The Ramones and comic books

What can I say? The Ramones are the best band ever in the history of the universe, period. To me, they exemplify the quitessentially American character of pure Rock-N-Roll: Simple, fast, loud, catchy and just plain fun. Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and Tommy are the fearsome foursome who, to me, played the soundtrack of the mid-'70s to the End of the Century and beyond. Their stripped-down, do-it-yourself, punchy WA-DA-DANG! sound resonates through any era... fast and furious FUN will always lift you up and make you wanna dance... for the sheer joy of being alive. From their Dorothy Hamill hairdos to their incredibly longlasting trendsetting ripped jeans and motorcycle jackets, the Ramones embodied a standard of universal outsider Youth that still lives strong today. Why the Ramones never took over the US charts is beyond me. So what does my everlasting love for the Brothers Ramone have to do with comic books? Well, therein lies a tale... a Weird Tale of the Ramones!

Recently an extremely cool Ramones artefact has come into my posession... the WEIRD TALES OF THE RAMONES boxed CD/DVD set... and I must say, a loving and slavish attention to detail has been lavished on this choice item. It contains "Three Punk-Defining CDs packed with 85 Hit Songs and Rarities, and an additional DVD presents an hour of rare footage and video clips."

And here's the kicker: Included in the boxed set is a 52-page squarebound comic book history/tribute/biography/mash letter to Our Boys In Black by some of the greatest names in comic strips and comic books... there are pieces by Jim Woodring, John Pound, William Stout, Steve Vance, Bobby London, Bill Griffith, Mary Fleener, Bill Morrison, Xamie Hernandez, Wayno, Sergio Aragones, Carol Lay and many others! There's even a 3-D section with glasses included.

Well. Here we are. I paid about $57 to glom this massive thing at a Major Movie and Music Retailer Chainstore... and I've seen it as low as $44 so far online. Do yourself a favor and just go buy it when you can... you won't be disappointed.

I saw the Ramones back in 1989 at Hammerjacks in Baltimore... that hour was one of the best 45 minutes I ever experienced...

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