…probably not.

eataku:

Yesterday, my buddy @AkiYanagi informed me of the release of the new limited edition Pumpkin Cheesecake KitKat over in Japan, available this month in honor of Halloween…

But then he decides to take things to the next level and sends a link to the upcoming Pepsi Pink, a new flavor of cola that’s being released over there in November… strawberry milk flavored cola?!?!

No thanks.

So, apparently the fine folks at the Dr. Pepper Bottling Works have decided to eliminate half of the world’s viable drinkers in a pretty strange marketing campaign. I mean, look…Mrs. SodaBlog drinks Dr. Pepper pretty regularly, and I imagine this tongue-in-cheek ad series is only going to force her into saying “screw that” and drinking one anywa….OH. Ohhhhhh. I get it now.

Here’s an interesting read about the campaign.

“Advertising Age reports that in addition to the masculine colors on the logo, the new campaign will include a “Man Cave” trailer that will visit Denver, Colorado Springs, Des moines, Kansas City, San Antonio, and Austin. The ‘Man Cave’ will set up shop in ‘testosterone zones’ like ball fields and car shows, and give guys a place to watch TV and play video games. Those few hours you’re away from your TV every weekend can be pretty disorienting, so it’ll be great for guys to have a place to escape from all that fresh air.”

For what it’s worth, I knew I should have copyrighted “testosterone zones” when I had the chance.

Yeah… I’m not sure what I feel about this, but I do love their Facebook page where you can find “Cooking With Dr. Pepper” tips (BBQ Wings! Brownies!) and “Man’Ments” which are like the Ten Commandments of Dudes like “Thou Shalt Not OMG: If it’s not exploding, it’s not exciting.” You can point out dudes that have broken said Man’Ments.

Fun campaign, sure. But flavor always speaks for itself, so I suppose I’ll have to take it like a man, wrestle myself a bottle of Dr. Pepper Ten, Greco-Roman style, and tackle it down my throat to see how it stands up to a half-nelson of SodaBlog judgement.

In a bit of an image trawl today, and found the two sketches I worked up for Archaia and Henson in an attempt to illustrate “The Convincing of Convincing John”, the short story Fernando Pinto and I created for FRAGGLE ROCK VOL.1, Issue 2.

I quite like the way these came out.

Found these in a portfolio awhile back. Ah, so young. So deluded.

Abandoning the internet and social media for a good old fashioned family vacation, I’ve been remiss in posting here and clearing hurdles to get back into the swing of things. Soda blogging shall commence, but in the meantime I wanted to make you aware of a story I’ve illustrated for a recent anthology.

Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land , edited by Paul Buhle and the late Harvey Pekar and published by Abrams Books, contains original stories by notable writers and artists such as Barry Deutsch, Peter Kuper, Spain Rodriguez, and Sharon Rudahl. Through illustrations, comics art, and a full-length play, four major themes are explored: culture, performance, assimilation, and the revival of the language.

Danny Fingeroth recruited me to illustrate his four page story, an exploration of cantors Moshe Oysher and Al Jolson, and I’m pretty happy with the result.

Here are three reviews, and here’s the Amazon listing.

Back in the day, I used to love Ferrara Pan Candies.

Lemonheads, my favorite, had a classic, timeless quality that’s lasted until today, when all the brand’s candies follow their example with names like Cherry Heads, Orange Heads and the like. Sure—you’ll get a Jawbreaker or Atomic Fireball in the mix, but for the most part they stick to the formula. In my day, however, Ferrara Pan candies used to carry names like Alexander the Grape, Johnny Apple Treats, Mr. Melon and, of course, the Cherry Clan.

Cherry Clan found it’s way into the gallery of racist brands and candies, immortalized and cast to their fate by cartoonist Evan Dorkin in his classic strip “The Island of Misfit Candy.” Since then, Ferrara Pan—and most well-known, public brands—have cleaned up their act in a wave of political correctness and eggshell stepping, making memorable-yet-offensive logos and labels all but obsolete.

Not so Cherikee Red Cherry Soda.

Created by Cleveland’s Cotton Club Bottling and Canning Company, currently owned by American Bottling Company, the soda’s label depicts a full blown image of a sterotypical Cherokee Indian Chief which is, well… let’s say it doesn’t jibe with the aforementioned wave of political correctness and eggshell stepping.

I happened across a bottle of this completely offensive (the soda is red! Indians are called “Redskins!” HahahahaNO) in a Pennsylvania Dutch-owned dairy this weekend on a camping trip and my eyes blew out of my sockets in amazement before plunking down the cash to try it out. Fittingly, the soda tastes exactly what you’d think liquified Cherry Clan candies would taste like if carbonated and poured into a plastic bottle. Sweet, smooth, not too overpowering and near enough that it could taste like fruit punch. One bottle did it for me, but I could see a touch of lime or citrus bringing me back for more.

That label, however? One-way trip to the Island of Misfit Sodas.

ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO DRINK THIS SWILL

Seriously, though, terribly putrid. I wouldn’t drink this with my worst enemy’s mouth.