MAN OH MAN

This week we take a look at MAN COMICS, the turgid, overwritten fakey soap opera comics published in the early 50s. Superheroes had faded, teen comics weren't yet perking, and some editor somewhere (well, okay, Stan Lee) figured they'd combine crime and romance comics into some kind of melodramatic mish-mash. Luckily the Korean War would soon turn MAN COMICS into a war comic starring schoolbus-yellow North Koreans. Whew!


Don't know how many men were itching to read comics about clowns. But wait! This clown - he's actually SAD! Behind his painted on grin he's tortured and suffering! And hey- it's not a weak cliche if you haven't heard it before!


As we see here, Zero the Clown is suffering from some serious clown burnout. "Stop laughing?" Yeah, that's the clown spirit.


Oh, and the girl he loves is in love with the handsome trapeze artist. Oh so tortured and depressed this clown is! Stop laughing!


Don't do anything crazy, you hate-filled, enraged clown! People might laugh, and you wouldn't want that!


Dynamite on the tracks, killing hundreds? That old routine went out with Emmett Kelly!


But Zero has a good heart regardless of his attempted mass murder. Maybe... maybe just once the circus audience won't laugh at the clown! Because that's why they paid good money for circus tickets - to not laugh at clowns!!


But even in tragic bloody death the rubes can't help chuckling at that wacky clown Zero and his crazy antics. How exactly does the worst, un-funniest, most ill-tempered clown in the world get so many laughs? Besides Carrot Top, I mean!

SPECIAL BONUS MAN ENDING:
"The Human Sacrifice" is the tale of a top diplomat, his long-suffering wife, and his no-good brother.


"Throw those rags on the fire - and fetch my copy of ATLAS SHRUGGED! It's time to ditch this irrational altruism!" In other words, look out suckers, it's junk bond time!

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