Marty Grabstein is the beloved voice of the anxious, purpley-pinkcartoon dog Courage, from Courage the Cowardly Dog. Today we talk about why that show meant so much to so many of us — and became a gateway into becoming horror fans. Marty himself has long been a horror aficionado, both in literature and film.

We dig into the alchemical archetype of the VILE FIGURA or despicable face —that Stephen King calls “the Mutant” — and trace it through Courage, Frankenstein, the Phantom of the Opera, and even Edvard Munch’s anxious face in The Scream.

But the breakout star of this episode is Marty’s son Matthew — 24 years old, and until recently, non-speaking. Within the last few years he’s found his voice through the communication tool of assisted-spelling. (Find out more about that here.) Until he learned this simple-but-effective way to express his words, he was in what he called “prison.” And around the same time, with a heavy dose of poetic irony, Marty himself was recovering from a stroke that had rendered him speechless. Its been a journey for both of them.

This was one of the most surprising episodes I’ve made. I hope you enjoy the front row seat to these two fascinating guys as much as I did.

If the video doesn’t pop up where you get your podcasts, and you’d like to see the spelling interaction with Matthew, in particular, please visit my youtube channel with the same name: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtandAlchemyLabPodcast

I absolutely love this image, if I may say so myself. I haven’t put it up on my shop yet but if you are interested, let me know and I’ll arrange to offer it in print form. In the meantime, here is another episode on the subject, this time with a high end fashion art director and make-up artist, who comes at the idea from a different direction, the glamour and pressures of the beauty industry.

If you are a fan of Courage the Cowardly Dog and aren’t following Marty already, here his INSTAGRAM page.

On that note, if you are a fan of Dexter’s Lab and Dee Dee, please follow me at my new INSTAGRAM page as well. Much appreciated. (I’m actually writing this from Palm Beach hotel room before heading down to meet the other actors and guests and start the weekend at ULTRACON of South Florida. So if you are in the area, and you wnat to have some fun this weekend, come on down!

Lots of love, and let me know what you think of this interview!

Allison

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artandalchemylab.substack.com/subscribe