The Bob Dylan Comic (1972)

WARNING: This is seventies humour via National Lampoon. While I'm not sure there's a coherent enough statement to be properly offended by here, if you, understandably, feel differently please avoid this curio.

While we had a great reaction to our posting of the Beatles (X 2), The Rolling Stones, the Ramones, Nirvana, Dr. Feelgood, the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys comics (see HERE), MRML is not planing on becoming a 'scan blog'. However, all these rock n' roll comics got me to thinking about the Bob Dylan one that I'd once been so excited to find years ago. So now, via punkhart, here it comes.

Gotta say The Ventures of Zimmerman was a huge disappointment when I found it in the coolest comic store I'd ever seen back in 1981. My expectations were high, as I was in my first Dylan-ite stage at the time, I worshiped the artist, Neal Adams, and I was steeped in the adolescent-yet-adult humour of National Lampoon. But something went wrong when these elements combined. At the time, I was let down just because most of the references went over my head, even though I loved that "Gotta watch those parking meters" gag below.

 

National Lampoon (a Judeo-Christian alliance) followed in the Lenny Bruce tradition of shock for shock's sake. So, course the racist jokes were meant ironically back in 1972 (an "Approved by the Elders of Zion" stamp is a wink too far). However, the playing off stereotypes gags already looked wonky by 1981 and by now it just looks dated and hollow. On the other hand, Adams' art is fun and it's a great game see how many of the in-jokes you do get. So enjoy this for what it. Or don't.

So (big breath in) what do you make of this Dylan item?

Is it out-and-out tasteless or a fitting caricature for its times?

That's what the COMMENTS section is for.