The Secret Origin of Wigwam, part 2

Continuing the never-before-told origin of Mother Road's sidekick, Wigwam!

The Santa Fe Railroad is one of America's most traveled and storied cross-country expressways.  I dare say it was the "Route 66" of railroads, with service from Chicago to Los Angeles, to boot.  Of course, such a journey would bring passengers right through Arizona, and notable stops included Winslow and the Grand Canyon.

One of the tickets (heh) to the Santa Fe Railroad's success was its marketing.  In the early '60s, many of their print ads included a young Native America boy, named Chico. According to this article on the website Bid On Travel:

While Chico’s name emphasized the Hispanic heritage of much of Santa Fe’s operating territory, his clothes and feather evoked images of the Navajo and other lands of native peoples its trains passed through. 

Amtrak’s Southwest Chief still travels through a portion of the Navajo Nation on former Santa Fe tracks. 

I will let others decide if Chico would be politically correct today, but he has to be one of the most effective corporate symbols ever created. He set the tone.

Considering the debate over images like the Washington Redskins' mascot, Chico probably wouldn't survive much past a marketing pitch meeting today.  In fact, if his likeness didn't still exist in those vintage advertisements, and if a certain spell didn't bring Route 66 icons to life just a few years ago, some might say he'd be lost to the annals of Americana forever.  Yet, a glance at the graffiti that adorns Route 66's landmarks to this day might lead one to believe that a Native American boy haunts the highway, maybe even bringing those very vandals to justice.

To be concluded!

Paul Bunyon & The Muffler Men, part 2

Why do I have such a fascination with roadside attractions, specifically giant statues? Why would I dedicate a whole week of Amazing Arizona Comics Month to them? Simply put, the giants that adorn America's freeways are all the evidence I need that the line between our reality and the realms of superheroes is a thin one, if it exists at all.  Just look at Jack Kirby's interpretations of alien worlds -- or Howard Porter's amazing visuals from Wonderworld in Grant Morrison's JLA: Rock of Ages.  Everywhere, giants, and statues of giants!

In America, we have a few beloved giants.  Some are jolly and green.  Others wield axes and hang with blue oxes.  That's Paul Bunyon, of course.  In the '60s, a fiberglass company decided to pay homage to Bunyon by making statues in his honor, and the fad became commercially successful.  Businesses began using specialized Bunyons to promote their services; the first was, appropriately, the Paul Bunyon Cafe right here in Flagstaff.  Since many of the businesses that displayed Bunyons were auto shops or gas stations, the statues became known as muffler men.  The robotic constructs I featured yesterday may share the "muffler men" moniker, but these Paul Bunyon statues were the first.

If America's giants are our connection to the superhero adventures going on around us, Arizona is certainly the national capital, since our highways are littered with dinosaurs, cowboys, jackrabbits, and, yes, muffler men.  I've personally beheld four former-Bunyons, in Flagstaff, Prescott, Phoenix, and Tucson. That's a remarkable boast for a singular state, considering their rapid decline and disappearance.  While these statues represent America's bold, noble spirit, I've wondered what might happen if their power was harnessed for evil.  That investigation became Amazing Arizona Comics #13.  

Amazing Arizona Comics #13 actually collects three different Free Comic Book Day stories from 2015, each taking place around a different muffler man.  Flagstaff's muffler man is NAU's lumberjack mascot.  Phoenix's muffler man is a part of a giant collector's front yard collection, and Tucson's promotes an auto shop.  Each of them are in very public places, holding axes.  If a magical spell were to animate them, they could be a danger to us all! Fortunately, the Arizonauts exist to prevent just that.

If you know of any Arizona giants that may have been (or perhaps one day may be) the focus of a superhero adventure, please share in the comments below!  I may have traveled many of Arizona's highways, but I haven't seen them all.  That may be a task too giant for one man to tackle!

Bonus!  Click here to read those Free Comic Book Day stories starring Paul Bunyon, posted on this very blog in 2015!

Amazing Arizona Comics #1 Trailer

You heard it here first: May is officially Amazing Arizona Comics Month!  All month long, I'll be posting back issue spotlights, future issue previews, character bios, and much more.  Today, our first offering for Amazing Arizona Comics Month, falls under the "much more" category.

My brother Kyle joined me on producing Amazing Arizona Comics a few years ago, coloring every issue from that point both forward and backward. He lives in Connecticut, but, like me, he grew up in Arizona, so he's very familiar with much of the subtext of our stories.  Here's a rare photo of him and me at a comic con together (specifically, the Small Press Expo in Maryland).

As if his coloring duties weren't enough, Kyle has decided to animate some of our stories, starting with teaser trailers for key back issues.  So, to kick off Amazing Arizona Comics Month, here's the debut of the teaser trailer for Amazing Arizona Comics #1!  Makes sense, right?

Incidentally, you can follow all of our video production projects on our YouTube channel, KazBro Productions, including our comics-themed miniseries Kirby For A Day and Phoenix's own talk show, Phoenix Tonight.  Subscribe to see more motion comics, coming soon!

It's Another Labor Day Weekend Sale!

That's right, folks!  Just click the Paypal button below, include your address, and for only $3 receive three totally random issues of Amazing Arizona Comics via the good ol'-fashioned U.S. Postal Service -- this week!  That's normally a $5 value!  Forget pumpkin spice lattes -- this is how to kick off autumn, baby!

The offer will indeed expire at the end of Labor Day -- so act now!

It's Another Labor Day Weekend Sale!

That's right, folks!  Just click the Paypal button below, include your address, and for only $3 receive three totally random issues of Amazing Arizona Comics via the good ol'-fashioned U.S. Postal Service -- this week!  That's normally a $5 value!  Forget pumpkin spice lattes -- this is how to kick off autumn, baby!

The offer will indeed expire at the end of Labor Day -- so act now!