Saturday, February 26, 2022

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: The One-Shot "SUPER" Super Goof Logo!

The Gold Key/Whitman logo for Super Goof, remained fairly consistent over the 19 years and #74-issue run of the title.  

From first to last:


But, for ONE EXCEPTION... SUPER GOOF #46 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: April, 1978)...

...And it's peculiar attempt to simulate the SUPERMAN logo (in "Goofy-style"?). 


SUPERMAN #338 (DC Comics. Cover Date: August, 1979)... which, oddly (...and apropos of little, unless you like making these connections as much as I do), had a Whitman variant (below). 


And, speaking of "odd", the "Superman-style logo" sported by SUPER GOOF #46 was not even specifically designed for that particular cover...


...Because the cover was a REPRINT from SUPER GOOF #9 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date: December, 1967)!


How or why this logo came to be - and the reason for its lasting for only one issue (...maybe DC raised an objection?) - is just another one of those things about Western Publishing that is forever lost to history! 


SUPERMAN #338 cover by Ross Andru and Dick Giordano.

SUPER GOOF #9 and 46 covers by Paul Murry. 

Who drew the LOGO for SUPER GOOF #46 is anybody's guess!  

Monday, February 21, 2022

A Gag I Shared with Dana!

As you all know, my dear friend Dana Gabbard passed away January 11, 2022, at the age of 59, as I posted HERE!  I miss him all the time, and want to share just another of the many jokes and gags we had between us.   

Since becoming friends in the early 1980s, Dana and I had countless discussions about the state of the comic book industry... the few things we thought were good and/or improving - and the greater number of things we thought were bad and/or getting worse. 

One of the worst things either of us could imagine was the rise of CGC!  

CGC, for those not in the know, was the first entity to "professionally grade and entomb in plastic" comic books that were (and are) thought to be valuable!  Some imitators have followed in this abominable practice, but CGC was the first and remains the best known.  

The fundamental problem we had with this misguided concept is that we both felt that COMIC BOOKS OUGHT TO BE READ AND ENJOYED, not salted away like some form of "newsprint currency"!  

Every comic book that undergoes this process will NEVER BE READ AGAIN!  

Well, maybe not EVERY one... says this traditionalist contrarian.  

You see, I got me some of them there "imprisoned comics" (because I couldn't find any copies that weren't "imprisoned") and set them FREE!  

WHY? ...BECAUSE I WANTED TO *READ* THEM, THAT'S WHY! 

I fully intend to detail that experience in another post (let's hope I actually follow through on that, because it was a real hoot to crack open those "clear flat coffins" like plastic walnuts), but what does one do with a busted-open CGC slab?  

Well, there's where the joke with Dana comes in... 

As you know, Dana was the publisher of a pioneering American Disney comic book fanzine called "The Duckburg Times"...

...And, just to show Dana how important it was, I gave him a peek at what a copy would look like, if it were slabbed by CGC!  

He got a great big kick out of this!  So much so that I turned it into a trilogy!

One of the comics I worked on...

MICKEY MOUSE (IDW) #6!

...And for a great writer - and a great guy, Sholly Fisch...

SCOOBY-DOO TEAM-UP #50! 

And, of course, the basis for the gag, the liberated comic basking in the fresh air of my comic room!


I gave Dana a great laugh that day - as he and I have both done for decades - and I hope I've given all of you one as well! 

Monday, February 14, 2022

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?