Honkytonk Sue
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1979-1980 / Bob Boze Bell
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Bob Boze Bell is the Executive Editor of True West, a national magazine with over 100,000 subscribers, and has produced several groundbreaking illustrated books on the Old West (American frontier history in the latter half of the 19th century). His fine art paintings have been featured in educational programs on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and the Learning Channel. Bell also appears as an expert historian on a cable TV show, has hosted his own radio shows, and won the Arizona Press Club's Cartoonist of the Year award in 1983.
Despite all these other successes, Bell is best known to comic book fans and collectors as the creator and publisher of the treasured four-issue series, Honkytonk Sue, The Queen of Country Swing, starring "the wildest and prettiest cowgirl in the whole world," Sue. Honkytonk Sue first appeared in National Lampoon in 1977 and then as a comic strip in the Phoenix New Times Weekly from 1978 to 1980. Bell culled the strips from the New Times and self-published 5,000 copies each of the Honkytonk Sue comic books towards the end of the newspaper run.
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honkytonksue
Bell did a remarkable job of writing and illustrating the sometimes far-fetched adventures of Sue, who is just as tough as she is curvaceous. She sports a deadpan sense of humor (and a mean right hook) that can crush the testosterone of any male suitor, unless she feels like "wrinkling the sheets" with him. No matter where she finds herself, Sue is always on the look out for "Mr. Raht," even though "Mr. Ah-Don't-Think-So" usually seems to find her. And no matter how absurd her adventures become, Bell has a cunning ability to make them feel real, even when Sue is reuniting the Beatles and converting their playlist to Country Western music.
With all her media exposure, Honkytonk Sue got noticed. In 1983, the character was optioned by Columbia Pictures for a nifty sum of $30,000 (1/3 of that went to Bell's lawyers). Several screenplays were developed over a two-year period for a Goldie Hawn movie that was never made (she reportedly failed to see the humor).
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Honkytonk Sue from a Bell posting on a True West blog
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In 2002, Bell revived the sorely missed Honkytonk Sue comic strip for True West magazine, which was a failing Oklahoma publication back in 1999 before Bell bought it and moved it to Arizona. The Honkytonk Sue strip ran in True West until 2008. I'd love to pick up a few of those mags just for the comic, but the ones I see on eBay don't make any mention of Sue on their cover. I wonder if the strip was monthly feature or did it just appear periodically? I'd have to be sure she was actually present in the pages of those magazines before putting money down on any of them.
Honkytonk Sue is unlike any other characters from the underground comic book era, mostly cuz she's a whip-smart, assertive country woman who wears a cowboy hat. A smart country woman with a cowboy hat? That persona just did not compute in the rest of the underground. But then, the Honkytonk Sue comic books didn't meet many of the parameters for qualifying as an underground, either. Sure, they were self-published, so that met one of our major optional criteria for inclusion, but Honkytonk Sue was produced by a country western artist who illustrated non-fiction books about Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Jeez-us, that's like having frickin' Norman Rockwell do an underground comic!
But that's the thing about underground comic books. If Norman Rockwell actually did produce an underground comic, we would acknowledge it. When Steve Ditko or D.J. Arneson or Harvey Kurtzman do a comic book that seems like an underground, we adopt it into the underground body of work. So even if Honkytonk Sue is revered by thousands of fans who have never even heard of underground comix, by God, it still belongs to us! It's funny, irreverent, sexy and unusual. Now those are attributes of an underground comic book! Long live Honkytonk Sue!
Honkytonk Sue #1
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AVERAGE SCORE 7
Only Printing / February, 1979 / 76 pages / Bob Boze Bell
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"The Queen of Country Swing" was drawn and written by Bob Boze Bell, who self-published four memorable issues of Honkytonk Sue. The first issue runs 72 pages and the artwork is rather different from most undergrounds, with its painterly style and multiple washes. The skin tones, backgrounds and highlights in some of the panels appear a bit dark, making me wonder if the work was originally painted in color, but the quality of the work remains self-evident. Subsequent issues had cleaner and brighter production work, but the "dirty mood" of the first issue only lends additional charm to the proceedings, in my opinion. Less forgiveable is the layout of the panels and printing of the interior pages, which often cuts off parts of the artwork, but I'm quibbling about a self-published book in the '70s.
Honkytonk Sue #1 opens inside an isolated honkytonk in the Southwest called the Heatwave Cafe, where a country band is rockin' and Honkytonk Sue is dancin', like she does every night. Bell narrates several pages, 'splaining the nature of honkytonks and the folks who inhabit them. Lotta dusty cowpokes and smoky-voiced women lookin' for romance, but most don't find nothin' but one night of knockin' boots. Course, Sue is quite particular, and even when it seems like Mr. Right has walked into her life, she's the one who's gonna be breakin' hearts.
After we get the lay of the land, Bell takes Sue and her rotund pal Donna Jean to a discotheque to get a gander at this new-fangled disco craze. Sue is unimpressed by the dancing (as well as the men) and ends up kicking John Travolta's ass in a quick competition on the dance floor. Donna Jean and Sue head back to their honkytonk, but when some assholes make fun of Donna Jean's extra weight, Sue has to teach 'em a lesson in a hilarious encounter.
Donna Jean is so embarrassed by the incident, she hides in her trailer for days, but Sue ain't gonna put up with that kind of fussiness. A couple days later, she takes Donna Jean to the Flying A Cafe and has her pick out a man she'd like to be with. Donna Jean's all worried that the guy won't like her, but Sue already has a plan for that. Let's just say Donna Jean ends up having the night of her life.
After 48 pages of Honkytonk Sue, Bell gives us about 20 pages of other comics, mostly featuring "The Doperoper," who appears to be the finest calf roper in the Southwest. Not only does he rope three calves in less than six seconds, but he tops it off by roping seven drug smugglers in a parched desert.
Despite the minor production and layout issues, Honkytonk Sue #1 is a funny and entertaining comic book and sets the stage for even wilder stories in future issues. Not only does Bell draw quite well, but he has a keen ear for dialog too, and pretty soon yer feelin' lak you shud be talkin' lak sum ah them gud ol' boys in th' honkytonks.
Bell wrote a short blog about self-publishing Honkytonk Sue #1 on the True West blog site and it's worth a read. It even gives a couple clues about the production issues; namely, that Bell himself produced the camera-ready artwork with photomechanical transfers (PMTs) he shot himself. I've shot a few thousand of those myself back in the day and though it isn't rocket science, it's not that hard to end up with crap. But Bell's a smart guy, so there may have been other issues he and/or the printers were dealing with. And it's not like the end result is that bad.
It should also be noted that Bell is a very talented and prolific painter and illustrator. Yes, that is evident in the comic books, but the stuff he did in the years that followed is really terrific. And the color illustrations he did for the covers of Honkytonk Sue are pretty good, but not nearly as nice as the artwork he produced later. He talks about his early life and career and his approach to drawing and painting in a funny, self-deprecating TV interview he did in 2011, which is also worth watching to discover what a nice guy he appears to be.
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Honkytonk Sue #2
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AVERAGE SCORE 7
Only Printing / February, 1980 / 76 pages / Bob Boze Bell
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After constant pleading from horny male fans, Bob Boze Bell finally grants their most-desired request with Honkytonk Sue #2, the Sex Issue. Okay, maybe it's not really called the Sex Issue. But of the four issues of Honkytonk Sue, this is the one that comes closest to earning that nickname. Bear in mind, Sue doesn't get naked. And to be honest, there are no actual depictions of sex, either. This ain't Eros Comix, 'kay? But Honkytonk Sue #2 puts Sue in some pretty steamy situations and she reacts exactly the way we'd expect her to react; lahk a winnah.
The 64 pages of comics in the second issue are divided into two epic adventures. The first is "Lady Killers from Outer Space," in which Sue and her buddy Donna Jean are abducted by space aliens who plan to feed the girls to a computerized sex machine with lethal desires. Although the machine ends up devouring its victims, it's not all torture. As the aliens advise them, "By giving yourself to its powers you will feel pleasure you never knew existed." That's great, but you also end up dead! Donna Jean goes first and the machine makes quick work of her, overwhelming her with sexual pleasure as it consumes her.
Due to immobilizing lasers, Sue is unable to fight back as she is locked into the massive machine after Donna is gone. But she's got a little surpise in store when the machine tries to overwhelm her with sexual pleasure. Sue can dish it out as good as she can take it, and within minutes she has overpowered the machine with her own sensory output. The aliens are stunned when the machine suffers from "premature computation" and Sue emerges as the victor. How the hell did "a mere Earth woman" defeat their killer sex machine? Sue snaps back with a classic response; "Listen up, space for brains. Sex is in th' mand, not the behand." Properly awed, the aliens rescue Donna Jean from the intestines of the broken machine and safely return the girls back to Earth.
The second story is "Deco-dent Deva," which pits Sue against a ruthless sex dominatrix named Deva Dikester from California, who has bought a local run-down cattle ranch for $3 million. Sue soon suspects that "Ther's somethin' queer goin' on" at the ranch and sets off with Donna Jean that night to investigate. Armed guards thwart their initial approach, chasing Donna Jean away, but Sue is far too insistent to git scared off by automatic rifle fire. Unfortunately, she is captured just as she discovers the nature of the cargo that's been shipping in and out of the ranch since the day Deva bought it.
Under gunpoint, Sue is forced to swallow quaaludes, a barbituate with reknown aphrodisiac effects. After the drugs loosen up their victim, Deva orders a couple of ranch hands to sexually molest our sweet Sue, which Sue does not seem to mind one bit. In her apparently drug-induced sex mania, Sue even begins singing Donna Summer disco songs as the cowboys ravage her body. Meanwhile, Donna Jean has contacted the state governor to organize a rescue of her friend, but will the cowboy calvary get there in time?
Before we find out, Sue has seduced Deva herself into a lesbian tryst and the sparks are flying. Just when we reach the point of no return, Sue's true colors (red, white and blue, no doubt) come out and she mounts one last attempt to restore justice to the state of Arizona. And since this is Honkytonk f'in Sue, I bet you can write the rest of the story (no, best leave that to Bob Boze Bell; he's the expert here).
Honkytonk Sue #2 actually does drag in a few spots, but overall the book is a flatbed truckload of fun. The production issues from the first issue are essentially (but not entirely) solved here, and the dilemmas and confrontations Bell crafts into the stories are presented with wit and a thick veneer of Southwestern charm. There's about double the number of ad pages in this issue compared to the first but whatever helped Bell pay the printing bill is okay by me. I like the Honkytonk Sue t-shirt that's advertised on page 30, but it's really designed for women, not men, so I guess I won't try to track one down on eBay.
I don't think you have to be a fan of country music, rodeos or cowboy hats to end up liking Honkytonk Sue. I'm not a big fan of any of those, but I believe the humor and spirit in these comic books transcends the Country Western genre and should appeal to just about everyone.
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Honkytonk Sue #3
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AVERAGE SCORE 7
Only Printing / August, 1980 / 68 pages / Bob Boze Bell
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After the raucous eroticism of the second issue, Bob Boze Bell relies on musical legends and his passion for Old West history to craft the plots of the two stories in the third issue of Honkytonk Sue. The first story is "Trigger to Ride," in which Sue and Donna Jean head down to Tucson, Arizona, befriend the reunited Beatles, and help save them from being assassinated on stage by an unscrupulous music club owner. Along the way, Sue teaches the Beatles how to play honkytonk and they play as a country western band in their first concert in over a decade, to the disappointment of millions of their previous fans (but much to the delight of millions of new, middle-aged country music fans).
I haven't talked to Bob Boze Bell, but I imagine this story was inspired when Paul McCartney bought a 150-acre ranch in Tucson, Arizona in 1979, which he still owns today. "Trigger to Ride" includes several references to media and pop culture from '70s, including comedian Steve Martin, President Jimmy Carter, The Vapors' hit song "Turning Japanese," celebrity impressionist Rich Little, the Knack, the Cars, the Rolling Stones, and others I can't quite place.
Of course it seems absurd that Honkytonk Sue converts the Beatles into a country music band, but let's not forget in the previous issue she was having sex with space aliens! And Bell saves the ultimate in absurdity for the next story.
In "Jumpin' Black Gas," Sue and Donna Jean are government guinea pigs in a CIA time-travelling experiment that sends the girls back to 1881 and the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The story taps into Bell's considerable expertise with Old West history (roughly American frontier history in the latter 19th century). In "Jumpin' Black Gas," Sue interrupts the gunfight just before it is about to begin and negotiates a peaceful settlement between the opposing parties. In fact, she turns the conflict into a country swing dance lesson.
One can imagine the butterfly effect of this change in history on the future, and the CIA quickly recognizes the repercussions and "de-activates" the experiment, restoring everything back the way it was.
Like the Beatles story before it, "Jumpin' Black Gas" makes several references to '60s/'70s pop culture, including Rodney Dangerfield, Jack Ruby, Fidel Castro, Jimi Hendrix, Rod Serling, Led Zeppelin, Rev. Jim Jones (of the Jonestown Kool-Aid suicide/massacre), and a host of media celebrities (and non-celebrity caricatures) that I can't identify.
If I unofficially proclaim Honkytonk Sue #2 as the Sex Issue, I should tab Honkytonk Sue #3 as the Absurdity Issue. The two stories are absolutely crazy, but as I mentioned in the title's overview, Bell has a way of making even the most absurd adventures seem real in the unique world of Honkytonk Sue. Much of that can be attributed to Bell's consistent characterization of Sue, who acts and talks exactly the same way no matter what situation she find herself in.
Bell's illustration style and production work certainly does evolve over the course of the first three issues of the comic book. He integrates the use of more screentone to define tonal ranges, manipulating the process in a very painterly manner. The backgrounds and skin tones no longer appear overly dark and individual panels relate more cohesively on the page. Bell uses his camera to enlarge and reduce certain panels to achieve the layout compositions he desires. The net result is a more professional looking comic book, though Bell clearly prefers less linear, non-conventional structures in his layouts.
With the Beatles plastered in giant type on the front cover of Honkytonk Sue #3, this is the issue that probably stands out the most in any cursory review of the four books. And while I give it the same score as the other three books, overall I'd say #3 is the weakest of the four (by only the slimmest of margins), due to the relentless absurdity of the stories. My preference leans towards the stories that feature Sue in more realistic plots that leverage her enchanting character to drive the story. And Bell returns to exactly that kind of storytelling in the fourth and final issue of Honkytonk Sue.
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Honkytonk Sue #4
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AVERAGE SCORE 7
Only Printing / December, 1980 / 68 pages / Bob Boze Bell
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If issue #2 is the Sex Issue and #3 is the Absurdity Issue, there's no doubt that Honkytonk Sue #4 is the Marriage Issue. In the final book in the serial, Sue meets the man of her dreams and gets engaged, much to the chagrin of every eligible cowpoke in the territory. In fact, their dismay at Sue's impending hitchin' is the driving force that ultimately scuttles Sue's romance, though none of that ever would've happened if not for an evil liquor distributor.
First though, Honkytonk Sue #4 opens with "The World's Most Mediocre Lover," in which Sue sets out on a quest to determine who's the most average male sex partner around. Ultimately, she identifies none other than Bob Boze Bell, the author of the story! Bell refutes Sue's findings in an ardent war of words between cartoonist and cartoon character. Bell's indignant defense of his reputation in bed is doomed to failure, since Sue calls on one of his ex-girlfriends to testify and nails him when Bell claims to be "completely liberated, sexually." The story is funny and Sue's exchange with Bell isn't the first time she's interacted with her creator, as she delivered a couple sharp retorts at Bell in the first issue.
Next, Bell lampoons the swelling trend of new-age spiritual disciplines in "The Yoga Rednecks." In this amusing farce, a group of over-the-road truckers adopt the philosophy of yoga and create a media event by kidnapping Sue and Donna Jean. Held captive in a local motel, Sue and Donna Jean are rendered helpless as they witness the national media swarm in to cover the event. But when they try to force Sue to wash dirty dishes on national TV, she turns the tables on them with a brilliant counter-offensive. That'll teach those karma-lovin' rednecks!
Finally, in the 46-page epic "The New Guy," Honkytonk Sue falls in love with a chiseled, black-hatted cowboy and commands him to "marry me, or I'll kick your ass." The nameless New Guy agrees and they set about planning their wedding, with the help of future bridesmaid Donna Jean. But with Sue now "off the market," the rest of the menfolk across the territory stop frequenting the honkytonks and bars, enraging the liquor distribution king of the Southwest, Kemper Reemus.
Reemus launches a plan to destroy Sue's engagement, forcing everyone from the courthouse to the church to make it as difficult as possible for the marriage to take place. The plan culminates in planting a seed of suspicion in the New Guy's mind about Donna Jean being the one who's trying to foil his marriage. The New Guy presumes this is because Donna Jean is jealous of him, but when he confronts Sue with these accusations, she doesn't believe a word of it. Unfortunately, the New Guy ends up forcing Sue to choose between him and Donna Jean, and though that is one tough decision to make, we all know who Sue is gonna remain loyal to.
Honkytonk Sue #4 delivers a fitting end to the comic book serial, though some of us are saddened by the outcome of her potential wedding. As mentioned in my overview of this title, Bell revived the character in his True West magazine from 2002 to 2008, but after the run ended in May of 2008, Bell noted in his blog that "no one noticed" her demise. I can't believe that, but Bell doesn't live in the past, so he didn't lament Sue's disappearance in any other blog. Some of the later (circa 2007) strips in the magazine are in color, so I'll definitely try to to pick up at least a few of these magazines in the future.
Although I was a big fan of the TV show "Bonanza" in the '70s and '80s, when I used to watch reruns with my brother, and list several Westerns among my favorite movies, I've never been a devoted fan of country music, cowboys or rodeos. But Honkytonk Sue is endearing to me because of her strong personality. In fact, despite her old school take on much of the world, she comes across in many ways as a feminist who refuses to take any shit from any man. She survives in the comic books and the pages of True West, as well as in the hearts of her adoring fans.
HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES:
Bob Boze Bell printed approximately 5,000 copies of this comic book. It has not been reprinted.
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