Behold THREE examples of eye-catching Orange Swirls on the covers of Western Publishing's Gold Key / Whitman Comics - before, during, and after the "Psychedelic Era" of the 1960s!
BEFORE: MIGHTY MOUSE # 160 (1963)
DURING: MICKEY MOUSE # 110 (1966)
AFTER: TOM AND JERRY # 285 (1974)
It's interesting to note that, when MICKEY MOUSE # 110 was later reprinted in MICKEY MOUSE # 185 (1978), the Orange Swirls were REMOVED, making the overall cover much blander by comparison!
Some conspiracy theorists might speculate that this "increased blandness thing" could be a precursor to the events of 2018...
...But not us! We just celebrate comics regardless of their blandness, creed, or place of origin... with malice toward none, and liberty and justice for all! ...And all kinds o' stuff like that there!
BUT... "Non-Orange-Swirl-Blandsville" be not proud, and be NOT the victor! Not by a longshot, because...
...HEEERE HE COMES TO SAVE THE DAAAAY!
Yes, it's MIGHTY MOUSE... back with a non-bland reprint of the cover and lead story of the 1963 issue, for issue # 172 (Cover Date: January, 1980) - and with the Orange Swirls deeper and richer than ever! ...Just compare!
For such richness, we can even forgive MIGHTY MOUSE # 172 for having an annoyingly ubiquitous UPC CODE, forcing the cover copy to be relocated to a different spot! "Sign of the times", and all that sort of rot!
Though you also gotta love how the intensity is so great on the original, that it obscures the very name of Mighty Mouse itself! ...Both are great, in their own way!
Finally, on the subject of reprints, the TOM AND JERRY cover was never reprinted. Most likely because it appeared a little "late in the game" for Western Publishing, who ceased its comic book activities in 1984!
And - last word, I promise - all three "Orange Swirl" covers featured MICE!
6 comments:
"Orange Swirls"...like the "Red Skies" of "Crisis On Infinite Earths", the Gold Key/Whitmsn equivalent to the arrival of the Anti-Monitor would be...The Anti-Reprintor!!
Or maybe a counterpart to "Secret Wars", since Mighty Mouse gets purple gloves and a Matchbox toy cars-esque logo for inexplicable reasons.
If I didn't know Mark Evanier wrote only one issue of Mickey Mouse, I would've thought he wrote that conquistador tale and reimagined it in an issue of Scooby-Doo he did for Marvel Comics.
‘Rehab:
Gold Key’s “Orange Swirls” = DC’s “Red Skies”? …I LIKE THAT!
Mark Evanier was still a few years away from writing for Gold Key, when the Conquistador tale occurred.
But he WAS there at the time of the TOM AND JERRY cover! Mostly, writing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, Super Goof, and Scooby-Doo!
Orange Swirl sounds like some sort of frozen dessert. Mmm...Orange Swirl...
Back to the topic, now...
On the Mickey Mouse reprint, it looks like someone decided to erase Minnie's lipstick from the original cover as well as the Orange Swirl, as well as giving Mickey a blue shirt rather than a red one. I like the stylized lettering of the late 70's/early 80's Gold Key/Whitman books. I even created my own Whitman-style logo for Fluffy and Mervin once:
http://www.fluffyandmervin.com/archive/12/
I remember meeting Mark Evanier once and had some Super Goof issues for him to sign, along with a batch of his Marvel Hanna-Barbera books, but also a comic from Gladstone Comics' 2nd era that reprinted a Super Goof tale he wrote. He had NO IDEA it had been reprinted! I don't know if there's any interest in a kind-of "Super Goof Archives" from Fantagraphics or IDW to release, but it would be fun to see exist!
Deb:
Say, I hadn’t noticed Minnie’s lipstick removal! I guess I was too mesmerized by all those Orange Swirls!
There wasn’t a great deal to like about the Whitman era comics over their Gold Key and Dell predecessors, but one of those things were the stylized logos! I especially liked the (for lack of a better descriptive term) “black backing” those logos had! It gave the logo image more depth!
HERE is Deb’s “Fluffy and Mervin” link! Yes, it really captures that unique look! Well done!
Funny thing… Way back in 1990, when I still felt I had a modest modicum of drawing ability (Notice I said “ability”, and not “talent”!), I actually drew-up a cover for WEBBY ADVENTURES # 1… and used that same Whitman style for the logo!
Cover copy read: “These adventures are just going to ruin her dress” (Which paraphrased an actual quote of hers from “Classic Original DuckTales 1987”) – and teased an interior lead story titled “Lethal Webby”!
I’d scan and post it here, but for the fact that we moved little over two years ago, and it must be in a “as-of-yet-unopened-box” in the garage. And, in my typical state of (…all together now) “Horrific Busyness”, it’s likely to remain there for some time to come! Once the comics and DVDs were extricated from their captivity, and introduced to their new home, other items such as this will simply have to wait a while… Perhaps a LONG while!
…Besides, for better or for worse, Webby doesn’t look like that anymore!
‘Rehab:
Personally, I would like to see the FIRST SIX ISSUES OF SUPER GOOF collected in a single volume!
These were the ones primarily drawn by Paul Murry, with some backups by Tony Strobl, and written by Bob Ogle, Del Connell, and Vic Lockman – and, with a few later exceptions, represented the very best of Super Goof! Issues 2 and 3 very likely ARE the best of Super Goof!
A “Volume Two” could collect Issues 7-12, drawn by Strobl , with # 12 by Jack Manning, and written mostly by Lockman, which were only a “small step below” the first five issues.
After that, once Kay Wright begins to draw it, I would stop! Though I also really like Evanier’s two Phantom Blot issues (33 and 36) and Michael Maltese’s masterpiece in Issue # 23! And some others as well!
And, not so coincidently perhaps, my very first dialogue was on a Mark Evanier written Super Goof in THIS ISSUE!
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