One day, some 20 or 25 years ago, while watching tv, a lame auto insurance commercial appeared on screen. It must have been “Lincoln Insurance” or some such place because after showing black and white footage of old cars crashing into each other, the disembodied head of Abe Lincoln popped up in the corner of the screen telling the viewers about getting insurance.
Well this was just so entertaining, I simply had to create a comic which featured the disembodied head of our 16th president.
*Side note: I found gobs and gobs of entertainment in the notion of the floating, disembodied head of Lincoln dispensing advice. So much so, that I would take our baby monitors and plant the receiver in a room. When Linda would come in, suddenly she’d hear a voice introducing himself as the disembodied head of Abe Lincoln, asking if she’s happy with her car insurance.
I thought this was high hilarity. Linda has no memory of it. Now I’m sad. Ah well.
Back to the comic—I created the Temporal Investigation Squad. A team which would go backward or forward in time, presumably to right wrongs. The team consisted a dotting old professor, an attractive blonde girl who was a combat expert, the disembodied head of Abe Lincoln and an emu. Those last two never got along.
They were able to achieve time travel through a portal that for all intents and purposes looked and acted like an old wooden door, which you would open up and step through to another time. This amazing device was invented by the professor and never fully explained because comedy.
In the issue, the team goes back in time to the old west to kill a Hitler clone that had escaped the lab. I think I was fairly successful at taking several time traveling tropes and turning them on their head.
I loved writing and drawing the disembodied head of Abe Lincoln, fighting and screaming his battle cries, “It’s Wrasslin’ Time!” and “Don’t Mess with the Rail-Splittah’!”
I made a shirt.
The professor actually created and purposely released the Hitler clone as an excuse to go back in time to get him. In reality, it was a scheme to steal money at poker or some such gimmick. The real fun came in portraying the diverse team of explorers. The only one who was an accomplished explorer was the girl, Suzie. Everyone else was either in it for personal gain, was somewhat clueless or an emu.
Although there’s plenty of potential for future iterations of the team and plenty of possible adventures, I never really pulled the trigger on that.
Maybe someday.
Maybe.
It’s up to Abe.
God, I love Abe.
Creative side note: this comic featured a painted cover by good friend and the ultimate illustrator, Mike Sobey.
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