Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Inadvertent Cover Enhancement!

This is an Internet scan of the cover of YOSEMITE SAM # 15 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: August 1973). 

And below is a scan of MY OWN COPY of YOSEMITE SAM # 15.  See anything unusual? 

Let's look a little closer, shall we? 

It would seem that, on MY COPY, Bugs' cooking was SO BAD that it made Sam sick enough to see SPOTS BEFORE HIS EYES!  

I don't know what the nature of the "spots" could be!  The cover feels no different in the section in which "Sam's spots are seen". 

It's not in any way wrinkled or warped, as if any sort of liquid was spilled on it.  And nothing has bled through onto the inside-front-cover. 

It's as if Sam is REALLY ILL from having consumed Bugs' questionable cuisine!  The spots sure go with the expression on his face! 

It would appear that my copy has a unique special effect to it!  Talk about an inadvertent cover enhancement!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: March Fourth!

Beetle Bailey has always been a soldier who marched to a different beat and here, to commemorate March 4th, 2024, we find him "marching forth" to... um... a decidedly different beat once again!  

When they began in mid-1962, Gold Key Comics were very "experimental" with graphic design for the period, perhaps to further distinguish them from their Dell Comics predecessors - in ways beyond a cover-price decrease from 15, back down to 12 cents!  

Take the cover of BEETLE BAILEY # 41 (Cover Date: May, 1963 - released in February, 1963). 

Even if there were no different beat for him to follow, Beetle would still stand out among the line of generic, lookalike soldiers in their more conventional marching. Probably purposely drawn as such, rather then include some of Beetle's identifiable regimental regulars such as Killer, Zero, Cosmo, Plato, and Rocky. 

And, to further call attention to Beetle's drum-beat detour, we have a turquoise sorta line/reverse-checkmark to highlight his breaking ranks with the troops.  One of those "early Gold Key experimental design elements" added to better define his path - especially so against the white background.  

My guess - and it is just a guess - is that, when Beetle's creator Mort Walker (or his assistant Bob Gustafson) originally drew this cover, it did not include this element.  ...But aren't we glad that someone did? 

Finally, isn't it just like Beetle Bailey to commemorate March 4th in a post published on March 5th?  

I’m Not an Artist, But… Lost in (ALL THAT EMPTY) Space Volume II!

I'm not an artist, but... a longtime pet peeve of mine is the matter of large sections of EMPTY SPACE on a comic book's cover!

I've posted on this before - on THIS particularly egregious example (below)...

...All the more so because it was created in the far more "graphically conscious" 1990s!

DC's REAL SCREEN COMICS # 105, with a Cover Date of December, 1956, is easier to excuse because of it's time...

...And because the empty space at its lower right, while definitely noticeable, is not nearly as poorly executed as the WDCS cover! 

But why are Crawford Crow and the picnic basket BOTH on the left side, leaving such a wide-open space on the right?  

The BASKET could remain at left, but be slightly "moved-up" a bit, making it more centered between the hammock and the bottom of the cover!

Then, Crawford could remain at the same "latitude" (for lack of a better term), but with his image REVERSED - and moved to the right, looking left at the fire and basket!

I'm not an artist, but... I feel it would be much better balanced that way!  ...Don't you?

Serendipitous Side-Effect Time:  Below is the cover image of MY OWN COPY, of REAL SCREEN COMICS # 105, with an unintended cover enhancement!

Check out what's in the "empty space" at the cover's lower right...

Someone, perhaps as far back as the later 1950s (in those Pre-Price-Guide Days when we were MUCH more careless with our comics), must have spilled some liquid on that portion of the cover...

...But, in keeping with the "campfire motif", it looks like campfire smoke is rising, not only from Crawford's actual cooking fire, but from the "FOX AND CROW" LOGO as well! 

In fact, there's actually MORE SMOKE rising from the LOGO, than from the cooking fire!  Very nicely breaking-up the gaping amount of blank space! 

I'm not an artist, but... I'd say MY copy of this comic, appears better-composed than the actual published version! 

Check 'em "side by side", and you de... "side"! 

Hot stuff... eh, Foxie? 

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: "The Man Who Was Mightier Than Superman!"

How often does a question present itself on the cover of a comic book, where you can learn the answer WITHOUT reading the story therein?  

Not often, I'll grant you, but consider ACTION COMICS #209 (DC Comics, Cover Date: October, 1955), and its lead story "The Man Who Was Mightier Than Superman!".

"See, Superman?", asks our story's antagonist, "I can do anything you can -- and there's ONE OTHER POWER I have that YOU haven't got!"  

The posed question being: "WHAT IS THIS GUY'S OTHER POWER?"

To learn the answer, unfortunately for most folks reading this, you must have MY PERSONAL, INDIVIDUAL COPY of ACTION COMICS #209, as seen below... 

The fiend clearly has the power to CREATE AN EVER-WIDENING TEAR IN THE VERY FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE!  

Not only that, but the ability to TAKE OUT A CHUNK OF SUPERMAN'S MID-SECTION WITH IT!  

Um... either that, or maybe I just need to get a better copy of this comic!  ...YOU DECIDE!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Mick's Pix at Styx!

Sorry to have been away for such a long time... home remodeling construction, reorganizing the house - and especially Dana Gabbard's premature passing  - have taken quite a bit out of me.  So, I say to those of you who have stuck with me through this draining period, let's resume with something unusual!

This is the back cover of  my copy of WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #185 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: February, 1956)... Notice anything unusual?  

No?  Okay, let's dolly-in a little closer... 

You should see SOMETHING now, but let's move in a bit more for greater clarity...

Yeah, it's just what it looks like... Mickey Mouse (uncharacteristically cheerful, I might add) preparing to cross the River Styx and meet the Devil head-on (...or would that be HORN-head-on), before a wall of hellfire! 

  Given a bit more "contrast" for better viewing!  

Now, I'll admit to having some "pretty far out there" thoughts when I was a kid - and, in a quiet moment, when my guard's down, I'll admit to still having a few as a (decidedly) young senior citizen... but I'd sure like to meet the kid who self-enhanced his or her copy of WDC&S #185 with THIS particular adornment! 

...On second thought, perhaps not!  

I sometimes write about the "GHOSTS" that inhabit the older, pre-owned issues in my comic collection... but this one not only comes with a "ghost", but a devil to boot!  

   Scary, eh?   

Please Explain This to Me! No 2: Mickey's Doubled-Walled Balloon?

Here is the opening splash panel to "Message in a Nutshell - Part II", the Paul Murry Mickey Mouse serial appearing in WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #381 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: June, 1972).

Do you see anything unusual?  ...If not, look closer. 

No, it's not the presence of Floyd Gottfredson's Captain Churchmouse character, because Cecil Beard used him on various occasions upon writing for Mickey Mouse.  And it certainly isn't the "Trademarked Paul Murry Goofy Hand-Crooked-Inward Pose" that Murry made almost-iconic by sheer repetition… 

HEY, what about this?!  

Why does Mickey's dialogue balloon have a roughly-sketched "inner-circle"?  

It can't have been a guide for the letterer as to where Mickey's balloon should be placed, because Paul Murry penciled, inked, and lettered this story himself.  

And, even if it was a reminder laid-out by Murry himself, for his own purposes, either he or an editor would have applied "white-out" to the additional outline.  

WAIT!  I'VE GOT IT!  

Mickey's standing in a CAVE...

...And this is just his voice... ECHOING! 

Very clever, Mr. Murry!  

And that's it, in a... um, er... "nutshell"! 

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: A Healthy Note From the Teacher!

This is the cover of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies # 63 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: January, 1947).  Bugs Bunny is combining his Christmas gift request list... with his food shopping list!  Talk about efficiency!  

And this is the cover of MY COPY of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies # 63.  

Part of what I love about about old comics, are the occasional things that are found on less than pristine copies... in this case the names of "Louise" and "Leonard" (two 1940s kid-siblings who shared this book, maybe?)  

The history one can only imagine about books like these... Who owned them?  How they survived over the decades?  As you know, I find it fascinating! 

More interesting than the aura of previous owners, is this handwritten NOTE added to the bottom of Bugs' list... by a parent, guardian, or teacher?  

"He learned this from the nutritionist at school!"

Isn't that wonderful!  Wouldn't you like to know the story behind that?  I know *I* would!  

Finally, though Bugs might have learned much about nutrition at school... one is left to wonder just how much he learned about spelling!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Woody's Got It "Figured"!

I'd like to think that the comic-marring-mathematician who marked up my copy of WOODY WOODPECKER # 124 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: July, 1972) at least cried out "A SCRATCH-PAD!  A SCRATCH-PAD!  MY KINGDOM FOR A SCRATCH-PAD!" before taking the drastic step of corrupting my copy with his cursedly copious calculations!

But, no...  He (...and it was probably a "he" because the name "Don" is also scrawled upon the cover - in TWO PLACES, no less) probably just reached for the first thing at hand, and permanently disfigured what is otherwise a really nice condition comic book!  

Then again, if "Don didn't doodle as he did", I wouldn't have gotten this book for a quarter!  

You know... "A Quarter!"  The price of a "Drooler's Delight" - my favorite Woody Woodpecker cartoon!  

"Oh, boy! A Quarter!" 

So, here's to Don (whoever and wherever you are), hoping your math came out right, and you didn't forget to, like "carry the four", or sumpthin'!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: The EYES Have It - and have it BAD! ...Or "Beaming" with Hope!

This is the cover of THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE # 103 (DC Comics, Cover Date: March, 1967).
 

This is the cover to MY COPY of THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE # 103.
 

Spot anything unusual?
 

Besides the infamous mid-1960s DC "Go-Go-Checks", that is!  Oh, and "The Adventures of..." seems to be missing from the logo! 

Let's move in a little CLOSER...

YEAH! THAT'S IT!  Check out those BEAMS emanating from Frankenstein's EYES!

They weren't in the ORIGINAL cover design!
 

Methinks, as they used to say in the older Looney Tunes, "SOMETHING NEW HAS BEEN ADDED!" 

Forgivable, since the online comics retail site that sold this to me graded it as a "GOOD +".

But, the bevy of added-eye-beams didn't stop there, but continued on throughout the comic.
 

 

In the opening splash panel!
 

  Remember when dogs just got HAIR on your pants?

It continues on throughout the story...

  ...With even BOB getting into the eye-beaming act!

  It even extended BEYOND the Bob Hope story itself...
 

  ...And into one of those ubiquitous PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS that so often ran in DC Comics of the 1950s and '60s!

  Odd that our anonymous and unofficial "pencil artist" chose to have the beams emanate from the "RUNNING or PARKING LIGHTS", and not from the HEADLIGHTS!

Yet, even with all of this bonus-business - and some additional instances I did not illustrate in the interest of "getting to the point" (if, indeed there IS one), I still regarded this comic to fall within the parameters of what I would fairly grade a "GOOD +"! 
  ...Oh, but wait... there was also THIS!  Click to Enlarge!
 

Yes... THIS... Why it must be "The-Single-Most-Awesome-Page-Ever-To-Appear-In-A-DC-Comics-Humor-Title"!

  Unlikely couples that include Frank Sinatra and Phyllis Diller... and, believe it or not, STANLEY AND HIS MONSTER, who would take over THE FOX AND THE CROW title...

...And, five decades later, would team up with Scooby-Doo! 

But, getting back to "The-Single-Most-Awesome-Page-Ever-To-Appear-In-A-DC-Comics-Humor-Title", there's also...

  Ringo Starr and Sophia Loren...

  ...With Batman and Robin... and (believe it or not) Ernie Bushmiller's NANCY!

Let's not even consider the implications of Batman marrying Nancy!  Besides, weren't he and Marsha Queen of Diamonds an item?  
 

  Only this time, Batman gets hitched lighting the way with Bat-Beams in his eyes!
 

Would this make Batman the LIGHT of Nancy's life? 

And, while STILL within the parameters of what I would grade "GOOD to GOOD +", this was finally the straw that broke the bat's back!

"The-Single-Most-Awesome-Page-Ever-To-Appear-In-A-DC-Comics-Humor-Title" defaced in such a horrible fashion!  Anywhere else, was okay with me - and part of the "charm" of buying old comics - but, to awkwardly mix character allusions between Batman and Popeye: "That's all I can stands!  I can't stands no more!"

Thankfully, there was a local comic show the following week, and I found a near perfect copy of THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE # 103 - and now I have the best of both bat-worlds...
 

...A Bat-Beam Version...
 

...And a Non-Bat-Beam Version...
 

...Side-by-side in my long boxes, where they belong!  

Before we bring this particular "Adventure in Comic-Boxing" to a close, I should point out, in uncharacteristic fairness to "Those-Who-Add-Their-Own-Penciling-To-Comic-Books", that such unauthorized supplementary penciling is not always as damaging as in this example.

Yeah, I just can't let that go... same for (all together now, once again) THIS, which might have been IMPROVED by some unauthorized supplementary penciling!

Especially if it COVERED-UP some of this bad art!  

But, I'll confess some charity, if not an outright soft-spot, for the anonymous unauthorized supplementary penciler who aspired to give Pete Alvarado an assist in the MOBY DICK story in my copy of HANNA-BARBERA SUPER TV HEROES # 3 (1968)!
 

  Notice how nicely he or she COMPLETED the forward-figure of Moby, to give the whale a sort of three-dimensional look that breaks-out of the borders of the panel! 

Maybe he or she had seen this sort of thing done previously by the great Harvey Eisenberg!

Note the panel-busting of Fred and Barney's FEET and Fred's HAT - from THE FLINTSTONES # 29 (1965)! 

Oh, and if anyone's wondering about all the Monsters and Teenage Superheroes taking over the BOB HOPE comic, we can discuss that in the Comments Section!  ...See you there!