aspects regarding quality remain the same. If you have been holding off exploring the wonderful world of Artist's Edition, this is the perfect place to begin! Featuring some of the most classic Wally Wood stories ever produced, including "My World," "Came the Dawn," "Mars is Heaven," and many others, as well as a gallery of Wood's breathtakingly beautiful covers.

Doctor Who-themed video promotes BBC National Orchestra of Wales


Pop culture roundup: Al Jaffee; Al Williamson; Spider-Man; Carmine Infantino

Many of us remember the back cover fold-ins Al Jaffee created for Mad Magazine. But before that, he did a cool newspaper strip called Tall Tales. Ger Alperdoorn takes a look.

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The Golden Age shares a few Atlas Comics stories illustrated by the great Al Williamson.

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"Kid" Robson remembers the Spider-Man Treasury Edition of 1974. Man, I loved those big comics!

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The Kid also remembers Carmine Infantino, and this special issue of DC Comics' "prozine" dedicated to the artist.

Fab Friday: Vintage Beatles pics

More Beatles posts at the Glass Onion Beatles Journal.