I tend to steer clear of downtown Phoenix these days. It seems every time I venture down there, I discover another of my old favorites consigned to the scrap heap or worse, a target for “renovation.” The cheerfully run-down squalorous downtown Phoenix of my childhood is all but gone, a victim of the kind of people who have always complained that there’s not enough to “do” in Phoenix. Our downtown has never reflected the cultural aspirations of these folks who envision a shiny urban entertainment mecca full of fun for the whole family and free from spontaneous structural failure and those annoying homeless people. But now that they’re finally getting their way, I hardly recognize the place any more.
Several years ago, I submitted a travel article about northern Arizona to an auto club magazine where a friend of mine worked as an editor. But before I could complete the second draft, I realized I didn’t actually WANT people traveling into my state! After some soul-searching, I graciously withdrew my submission. It’s a pretty bad piece of travel writing (no family bargains are revealed), but it serves as a decent enough accompaniment for the beautiful postcards you’ll find below.
Cartoonist and illustrator Jack Davis first came to prominence in the pages of classic EC comics like