On Sunday evening, October 20, the Philadelphia Mausoleum of Contemporary Art (PhilaMOCA) opened its doors to the peculiar and preposterous world of cartoonist and animator Michael Kupperman for a look into some of his older material, some new work, and to see where the artist will be headed in the days to come.

Michael Kupperman’s poster designed specifically for the event.

To start off the program, Kupperman turned a critical lens on the world of Hollywood by way of the latest manifestation of the James Bond franchise, “Skyfall.” Wary of the double-O direction that these spy flicks have taken in recent years, Kupperman parodied the film with the title “Skymall” as a prod at overabundant product placement and direct reference to the omnipresent airline sales catalog of the same name. Instead of receiving deadly technological gadgets from Q, here Bond only acquires a spork and a basket of name-brand goods to consume.

Surprise Subway ending to “Skymall” by Michael Kupperman.

In a number of other comics – and even a television show pilot – Kupperman checks in with two of the strangest recurring characters one could imagine: Snake ‘N’ Bacon. As the name implies, this duo consists of a green snake and a slab of bacon. While the reptile stays true to reality and merely hisses in reply to other characters, Bacon vocally affirms that it is, in fact, real bacon. Other times Bacon offers useful tips such as dabbing it with a paper towel to remove excess grease or the possibility of crumbling it into a salad. These absurdist jaunts provide sheer nonsense amidst Kupperman’s already surreal but more socially relevant commentary, such as his jabs at James Bond or his maddening moon landing tales, which make conspiracy theorists seem (almost) reasonable.

Mark Twain and Albert Einstein develop some new found powers courtesy Kupperman’s comics…

Among some other noteworthy characters are the unlikely pair of Mark Twain and Albert Einstein. Although they seem to have nothing in common at first glance, the two look nearly identical, especially in illustrated form (Einstein is perpetually wearing a Princeton shirt to distinguish him from Twain’s white suit). Getting into all manner of escapades such as crime fighting or space travel, the situations typically include hijinks that the original persons could never have imagined themselves getting into. Aside from sailing down rivers on trash rafts, these two take a hefty postmodern detour from the land of Huckleberry Finn.

Kupperman provided a hilarious and remarkably weird presentation at PhilaMOCA, along with voices for his creations and commentary surrounding his bizarre scenarios. Up next for the cartoonist: a graphic novel about his father’s time as a Quiz Kid television prodigy. Although not as weird as ghosts on the moon, sometimes the facts are pretty strange too…

PhilaMOCA is located at 531 North 12th St., Philadelphia; [email protected]; philamoca.org.