Tuesday 21 March 2023

Speak Your Brain! Part 49. Favourite Sandwiches - and Comics Are For Kids?

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon
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The Steve Does Comics Megaphone
Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Speak Your Brain. Can nothing stop it?

Not a single thing.

Such is the scale of its vastness.

But what is its vastness to encapsulate, this time?

That, I cannot know. Nor can any man - nor woman - until it happens.

It could encapsulate arts, carts, cards, cars, marts, Mars, bars, darts, smarts, parts, films, flans, plans, books, bagels, cooks, nooks, crooks, ducks, drakes, pixies, rocks, socks, blocks, music, mucous, fairy tales, fairy lights, Fairy Liquid, fairy cakes, Eccles cakes, myth, moths, maths, magic, tragedy, comedy, dromedaries, murder, larders, Ladas, mystery, mayhem, molluscs, Moorcock, May Day, mangoes, bongos, drongoes, bingo, Ringo, Pingu, Ringu, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Doris Day, Marvin Gaye, Marvin the paranoid android, Brookside Close, Ramsay Street, Coronation Street, Albert Square, Scarlet Street, Dead End Street, chickenpox, the Equinox, parallelograms, rhomboids, androids, asteroids, The Good Life, the Next Life, pomegranates, raisins, grapes, currants, blackcurrants, figs, waves, granite, marble, marbles, maples, staples, fables, stables, sofas, eggs, pegs, legs, dregs, moons and supermoons, Supertramp, Supertrams, streetcars, desires, sodas, sausages, eggs, whisky, broth, Bath, baths, Garth Marenghi, Garth Brooks, Garth Crooks, Bruno Brookes, Bruno Mars, Mars Bars, wine bars, flip-flops, flim-flam, flapjacks, backpacks, see-saws, jigsaws, dominoes, draft excluders, blockheads, blackheads, dunderheads, deadheads, webheads, flowerpots, flour bags, shower bags, shower heads, mop heads, Deadheads, Bill and Ben, Ben and Jerry, Margo and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, flour pots, bread bins, bin bags, body bags, body horror, shoddy horror, dodgy watches, doggy bags, bean bags, handbags, glad rags, silk, milk, mink, coal sacks, cola, cocoa, dodos, Dido, Soho, Solo, silos, windows, day-glo, Hey ho, sago, winnebago, bagels, eagles, beagles, seagulls, glue, Gloy, Oi, Joy, Bostik, pancakes, Eccles cakes, Bakewell Tarts, Fabulous Wealthy Tarts, Mr Kipling, Rudyard Kipling, pizzas, pastas, pastors, baking soda, sci-fi, Wi-Fi, Hi-Fi, sewage, saunas, suet, Tomorrow People, yesterday's men, Forever People, Party People, purple people-eaters, Blobs, Globs, slobs, snobs, Sheila Steafel, steeples, Silurians, Sontarans, Sea Devils, spin doctors, saw doctors, dockers, miners, social workers, sins, suns, sans, sense, sludge, slumps, sumps, pumps, sunshine, slime, soup, sandwiches, servants, Sultanas, Santana, Satana, sultans, grapes, grappling hooks, grippling and sandcastles.

But it might encapsulate none of them.

Only you can decide.

And you only can decide in the comments section below.

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

What’s your favorite sandwich or equivalent there of?

Anonymous said...

Would you have preferred marvel and dc kept writing comics for kids? Charles

Anonymous said...

Anonymous:
Is a hotdog a sandwich equivalent?
Otherwise a fresh, rare roast beef sandwich with fried onions and French mustard.

Charles:
Only if they had a lateral appeal for adults.
Kids comics just for kids are rarely that rewarding.

Matthew McKinnon said...

*Matthew McKinnon, btw.

Also bacon with peanut butter and jalapeños.

Anonymous said...

Charlie - I don't think I have a fave sandwich.

As an 8 year old, to me, comics weren't "kids stuff". Spider-man was in his late (?) teens, & worked at the Bugle with adults, so - to an 8 year old - Marvel comics were very "grown up" & sophisticated (Admittedly,I'd graduated from Disney Comic, featuring Mickey Mouse, not that long ago!) Nevertheless, age 8 is still an age of magic & wonder.

Aged 9, I found the Carrion story, in Spidey, a bit disturbing. Nevertheless, I thought it was a great story.

Nevertheless, aged 10, I felt much more sophisticated than at age 8. After all, I was reading Moon Knight, with Bushman doing some truly shocking stuff! Still, to me, it was a terrific story.

However, despite all this, there are certain lines that should not be crossed. That way, stories can be for kids, and older readers too. The cardinal rule should be: "Do not gratuitously kill off characters - who mean little to you - just for dramatic impact. Kids develop a relationship with those characters, and feel they are like 'real' people."

What about that appalling story, in which Thor killed the Hulk, by breaking his neck? How would 8 year old kids, who loved the Hulk, have reacted to that? Furthermore, how would those little kids feel about Thor, after he'd perpetrated such an act? Stan Lee would never have tolerated such a thing!

Rant Over.

Phillip

dangermash aka The Artistic Actuary said...

My favourite sandwich would have to be stilton and mango chutney.

But smoked salmon and black pepper crisps comes a close second.

Steve W. said...

Anonymous, my favourite sandwich is probably cheese, peanut butter and tomato.

Anonymous Charlie, yes. I feel that the inherent silliness of super-heroes means they should be aimed at kids, while still being readable by adults. That was the appeal of Marvel's late 1960s/early 1970s output. It was aimed at kids but treated those kids like they were grown-ups.

Anonymous said...

Hi! Anon was Charlie. And Charlie’s fav sandwhich is a toss up! A Philly Cheese Steak vs. a Ruben vs. an authentic American Italian sub w/ mayo lol.

Redartz said...

My favorite sandwich? Probably a nice ham and Swiss cheese on rye bread, with a bit of spicy mustard. But a close second is a simple grilled cheese, preferably with a cup of tomato soup.

As to the question of kid's comics: it's.....complex. Absolutely I feel there should be age appropriate comics for kids. Well written and drawn, obviously. The best kid's comics can also appeal to adults.

Thinking of Marvel's heyday, they produced good solid stories (generally speaking) that were perhaps aimed at teens or young adults; yet were still accessible material for younger readers. I do wish that was still the case.

Granted, there should be comics aimed at any and all ages and demographics. Grim, dark stories apparently attract many fans, but that shouldn't be the mainstream approach. For one thing, it discourages younger readers from getting started on a series. For another, it just gets plain tiresome. Lighten up, already!

Which gives me another opportunity to plug my current obsessions: Disney Ducks, especially Uncle Scrooge! Beloved everywhere, it seems, but here in the States.

Okay, Phillip had his rant, now I've had mine. Incidentally, Steve, I've never heard of a cheese, peanut butter and tomato. How do you prepare it? Could you use a dunk in the soup for the tomato? Interesting...

Steve W. said...

Red, you spread crunchy peanut butter on a slice of bread. You add some pieces of cheese and then you cut a tomato into thick slices and add that. Then you add the other slice of bread. It works best with wholemeal bread.

Matthew McKinnon said...

Prompted by Steve's cheese / peanut / tomato affair...

I can also recommend grated cheese / bombay mix and lime pickle [just the paste, not the chunks of indeterminate vegetable matter]. On a softer bread.

Anonymous said...

Giles Duck vs the Guttersnipe Gang ring any bells, Red?

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Bombay mix and lime pickle? Can that be googled for the US contingent? Anyone out there enjoy scrambled egg and banana pepper sandwiches? Its a Friday staple during lent here in Chicago! With the large Irish, Polish, Italian contingents in Chicago the diner restaurants offer it during Lent for us Catholics.

Redartz said...

Phillip- Giles Duck and the Guttersnipe Gang? You've stumped me! I didn't even find much on a google search. Can you enlighten me?

Anonymous said...

A little green Disney book I read, aged 6 or 7, entitled 'The Toy Aeroplane', involving Giles Duck (looks like Donald, but with a top hat & pince-nez glasses), the owner of some antique coins, threatened by 3 eye-masked bandits (the Guttersnipe Gang!) The coins are priced in dollars, but English terms, like "rubbish" & "Crikey!", are incongruous with that! Other series titles are on the back cover.

Phillip

Colin Jones said...

My favourite sandwiches would include cheese & tomato (mild cheddar and baby plum tomatoes), cheese & cucumber (with vinegar because cucumber is a bit boring) and cheese with a pineapple ring on top (I've always loved the combination of cheese & pineapple ever since I went to kids' parties and the food always included a cube of cheese and a cube of pineapple together on a stick).

Colin Jones said...

Do any UK readers get their phone/internet service from BT? This morning I discovered that BT have taken my monthly direct debit payment twice in four days (on the 17th as normal and then again on the 21st) but it seems to be a widespread problem affecting many customers and BT are saying they'll refund the money as soon as possible.

Famous mime artist Marcel Marceau was born 100 years ago today.

Anonymous said...

So... you can get tomatoes up north at the moment then, Steve? Huh. I thought rationing had returned, and most of Britain had gone back to the turnip.

Today, I have mostly been enjoying grilled Boris in a bit of a pickle on tv.

-sean

Steve W. said...

Sean, I can confirm that the northern tomato is still with us.

Colin, I'm afraid I'm not currently a user of BT's services.

Killraven said...

All age comics. Had so much fun reading those stories 40 years ago, then a whole new appreciation re-reading those same stories now. Truly for everyone.

Favorite sandwich? Gotta go with the Rueben. Whenever I try a new place to eat at, and a Rueben is on the menu, I'm compelled to try it.

McSCOTTY said...

Some interesting sandwiches there guys. Im a bit more traditional brown bread, strong cheddar cheese, vegan mayo (not a lot) tomato chutney, lettuce and cold chicken....maybe a few crisps

I think comics were better when written with children\young people in mind and not "talking" down to them like the Lee\Ditko\Romita Spider-Man.

Anonymous said...

My favorite sandwich is a giant, greasy, triple-decker hamburger loaded with EVERYTHING. The 'normal' toppings plus 3 different cheeses, bacon, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, & banana peppers. Piled so high it would make Dagwood from the BLONDIE comics envious.

Anonymous said...

-Killdumpster

Anonymous said...

Also with chili sauce, along with the ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce. Anyone who dines with me when I eat one of those has to have a splatter-guard.

-Killdumpster

Anonymous said...

No mayonnaise, though.

Anonymous said...

The largest sandwiches ever eaten, were probably those of Shaggy, on Scooby Doo - so how come he was so skinny, then?

Phillip

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one who objects to the term 'sandwich'? Why are still they named after a British aristocrat? I mean, Hawaii isn't called the Sandwich Islands anymore, right?

-sean

Anonymous said...

*Why are they still...

Colin Jones said...

Can you suggest an alternative name for sandwich, Sean?

McSCOTTY said...

Well the first recorded "sandwich" was in 110 BC (but was probably used before that) for Jewish Passover by Hillel the Elder so it could be called a "Hillel" Colin

Personally I have no problem with calling it a sandwich, slightly better than calling it a "John Montagu" the Earl of Sandwich name. Maybe we could call it an "Empire Wrap" Sean :)