Saturday, February 16, 2019

(218) Murphy's Manor-Meet the Revered Doctor Doom

In '86 I got an unsolicited mailing from an extreme right wing organization, from Oberlin, I  think. Why in the world they put me on the mailing list for their homophobic rantings is still  a mystery to me. Murf received the same newsletter,  and the resulting comic strip contains very little fiction. I wonder if I kept a copy?

Little did I  realize where this would lead -- Murf's foil, and the strip's equivalent to Doctor Doom.

Excuse me.  Make that Reverend Doctor Doom.








Thursday, February 14, 2019

(217) Murphy's Manor - Cruising Medical Research

In the mid 1980s AIDS terrified the gay community.  The disease itself was ill-understood, let alone how to cure it. Many researchers generated press releases  on the latest (rapidly changing) theories and therapies. Local gay newspapers eagerly ran them as news items. I cribbed all the lingo below from such newspaper articles.

It's all Jeff needed to start taking an interest in his health. 


Wednesday, February 13, 2019

(216) Murphy's Manor: Imaginary AIDS

By 1986 AIDS was striking the gay community throughout the entire country. Every member of the gay community either had it or had close friends who died of it. And what did the right wing have to offer except "Got AIDS Yet?" What rich subject matter for a comic strip!

Gay newspapers added a new feature: obituary columns. The latest clinical info was carried widely in local papers, and eventually, testing and safe sex tips.

If these circumstances lead Vernon to become just a little bit of a hypochondriac, who can blame him? 



Editorial note: after a long hiatus, I hope to resume frequent postings of Murf strips. There are just barely a thousand comic strips to go! Till now, my first posting of these strips have been on Facebook, then shared here. I am now reversing that order. With Facebook's new censorship policies, I'll start on Blogspot and post the link in FB.