9/13/2019 Zippy The Pinhead Cry
. ZIPPY ARCHIVE: Are We Having Searchable Fun Yet?
See all new!! 14-Mar-02 03/14/02. Zippy Griffi 'Rallying Cry' Choose one B&W signed print(s) Image area: 5 3/4' x 13' on 11' x 17' acid-free, heavy paper with archival inks. Available immediately $65 -Shipping included Hand-Colored Signed Print(s) Image area: 5 3/4' x 13' on 11' x 17' acid-free, heavy paper with archival inks.
Posts about Zippy the Pinhead written by gigoid. The unwashed masses cry, while time slips away, sleeping in the shade. (what else can one call Zippy. 12 days ago Creator of Zippy the Pinhead writes a fantastic comic book biography of Schlitzie the Pinhead. So why did Robin persist in making these films, each one a far cry.
Available immediately $185 -Shipping included Back to strips.
Nobody’s Fool follows the story of Schlitzie’s long career—from Coney Island and the Ringling Bros. Circus to small-town carnivals and big-city sideshows—which is one of legend. Today, Schlitzie is most well-known for his appearance in the cult classic Freaks. The making of Freaks and Schlitzie’s role in the film is a centerpiece of the book. In researching Schlitzie’s lif Nobody’s Fool follows the story of Schlitzie’s long career—from Coney Island and the Ringling Bros. Circus to small-town carnivals and big-city sideshows—which is one of legend. Today, Schlitzie is most well-known for his appearance in the cult classic Freaks.
The making of Freaks and Schlitzie’s role in the film is a centerpiece of the book. In researching Schlitzie’s life (1901–1971), Griffith has tracked down primary sources and archives throughout the country, including conducting interviews with those who worked with him and had intimate knowledge of his personality, his likes and dislikes, how he responded to being a sideshow “freak,” and much more. This graphic novel biography provides never-before-revealed details of his life, offering a unique look into his world and restoring dignity to his life by recognizing his contributions to popular culture. Honestly, this could have been edited down to about 50 pages. There's so much time spent with the various sideshows Schlitzie worked at that they just blur into the same few pages on repeat. I know Griffith decided to do this because his character Zippie the Pinhead is based on Schlitzie.
But a better story would have been to give us the history of all the people to have appeared in Tom Browning's Freaks. This was the most interesting part of the book and what I was interested in most. Unfortuna Honestly, this could have been edited down to about 50 pages. There's so much time spent with the various sideshows Schlitzie worked at that they just blur into the same few pages on repeat. I know Griffith decided to do this because his character Zippie the Pinhead is based on Schlitzie. But a better story would have been to give us the history of all the people to have appeared in Tom Browning's Freaks. This was the most interesting part of the book and what I was interested in most.
Unfortunately, it was only a small subset of the 250 page story. Received a review copy from Abrams and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned. A strong four stars for this serious, but entertaining, graphic novel biography. The subject was microcephalic, and deemed a 'pinhead' in the parlance of the carnie side-show. He was stuck with a career in a dress, with the simple act of standing on a stage and being gawped at as a 'freak' – until he did become one of the most famous 'Freaks' in history, in the film of that name which Tod Browning chose to follow 'Dracula' with.
The awkward thing for some people was that he seemed to enjoy every A strong four stars for this serious, but entertaining, graphic novel biography. The subject was microcephalic, and deemed a 'pinhead' in the parlance of the carnie side-show. He was stuck with a career in a dress, with the simple act of standing on a stage and being gawped at as a 'freak' – until he did become one of the most famous 'Freaks' in history, in the film of that name which Tod Browning chose to follow 'Dracula' with. The awkward thing for some people was that he seemed to enjoy every minute, being perfectly happy scrubbing dishes, listening to music and eating (anything except salad, it seems). As is perfectly fitting, the creator never judges his subject, nor any of the many people that ultimately profited from him.
![]()
To its detriment the book does get hung up on who his employers were at any particular time, and it does seem a little scattershot – the justification that some bits of the timeline and indeed even his origins are missing from knowledge goes only partway to excusing the jumpiness. The artwork is excellent throughout, with a lot of craft in every image, and the book can certainly be appreciated for conveying the humanity and story of the subject. This in no way borrows from the side-show approach, but gives us a view of our hero with the clarity and decency all of us would wish for. (Note: I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley) Yes, the man known as Schilitze spent most of his life as an attraction in sideshows where he was paraded as an exotic spectacle. Yet at the same time, he enjoyed no small amount of success and in fact seemed to enjoy it very much. Also, it can't be denied that his character and spirit deeply touched those who knew him, especially in light of the lengths that many took to take care of him.
This man's long career, to say the least, is a (Note: I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley) Yes, the man known as Schilitze spent most of his life as an attraction in sideshows where he was paraded as an exotic spectacle. Yet at the same time, he enjoyed no small amount of success and in fact seemed to enjoy it very much. Also, it can't be denied that his character and spirit deeply touched those who knew him, especially in light of the lengths that many took to take care of him. This man's long career, to say the least, is a fascinatingly complex one, and it receives exactly the respectful and detailed coverage that it deserves in 'Nobody's Fool.' Bill Griffith has crafted a wonderfully exhaustive and absorbing biography that can be enjoyed by any reader regardless of whether they've heard of its unique cultural icon of a subject or not. In 1980, during a hazy week-long visit to Amsterdam, in addition to Van Gogh and the Dutch Masters, we discovered a comic book featuring Zippy the Pinhead. Now he's a nationally syndicated strip in many daily papers, running for decades, but at that time he was unknown beyond the narrow world of underground comics.
Once we stumbled upon him, we had a new hero, quoting Zippy for the rest of the trip and for many years to come. Bill Griffith was a student at Pratt in Brooklyn in 1963 when he went t In 1980, during a hazy week-long visit to Amsterdam, in addition to Van Gogh and the Dutch Masters, we discovered a comic book featuring Zippy the Pinhead. Now he's a nationally syndicated strip in many daily papers, running for decades, but at that time he was unknown beyond the narrow world of underground comics. Once we stumbled upon him, we had a new hero, quoting Zippy for the rest of the trip and for many years to come. Bill Griffith was a student at Pratt in Brooklyn in 1963 when he went to see a screening of Freaks, the cult film made in 1932 by Tod Browning, best known for directing the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula. Although it would be some years before Griffith started writing and drawing Zippy, he remembers that screening as the inspiration for the character who would become the cornerstone of his career. This graphic, er, biography, let's say, because it's not a graphic novel, is the story of the real life inspiration for Zippy - Schlitzie Surtees, possibly born Simon Metz in the Bronx, one of the most endearing title characters of Freaks and a lifelong denizen of traveling circus and carnival side shows.
The bow in his hair, the muu-muu, the five o'clock shadow, the non-sequiturs, and the endearing personality - Zippy got them all from Schlitzie. One of the many revelations in Nobody's Fool, assuming Griffith is presenting the best possible real life research into Schlitzie, is that Zippy's manner of speaking is in fact based on how Schlitzie spoke. In Freaks, his speech is garbled beyond recognition, but elsewhere in life, according to this book, he made himself understood, even if he what he said didn't make sense. Zippy is gifted with a broader vocabulary, but he basically talks like Schlitzie. The artwork is stunning.
I am not by any means, despite my youthful fascination with Zippy, a reader of graphic literature or comics. Within my limited exposure to the form, I remain amazed this many years later with Griffith's ability to communicate through his drawings.
The written portion is, as I know from Zippy, straightforward and matter of fact, rarely if ever betraying any condescension or judgement. My only criticism is that a significant portion of this fairly lengthy (for a graphic work) book is a compendium of Schlitzie's side show appearances, especially during his latter years. I get that this is the best documented portion of his life (maybe the only reliably documented portion of his life), but even the artwork starts to grow repetitive with each new show he appears in. The other side of that coin is that we get only rare glimpses into Griffith's own life, even the moments that inspired Zippy. He does depict his initial exposure to Freaks (including a few 'boffo' pages replicating scenes from the movie), and he also shows his initial creation of Zippy.
![]()
But rather than show us every Schlitzie side show, it would have been nice to see the progress of Zippy's development in subsequent years. Worth singling out, especially in the context of the artwork and the overemphasis on his career, is the section about the one time Schlitzie did not perform. When his guardians, the Surtees, died, their daughter had him committed to a psychiatric hospital. For a number of pages, Griffith depicts Schlitzie's nine month stay through a series of panels that are all drawing, no words. The dark and despairing circumstances of life in the pysch ward are just perfect, and devastating. If you're a fan of Zippy and his creator Griffy, or a fan of Freaks, or a fan of graphic novels, this is totally in your wheelhouse.
If you're not in one of those categories, you may yet like this one-of-a-kind look into a world gone. Some biographies give me the feeling that the creator is too close to his subject matter to know what parts of the story are interesting, and what can be edited out. That's how this felt to me. The story of Schlitzie is interesting, but the transitions from sideshow to sideshow were all fairly similar, and they seemed unnecessarily repetitive from a narrative standpoint. Overall, I felt that this was an enjoyable 100 page graphic novel that expanded into a 250 page passion project that will probabl Some biographies give me the feeling that the creator is too close to his subject matter to know what parts of the story are interesting, and what can be edited out.
That's how this felt to me. The story of Schlitzie is interesting, but the transitions from sideshow to sideshow were all fairly similar, and they seemed unnecessarily repetitive from a narrative standpoint. Overall, I felt that this was an enjoyable 100 page graphic novel that expanded into a 250 page passion project that will probably delight both Bill Griffith fans, and those more interested in the biography of a 20th century sideshow performer, but kept losing my attention. I recommend it for fans of Zippy the Pinhead, sideshow enthusiasts, and anyone whose graphic novel interest leans more towards biography than fiction. Bill Griffith brings his talents to the story of Schlitzie Surtees, perhaps the best known 'pinhead' in all of sideshow history - you might recognize him from the Tod Browning film Freaks. Griffith draws on historical documents, interviews, and more to piece together a biography of Schlitzie that is at turns humorous, heartfelt, and downright harrowing - I didn't know that he was briefly (and miserably) confined to a county hospital before being returned to the care of Ward Hall and another sid Bill Griffith brings his talents to the story of Schlitzie Surtees, perhaps the best known 'pinhead' in all of sideshow history - you might recognize him from the Tod Browning film Freaks. Griffith draws on historical documents, interviews, and more to piece together a biography of Schlitzie that is at turns humorous, heartfelt, and downright harrowing - I didn't know that he was briefly (and miserably) confined to a county hospital before being returned to the care of Ward Hall and another sideshow manager.
There aren't many details included regarding Schlitzie's passing, but it was touching to see that a group of fans got together to purchase a headstone for his grave some years afterward. A really fascinating and worthwhile read - and an essential one for folks interested in the history of sideshow exhibitions.
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |