It was the summer of 1967 when I took my first trip to southern California. And as I reflect upon that trip now, it's hard to express how a simple two-week journey with the grandparents changed the life of that 9-year-old boy.

Quite a few "firsts" happened as a result of that trip. First time flying. First time away from home for any length of time. First visit to Disneyland. First time experiencing Mexican food (or the 60s SoCal version of it).

Other firsts? Exposure to the surf culture. Exposure to the drag racing and hot rodder culture. Exposure to the skate board culture.

As I remember, it didn't take a helluva lot of time for me to realize that all the cool, happening stuff originated on the west coast. Quite the mind blowing experience for an impressionable young lad.

A couple of takeaways from that trip were my first Hot Wheels car (an awesome die cast Redline, not that crap they're foisting on kids today) and a Wham-O (yes, that Wham-O) Giant Comic. Issue #1.

I sold my Redlines on eBay years ago, but I still have that giant comic. And by giant I mean huge. This thing is 14" by 21" folded. When opened flat it's like reading a newspaper!

Made a few scans to share the fun. The images aren't archive quality, but the pages are legible.

Enjoy!

With all the trimmings, of course.

Lap. After lap. After lap.

 

You know, if I ever had an aspiration to become something other than a graphic designer, the visualization of that desire would probably like something like this:

Good morning, Tropical Storm Lee. Washington, Louisiana says hi.

 

It’s the end of the week so I say, why not?

The Southern California drag racing scene in the late 60s and early 70s just reeked of cool. From start to finish.

1969. The Archies. Sugar, Sugar. Betty. Veronica. Sabrina. And oh yeah, some dudes. View at your own risk.

The epic of flight indeed. In scale, and in contrast.