Why do I like A.D. Condo’s Outbursts of Everett True so much? Usually weighing in at a couple of panels, these strips generally are pretty predictable, really… in panel one some poor sap comes to the esteemed Mr. True’s attention with an unthinking affront to Mr. True’s acutely sensitive sensibilities, and in panel two Mr. True beats his victim soundly as he verbally berates him. It’s a simple recipe for a strip which Condo used for 22 years (1905 to 1927), much like Ignatz beaning Krazy Kat’s skull with a brick… but Krazy Kat this ain’t. It has much more in common with Punch and Judy. The nuances, subtleties, poetry, and variety of the Kat’s universe are entirely absent from Everett True. Everett True has all the subtlety of a lead umbrella. While there is some variation, it is rare, and usually in the form of Mr. True’s lovely wife giving him a beating. So why is it such a great strip?
To ask such a question would certainly earn one a wollop from Mr. True… “Lout! Simpleton! Can you not just enjoy the simple pleasures of the funnies without babbling such inane prattle from your flapping gob? Here, I’ll shut it for you!!!”
Good news for fellow fans of Everett True… this is the first of many Everett True strips I’ve scanned that will be appearing here.
Additionally, if you have a desire to draw your own interpretation of an Everett True strip and send it to me, I’d love to put it up for the internet for all to see with a link to your website or what have you. Send it to me at:
Click here to go to the Barnacle Press collection of Everett True strips by A.D. Condo
Click here to read about the lesser-known works of A.D. Condo at Barnacle Press.
Click here to read some samples of Mr. Skygack, From Mars by A.D. Condo at Barnacle Press.
Click here to read some samples of Diana Dillpickles by A.D. Condo at Barnacle Press.
Click here to read some samples of Duke Murphy by A.D. Condo at Barnacle Press.
