Our last post on Dell Comics' TOM AND JERRY # 168 (1958), that uncharacteristically excluded TOM from its cover...
...got such a great reaction in our Comments Section that we've moved this post forward from its "lingering draft" state into a follow-up position, as it addresses a similar - but earlier - situation!
The Dell Comics' TOM AND JERRY title evolved from the MGM anthology OUR GANG (a sort of "MGM's Comics and Stories", if you will) beginning with its 60th issue in 1949.
The previous 59 issues went under the title of OUR GANG,which began by depicting Tom and Jerry in their earliest incarnation...
...leading to OUR GANG WITH TOM AND JERRY, with the Cat and Mouse in a more recognizable form!
A hallmark of these later issues of OUR GANG, as well as earlier issues of its successor TOM AND JERRY, was the "film-strip of characters included therein", down the left side of the cover!
Tom eventually settled into the TOP SPOT of the "character stack up", seen above and below, while also appearing in the cover-gag!
For TWO SUCCESSIVE ISSUES (# 46-47), however, OUR GANG presented cover gags that, like Dell's TOM AND JERRY # 168, were centered on Jerry and Tuffy, excluding Tom!
But, TOM had a way of GETTING AROUND THAT LITTLE PROBLEM... going from THIS...
...To THIS!
Yeah, BIG, isn't he? He looks ready to POUNCE from that strip of faux-film!
A far cry from his usual modest station!
Say... Maybe if we reconfigured the cover image of TOM AND JERRY # 168 to look like THIS?
Yeah! Whadaya think? In this aspect ratio, the GLASSES would even FIT Tom!
Now, they can finally get back to business!
4 comments:
OK, this isn't directly on the topic of the post, but...I had to point out how much I like the cover where the mice are using the toy crane to dip the doughnut into the coffee. It reminds me of a stamp I have, part of a Disney Easter series of stamps, where Donald's nephews are using a toy crane to dip an egg into the cup of dye. And *that* in turn, of course, reminds me of "Letter to Santa" and the boys' wish for a toy steam shovel! Don't you like to think of Huey, Dewey and Louie finding novel ways to use that toy steam shovel on the dining room table?
Elaine:
I think that image would make a fine cover for (what used to be) WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES!
But, with DONALD in the background looking on curiously! …That way I don’t have to do a post on why he’s absent from the cover!
Then again, Donald is not the ACTUAL TITLE CHARACTER of (what used to be) WALT DISNEY’S COMICS AND STORIES, but became the de-facto title character except for a very small number of exceptions, including THIS ONE with just HD&L!
So, I’d probably do a post on it after all! That’s me… The Guardian of Comic Book Normalcy!
“Don't you like to think of Huey, Dewey and Louie finding novel ways to use that toy steam shovel on the dining room table?”
I can see those little mischief makers using the toy steam shovel to dump an uncomfortably-sweet payload of SUGAR into Donald’s coffee!
Maybe TOM could even burst through the issue’s cover, as he does here, to try and warn Donald… except that, outside of HIS OWN comic books, he cannot speak – so Donald gets a beakful of unintended over-sweetness!
Donald’s nephews could use that crane to put SALT in Donald’s coffee...now THAT would be the sort of gag you might see in the cartoons or the Al Taliaferro strips.
OH, YEAH!
Why didn't *I* think of that?!
I guess I'm just "too sweet" a guy!
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