Volume 4

James Taylor’s Shocked and Amazed! On & Off the Midway, Vol. 4

September 1997, 128 pages, Out of Print

Bobby Reynolds,
“Greatest Showman in the World”

It’s sideshow time and the only publication devoted exclusively to the subject of circus sideshows is coming to town!

Volume 4 of James Taylor’s SHOCKED AND AMAZED–On & Off the Midway is crammed full of the most raucous, racy, raunchy and revelatory stories the midway has to offer!

Featuring artwork by:

  • Bob Kathman (Featured artist in the Microprose Software game Civilization 2)
  • Sideshow banner artist Mark Frierson
  • Katzen (She inked The Enigma from Jim Rose Circus Sideshow)

With articles by:

  • Teller (the silent half of Penn &Teller)
  • Dan Mannix (the late author of Freaks: We Who Are Not As Others)
  • Johnny Meah (banner painter featured in The Learning Channel documentary Sideshow: Alive on the Inside)

Interviews with:

  • Bobby Reynolds: The Greatest Showman in the World
    Bobby has been working in showbiz since his early childhood at Coney Island, now he operates shows all over the globe. With his two headed babies, all frog band and giant rat Bobby has perfected the art of giving people what they didn’t know they wanted.
  • Bill Durks: The Man with Three Eyes
    Hidden from the world by parents who called him a monster, Bill Durks turned to the sideshow to find the love and friendship he lacked his entire life. A series of remembrances by the those who knew and loved him best.

And Tons of Other Stuff:

  • A victim of a cruel biological experiment, Zahara is forever damned to have a difficult time trying to eliminate hair from her bikini area! Teller (the silent half of the comedy duo Penn and Teller) explains how the distinctions blur between woman and beast as he introduces you to the Gorilla Girl!
  • Freud would have loved this: A man gets strangled by his own giant snake, his widow then takes the squeezing serpent out on the road and makes a killing off the story.
  • Sushi, samurais, Subarus and sideshow? Believe it or not they’re all as Japanese as they come. We travel across the seas to bring you an in-depth investigation of all things “misemono.”
  • Serial contributor Walt Hudson is all grown up after a summer on the circuit and according to a family of female swordswallowers–he’s grown up in all the right ways!
  • Spaghetti–it’s not just poor college student’s dinner any more! You’ll never look at Chef Boyardee the same way again after we fill you in on the goings on in one sleepy Southern town mortuary.
  • It makes the old feel young and the young feel nervous. They’ll twitch it and twatch it and let you watch it! Join Dan Mannix (the author of FREAKS: We Who Are Not As Others) as he gives you a lesson on Sex on Sawdust!
  • What’s in a name? Banner painter, swordswallower and generally competent Johnny Meah guides you through choosing a really cool stage name.
  • A spinmaster before there was such a term, armless wonder Kitty could have shown fundraising pros how to grub for bucks.
  • Plus take a gander at some of the most fabulous objects in all the world on the Independent Midway!
  • Need a moniker for your doniker? Find the right word for any sideshow situation in the new, improved and constantly evolving Lingo section!