On Sale October 31, 2018: Green Lantern / Huckleberry Hound Special.

It's been a VERY long time since I bought a comic with the name of Huckleberry Hound on the cover!

I'd like to tell you that it was this one... The very last Gold Key Issue (1970)...

But, it was actually one of (Ugh!) these (1971)...

Where Huck looked like THIS (Ugh, again!)...

Instead of THIS (Ooooh!)...

It's also been a while, though a MUCH SHORTER WHILE, since I bought an issue of GREEN LANTERN...

...When they looked like THIS...

...Or THIS...

...But, not something unrecognizable like THIS!

Nevertheless, lapsed involuntarily as with Huck, or voluntarily as with GL, I was ripe 'n' ready - as opposed to RUFF AND REDDY...

...For a comic like this!

After all, Green Lantern was one of my most favorite "superhero franchises" before the changes of the early 2000s morphed it into (...all together now) something unrecognizable - and Huckleberry Hound is one of my all-time favorite animated characters and, in my view, perhaps the very best made-for-TV cartoon in terms of its enjoyment factor and groundbreaking historical status!

And, despite some of what I'm about to say, I really did enjoy the issue very much.  But, for reasons that will soon become clear, I'd thought I would have enjoyed it quite a bit more!

Later in its original run, GREEN LANTERN was one of the first comics to get "socially relevant"! See two of the most famous such images above!

It was also unique for introducing ALTERNATE "human Green Lanterns", such as Guy Gardner...

...And John Stewart!

And the story found in GREEN LANTERN / HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SPECIAL happens to be a very good "John Stewart story" - set smack-dab in the center of one of the most turbulent periods in modern US history: 1968-1972!

Stewart's story is a powerful one, both as a civilian (above), and a member of the planet-protecting Green Lantern Corps (below)!

The problem, especially for someone like me, is that Huckleberry Hound is not in any way a significant part of what is otherwise a very good story!

He's just some guy in a bar, with whom John Stewart trades "hard life stories"!

What's Huck been up to?  Walll, now... It seems that he dabbled in some li'l ole types o' "political humor" during the Vietnam War in 1968 - and, as The Smothers Brothers would eventually be - was taken off TV!  Shuckins! 

From the "On Purpose, or Happy Accident?" Department I: The original run of THE HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SHOW came to an end during 1968!  I distinctly recall it still being on at the start of the 1967-1968 television season - but not by the end. 

As unusual as Huck's story might be - especially for those of us who are accustomed to seeing him like this...

...There are at least two downsides to it.

ONE: The "Has-Been TV Cartoon Celebrity Bit" was already explored in DC's RUFF AND REDDY SHOW mini-series earlier this year!

TWO: Huck's tail ...er, tale does not contribute anything to the plot, beyond "period-based atmosphere"!  Such as watching Walter Cronkite report on Watergate!

From the "On Purpose, or Happy Accident?" Department II: In many markets (including mine) the original run of THE HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SHOW was on opposite THE CBS EVENING NEWS WITH WALTER CRONKITE!

...And we all knew that "The Most Trusted Man in America" outlasted "That Oh So Merry Chuckleberry" by a number of years!

Huck DOES get to be present at the climax, but his presence in the story is ultimately inconsequential.  This could just as easily have been a John Stewart Green Lantern story, without the hound!

But, take heart, Huck fans... there's one small good thing... and one great big wonderful thing to be found in GREEN LANTERN / HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SPECIAL!

SMALL BUT GOOD: The HUCKLEBERRY HOUND logo used on the cover is the original "Title Card Logo" for the Huckleberry Hound cartoons!

THE ONE GREAT BIG WONDERFUL THING: Oh, and did I mention awesome and amazing?  

Among the things Huck is forced to do, to eke-out a living during his has-been days, was to "do signings" at comic book conventions!

AND JUST LOOK AT THE BOOKS HE'S SIGNING!!!  

DELL FOUR COLOR # 990 (1959) - The first HUCKLEBERRY HOUND comic book!

And Gold Key's HUCKLEBERRY HOUND # 41 (1970)!

Yes, really!  How wonderful, awesome, and amazing is THAT?!  Especially for a Dell and Gold Key Kid like me, who had both of those comics as they were originally released!  ...Though my Grandma Millie had to buy me the Dell issue, as I couldn't quite "count my change" for the 10-cent cover price back then!  

Check out the little GOLD KEY LOGO on the HUCKLEBERRY HOUND # 41!  

BONUS HISTORICAL CONTEXT ADDITION: Here's a AD for HUCKLEBERRY HOUND # 41, with the cover illustration, that appeared in Gold Key Comics released in December, 1969!  

The trailing ad for VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA is there to show just how all-encompassing a publisher Gold Key was - and because I like it!  :-) 

It's a pity that this series of DC / Hanna-Barbera crossover titles did not feature a humorous "cartoony-styled" backup, as did the DC / Looney Tunes series - as THIS ONE DID! 

Instead, they opted for four chapters of Secret Squirrel, as seen in the SCOOBY APOCALYPSE title!

 

I feel the issue could have been completely redeemed of its Huck-centric shortcomings if there HAD been a cartoon-like Huckleberry Hound backup!  

Can't you see Huck as a Green Lantern Trainee?  Why not?  He's been just about everything else!  

I'd call it "Blue Dog - Green Intern"!  Do a bunch of "training gags" as in the cartoon "Knight School", where Huck reluctantly trains to be a knight, and have Killowog as his trainer!  

Then have him go up against Lobo as his first assignment - a la Powerful Pierre or Dinky Dalton!  

"Ya know whut?  That there Lobo-feller's got a right KEEN sense o' humor!" 

I've even got the ending worked out, where "Green Intern Huck" drives-off Lobo with the help of an unexpected "guest star"!  But, since no one's paying me to write it, it'll just have to stay in my head! 

That said, I really did enjoy GREEN LANTERN / HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SPECIAL (DC Comics: Cover Date: December, 2018)!  Again, it was "very good"!  

However, for one that is ACTUALLY GREAT, we must turn to the unlikely pairing of DEATHSTROKE and YOGI BEAR!  

Yes, really! 

You'd THINK it would be far easier to integrate an all-purpose character like Huckleberry Hound into the world of the Green Lantern Corps and its intrepid members - but, quite brilliantly, the corresponding DEATHSTROKE / YOGI BEAR SPECIAL brings the "more ruthless then the average mercenary" together with the "smarter than the average bear" far more effortlessly than in GREEN LANTERN / HUCKLEBERRY HOUND SPECIAL!  

I hope to review DEATHSTROKE / YOGI BEAR SPECIAL soon!  

Meanwhile, get 'em both!  Ya won't find very much else like 'em out there!  ...For Hound, or Bear!  Hey-hey-hey!  

  

Blogger-torial: Where Do We Go From Here? (Very Long!)

Quite honestly, even *I'M* not sure where I'm going with this, so please forgive the humble author of this "Blogger-torial" (I'm a BLOGGER, not an EDITOR, hence the term) should it ramble a bit!

But, in this case, it's imperative that we BEGIN with what has become my Standard Disclaimer:

Just remember, I do not speak for IDW or anyone in its employ, any specific team of creative and editorial colleagues, or the copyright holders of any intellectual property mentioned here.  I speak strictly for myself as both a long-time fan and as a dialogue creator – and those opinions are strictly my own.

Having gotten that important bit of business out of the way, let's begin!

 "Riddle me this, all you Caped Crusaders out there... When is a FIRST also a LAST?" 

Need I spell it out? 

Okay... When "My FIRST Millions" becomes the LAST "Fresh and Modern" comic I will purchase from the revised IDW line!

For anyone who does not get the reference, it is from the text of the solicitations for the new incarnation of the IDW Disney comic books:  "...featuring brand-new content for U.S. audiences with fresh and modern translations!"  

Changing creative hands on a series is one thing - comic book publishers do it all the time, and it's "just part of the game" - but the needlessly gratuitous slam at the efforts of the previous "Translation and Dialogue Team" just sounds SO WRONG!  Especially when it's not part of an ordinary conversation, or merely an expression of one's personal preference - but part of a publisher-sanctioned mass advertising effort!  

And, it is all the more so, once I read the actual comics being so advertised!  

To be perfectly honest, I have read the first two issues of this "series within a series" and if this is any indication of how my favorite comics are going to read going forward... they are "going forward" without me!

It truly PAINS me to say this, as my association with the American Disney comic book dates back to the waning days of DELL COMICS...

(I still have my original copy of this comic - and an upgrade acquired later!)

Through GOLD KEY...

(Still have this one too - and an upgrade as well!) 

...And over EVERY PUBLISHER thru IDW!

(I have purchased MULTIPLE COPIES of this great story by Casty!   And proudly given them out to new readers - all of whom have loved it!) 

However, due to a number of publisher's internal workings - very few of which I actually understand the reasons behind, this "FIRST" will be my "LAST"!

This is not a decision I make lightly.  Nor is it one that some might presumably regard as a reaction to my no longer being involved.  No... It is primarily because I cannot bear to see these lifelong favorites READ (with a "Long-E") so blandly and so badly!

A prime component of the Disney tradition, beyond that of superior animation, impeccable character design, and compelling stories, is the use of lively dialogue to both advance and enhance a comics narrative!

Snappy patter and intriguingly unfamiliar words have been with us since Floyd Gottfredson and Carl Barks...

...Right though modern productions such as House of Mouse and New Ducktales!

So why was a decision made, somewhere, somehow, to inexplicably REMOVE such a defining aspect, that has persisted over generations and different forms of media, in the contemporary IDW comic books?  

Let's shoo the "elephant" out of the "room" right away... Yes, I was part of a team that delivered intelligent, entertaining - and well-received - American English scripts for publication in the IDW comics!  I'm very proud of the work our team did from 2015 through the first half of 2018... And hope we have future opportunities at IDW to put words in the mouths of the creations of Mr. Disney, Mr. Gottfredson, Mr. Barks, and so many others around the world.

BUT, having been steeped in the aforementioned tradition of lively and entertaining speech balloons for these beloved characters, it pains me to see work as bland as this!

And those who know me KNOW WELL that I would feel this way whether or not I'd ever been given the honor of working with some of the best characters ever to appear in comic books!

Previously, I'd advised everyone to try these "new direction" issues, and make up their own minds.  Well, I've done exactly that,  experiencing the first two issues of "Uncle Scrooge My First Millions"!

For the record, I STILL recommend that my readers do so, and come to their own decisions as to future purchases - uninfluenced by these comments.

But, after reading the second issue, I remain unconvinced, after seeing things like this! 

When Scrooge gets bad financial news, it always takes the form of a joke, like this!

Even if Scrooge is intended to be "younger and less volatile" than Carl Barks would have him later be, you can still "snap 'n' crackle" more than that!  

Like HERE, where he utters not a word - but that which surrounds him is fun to read! (Click to Enlarge!) 

When Scrooge finds himself in a situation against an overpowering individual, the best he can say is... "You Bet!"?  Really?  Not even an awkwardly apologetic self-effacing line? 

  He doesn't even STAMMER, fer cryin' out loud! 

  

And, when caught red-handed, having done something he clearly should not have done, there is no "humorously lame excuse" - just "Gasp! I've been caught!" 

Um, we KNOW he's been "caught"!  And, is "GASP!" the appropriate reaction for something you ALREADY KNOW THAT YOU DID and were busted?  I THINK NOT! 

I'd like to believe that the original author(s) didn't intend for their work to come across THIS INAPPROPRIATELY BLAND, given that they are working with the greatest creations of Mr. Disney, Mr. Gottfredson, and Mr. Barks - and are following a LONG LINE of "creative ancestors" from America and around the world! 

I know from experience that not all humor properly translates from one language to another - but the conventions of this uniquely wonderful art form are clear, regardless of one's native tongue! 

And, when we get something like this...

Or, this...

...Those conventions - the conventions that the American comics audience have come to live by - are no longer being followed!  And, worst of all, it would appear to be "by design" in the packaging of these stories for that very same American audience! 

So, to make a long story just a tad shorter, for the first time ever, I am officially giving up on what has been my life-long favorite group of comic book titles - unless or until a translator is engaged that shows more of that Disney Comics Spirit than one Erin Brady, who is apparently the de-facto American English dialogue source for all of these comics!  

Please bear in mind that I am NOT saying that translator must be "me", or anyone I've previously worked with!  Just that (for MY continued enjoyment, as an individual consumer) it should not be Ms. Brady, because the work she's demonstrated thus far - in the FAIR CHANCE I've given that work - is not worth the cover price of the issues!  Note that this is strictly an ordinary "consumers' choice" on my part!  Nothing more!  ...I would never call for anyone's job, and I'm NOT doing so here!  Indeed, I wish Ms. Brady great success, with NO ill will whatsoever.  And, if her work is as successful as her backers hope, my personal purchases will never be missed!  If more such comics can be sold, the readership expanded  - and I save some money and additional storage space in the process - that's a good outcome for everyone involved!  Win/Win/Win! 

Also, as this is "just the opinion of one reader, who also happens to be an oft-read Blogger in the Disney comics community", I will be very fair to the New Direction issues, and those who have brought them into being... AND NOT REVIEW ANY OF THESE ISSUES going forward!  

This Blog is brimming with praise for IDW Disney comic books circa 2015 - mid 2018!  Since I clearly cannot continue to discuss them with the same level of enthusiasm, I WILL SIMPLY NOT DISCUSS THEM AT ALL!  

That way, no one can accuse me of sitting back in my den and lobbing grenades!  That is not - and never will be - my way!  

My desire for good comic books featuring these beloved characters will have to be satisfied by looking backward at older issues!  Issues that were FUN to read!  

Such delights can come from unexpected places, such as this wonderful tale by Vic Lockman and the great Harvey Eisenberg, that I recently read as a reprint in Gold Key's CHIP 'N' DALE # 2 (1968)!

How's this for a rarity?  A Chip 'n' Dale story that does not find them being pests, defending against an attacker or invader, stumbling upon something they do not understand, or having something put their friendship to the test!  This is simply a uniquely-plotted, finely-drawn, eight-page masterpiece!  

If I can this easily find such a story for Chip 'n' Dale, just imagine the wonders I can unearth for other characters!  

And I *will* discuss those older comics at this Blog!  There are so many of them, often available at lower secondary market prices than the new "Fresh and Modern" comics, that you cannot go wrong!  

You don't need to be "Fresh and Modern", if you are "Clever and Funny"!  

This was a VERY DIFFICULT post to prepare!  But, we've all gotten through it now!  

There are so many wonderful things in life for me to enjoy, like the aforementioned older comics and new comics that reflect the sensibilities I prefer, like this one...

...Classic and new Blu-ray sets...

  ...Pizza, spring days, good music, good friends... and best of all granddaughter Averi who can now stand!  

In these terms, you must admit, the absence of something like this becomes truly inconsequential!  Those who like it can have it with my blessings!  If things get better, do let me know and I'll be back with my usual brand of unbridled enthusiasm! 

But for now, please continue to join me right here for (MANY) more "Adventures in Comic-Boxing" and "Separated at Mirth" posts, comics reviews and other stuff.

I promise to make it... um, what'd I say above?  Oh, yeah!  "CLEVER AND FUNNY"!  

...And, even if it isn't, it'll come out very quick!  Why, there's probably a New Comics Review directly above this very post!  ...Hope you enjoy it!  

Images used in the post are for review purposes only!  

...Except for those of Averi!  They are mine and Esther's forever! 

Last look at the disclaimer, lest anyone take offense, or make any incorrect assumptions!

Just remember, I do not speak for IDW or anyone in its employ, any specific team of creative and editorial colleagues, or the copyright holders of any intellectual property mentioned here.  I speak strictly for myself as both a long-time fan and as a dialogue creator – and those opinions are strictly my own.

And, having expressed said opinions in good faith, I trust that the powers that guide the future destinies of these comics will "understand where this opinion piece comes from", and that no future unpleasant feelings on anyone's part will result from its being published. 

R.I.P. President George H. W. Bush.

The 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, passed away on November 30, 2018 at the age of 94.

I almost never touch on politics at this Blog, for obvious reasons, but I must say that overall I liked President Bush - presumably the last pre-baby-boomer, and certainly the last World War II veteran, that will hold the highest office of our land.  

George H. W. Bush presided over an interesting time of great change for the country... and for me personally!  I'd like to think that, after a number of crises and lesser missteps, both the USA and yours truly "found our footing" under the first President Bush and both went on to bigger and better things!  

If one must apply a "personal scale" to these things, all I need say is that virtually every aspect of my life, personally, professionally, financially, socially, etc. was worse in the times before the presidency of George H. W. Bush - and all of it was better both during and after his time in office!  

Even if he was not directly or personally responsible for those many improvements, perhaps the tone he set for the nation had something to do with it!  

By that measure, and numerous others, he was a great success!