We can't let the 50th Anniversary Year of Scooby-Doo (September, 2019 - August, 2020) end without a look at this!
Picture this, running across the centerfold of the comic...
(Click to Enlarge Illustrations)
In what may well have been the last good network Saturday morning line up until the 1990s, we have pictured:
Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.
Archie with Sabrina.
The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
Repeats of The Monkees.
And a completely new series titled "Scooby-Doo Where Are You!".
As well as several more truly classic series that never got beyond the obligatory checklist!
Even in his own book (SUPERMAN # 220)...
...Superman didn't get any billing better than this!
...But I digress!
Ya gotta admit, that was QUITE A LINEUP!
Classics and favorites up-and-down, and everywhere you looked.
And, amid it all, comes this freshman series about a mystery-solving dog and his human friends...
What chance could it have among these then-titans-of-TV-toondom?
Let alone become arguably bigger than all of them?
Such is the amazing journey of Scooby-Doo - and it actually begins HERE, in this ad, and in (what are supposed to be) his very own words...
...And let's pause a moment and consider that THIS would be Scooby-Doo's "first comics appearance"!
Not THIS, as is commonly regarded...
Scooby-Doo Where Are You! (Gold Key) # 1
...But THIS!
Considering these characters had never been drawn for comics before, the art is quite good - and is so for the ad as a whole!
And a WHOLE LOTTA COMICS followed in its wake...
10 comments:
We begin these comments on a sad note…
The passing of Scooby-Doo co-creator Joe Ruby, on August 26, 2020 (after I prepared this post) at the age of 87. Much more from Mark Evanier HERE.
The passing of Joe Ruby is sad news, indeed. But it's hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to him from TIAH than sharing this gem. Thank you. As my own tribute to Ruby, I'll also be reading some "Scooby-Doo: Team Up!" in a few minutes.
I'm amazed at how modest that Saturday Morning lineup is, yet it has an extra hour of programming (!) and the premiere of the one Hanna-Barbera character that would get his own stamp from the US postal service: Scooby-Doo.
Not bad for a character created as a mascot for a series intended to capitalize on Filmation's success with adaptations of "Archie" and "The Hardy Boys"..
Not bad indeed, ‘Rehab! Not bad indeed!
Especially considering how far Scooby went as a mere “mascot”, when compared with Archie’s “Hot Dog”!
Thank you, Sergio.
You write: “As my own tribute to Ruby, I'll also be reading some ‘Scooby-Doo: Team Up!’ in a few minutes.”
I wish I could recommend a specific issue for you to read… but they’re all so great, I’d have to recommend them ALL!
Hope you've got enough time to read 50 issues! ;-)
Much to discuss regarding this post (and thank you for the R.I.P. notice, too!) but I will confine myself to a handful of observations.
First--the top graphic. For a still drawing, it has one remarkable feature--and that is MOVEMENT. Yes, the characters are clearly moving, and moving rapidly. There is direction. There is energy. This is not simply a "freeze frame" of characters in motion--this IS characters in motion. To achieve this effect in print it is usually necessary for the artist to include some "zoom" lines or a sound effect in the form of a printed word such as "whoosh!" or "whiz!" But regardless of whether the original was captured from a video or a printed illustration, the impact is the same. These characters are running, and fast. Yet the only device employed is the positions and expressions. Blink your eyes once or twice and you will get the impression that the characters are on more than one frame.
Next--those two-page Saturday morning spreads in the centerfolds of comic books had become a real thing by the late 60's/early 70's. I remember how fondly I would read and re-read them whenever they occurred. It was always exciting to have a new Saturday morning season to look forward to. My first introduction to many of these shows, doubtless including Scooby Doo, was via those two-page spreads. I remember there was an ABC Club advertised, which I dutifully joined. There may have been an NBC club as well. Plus a club for the Banana Splits and a club for Dastardly and Muttley. I savored whatever little booklets or cheap plastic trinkets were associated with these various clubs. But the line of copy that read "Allow 6 weeks for delivery" should have read "Allow 6 months for delivery." It would have been nearer the mark.
Next--interesting to note how many enduring franchises were built on a previous concept. While Scooby Doo was developed in response to the popularity of the Archie show and others, The Flintstones (you knew I was going there, didn't you?) grew out of the all-ages appeal of popular comedies such as The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy, plus the concept of everyday life in the Stone Age had been previously depicted in such films as Buster Keaton's "Three Ages," "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur," the Fleischer Stone Age cartoon series, and many more. So originality of concept may not be the key to lasting success. That is surely due to memorable and (fairly) consistent characters, strong scripts, and reaching the public at exactly the right moment when the franchise stands its best chance of "catching on." Also--knowing how much to rely on standard "formula" and when to break away from that formula. Scooby Doo has played it both ways over the years--maintaining its classic components but adapting to meet changing tastes and changing times.
Right now, I'm reading the one where the gang meets the Flintstones. Previously, I read the Jetsons team-up. I know, out of sequence, but that doesn't really take away from the stories' enjoyability. I admire how Fisch manages to include so many great references to the premises of the characters Mystery Inc. meets without said references ever seeming forced or contrived. Of course, the premise – the gang meeting these characters for the first time – lends itself well to that sort of thing. I hope at least a few kids get introduced to the rest of the Hanna-Barbera universe through "Scooby-Doo: Team-Up"!
By the way, I took the liberty of sharing this post on Facebook. You'll be interested to know what someone told me. The art in the ad is sourced from pitch art. Which would explain why the art is so good: https://www.illustrationhistory.org/illustrations/presentation-board-for-scooby-doo-where-are-you-1969
Scarecrow:
The “top graphic”, one I’ve used before BTW, and one I will very likely use again because it’s just SO great in capturing its subject(s), is cropped from THIS DC Scooby-Doo Comic which, as you can see, is greater still when seen in its entirety!
Over the years, and despite often being an admitted Gold Key zealot, DC really did (and continues to do) some nice and attractive covers for Scooby-Doo! This one is a particular favorite for reasons the link above will render obvious… or, should I say “elementary”.
Giving credit where it is most certainly due, it is penciled by Robert Pope and inked by Scott McRae – one of the very best artistic duos on DC’s Scooby-Doo and, I daresay, on Scooby-Doo comics as a whole.
GCD offers no credit for the superb coloring that further enhances Pope and McRae’s cover, but all of the interior was colored by a studio called “Heroic Age”, so it’s very likely they are responsible for the cover as well.
Those “TV Network Saturday Morning Double-Page Spread” ads became a regular thing around 1966, and the character art in them tended to vary… A LOT!
This one, from CBS, was excellent as far as character renderings went. (Sergio Goncalves actually sheds some light on WHY, at his link – reproduced below in my response to his comment above!)
But (…UNOFFICIALLY, because I am NOT going to go look them up at this late hour) my recollection was that the ones from CBS were generally better than those from NBC or ABC! …Often MUCH BETTER… In terms of character art, anyway. Everyone can make their own judgement on the programs themselves.
Without thinking very hard, I can recall one for NBC, where The Jetsons were popping out of a TV set… and looked worse than even Charlton could ever make them look! If it helps anyone’s recollections, this ad featured The Pink Panther and a couple of enraptured kids.
Ads like this continued on into the ‘80s, where most of the CARTOONS THEMSELVES were WORSE than the ads! …But, that’s just my opinion. Your “cute creature cooperating group, toy-based property, or prime-time TV series character derivative” mileage may vary.
To The Flintstones (…and yes, I’d have been disappointed if you hadn’t fit them in somewhere), as I always say “EVERYTHING COMES FROM SOMEWHERE”, and no one knew that better than Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. I long considered another building block (…or would that be “building rock”) of The Flintstones to be the Robert McKimson Warmer Bros. cartoon “Wild Wild World” - at least until I learned that it was released on February 27, 1960.
…And, while it still DID come first (if only by about seven months), it must have just been one of those “(…all together now)” COINCIDENCES of parallel development.
What I find LESS of a “coincidence”, given Bill and Joe’s tendency to “borrow” from the prime time TV of the day, was this possible origin of (or influence on) Scooby-Doo!
Sergio:
One of the MANY great things about SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP is that you can read it pretty much in any order you wish, with very few hiccups. Oddly, reading the Jetsons issue (#8) before the Flintstones issue (#7) just happens to be one of those very minor hiccups – but nothing that would plot-spoil or otherwise diminish your overall enjoyment of both issues!
Writer Sholly Fisch’s great depth of knowledge for both DC and Hanna-Barbera characters is on glorious display in EVERY issue! And, even if you’re not familiar with some of the characters presented, the “easy-access-points” of each of Fisch’s scripts will serve as a nice introduction! Actually, just as the “easy-access-points” of DC COMICS PRESENTS (which might as well have been called “SUPERMAN TEAM-UP”) caught me up on characters and concepts occurring during the break I took from most DC Comics (and pretty much comics as a WHOLE) between the Silver Age and the early 1980s.
And, yes, I also hope some kids will become curious about Quick Draw McGraw and Magilla Gorilla, etc. and pursue them in some way.
You’re always welcome to share my posts, if you find they will benefit a larger audience. Any of you are. (I couldn’t stop you if I WANTED to, anyway!) And in this case they returned a nice dividend in the form of your link concerning the Scooby illustration featured in this post!
HERE is Sergio’s link for your reading pleasure! …You can’t get more “Scooby-authentic” than Iwao Takamoto!
Sergio:
One of the MANY great things about SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP is that you can read it pretty much in any order you wish, with very few hiccups. Oddly, reading the Jetsons issue (#8) before the Flintstones issue (#7) just happens to be one of those very minor hiccups – but nothing that would plot-spoil or otherwise diminish your overall enjoyment of both issues!
Writer Sholly Fisch’s great depth of knowledge for both DC and Hanna-Barbera characters is on glorious display in EVERY issue! And, even if you’re not familiar with some of the characters presented, the “easy-access-points” of each of Fisch’s scripts will serve as a nice introduction! Not unlike how the “easy-access-points” of DC COMICS PRESENTS (which might as well have been called “SUPERMAN TEAM-UP”) caught me up on characters and concepts occurring during the break I took from most DC Comics (though not Batman, but pretty much comics as a WHOLE) between the Silver Age and the early 1980s.
And, yes, I also hope some kids will become curious about Quick Draw McGraw and Magilla Gorilla, etc. and pursue them in some way.
You’re always welcome to share my posts, if you find they will benefit a larger audience. Any of you are. (I couldn’t stop you if I WANTED to, anyway!) And in this case, they returned a nice dividend in the form of your link concerning the Scooby illustration featured in this post!
HERE is Sergio’s link for your reading pleasure! …You can’t get much more “Scooby-authentic” than Iwao Takamoto!
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