245. Joke About “The Shadow”

June 27, 2010

Q: Maybe you can help find me the answer to a National Lampoon question I’ve been searching for some time now. I’ve just about exhausted every other avenue. I recall at the end of a comic-book parody in the early ’70s, there was a one-panel joke about the Shadow, a man who could cloud minds—not others’ but his own. The drawing (Neal Adams? Frank Springer?) showed him bumping into a table saying, “Excuse me, my mind’s so clouded…” I’m in the midst of a long-running argument with someone who claims he invented that line (some 15 years later) and that that was NEVER in the NatLamp. If you can point me to that, I can finally gain my revenge and you shall have my undying gratitude (FWIW).

A: Will in the Comments comes to the rescue: It’s on the last page of the “Tarzan of the Cows” comic book parody from the April 1971 (Adventure) issue.

Comments

It's on the last page of the classic O'Donoghue/Springer strip "Tarzan of the Cows" in the June 1971 (Adventure) issue. And the exact line is "Please excuse me! My mind's so clouded I hardly know what I'm doing!" as the Shadow stumbles throught a room.

—Will

June 27, 2010 10:02 pm

Wow, that was fast. Except it was the April 1971 (Adventure) issue. Perhaps your mind was clouded a bit, but no matter. Thanks a load!

—Mark

June 27, 2010 10:11 pm

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