Zany #2

In this satirical romp, a couple named Maggie and Jizz find themselves bored by their fancy high-society life and start reminiscing about the rowdier days of their past—when Maggie would constantly crown Jizz for his misdeeds. As old resentments bubble to the surface, Jizz challenges the dynamic that's defined their forty-year relationship, and things take a turn neither of them quite expected.

Prince Val Runt, son of King Jaguar of Yule, is roused from slumber by his squire Meyer to face a savage enemy attack on the kingdom. The swashbuckling prince wades single-handedly into battle against hundreds of opponents, his fabulous singing sword cutting through their ranks—only to discover, when he kneels before his father in the throne room, that he's made a catastrophic mistake. This 1958 satire-parody from *Zany* #2 gleefully skewers the heroic adventure tales of its day, complete with over-the-top narration and ridiculous consequences.

When the law in the monster-filled frontier town of Dirge City learns that the notorious Wolf Chaney Jr. has arrived at the local Blood Bank, marshal Mat Monster must confront his outlaw nemesis—though his sidekick Lester keeps urging him toward tactics the marshal considers unsporting. This 1958 satire from *Zany* gleefully spoofs both Western showdowns and horror tropes with tongue firmly in cheek.

A satirical look at women's wrestling in 1958, this tale pits the lovely Miss America against the ferocious Miss Fit in a grudge match that spirals into absurdity—complete with identical wrestling togs, commandos restoring order, and wrestling moves with names like the Sputnik Spin. It's a two-page romp that skewers the spectacle of the sport with wit and exaggeration, letting you peek over the referee's shoulder at what really goes on behind the scenes.

When a guest-of-honor is celebrated at a lavish testimonial dinner, chaos brews—literally—when a young scientist's truth serum accidentally makes its way into the kitchen, and a temperamental chef learns his shrimp cocktail has been rejected as unfit. This 1958 satire skewers the pretense of society banquets with the kind of anarchic absurdity *Zany* magazine did best, as egos and kitchen mishaps collide with delightfully ridiculous results.

A advice columnist with hilariously unhelpful answers fields questions on everything from folklore to math to geography in this two-page satire. Jim Roth's pencils and inks capture the absurdist spirit of the gag, as the Answer Man tackles each earnest query with logic so twisted it loops back on itself. Whether he's correcting a count's title or predicting lunar residents with circular reasoning, this is comedy built on the sheer audacity of confident nonsense.

A rumor about Lefty spreads like wildfire through the grapevine, with each person passing along the word with increasing urgency and excitement. As the gossip travels from one eager mouth to the next, the message gets repeated, amplified, and eagerly shared around until it takes on a life of its own.

ZWORDO, THE FOX—a masked avenger of Old Los Angeles and self-styled king of satire—must square off against his greatest foe, the Eagle, while his loyal horse urges caution and chaos erupts all around him. Part swordplay, part slapstick, this 1958 adventure from Zany shows exactly why the masked fox refuses to back down from a fight he knows he might lose. It's frontier mayhem with a wink and a knowing smile.

On the planet Mongrel, a brawny spaceman named Flush Gordon pleads with a doctor for help—he's under siege from an endless parade of bizarre creatures, from ice-beasts to purple dragons to giant bagels, and he can't catch a break no matter what he does. This one-page sci-fi parody from 1958 is pure comedic chaos, poking fun at space-opera heroics with absurdist humor and gloriously silly monster designs.

The famous but feuding comedy team Dean Lewis and Jerry Martin have decided to reunite after years of bad blood—driven by fan pressure and tax troubles—and attempt to work together again despite their lingering animosity. When they try to film a new picture as a team, their old tensions immediately surface, creating chaos on set that threatens to derail the production. It's a satirical take on show business egos and the messy reality behind show-biz reunions.

Three well-to-do boys—Itzhak, Slitslart, and Cholly—form an unlikely crime ring in 1950s Florida, systematically stealing whitewall tires from neighborhood cars and abandoning expensive automobiles in shantytown lots. Despite their privileged upbringings, prestigious educations, and high intellects, the trio pursues this peculiar crime spree with calculated success—until their luck runs out at a society gathering. This satirical tale from *Zany* #2 asks the uncomfortable question: what drives kids from the best homes to embrace the wrong path?

A children's television host named Harriett Clay attempts to deliver an important message to mothers while managing a chaotic studio full of misbehaving kids in this sharp parody of live TV pandemonium. As Clay tries repeatedly to speak, the children interrupt, fight, and generally wreak havoc, pushing her patience to the breaking point. It's a wickedly funny 1958 satire of the earnest educational programming that dominated kiddie television.

In this 1958 romp, Zany takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what space travel to Mars might really entail—complete with the revelation that those famous Martian canals are actually stocked with beer, a crafty alien ploy to keep earthbound visitors spending their money. When a manned spacecraft finally makes the journey to the Red Planet, the crew encounters the locals, including the peculiar Snerple Snagglebatz 228-4F, a half-mammal, half-camel creature with some decidedly odd habits and dangerous sneeze reflexes. It's a silly, satirical spin on the space-race excitement of the era.

Joe Bazooka, a long-suffering comic strip star who's spent three decades getting pummeled while propping up his supporting cast, finally snaps and boots everyone out—his parasitic sidekicks, his wife who "improved" him beyond recognition, and the wholesome image that's made him a prisoner of his own success. In this sharp satire from *Zany* #2, the titular character decides it's time to trade his clean-living persona and phoney Brooklyn accent for his real self, consequences be damned.

When the Modville Nine desperately need a run with the game on the line, all eyes turn to Cazee—but getting a chance to bat proves trickier than expected in this zany 1958 sports parody. As the crowd roars for their slugger, fate and circumstance conspire in delightfully absurd ways, leaving Cazee to face an unusual predicament at the plate.