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"Comic Book And Me, Just Us:" Bob Dylan And Comic Books!
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 27, 2011
Modified May 27, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 27, 2011
Modified May 27, 2011
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This week, Bob Dylan turned 70-years-old, and we took an extensive look back through his lifelong love affair with NYC. But Comic Book Resources decided to honor the former Lucky/Boo Wilbury in a different way: with an unbelievably extensive five-part look at all of Robert Zimmerman's comic book appearances and references!
It's really worth looking through all five parts—which are here, here, here, here, and here. We ran through them and crunched some numbers, and found that "All Along The Watchtower" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'," with nine references each, are the top most referenced songs for comic book writers to use—in particular, Alan Moore's classic Watchmen has several uses of "Watchtower," as well as "Desolation Row."
There are also a lot of bizarre and random occurrences: did you know that Batman once stopped by to listen to Dylan (with Joan Baez by his side) play "Visions of Johanna"? We're also pretty sure the world has yet to hear Dylan's lost classic, "Protest Songs For Migrant Garbageman." There are plenty of humorous appearances: National Lampoon had their "Ventures of Zimmerman", along with its sequel, "Son-O-God Meets Zimmerman"—although both seem oddly heavy on the Jewish imagery. Mad Magazine especially likes to make fun of him: one comic reads, "over the course of his career, Bob Dylan has filled his harmonicas with 674 gallons of spit."
Other songs referenced include: "This Wheel's on Fire", "Quinn The Eskimo," "Simple Twist of Fate," "Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," "Like A Rolling Stone," "Positively 4th Street," "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," "Forever Young," "Masters of War," "Gates of Eden," "I Shall Be Released," "It Ain't Me Babe," "Song For Woody," "Just Like a Woman," "Dirge" and "Shelter From The Storm." How could the writers forget classics such as "Wigwam," "Wiggle Wiggle" and "If Dogs Run Free"?
You can browse through some of our favorite comic references above. And below, listen to The Basement Tapes classic, "Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread," which is all about Dylan and his comic book...catching a trout...with a nose full of pus...we think...
Tagged
bob dylan
comic books
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Music
rock
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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