Magic Whistle #1 (mini comic)
It’s another trip down memory lane! This time it’s the first issue of the Magic Whistle comic, and shame on you if you don’t know what this is. If there is a hierarchy in my head of comics folk who got me interested in this small press business, it’s people like Sam Henderson who KEPT me interested. This was always one of the funniest books out there, and at the time he was fairly prolific for the field, putting out four or five books a year. Possibly a little more or less, but he was always one of the few people to consistently put out funny work. This is the first issue of the comic, but not the first thing he’d done, as a number of his even smaller minis were collected in a Magic Whistle #0 set. So how about it? Does it hold up? If it isn’t already abundantly clear, it’s difficult to judge things objectively through a cloud of nostalgia, but… yes. Yes, it is still hilarious. He’s funny before you even get to the comics, as he mentions in the intro that if you got this book through a boyfriend or girlfriend, you should think about whether you’d still be with that person in a few years and how you should probably go ahead and get your own copies of his books just in case. Now that’s salesmanship! Some of his funniest comics are of the single panel variety, so it’s pointless to attempt to describe them. Longer stories in here include hippy high school, Monroe Simmons and his unknown popularity, how beer will make girls you don’t know want to fuck you, and his “always funny” series. That, kids, is something you’ll have to see for yourself in the collections, as I couldn’t put any of them up here without somehow making them unfunny. He also includes a couple of pages of humor from the 50’s, which are funny in their own special way. Really, what I always loved about his books is how they were more of a complete reading experience. Sounds stupid, but bear with me: there was always a bunch of single panel comics, a few longer stories, the “always funny” series, oddities (like that stuff from the 50’s), and some obvious personal care that was often oddly lacking in other minis. Of course, it’s possible that you just don’t share this sense of humor and think it’s all stupid, but I can’t relate to that. The link above has all kinds of his stuff up for free, so if you’re not familiar with the man that’s an excellent place to start, as I’m sure this is way, way out of print.
