Adventures in Comic-Boxing: The Case of the Migrating Penguin!

When it comes to PENGUINS, Warner Bros. Looney Tunes has a pretty memorable one that twice co-starred with Bugs Bunny...

Walter Lantz had a pretty memorable one of his own... CHILLY WILLY! 

But there must have been a brief period during Chilly's tenure at Lantz when he may have become dissatisfied with his contract... and briefly defected to Warner Bros.

Otherwise, how would you explain THIS?!    

WALTER LANTZ NEW FUNNIES #278 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: July-August, 1960) 

...Yes, really! Let's dolly in for a closer look... 

Maybe he was tired of working with SMEDLEY?  

...Or lower-tier players like Homer Pigeon?  

...And taking SECOND BILLING, NO LESS!  The unhappiness of that experience even caused him to put on TOO MUCH WEIGHT!   

The GOOD SCRIPTS, like "The Legend of Rockabye Point" (possibly the single funniest cartoon of all time)... 

...And "I'm Cold" stopped coming, much to the little guy's displeasure.  

Or maybe he just wanted to work with "that Oscar-Winning Rabbit, Bugs Bunny!" Or the rabbit's renowned animation director Chuck Jones?  

Ya, know... like that OTHER penguin did!  

But, alas, Chilly's experiences at Warner Bros. were not good... 

...Being a PENGUIN and all, they cast him in a BATMAN movie, as a "hench-peng" to THIS GUY!  

Chilly didn't like that AT ALL!  

Coincidently, at that time, Walter Lantz decided to lure him back with the promise of working with THEIR top star, Woody Woodpecker...

...And so, he once again became "Walter Lantz Chilly Willy"! 

...And remained happily so (though still "chilly") ever after! 

...OR... COULD IT HAVE BEEN MUCH SIMPLER THAN ALL THAT?  

Could it have possibly been nothing more than a... PRINTING ERROR?!  

Could THIS...

...Have been erroneously run in place of... THIS?   

                                         

...Eeeh, COULD BE!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Here We Go Blathering (and) NUTS in May!

Just an hour or so late for May Day 2024, we present the perfectly picked cover of DELL FOUR COLOR #202 WOODY WOODPECKER (Dell Comics, Cover Date: November, 1948)!

It's MAY, he's BLATHERING... and, at this earlier stage of his development, he's certainly NUTS! 

And fitting for MAY DAY because, after he's treated you to his particular brand of annoying madness, you'll find yourself yelling "MAYDAY!" 

Oh, WAIT... Those aren't NUTS he's throwing about... they're NOTES!  

 ...So, I guess we can say that Woody's out [wait for it] "sewing his wild NOTES!"  

Ha-ha-ha-HA-ha! 

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Where's Walt... Oh!

The traditionalists among us, myself included, tend to lament the corporate morphing of the name Walt Disney into just plain "Disney"...or "Disney's" - demonstrating, perhaps, the omnipresent possessiveness of the ever-gobbling media giant over even its founder. 

But, we find an unusual example of the converse in the pages of DELL FOUR COLOR #805 SCAMP (Dell Comics, Cover Date: June, 1957) in the ad copy for Dell's CHIP 'N' DALE comic...

Take a gander at the possessive proper noun, and blink with wonder! 

 

Yes, the two chatterbox chipmunks could certainly be referred-to as "WALT'S CHIP 'N' DALE", as it's not too difficult to figure out who "WALT" is!  

It's not THIS GUY...

Or THIS GUY!  

But, ya gotta wonder where the "Disney" went, and how its absence passed through a presumed series of editorial reviews.  

...Maybe this is an example of REAL "Disney Magic"!  

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Oswald's Full-Page Cross-Promotion!

While everybody loves Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, I'll bet few have thought of him in terms of a comic book pitchman... or "pitch-rabbit", if you will.  

But, take a gander at this ad from LOONEY TUNES AND MERRIE MELODIES COMICS #22 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: August, 1943), where Oswald steps up to plug his own Dell Comics title - NEW FUNNIES!  

The ad is on the inside back cover and, because of that positioning, note how Oswald presumes that you have just finished reading this issue of LOONEY TUNES, with a direct reference to "the adventures of Bugs Bunny and his pals", before making his pitch!  

We liked 'em just fine, Oswald!  In fact, they were GREAT!  

Oswald throws it to his NEW FUNNIES co-stars...

Then comes back for the clincher!

OH, MAN... I AM SOOOO THERE!  (...or I would have been if I were around in 1943!) 

Gotta love that early design on Woody Woodpecker!  

I guess Oswald was chosen for this, so he could do a "rabbit segue" from Bugs...

...Leaving me to wonder if Bugs ever took control of the inside back cover of an issue of NEW FUNNIES for similar purposes! 

After all, he CAN be a little "enthusiastic" at times...

For an ACTUAL example of a comic book subscription ad that Bugs invaded, look no further than HERE!  

You get the feeling that Oswald, at least, did it with the proper permissions!

 

That's All [New Funnies] Folks!

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: You'll Love This Comic a Bushel and a Peck!

I wish I had written this ad copy!  

From the final page of WALTER LANTZ NEW FUNNIES # 232 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: June, 1956). 

And, just because we like it so much, here's a BONUS AD from WALTER LANTZ NEW FUNNIES # 230 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: April, 1956). 

...Aw, heck!  I would like to have written this one, too!  

Halloween 2020 Reading and Watching List!

Stop me if you've heard this bit before, but... Halloween 2020 isn't over until I say it is!  

And I promised a return to "Happy Stuff" the day after Election Day, so here we go! 

Whether or not you were satisfied with the results, or even if the results are still up in the air (Oh, I hope not... I can't take anymore! ...And *I* don't know myself, because I'm writing this BEFORE Election Day - so Good Luck, USA!), you're probably all wondering...

...What did Joe read and watch for Halloween 2020?  

...And, if you aren't wondering that, you SHOULD, because it's a darn sight more pleasant than the NEWS was on that day!  

In my opinion, I did a remarkable amount of partaking in Halloween-themed entertainment for one day - especially as much of the day was taken with domestic and outdoor chores... two loads of wash (wash, dry, put away), gathering and storing all the outdoor furniture and equipment, removal of outdoor plants which will not survive the winter, gathering the week's recycling, cleaning the backyard fence of dirty smudges... and, believe it or not, washing-down the front of my house (at least the parts I can reach without a ladder) by hand!  Whew! Puff-Pant! 

It was during those activities, particularly the house hand-washing, that I observed no kids trick-or-treating - as discussed in a previous post! 

That I found ANY time at all for Halloween-themed products of entertainment, is a tribute to the "hold" this particular holiday has on me.  

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But, yes... there were two comics, and two items on DVD, in the following order... (David Gerstein will be proud of this first one!)

DELL FOUR COLOR #46: FELIX THE CAT AND THE HAUNTED CASTLE (Dell Comics, Cover Date: June, 1944)   

In this 48-page collection of Felix the Cat daily newspaper comic strips from the great Otto Mesmer, Felix has a (typically) disjointed adventure of non-sequiturs that include:

In Fairyland, helping "Little Betty Blue" attend the Fairyland Ball, thwarting the efforts of her wicked stepmother.  If this bit sounds familiar, it seems odd that Cinderella herself, as well as Little Bo Peep, and Little Red Riding Hood, have no trouble getting dolled-up and attending the Ball!  ...No wonder Betty's so (sorry, but I gotta say it) blue! 

Meeting a group of four "Magical Midgets". 

Evading "Bruto", the wicked stepmother's executioner.   

And finally helping a poor shoe-shine boy, when the larger "Simple Simon" muscles in on his territory!  

However, somewhere between besting Bruto and snookering Simple Simon, a larger part of the story takes place in the titular "Haunted Castle" where Felix must escape from a family of ghosts who have pressed him into service as both a pet and a slave.  

A nice, long romp that never gets dull! 

HERE'S the GCD link for it! 

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Then, on to BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY #13 (Gold Key Comics, Cover Date. March, 1966) With all the recent Blog activity about BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY of late, how could I NOT read one of these for Halloween!

This issue is highlighted by it's lead story, "The Five Casks of Greed", a haunting tale of the corruption and utter consumption of a man by avarice. 

Archaeologist Andrew Lake recounts the his woeful tale of the discovery of five sealed casks below the surface of Crete. The casks are said to each hold great riches... BUT only one must be opened within a ten-year period - and, in order for a cask to magically open, one must commit a designated act of evil that is stated on the cask!    

Would you commit acts of evil, which incrementally increase in severity, in exchange for riches?  And would you be willing to wait the prescribed duration before claiming the treasures in the remaining four casks?  

Those are the questions facing Andrew Lake in this magnificent 12-page tale!  

Making it all the more special, Boris Karloff appears, not only as the "host", but is also a participant in the story as the person to whom Lake tells his tragic tale!  

There's Unca Boris, as "host" in the splash panel, and as "listener" in Panel Two.  (Click to Enlarge)

In keeping with my penchant for casting "era-appropriate actors" as the characters in the Boris Karloff and Twilight Zone comic stories, and "hearing their voices" as I read, I cast Mark Richman (also known as Peter Mark Richman) as Andrew Lake.  Yeah, the "hair color" doesn't match up but, if you've seen him in anything, you'll know why he's my choice! 

I've always said the overall quality of the Gold Key Comics of 1964-1966 was unsurpassed.  Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #13 is just one more reason why!  

HERE'S the GCD link for it!  

This is the first time I have read either of these comics and both, in their own unique storytelling were perfect Halloween reads!  

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For DVDs, on the other hand, nothing new - just familiar, tried, and true! 

At Scarecrow33's suggestion I went for the 1964 Woody Woodpecker TV special "Spook-a-Nanny", on the DVD set "The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection" 

Woody unsuccessfully tries to blow up party balloons for "his boss" Walter Lantz, then heads off to a Halloween party attended by the various Lantz characters (largely voiced by Daws Butler), and encounters a rock band of ghosts with Beatle-wigs! 

The special also features one of my favorite Woody theatrical cartoons, "Under the Counter Spy" (1954), a parody of "Dragnet" in which Woody encounters "The Bat" a (perfect for Halloween) villain who resembles The Phantom Blot! ...At least he did to me in 1964!

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Finally, does anything say Halloween like a SIMPSONS "Treehouse of Horror" show?   ...No! Nothing does, so let's just get on with it!  

"Treehouse of Horror XIV" leads off the DVD set THE SIMPSONS: THE COMPLETE FIFTEENTH SEASON, and originally aired on November 02, 2003 (literally SEVENTEEN years to the day, as I write this!)  And, yes, they DID do a joke about a Halloween Special airing in November!  

Homer becomes "Death", and actually enjoys purging the world of various folks... until his next assignment is to expire Marge!  Will Death take a holiday?  Or a donut break?  Or will Homer use (or lose?) his head to get out of his predicament?  

Professor Frink re-animates his dead father - who is very appropriately voiced by Jerry Lewis! 

And Bart and Millhouse possess the ability to stop and start time... What could possibly go wrong? 

Unlike the two comics, which I hadn't read previously, these shows are "comfortable old friends"... or as "comfortable" as you can possibly be with Homer Simpson in the role of "Death"!  

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BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! 

...Don't bother counting, the clock doth strike-eth TWELVE, and Halloween be-eth over for another year-eth! 

But, we sure packed a lot of housework, chores, and Halloween reading and watching into this one didn't we-eth?  

Oh, wait, Halloween's still not over until I say so... but it IS winding down, so stay tuned, or blogged, or whatever it is you do-eth!