A Camp Classic -- For Adults Only!

I stumbled across The Fickle Finger of Fate when I immersed in reading about cryptids last summer. In my searches for other books by John Keel, the author of a number of books, mostly on subjects classified as paranormal, I discovered this little gem. It's a time capsule of pop culture, specifically the moments in 1966 when the world went wild for all things Batman on the success of that TV show. Superheroes were all the rage and Keel decided to take a dive. But this is not just a pastiche of a superhero novel, it's a blend of those tropes along with some exceedingly saucy material of the sexual persuasion. And given that our hero's name is "Satyr-Man" how could it be any different. But while I was already attracted to this book, it was not Keel's writing which pushed me over the edge to pick it up, but rather the illustrations of Al Jaffee. His cover is pretty typical of the kind of art which is featured in the book. 

Satyr-Man is in reality Parker Potter the Third who seems to have been a rich playboy at one time, but now is down on his luck and aside from his nagging maid Sadie works alone. Bonita Grant, daughter of daffy inventor Professor Gilroy, is his first conquest in the book, though hardly the last one. In a battle against the criminal activities of Mr. Big of the outfit G.Y.P. (Global Yokel Put-on) who has an array of henchmen and henchwomen. There is quite a bit of running around and the women seem weirdly attracted to Potter despite his lack of poise and wealth. Clearly, he has something they like. Whatever it is, they take off their clothes for him throughout the novel. 

This is dumb novel, of its era but a successful selling by some reports 600,000 copies or thereabouts. This is also about the time that Keel got into UFOlogy which led him to write the supremely successful The Mothman Prophecies a little over a decade later.  The Fickle Finger of Fate could only have been produced exactly when it was and frankly only someone of my exact generation is going to get many of the rather lame jokes and jabs. I only recommend it for Batman completists and for the Jaffee artwork which is pretty dang good. 

Rip Off

The Year Of The Garuda

The Year of the Garuda was John Keel's original title for his famous The Mothman Prophecies. His publisher apparently made the change and given how well the book sold, it's hard to argue with that on just that basis. But the original title is a more accurate description of what the book actually. Certainly, it deals with the infamous Mothman sightings in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the late 60's, but the book is really a chronicle of just over a single year, late 1966 into late 1967, the year in which a number of bizarre things occur before ending with the singularly tragic collapse of the Silver Bridge. 

I suspect most already know about the Mothman. Two young couples encountered a strange flying creature with blazing red eyes around a deserted military complex on the outskirts of Point Pleasant. That sighting was given credence due to the good reputations of the people involved and supported by many additional sightings of the strange thing by many others. The Mothman was given his name by TV personalities seeking to capitalize on the events and drawing influence from the then highly popular show Batman. John Keel joined many other investigators in tracking down the "truth" of the events surrounding the Mothman, and his search is contained in this tome. But that's not all. 

Despite the infamy of the Mothman, it is the sorrowful tragedy of the Silver Bridge collapse which claimed forty-six lives. The small town of Point Pleasant hasn't really ever recovered from the Silver Bridge tragedy, and like so many other Appalachian towns seems to linger more than live. The Mothman Museum commemorates the events documented in Keel's book which was published in 1975, several years after the events it describes. Kee's aim in the book it to suggest that the theories about Mothman are misguided for the most part and that the creature is part of a much grander scheme. Keel's theory, if I understand it correctly, is that paranormal manifestations such a cryptids, UFOs, and suchlike are all part of witnesses becoming aware of the broader spectrum on which all life exists. These beasties are glimpses of another dimension of sorts, part of an endless network of dimensions in which all things are possible. 

It's a theory Keel develops more directly in his sequel The Eighth Tower - On Ultraterrestrials and the Superspectrum. This book is made up of material which would not fit into the original Mothman book. This book lacks the unnerving narrative which frames the original and gives it so much more emotional power. The extent to which Keel believes what he suggests is an open question, but regardless this is provocative stuff. I highly recommend The Mothman Prophecies or as I now think of it The Year of the Garuda, but the sequel is only for the firmly committed. 

Rip Off