The Doper Roper Rides Again!

February 17, 2012

Still perusing the 16 issues of the Razz I received yesterday. My cartoon character, the Doper Roper, loped through each and ever issue, and it was interesting to look at all these years later. For one thing the writing is very weak (I thought it was so hip at the time), but there are a couple of action sequence that actually track in a decent way. Like this sequence where the Doper Roper encounters a hippy who can turn himself into a rattler:

This action is followed by a very clean and interesting page.

I was playing in a Country band at the time and on Sunday's we would have these sad little affairs billed as Sunday Jam Sessions at the bar. This sequence, in the rain, actually evokes the setting I was attempting to capture.

And, of course, the Wipeout reference is ironic and chilling to me, since I had a heart attack while playing that song 34 years later.

Speaking of going off a cliff, this is a nice scene of the D-R cliff diving on his fave steed Shamrock:

I'm tempted to get all nostalgic and emotional about this old stuff, but the words of one my heroes echoes off the canyon walls.

"It's just lines on paper folks."
—R. Crumb