This year, in a nod and tip of the ol’ doobie to marijuana smokers, Image Comics is rereleasing a decades-old “dopers how-to” comic for the occasion. It’s the 1976 Dr. Atomic The Pipe and Dope Book, reprinted for newly recreation-happy audiences. And as the Grateful Dead album is entitled, yes, What a Long Strange Trip It Has Been!
It’s not a coincidence that The Pipe and Dope Book is being released this week, with April 20th of each year now commonly touted as “4/20”, the token day of observing marijuana culture. Why this date in particular? Well, it’s said that the police code “4/20” means “marijuana smoking in progress”. There… your history and culture lesson all in one.
Speaking of lessons, this all-black and white, ‘all-drawn-out’ reprint comic is astounding, even almost 50 years later. Yes astounding, for its obsession with advising on the finest strains, the perfect joint, getting your utmost harvest of buds, it is truly a hippie’s guide to happiness. And it seems as though the knowledge holds up.
Larry Todd’s (1948-) cartooning is solid, his thin black lines and lettering surviving well through Allan Harvey’s page reconstruction and Brett Evan’s production. It’s likely that this reprint has been remastered from a printed comic; it’s not pristine but easily readable. The drawings of Dr. Atomic are fun, with the retro 1930’s cartoon eyes, and the Robert Crumb influence felt in the shading and crosshatching.
All in all, this is not a comic story per se, instead Larry Todd’s manual on marijuana vernacular, a best-practices guide for those who grow their own. There is additional information on the process of hash making, the materials, and processes involved. Yes, it gets spacey and over the top, (Cosmic energies and pyramids, nuff said) but just glide past those sections, and enjoy the rush of studying this painstakingly assembled how-to guide.
Image Comics, Dr Atomic The Pipe and Dope Book, $3.99 for 32-page reprint. Adults.
Newsdesk