Kustom Kulture: Von Dutch, Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, Robert Williams & Others

Kustom Kulture
Von Dutch, Big Daddy Roth, Robert Williams & Others
Laguna Arts Museum / Last Gasp
1993

This 11 x 11", 96- page trade paperback is the catalog to the eponymous art show held in 1993 at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California, on the Pacific Coast Highway.

'Kustom Kulture' is primarily a tribute to three men who epitomized the hot rod detailing and modification culture that flourished in the 50s, 60s, and even the early 70s in Southern California.

Ken Howard (September 7, 1929–September 19, 1992), better known as 'Von Dutch', was the founder of the custom culture; trained as a sign painter, he began detailing hot rods in the 1950s. Howard soon became not only a well-known craftsman, but a mentor to a new generation of artists interested in applying the techniques and styles pioneered by 'Von Dutch'.

Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth (March 4, 1932 – April 4, 2001) was a native Californian who, starting in 1959, began crafting custom hot rods that came to typify the Kustom Kulture. When in 1963 Tom Wolfe published an article in Esquire magazine titled 'There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy-Kolored (Thphhhhhh!) Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby (Rahghhh!) Around the Bend (Brummmmmmmmmmmmmmm)…', Roth ascended to nationwide renown. 

Roth's signature cartoon character, 'Rat Fink', became an icon to Baby Boomers and the most visible representation of the Kustom Kulture ethos.

Robert Williams (b. 1943) moved to Los Angeles in 1963 at the age of 20 and two years later took a job with Roth, designing advertisements and merchandise for the latter's growing commercial enterprises. Williams began his own painting career during the 60s, and became one of the founding artists of the underground comix movement later in the decade.

'Kustom Kulture' features a number of biographical and critical essays on each of the three men. Its large format and high-quality reproductions do justice to the represented artwork, whether it be photographs of customized cars, paintings, cartoons, plastic scale-model boxes, or advertisements.

Somewhat inevitably for an art show catalog, some of the contributors take things too seriously and produce essays that are more at home in Academic journals, but on the whole, the accompanying text does what it needs to do and informs the reader of the place of Kustom Kulture in American art, Southern California history, and the history of the American automobile.

'Kustom Kulture' will be appreciated by those with a fondness for so-called 'lowbrow' art; comics; hot rods; 60s Pop Culture; and the legends and myths of South California in the postwar era, a golden age that never will come again. Prices for copies in good condition are quite reasonable so if you are interested in these topics, 'Kustom Kulture' is worth getting.

Group portrait of underground comix artists, Santa Monica, 1985. Left to right: S. Clay Wilson; Stanley Mouse; Victor Moscoso; Robert Crumb; Rick Griffin; Robert Williams; Kim Deitch; and Spain Rodriguez.

Ancient city by Arthur Ranson

Ancient City
by Arthur Ranson
from Shamballa
2000 AD, 1991

Book Review: Aztec Century

Book Review: 'Aztec Century' by Christopher Evans

2 / 5 Stars

'Aztec Century' (352 pp) was published by Victor Gollancz in the UK in 1993 (according to the ISFDB, no U.S. edition ever has been released).

This novel has one of the more imaginative 'parallel world' themes: what if Cortez befriended the Aztecs instead of conquering them, and the Mexican Indian tribe rose to become the world's most powerful entity ?

'Aztec Century' not only posits that this happened, but that by the early 1990s (the book's setting) the Aztec's command of super-science has allowed them to conquer most of the world.

As 'Aztec' opens, England is under attack, and its valiant defense cannot hold against the overwhelming might of the Aztecs. The British Royal Family takes refuge in a remote farmhouse in Wales, hoping to evade capture long enough to flee to Russia, the last remaining independent nation in Europe.

Alas, as fate would have it, Princess Catherine (depicted by Evans as a sort of alternate-world doppelganger of Princess Di) is among the Royals captured by the Aztecs, and obliged to live in the golden cage of captivity in the Aztec court in London. There she centers her hopes on consulting an AI, fabricated by her husband, for covert strategies that may bring about the overthrow of the Aztec empire.

But as she spends time among the Aztecs, Victoria finds her defiant stance to be more and more difficult to maintain, especially when terrorist attacks lead to the deaths of her own English citizens as well as the Aztecs. And the Aztec ruler of England, Extepan, is no tyrant, but a thoughtful and considerate man whose ascendancy to the Aztec Throne may guarantee peace and prosperity for all the world in the 21st century soon to come. 

Catherine finds herself confronting a dilemma: does she lead a brave, but likely futile, campaign of Resistance........or ally herself with England's conquerors and bring an end to the bloodshed ?

Unfortunately, despite its interesting premise, 'Aztec' is something of a dud. Much of this has to do with the fact that author Evans makes a British Royal the lead character. While having a woman as the protagonist may have reflected a progressive stance on Evans's part, as a captive, Princess Catherine is forced to operate in a state of passivity that doesn't lend itself well to action. For all but a few pages, for most of the narrative Catherine is simply an observer to court intrigues and power plays while, off-camera, multitudes elsewhere in the world fight and die. 

The excerpt below will give you an idea of the indolent nature of the storyline in 'Aztec Century':

We stayed overnight at one of Motecuhzoma's houses near the Tlacopan Causeway. The next day Extepan took me around some of the big department stores off Tlatelolco Square, which were closed to the public that day. The stores sold everything from Simreal electronic games to death masks fashioned from real human skulls and adorned with semi-precious stones.

Later that day, we took the hydrofoil south and visited the floating gardens of Xochimilco, where farmers grew cereals and vegetables to feed the valley. It was tranquil here, the canals flanking green chinampas with their tall poplars and cypresses and their neat rows of maize, squashes, and potatoes. We slept in a palace belonging to one of Extepan's uncles in the ancient city of Culhuacan. Next morning we flew on to Texcoco and the great Nezahualcoyotl University, where Extepan himself had studied.

The book's closing chapters do provide a badly-needed boosting of suspense, and some of the Revelations hinted at earlier in the narrative are disclosed. However, there was a glib tenor to the closing pages - rabbits are pulled from hats, without letting the reader see how this is accomplished - and I finished 'Aztec Century' thinking I had invested a bit too much time in it than it was worth. Hence, my 2 of 5 Stars score.

I Shoulda Loved Ya

I Shoulda Loved Ya
by Narada Michael Walden
January 1980

In early 1980, Disco wasn't dead. There were quite a few really good songs getting airplay.

Narada Michael Walden (b. 1952) is an American R & B singer, songwriter, and musician (drums). In 1979 he released his second album, titled The Dance of Life. 

'I Shoulda Loved Ya', a track from the album, was released as a single and appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 in late January 1980. It peaked at No. 66 on March 1 that year. 

A lip-synched performance on Soul Train is available here. I think that's Patrice Rushen as the female vocalist......?

The bass line in this song is amazing - I'm surprised it never was sampled for a rap song. Toss in a great saxophone solo, and you've got disco dynamite !

That's how they did it, back in '80.

I shoulda loved ya
I shoulda loved ya
Ooh, when I touched ya
I shoulda loved ya

There you were, I was blinded
After love, swore I couldn't find it
A seduction grabbed my hand
Ooh, my body screamed but my heart just didn't understand

Life between the sheets is fine
If all you wanna make this time
But if you wanna make it last
Ooh, you'll lose control if you drive too fast

I shoulda loved ya
I shoulda loved ya
Ooh, when I touched ya
I shoulda loved ya

Going down for the count
Now I'm in but you are out
My memories are my obsession
Beggin' for attention, ooh yeah

Apprehending all my criminal need
That stole your heart, then left you to bleed
Those days are over, baby, yes, I swear
Just say the word and I'll be there

I shoulda loved ya
I shoulda loved ya
Ooh, when I touched ya
It made too much of you

I shoulda loved ya
I shoulda loved ya
Ooh, when I touched ya
It made too much of you

I shoulda loved ya
I shoulda loved ya
Ooh, when I touched ya

The Thing from Another World issue 2

The Thing from Another World
Issue 2
Chuck Pfarrer (script) and John Higgins (art)
Dark Horse / Universal Studios
1991

 

The Thing from Another World issue 1

The Thing from Another World
Issue 1
Chuck Pfarrer (script) and John Higgins (art)
Dark Horse / Universal Studios
1991

One of the greatest comics of the 1990s was the two-issue sequel to the classic 1982 film 'John Carpenter's The Thing'.

By 1991, mainly through the success of its Aliens titles, Dark Horse comics had become the king of presenting licensed film properties in comic books. When the company got the rights to do a sequel to The Thing, they didn't botch the opportunity.

This is due to an excellent script by Chuck Pfarrer, who stayed true to the concepts and themes of the film while introducing new elements that kept the reader turning the page.

And of course, the artwork.

By 1991 John Higgins was an established artist in the UK, with work in comics, advertising, magazines, and other media to his credit, but in America he still was best known as the colorist for the DC comic book series Watchmen. 

With his outstanding work on The Thing (including one of the most memorable covers ever done for a comic book), he became a household name among the U.S. comic book-reading public. 

While copies of the two-issue sequel still can be had for reasonably affordable prices, the followup series (Climate of Fear and Eternal Vows) are long out of print, and copies in good condition have steep asking prices. Maybe one of these days, Dark Horse will re-release all of its Thing from Another World comics in an omnibus edition.

Till then, posted below is the entirety of issue one of The Thing from Another World. 

Issue 2 will be posted next.