Readers of alternative comics will remember Archer Prewitt‘s character Sof’Boy, the cheerful doughboy who is regularly submitted to Mr.Bill-esque torments which he accepts with an oblivious grin on his face. Here’s a cover of one of the pamphlets published by Drawn & Quarterly:
Well, Archer lives in Chicago and when Jessica lived there she got her hands on a tiny, inch-tall Sof’ Boy figurine in a little vending machine bubble. It’s not the fancier, more recent Press Pop figurine, it’s something that I think was produced in Chicago. In any event, we keep it on a shelf along with other comics-related gewgaws and baubles (and a Homie or two). The other day I passed by that book case and noticed something was amiss:
Was Sof’ Boy leaking? Closer inspection revealed that Sof’ Boy had come to a tragic end right out of his own comics!
I guess his poor li’l chemical structure broke down over the last few years and he just kind of… turned to gooey mush. However, true to his character, he still has that blissful grin:
Perfect! Archer would be happy, I imagine…
By the way, his “Wilderness” album is one of my favorites of last year…
hee!!
Nice to get a comment on such an old blog post!
Was just Googling Sof Boy figures to try to find a replacement for this little one, and saw your post – coincidentally I have your 99 Ways… book !
The same thing happened to my own Sof Boy (he came in a nice printed box rather than the bubble) – I was worried that having put him in an exhibition put paid to him what with the heat of the gallery (big windows, glass case) but perhaps he had a built-in self-destruct gene to do with his chemical make-up… I still have the box, and his remains.
Same thing happened to my older Sof'Boy melted all over the shelf. That is some very sticky stuff to clean up.