Not a repeat, as some Blogs do/
This is wholly new to you!
Nothin' Beats the Classics! (...Hey, I later used that as a story title HERE)! Even when they're CHARLTON "classics"!
Here's a gag - and a META reference - from TOP CAT # 3 (Charlton Comics, Cover Date: March, 1971) to bear that out...
And ya just GOTTA love this!
Come to think of it, there ARE some "Charlton Comic Books" that could get you arrested... on aesthetics charges, anyway...
...But, not this one, though!
It's even rather GOOD... for Charlton, anyway!
Here's a gag - and a META reference - from TOP CAT # 3 (Charlton Comics, Cover Date: March, 1971) to bear that out...
And ya just GOTTA love this!
Come to think of it, there ARE some "Charlton Comic Books" that could get you arrested... on aesthetics charges, anyway...
...But, not this one, though!
It's even rather GOOD... for Charlton, anyway!
7 comments:
Yes, the gag is funny and clever--but as with so much of the Charlton output--not particularly relevant to the two characters. The joke could have been done with Mr. Peebles and Magilla Gorilla,, with Mr. Twiddle and Wally Gator, with Dum-Dum and Touche Turtle, Ranger Smith and Yogi Bear, or even Mr. Spacely and George Jetson. Might be a bit problematic with Fred and Barney, though, since they would be talking about the future and not the past. If this were the lead in to a Top Cat story that would involve Ancient Rome, something along the lines of "Sir Top Cat and the Knights of the Square Table," it would work better. As a stand alone gag for a one to two pager, it comes out of nowhere and goes nowhere. TC is very unlikely to read a book for pure enlightenment, much more likely to read something like "How to Win Friends and Influence People" or "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". This is not to say that he wouldn't read a book on Ancient Rome, but it's a stretch for such a self-serving character to read something that wouldn't serve to advance his own interests in some financial way or other. It would be like having Uncle Scrooge read a book on metaphysics or on yoga, which he wouldn't do unless there was an investment involved. My point is that a gag should somehow tie in with the character delivering it. Of course, you could argue that getting the better of Officer Dibble is a prime motivator for Top Cat, but he could do that without specifically referencing Ancient Rome. This was a gag that the writer wanted to put somewhere and since he was doing a Top Cat book, he put it in without specifically tying it into the characters.
Also, regarding the "meta" aspect of the Charlton Comics reference--ironic because the HB characters were not originally Charlton characters. Also worth noting is how frequently an HB character would go "meta" in directly addressing the audience, or referencing another HB character. A frequent HB gag, in response to "What are you doing here?" is "Who were you expecting--Huckleberry Hound?" The character of Snagglepuss frequently breaks that fourth wall with his mid-scene commentary. And Quick Draw McGraw, from behind jail bars at the end of "Sagebrush Brush" asks the audience for suggestions on how he and Baba can get out. Loopy de Loop is another HB character who frequently talks to the audience. Of course, Top Cat does this a few times as well. So, when Officer Dibble references Charlton Comics, he is in good company.
Some fun gags! I am a sucker for puns!
Dropped two new reviews recently, Joe! I have been refreshing daily for the Gottfredson post!
Scarecrow:
You’re quite right in your “…not particularly relevant to the two characters” assertion but, while Charlton could have attached this gag to any two H-B characters as you note, the gag itself transcends H-B and could apply to ANY pair of characters where one might be a jokester.
Mutt and Jeff immediately comes to mind! In fact, it’s easy to believe that, in their long history, Mutt and Jeff probably *did* do this one at some point! Anyway, it’s certainly more suitable for M&J than Top Cat, with Mutt conking jokester Jeff with the thrown book! But, yeah… good point about Charlton, as I don’t think Dell or Gold Key would have done anything like that in their Top Cat issues. Also, a “good corny gag” is just a “good corny gag” whoever delivers it, be they likely or unlikely! …And I just like “good corny gags”!
Regarding the “meta” aspects, H-B and WB cartoons did plenty of meta, especially in fourth-wall-breaking and outside references! Charlton, as a more …um, “free-wheeling” publisher than Western (…with both the good AND the bad that comes with that), did meta by the metric ton in all their humor comics – often to an unimaginable degree to someone reared on the classic Dell, Gold Key, and Harvey comics! As you know, I’ve done a number of posts on gags you’d find nowhere else other than Charlton! …That might just be why you and I have a soft spot for them, despite their many missteps!
Mouse Maestro:
My love of puns is the stuff of legends! Anything I “translate and dialogue” is chock full of them… and that’ll never change! That also speaks for my love of Mutt and Jeff (try an issue of that someday, particularly from the DC Comics run) and whatever fondness I have for Charlton!
Wow! You certainly have been busy! I’m nowhere near finished with “The Mouseton Society of Evil” – and I’m doing an index of it for GCD… rather slowly, I might add! I’m somewhere between your illustration of “Kat Nipp being REjected and Ejected” and the Pluto page! The title is also a GREAT PUN on the best-known Original Captain Marvel continuity, “The Monster Society of Evil” adding to my enjoyment of it!
I’m not quite ready to jump on board with this quote of yours:
“Disney comics can sometimes become struck in the proverbial rut - if you can forgive a tired cliche. Unca Carl and Unca Floyd's shadows loom over Duck and Mice comics, decades after their retirements and passing into eternal rest. Often, artists, editors, and writers feel obligated to craft their stories within that framework. After all, those men were geniuses. Disney Legends with the statues and libraries to prove it.”
But I REALLY DO LOVE the French Genat books, and I hope Fantagraphics keeps doing them!
Hi Joe,
Well, all comments are my exclusive views!
Looking at it now, I think I opened too large of an umbrella. My basic point is that there are plenty of ways to create a great Disney comic!
Indeed, there are, MM!
I just feel that straying too far from Barks and Gottfredson is not a great idea. Like how many “secret identities” does Donald Duck have?
Duck Avenger, Double-Duck, MIA (McDuck Intelligence Agency), T.N.T, more? Too much of a good thing works against the character, is how I feel.
Yet, the French do a GREAT JOB subverting (…and oddly enhancing) Barks and Gottfredson! Go figure!
And, of course, ALL of our collective comments are our own respective views! And, unlike so many other places on the Internet, I respect ‘em all!
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