“A quiz show? Only actors who are completely washed up resort to a quiz show.”¹

Geek Out

Bet your life. The classic Groucho Marx quiz show You Bet Your Life comes alive again this Saturday in Williamsburg—although Groucho himself doesn’t come alive, because that would be downright disturbing. Instead, performer Lisa Levy has adapted the format for the stage, and audience contestants will have a chance to play for glory and moderately priced prizes.

Stepping into the George Fenneman role as announcer/sidekick is John Teti. As Groucho used to say, “Oh, that’s me!” Yes, I’m part of the show, and I also wrote the questions and other material, so if you don’t come, I’ll probably cry. It’s Saturday, 10:00-11:00 p.m. at the Brick Theater (575 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, near the Metropolitan Ave. L and G subway stops).

Meet the people behind the panels. The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art holds its annual festival/fundraiser this weekend, and MoCCA has assembled a murderer’s row of cartoonists, including Ruben Bolling, R. Sikoryak, Lynda Barry, “and much more.”² Fifteen bucks buys a pass to the festival floor in the Puck Building (295 Lafayette St., Manhattan) for the entire weekend—Saturday and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Geek In

Woof. In keeping with my Cold War fixation in this space, and the weekend’s comic-related festivities, I recommend spending an evening with Laika, a graphic novel by Nick Abadzis about the stray dog who was sent up in Sputnik II to die in the name of propaganda. There are countless episodes from the Cold War that offer a greater loss of life in terms of pure casualties, but the pointless sacrifice of Laika is one of the most poignant stories from that era.

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1. According to perhaps the greatest comedian of the 20th Century. ↑

2. I’ll try to contain my disappointment that my favorite comic artist, Michael Kupperman, will not be in attendance. ↑