Tupelo: The World's Forgotten Boy [Paperback]

Matt DeGennaro (Author), Phil Elliott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 2004

In 1977, Famous Monsters, led by the eccentric Captain Tupelo, burned up Greenwich Village's punk scene. When The Monsters broke up, rumors spread of a strange street avenger. They called him Captain Tupelo. Today, few remember the story. Until one night and one murder... This collects the original 4-issue run and includes a Famous Monsters CD!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Two retro punkers off to a Famous Monsters tribute show get offered a ride by a guy in black leather and shades. They accept because aren't leather guy and the man in peacoat and captain's hat, passed out in the backseat, erstwhile FMs? Then, en route, leather guy stops to let peacoat, roused by an injection, fry two men hassling a bum. Pretty intense. Flash back to 1977 and the Monsters on break, during which peacoat-to-be's preternatural naivete is established. Reverse flash to, eventually, all hell breaking loose and peacoat wandering away from leather guy, his keeper, needed because of peacoat's special power. Cutting between plot strands as brutally as a nouvelle vague movie, spacing the four chapters with photo-collage bumpers (so to speak), and writing bang-on punkster dialogue, DeGennaro and Elliott take us on what is, despite a shaggy-dog ending, a helluva trip. With drawing that looks like TV's King of the Hill on a bender, and a bottle of Ardbeg single malt on one bumper page (too hip!), could it be anything else? Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

SLG Publishing is a San Jose, California-based publisher of comic books and graphic novels, known for discovering new talent and publishing a wide variety of titles, including Squee! by Jhonen Vasquez, Slow News Day by Andi Watson, and The Waiting Place by Sean McKeever and Mike Norton.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: SLG Publishing (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943151937
• ISBN-13: 978-0943151939
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,268,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth about TUPELO, July 30, 2004

By 

Alexi (Underground) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tupelo: The World's Forgotten Boy (Paperback)

So Captain Tupelo and The Famous monsters have finally been "discovered." Sure it's twenty some years after the fact but hey, isnt that the way it works with all great artists? Posthumous recognition is the standard M.O. And maybe DeGennaro really does have some new information about what is surely one of the more bizarre and mysterious sagas to originate in the primordial stew that was the New York punk scene of the late 70s. He obviously did his research AND must have developed some connections if he actually got his hands on a recording of the Monsters "Apostasy Sessions". After listening to the CD included with the book I have to say it sounds like the real deal, who would have thought it would ever surface? But then, in an environment built on a foundation of shock value who would have thought it possible that the most shocking, surprising tale of all would only now be told? Those who know the Famous Monsters from brief descriptions about the early days of CBGBs or the NY punk scene in general might have doubts that the good Captain Tupelo and the 11:00 oclock man are even still alive, much less waging a guerilla, vigilante war (there is a rumour that Degennaro had access to some homeland security docs that never got publicized, but that is just a rumour) in the name of the oppressed underclass of Greenwich Village. But those of us who saw them in the day, who were witnesses to what they had offer a world that wanted to ignore everything the Monsters were shoving in our faces, well, we know that this story isn't shocking at all, it's what we would expect of "Captain Tupelo".

In any event, fact or fiction, this book is very entertaining. Phil Elliott has done a great job capturing the personality of the characters and imagining what they'd look like in this day and age (or maybe he really DOES know what they look like now) and his renditions of environments from NYC to fantasy land are absolutely beautiful. Matt Degennaro's writing has a revolutionary flavor that I find irresistable AND inspiring in this age of media manipulation. Kill Your Television! Read Tupelo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tupelo's Dirty Little Secret, July 30, 2004

By 

Shroomer (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tupelo: The World's Forgotten Boy (Paperback)

TUPELO the graphic novel IS PURE FICTION. If you are in search of the true story of Tupelo and The Famous Monsters don't look here. Don't get me wrong, Matt DeGennaro and Phil Elliott have produced a very "imaginative" take on the latter day adventures of two of rock and roll's lesser known rebels, but this is not in my opinion an accurate or complete reflection of the real Tupelo story. The fact is that "Underground Punk Rock Legend" Captain Tupelo was not even really a punk rocker at all! At least not by his own free will. What am I implying by that? Coercion? Mind control? There's not enough solid evidence to make concrete accusations but more than a few friends and acquaintences of the band have questioned the influence the 11:00 O'Clock Man seemed to exert over Tupelo from the beginning. I for one find it strange that a flower child folkie like Tupelo would so quickly throw in his lot with an angry, dark group like the Monsters. The whole thing is like "Captain Sensible" emerging from "The Damned" only in reverse in this case, with The Famous Monsters absorbing and assimilating Tupelo. In my opinion Captain Tupelo had as much or more in common with Jerry "Captain Trips" Garcia than Johnny Rotten, he sounded more like Syd Barret than Syd Vicious, and his personal story more resembles that of Skip Spence than any of the Ramones. I wouldn't be the first to suggest that the 11:00 O'Clock Man saw Tupelo more as a weapon in his own little ongoing war against society in general than as a bandmate, a talented composer, or even just a friend. Some argue that they have never seen a pair as close as those two. I would argue that an assassin loves his gun above all else.

The bottom line- As fiction goes "Tupelo: The World's Forgotten Boy" is an extremely enjoyable read, but it's elevation of the 11:00 O'Clock Man to hero status, and what some (including myself) would argue is a glorification of his use of violence to further his agenda troubles an old hippy like myself who remembers where Captain Tupelo really came from, and what happened to Johnny Fatus. If Tupelo IS still alive and living in New York someone should find him and interview him WITHOUT the 11:00 O'Clock Man there. Then we might find out a thing or two. Til then, keep on keepin on, through NON-VIOLENCE.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lieberman wants to burn this book!, June 8, 2006

By 

Bubba the Punk "All Growed Up" (The Deep South) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tupelo: The World's Forgotten Boy (Paperback)

Did anybody see Lieberman hold up a copy of Tupelo when he called for keeping innapropiate material out of children's hands and more visible warning notices on comic books for adults?

Well he's right about it not being suitable for wee ones but they'd all be better off for having read it though I doubt if any one under 35 would even remember "Captain Tupelo and the Famous Monsters." In my home town I can only remember two guys who listened to them and I know for a fact they're both dead!

The copy I saw came with a CD of unreleased Monster's material that still sounds relevent today and might be worth picking up just for that if you are a fan of old school punk.