MEDIA
BLITZ
VISUAL ADDICTION
by Robert Williams
Book Report by Lowboy
Visual Addiction. Sure enough. Robert Williams really
doesn't have any choice. He's afflicted with a strange
vision. His entire life he's continually paid in full for his
gift. Society requires supplicant social critics (if one
dares to question the status quo at all). Bondo Bob is
anything but polite. Williams relentlessly probes the fetid
underbelly of the American psyche and dares to tread
in the no-man's land of morose peculiarity. Confronta-
tional excess assaults the bastions of moral decency.
Back when it mattered (long before the present ever-
Pixie Stick
so-polite National Endowment of the Arts controversy
over fudge-packed, urine-soaked "approved radical-
ism"), Williams and a few other brave souls were brash
enough to challenge the obscenity laws of the nation
and indeed the Constitution itself and survive. Keep in
mind that in those dark ages transgressors were
routinely jailed or lobotomized and instutionalized under
the "damages to self/danger to others" doctrine.
So in homage to your more decado-utopian erratic
blood-bathed wet dream, why not carefully peruse Mr.
Williams' latest offering from Last Gasp? Perhaps you
will find out more about yourself than you ever wanted
to know. More likely, Williams' masterful brush strokes
combined with his vengeful wit may cause you to forget
more than you ever knew. Walk the dark streets of retinal
delights. See the ghost of Basil Wolverton mugging Car-
avaggios' corpse on the derailed uptown A train. Witness
the eerie spectacle of high art being buggered on the
polished Italian marble steps of the temples of culture/
commerce. Board the scurvy-ridden ghost ship of desire
and know for certain why Frontera donkey shows make
little girls pant faster than prime time New Kids on the
Block. In short, submerse yourself in the diabolically
delineated discourse on the future of civilization.
In the immortal words of the artist, "So barbaric is
the sensory domain of the eyeball that curiosity
supersedes logic. Sight is my opiate."
Visual Addiction-The Art of Robert Williams is
published by Last Gasp Press, 2180 Bryant St., San
Francisco, CA 94110.
Far Left: Senor Williams blows his own mind with "Snuff Fink" (or "The
exuberance of youth bordering on self-destruction, lends romance to
the notion that acne is never really cured, just thrilled into submission.
For detail of painting see page 3. Left: "Chrysalis of Death" or "Diarrhea
awaits bad children who eat too many store bought elfin muffins. The
motto being 'Even in the Enchanted Forest, cash is king."
THRASHER
PRESENTS
WIN FRIENDS
AND WRAP FISH
HOTTER THAN A PIECE OF SKYLAB
THRASHER
8
$150
GNARLY NINJA KNOTHEADS ON A HALFSHELL
by Brad Moldstein
Okay, so you've had enough of the hype. You're sick of the action figures, ninja video games, ninja diapers, ninja cereal, ninja
burgers, ninja toilet paper, ice cubes, toothpaste, bands, toothpicks, yo-yos and wax-enough for you to avoid the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles movie altogether. It's funny how so many people gave the flick a kiddie movie zero rating without ever seeing the
thing. Fact is, the movie was created for the adult as
well as the kid. Many of the "bigger kids" were the only
ones heard howling in the theaters at the witty reptilian
humor. Television cartoon fans should be aware that the
movie isn't based so much on the TV version of the Ninja
Turtles, but more on the comic book version of the story,
created several years ago by Kevin Eastman and Peter
Laird. They definitely took a more sophisticated ap-
proach. In any case, the whole theme of turtle mania
is violence, no matter how you look at it. Hell, the word
ninja certainly ain't got anything to do with gardening.
For those of you who have absolutely no idea what
this turtle business is all about, here is a quick rundown
on Ninja origins: Some fool kid drops his four tiny turtles
into the New York sewer where they land in radioactive
ooze. From then on the slovenly terrapins learn to walk
upright, and eventually utter their first word (which, oddly
enough, is "pizza"). They are adopted by Splinter, a rat
whose master was a hotsy totsy martial arts dude who got
offed by another martial arts bad guy. This rat, who had
been learning martial arts from the sanctity of his cage,
is the only witness and escapes, but not before he manages
to slice a couple of taco-sized gashes into the villain's face.
The rat raises the four mutating turtles, teaches them all
kinds of martial arts stuff, and they grow into giant teenage
hard-shelled pizza addicts who sneak up onto the over-
world to hang out in disguise checking out movies and
shopping. They cop the lingo of the pseudo-surfer-types
who must hang out all over New York and, of course, they
love to party.
If you haven't seen this flick, then a viewing shouldn't
be out of the question. It's not the baby talk you'd expect.
You can keep an eye out for the video release slated in time
for the 1990 Christmas season. All you diehard Mean Green
Teen fans will be stoked to know that plans are already in
the works for a sequel, which will feature many of the same
characters. Some new characters will also be introduced.
Production will start as soon as the fat lady sings, and its
estimated time of release is around March, 1991.
A
Price is $2.50 per copy (postage and handling included).
Enclose check or money order
(U.S. funds only) payable to:
THRASHER
P.O. Box 884570, San Francisco, CA 94188-4570
Name (please print)
Street Address
Birth Date
City
State
Zip
Number of Copies.
Amt. Enclosed:
ACT
91