These are out of a sketchbook from '82. In those days NYC was an anything goes place and totally out of control. There were guys selling reefer on every corner, cars being stolen every minute and drug treatment centers filling every square inch of open real estate in the run down sections of the city.It looked like the kind of place that would scare Frankenstein's Monster, so I did a few gags based on that notion. Over on the "Gum or Mints" blog the subject is Frankenstein's Monster, I'm doing something new for that site but I thought it would be fun to post these here.
4 comments:
Wow....25 years old and they still hold up!
That top one is my favorite.
Mine too, Ry. The others are a bit grim and mean-spirited, but there is a ring of truth to them in the way they reflect the time they were drawn.
In those days NYC was like a cosmopolitan version of a lawless frontier town. Especially in the Grand Central Station area where I worked.
You know what I love, here in the late 90’s (NYC) people would crucify Guiliani saying he was dictatorial and too rigid.
I cannot tell you how many people who were recent transplants arriving in the mid 90’s all had an opinion on what they felt was the mayor’s ham-handedness in dealing with the problems of the city.
Thing is, none of these people were around for the ‘good old days’ you are mentioning in your entry.
As a matter of fact, I seem to remember it being the general consensus just prior to Guiliani’s first term that New York City was ungovernable and that no one could manage to correct the problems the city was suffering from.
People weren’t here for things like the ‘Days of Rage’ or those wonderful moments when you pulled up at a light and guys descended on your car looking for handouts. Between the squeegee men and the beggars New York was looking more like a third world city than a metropolis.
It’ll be interesting to see how that whole era is painted over the coming months - like I said people have short memories.
Hi,Vince!At you good sense of humour!!I wish good luck!Lena.Moscow.
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