The Dumber Games!

Ex Governor of Alaska and failed candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin is no stranger to The Strangest Adventures. Her fractured commentary about Paul Revere’s ride were a strong factor in motivating this blog– if politicians are going to speak as though they are two-dimensional cartoons they should be depicted as cartoons! Mostly though, all things considered, Palin is largely ignored regarding political matters these days because she holds no office, even quitting the last office she was elected to, and at this late juncture, still hasn’t sided with any particular candidate though she had nice things to say about Newt. Is she still a politician because in the past she won as mayor and governor even though she is (we contend) very unlikely to ever subject herself to another election? Who can say for sure?

Which brings us to what must surely be the single most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard anyone utter on TV. She was on Fox News’ Hannity March 8, 2012 when, in response to a video showing a younger Barack Obama hugging “radical” professor Derrick Bell, she said, “Now, it has taken all these years for many Americans to understand that that gravity, that mistake that took place before the Civil War and why the Civil War had to really start changing America. What Barack Obama seems to want to do is go back to before those days when we were in different classes based on income, based on color of skin.”

This is just an excerpt but can you spot what’s wrong here? She is suggesting that a black president wants to return this nation to an era when black people were slaves! This has to be the most moronic assertion by anyone in the public eye in this century! Dumb and dumber! She also opined that Obama had no valor, whatever that means, and that the four remaining GOP candidates were patriots. I looked into that; only Ron Paul served this nation in any capacity, Newt’s deferments when his nation needed him are the opposite of patriotism. As for Obama’s reaction, his supporters are using this as campaign fodder. Funny? You betcha!

I attempted to give Ms. Palin a bit of a popularity upgrade by putting her on the cover of the very popular book “The Hunger Games” (the movie of the first book opened to great acclaim this last weekend). But instead herein is a parody of that book. Here at The Strangest Adventures, this is as close as we get! 

The Justice Guild of America!

We’ve already featured individual issues of Black Siren, Catman, The Green Guardsman, The Streak and Tom Turbine of the Justice Guild of America, which was featured on the Justice League episode “Legends”.  If you ever get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it.

I thought it would be fun to have a group shot of the entire team in action. The JGA paid homage to The Justice Society of America so I did likewise and was inspired by All-Star Comics #10 from 1942, where the JSA go "500 Years Into the Future"! The background is Silver Age Krypton. Also I based the All-Team logo on the All-Star logo, meanwhile I recreated the Justice Guild of America shield from “Legends” using Illustrator for both.

Rick Santorum Is Running Away Again!

Rick Santorum is a stubborn man, but will that pay off? Certainly, he’s had a few recent victories, on the 13^th he won in Mississippi and Alabama and Kansas on the 10^th. You know, any Republican could, in theory, do well. There is no doubt that the economy could be better, and gasoline could be cheaper. All this could benefit Rick Santorum if only he could stay on target and only discuss the economy, but he’s congenitally unable to stop talking about social issues.

Here’s one of Rick’s talking points. It seems, President Obama is requiring most employers to cover birth control and insurers to offer it. But the fact of the matter is that most employers having to cover preventative care for women has been law for over a decade. This fact has been utterly lost on the Republicans and their presidential candidates as they claim that Obama has launched a war on religious liberty and the Catholic Church. Santorum frames it by claiming Obama is saying “you have a right to health care, but you will have the health care that we tell you you have to give your people, whether it is against the teachings of your church or not."

Even Congress, took up “the fight.” The Blunt Amendment, which was added to a highway funding bill, would have allowed not just religious groups but any employer with moral objections to opt out of any and all coverage requirements. Thankfully this failed miserably; imagine the chaos had it passed. Christian Scientists would not have to provide any insurance to their employees, for instance. This is just another example of how much time Congress has been wasting since 2010.  

However, it seems this really IS just about birth control because in October, 2011 Santorum said, "One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country.... Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that's okay, contraception is okay. It's not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

This sounds like a man that thinks he can get by without the votes of the 90% of women that have at any time used birth control. As it stands the GOP already has a gender gap with the Democrats, this will only serve to widen that gap.

Oh and men, Rick Santorum wants to alienate you too. He has stated a clear intent to use the office of President to stop adults from making and watching porn. Read it here and weep. Call us crazy, but that sounds like the worst campaign promise in history!

Justice Guild of America- Black Siren!

Donna Vance was The Black Siren, the only female member of The Justice Guild of America, and only the second one we know the civilian identity of, the other one being The Green Guardsman. Being a woman in the stereotypical 1950’s world of "Legends", she was the one that was always getting kidnapped and needing to be rescued by the male members of the team. The JGA more often relied on her cookie making skills than her fighting prowess. Bear in mind though, this is often how female characters were treated in The Golden Age; The Justice Society of America gave Wonder Woman the job of secretary, despite the fact that she was, arguably, their strongest member!

She is a doppelganger of Black Canary so I based her logo on Black Canary’s. Here, she’s using a portable camera to get evidence on the bad guys. I based this cover on a Phantom Lady comic so I based the comic book title on Phantom Lady’s logo. The original scan of the cover was so low resolution that I ended up redrawing everything, almost pixel by pixel in many cases!

Bob Morris-Paranoiac!

Bob Morris, an Indiana House of Representatives lawmaker, recently refused to sign a resolution honoring the Girl Scouts of America on their centennial. After what he admits is "a small amount" of online research he believes that the Girl Scouts of America are the "tactical arm of Planned Parenthood” and is a "radicalized" group and they “promote a homosexual agenda” that promotes abortion and is seeking "the destruction of traditional American values.” Really, Bob Morris? The Girl Scouts of America is evil?

The GSA denied Morris' allegations, and Planned Parenthood of Indiana, in a separate statement, called Morris' charges "woefully inaccurate." Here at The Strangest Adventures, for such overwhelming paranoia and stupidity, Morris is in the running for this year’s Turd of the Year award

Bob Morris' Biggest Fear!

Justice Guild of America-Catman!

He is equal parts Wildcat and Batman, but specifically the campy Adam West Batman. Catman had no powers but often used gadgets such as a grappling hook, and he drove a custom motorcycle; riding in his sidecar was Ray, the team’s mascot.

He was Ray Thompson, the JGA's biggest fan, who had recreated the Justice Guild of America using his mutant mental powers that had developed after the nuclear war. Ray Thompson was a tribute to Roy Thomas, one of the first fanboys to work in the comic book industry and a fan of all things Golden Age. At Marvel, he created, among other things, The Invaders, a comic featuring Marvel’s WW II era heroes and when he was later hired by DC Comics he got work with their Golden Age heroes when he created All Star Squadron.

This cover was based on an early Batman cover, but the logo is all original; I purposely made it lively and a bit cartoony, to reflect the character. 

Rush Limbaugh- Misogynist!

Rush Limbaugh is a well-known right wing radio talk show host who is no stranger to controversy; it would go beyond the scope of this blog to list his many indiscretions.  By now, everyone has heard that Rush Limbaugh referred to Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke as a “slut” and a “prostitute” on his radio show for testifying in congress about how the insurance companies need to provide contraception. The whole dirty diatribe can be heard here. 

Soon, there was a public outcry about his statements; even the president called Ms. Fluke to express his displeasure about the unjustified personal attacks against her. This all led to successful boycotts which then led to Rush actually losing sponsors which led to the most unbelievable part of this story, Limbaugh apologized! Of course, he can’t unsay what he has said. Sandra Fluke certainly says the apology fixes nothing. Perhaps this incident could serve to shorten the career of Rush Limbaugh, only time will tell. The Strangest Adventures has mixed feelings; Rush is an endless source of humorous outrage but on the other hand it would be nice to move beyond the era of the Angry Screaming White Guy. 

Justice Guild of America- Green Guardsman!

On Legends, Scott Mason, the Green Guardsman, is the JGA’s counterpart to Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern. Both had power rings that created constructs of green energy, but while the Green Lantern’s ring had no affect on wood, the Green Guardsman’s ring was worthless against aluminum! 

I really enjoyed making this one, which I based on the first appearance of The Green Lantern in

All-American Comics #16, July 1940.