The second issue of Tales from the Ozone is rather different than the first, as most of the "rock poster cartooning" and conceptual comics disappear in favor of a variety of conventional narrative comic stories, primarily from Gary Grimshaw and editor Carl Lundgren. While there are no epic tales or ink-on-paper masterpieces, this strongly pro-marijuana comic is more representative than its predecessor of what you might expect to find in a typical head shop in 1970.

Renaud Facade's lead story "They Said I Was Out to Lunch!!" may be poorly drawn, but it's richly funny as it depicts an innocent young woman getting lured into smoking pot, which leads to her getting fucked by several men before trudging back home to her parents; Blondie and Dagwood! (Oh, poor Cookie!)

Though the remaining stories don't feature much graphic sex or violence, they still provide a little something for everyone, with political diatribes, drug hallucinations, anti-military exposés, police brutality, domestic satire, funny animals, and much more. They're certainly not afraid to take on any subject matter, but some of the topics feel a little dated (for instance, does anyone really know what a "voice thrower" looks like nowadays?). Most of the scripts are a little too typical and clichéd to really stand out.

The one thing that's quite consistent is the positive stance on smoking weed and decriminalizing marijuana. Pot is portrayed as a euphoric experience and recommended to one and all! And don't let the squares or the pigs tell you any different! Some of this attitude certainly comes from the fact that Grimshaw was indicted on a pot possession charge in 1968 in Grand Traverse County, which caused him to flee to San Francisco and Boston to continue working on rock posters. But he couldn't stay away from home long, so in 1970 he returned to Michigan and surrendered himself.

Fortunately, Grimshaw won his court case, unlike his political mentor and friend John Sinclair, who was sentenced to ten years in prison for pot possession in 1969. Grimshaw set to work on some awesome concert posters that promoted the John Sinclair Freedom Rally that was held in Ann Arbor in 1971. That concert featured John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Seger among others. Sinclair was freed from prison within days of the rally.

All of these events appear to have influenced the content in Tales from the Ozone #2. The artwork in this issue has its ups and downs, but it's mostly pretty good, with Lundgren's highly stylized cartoons contrasting with Grimshaw's clean line work in the manner of Rick Griffin. The stories are usually too short to become heavily invested in, so if one misses you just might find that the next one connects.

The inside back cover features a promotion for the Print Mint, San Francisco Comic Book Company and Rip Off Press, including all of their current titles, so it's a nice snapshot of where they stood in 1970.



HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES:
It is currently unknown how many copies of this comic book were printed. It has not been reprinted.

COMIC CREATORS:
Carl Lundgren - editor, 1-2, 13-15, 20 (collaboration), 27-28, 30 (collaboration), 36
Renaud Facade - 3-7
Gary Grimshaw - 8, 10, 20 (collaboration), 24-26, 29, 30 (collaboration), 36
Larry Gonick - 9, 11-12, 21-23
A. Kincaid - 16
Thomas Waldo Buck - 17-19
Dave Sheridan - 31-34