{"id":13174,"date":"2013-06-03T06:21:41","date_gmt":"2013-06-03T11:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=13174"},"modified":"2019-11-26T06:30:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T11:30:37","slug":"fat-jacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/06\/03\/fat-jacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Jack’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fat-Jacks-detail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"In-Print-1979\"<\/a>This is another ad from In Print<\/strong> which was put together by Philadelphia-area (mainly Temple University)<\/em> college students for Philadelphia-area college students. This particular issue came out in April of 1979 and while the decade still had 8 months left, it was a review of the 1970s. It’s newsprint pages featured dense typesetting mingled with dull halftones of well-worn stock photos of all of the usual suspects from that decade — Richard Nixon, Patty Hearst, Charlie Manson, Jimmy Carter, etc. There were readers’ polls and top ten lists and nothing too controversial or all that interesting either. The truly interesting stuff for me is the many advertisements which is probably why the publication existed in the first place. The ads are sort of a snapshot of an era featuring places and the tastes of the time. Many of the businesses are long gone and all but forgotten, but not the one I’m featuring today!<\/p>\n

\"Fat-Jacks\"<\/a>Fat Jack’s Comicrypt<\/strong><\/em> still exists, but not at the address listed above. It’s now located at 2006 Sansom Street just around the corner from the old place.<\/p>\n

\"atlantic-bldg\"<\/a>I was introduced to Fat Jack’s back in 1981 by the members of DUCKWORK.<\/strong><\/a> A number of us left the office on the 13th floor of the Atlantic Building for South 2oth street which turned out to be stupid because Jack’s was a tiny store about the size of a walk-in closet wedged in between a dry cleaner an an adult book store. There was barely enough room for the bins of comics and the cats much less the customers. I elbowed my way into the place and looked through the back issues. I thought I knew about comics, but I knew nothing compared to some of those DUCKWORK<\/strong> guys<\/a> a number of whom went on to have careers in the funny book trade. They were on a mission seeking specific back issues. I remember getting uncomfortable by the sheer density of humans in the tiny place and worked my way out the door to the sidewalk. I waited on 20th Street for the Ducks<\/strong><\/em> to emerge with the treasures they had found.<\/p>\n

\"SO-20th\"<\/a>

Where Fat Jack’s used to be on South 20th Street. The row of buildings in which the store was situated were obliterated to make way for this upscale hamburger and milkshake joint.<\/p><\/div>\n

I must admit that I had only visited Fat Jack’s a couple of times when it was at it’s old locale. Shops dealing specifically in comics were a relatively new thing at the time. Fat Jack’s was the only comics shop I remember from back then. It was the only one in Center City Philadelphia. It was popular and always packed.<\/p>\n

\"2006-sansom\"<\/a>Fat Jack’s has long since moved to much more spacious digs on Sansom Street, and it’s a very pleasant place to shop. I would supply a link to their website, but it looks as if they have never bothered with one. Brick and mortar store<\/em><\/strong> FOREVER!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I love the old, hand-drawn ad. I wonder if Adam Warlock<\/strong><\/a> – the muscle boy with the ’70s feathered hairdo in the ad above –\u00a0<\/em> will make his way into one of the Marvel movies. He may due to his connection with the big bad guy rumored to appear in the future Avengers<\/strong> <\/em>movie, but I doubt if he’ll be in that costume.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[31,104,335],"tags":[33,446,312,726,9,2606,138,354,3669,137],"class_list":["post-13174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blast-from-the-past","category-philadelphia","category-what-i-miss-about-comics","tag-1980s","tag-446","tag-comic","tag-comic-book","tag-comics","tag-fat-jacks-comicrypt","tag-pca","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-college-of-art"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-3qu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43322,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/05\/26\/farewell-to-a-funny-book-purveyor\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":0},"title":"Farewell to a Funny Book Purveyor","author":"Joe","date":"May 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/06\/03\/fat-jacks\/ I have sad news to report. Fat Jack's Comicrypt has lost their lease and will be vacating their center city Philadelphia location after almost 50 years in business. According to this article May 29th will be the shop's last day as the landlord is eager to rent to new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Collecting"","block_context":{"text":"Collecting","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/collecting-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Fat-Jacks-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C369&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Fat-Jacks-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C369&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Fat-Jacks-detail.jpg?fit=640%2C369&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41217,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/08\/17\/with-the-comico-boys\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":1},"title":"With The Comico Boys","author":"Joe","date":"August 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Among the well worn stack of comics that I refer to as Barbershop Comics was an old issue of the X-Men that hit the stands late in 1981. There is nothing special about that particular issue, but the advertisement above for comic conventions caught my eye. I attended the Philadelphia\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/X-MEN-153.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":38008,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/06\/26\/duckwork-april-1981\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":2},"title":"DUCKWORK April 1981","author":"Joe","date":"June 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Embedded below is a PDF of the April 1981 edition of DUCKWORK which was CREATED FOR THE PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF ART COMMUNITY. It was a newspaper put together by PCA students for PCA students, and I found a pile of them free for the taking in the entrance of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-APR-1981-BANNER.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-APR-1981-BANNER.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-APR-1981-BANNER.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37912,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/06\/18\/duckwork\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":3},"title":"DUCKWORK","author":"Joe","date":"June 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in the fall of 1981 when I was starting my freshman year at The Philadelphia College of Art, DUCKWORK was the school's quasi-official newspaper. It was produced by some of the fellows who went on to become independent comic publishers and operated out of a tiny office on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/DUCKWORK-logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2009\/07\/28\/co2-comics\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":4},"title":"CO2 Comics","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"July 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The guys at CO2 Comics have a couple of my efforts in sequential art a.k.a. FUNNIES up at their fabulous web comic site. Right now you can read There's No Escape From a Deadline, my comic used for marketing printers and service bureaus, and Hot Topics, my fire safety comic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CO2_Comics","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/CO2_Comics.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":43503,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/07\/05\/the-absolute-final-issue-of-duckwork\/","url_meta":{"origin":13174,"position":5},"title":"The Absolute Final Issue of DUCKWORK","author":"Joe","date":"July 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It may have taken 42 years, but the latest and, sadly, the last issue of DUCKWORK is out! DUCKWORK was a short-lived newspaper \"CREATED FOR THE PHILADELPHIA COLLEGE OF ART COMMUNITY\" back in the early 1980s. It lasted a handful of issues until the school pulled the plug on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blast from the Past"","block_context":{"text":"Blast from the Past","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/blast-from-the-past\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-The-Last-Duckwork.jpg?fit=800%2C269&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-The-Last-Duckwork.jpg?fit=800%2C269&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-The-Last-Duckwork.jpg?fit=800%2C269&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Header-The-Last-Duckwork.jpg?fit=800%2C269&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13174\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}