GOODE STUFF: ONE MAN'S NOSTALGIA MAY BE ANOTHER MAN'S.... by Dave Goode

The other night I had this really strange dream involving Bill Ward and Russ Meyer, the Titans of TIT-illation. I had discovered comic book artist/illustrator Ward about age twelve when a buddy gave me a copy of Cartoon Parade, a magazine that was published by Martin Goodman the same guy that published Marvel Comics. The mag was a collection of pin-up pics (no nudity) of actresses, models and burlesque queens. Plus risque cartoons by the likes of Dan De Carlo, Bill Wenzel, and Bill Ward. I always found Ward's glamour girl illustrations to be more titillating than the pin-up photos. I discovered Russ Meyer about a year later when I traded three comic books for a copy of Playboy that featured a pictorial on the Meyer directed movie BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (1970).

The dream involved my working on a project with Meyer and Ward. A movie version of the Captain Bondage comic book. What? You never heard of Captain Bondage? You're not alone. Back in the 1980s I met Bill Ward and worked with him on a couple of strips featuring burlesque queens Stella Starlet and Sugar Caine for Weird Smut comics published by John A. Mozzer. Captain Bondage was another character created by myself and illustrated by Ward. The burlesque of comic book superheroes made it's only appearance in Screw magazine published by Al Goldstein. Here are a few of the tamer pages from the story.

In any case in my dream the movie starred three of my favorite Russ Meyer's stars Alaina Capri, Lorna Maitland, and Tura Satana. The flick also featured ape - suit actor George Barrows. Indeed the "stuff that dreams are made of". Below there's a new cartoon by Vance Capley and myself featuring our retro burlesque cartoon creation Miss Ginger Snaps.