Separated at Mirth: Mayday! Mayday!

Could we have found a more appropriate "Mirth Separation" than this, for the First of May?  I think not!  

Below is the cover of WALT DISNEY'S COMICS AND STORIES #92 (Dell Comics, Cover Date: May, 1948)...

...And, from HECKLE AND JECKLE #23 (St. John Comics, Cover Date: June, 1955), we find this Terry Bears one-page gag titled "Playful Papa", which just adds another indignity to the many frustrations of the Terry Bear boys' put-upon patriarch.  ...Seen as a full-page below - and then "segmented into a larger whole" for your viewing pleasure.  

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And, of course, you can CLICK TO ENLARGE any image! 

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So, what's our May Day Takeaway, here?  I'd say, be you an "Unca" or a "Papa", no one escapes Maypole Duty!  

There you have Donald Duck and Papa Terry Bear Separated At Maypole Mirth!

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Unusual Early Use of Fethry Duck in the United States!

 

Here's an ad from WANTED: THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS VILLAINS # 5 (DC Comics, Cover Date: January, 1973) that raised an eyebrow, when I first saw it this year!

Yes, that's REALLY Donald Duck's oddball cousin Fethry Duck in this ad!  

A unusual character selection for this 1973 ad, considering Fethry had only had THREE appearances in American Gold Key comic books - all in 1965-1966!  

I wonder if anyone knew who he was...  Much less why he and Donald were BLUE! 

Panels You Never Expected to See: "A Very Awkward Occurrence of Plague!"

I know we're not supposed to laugh at things like this anymore, but I can't help but point-out the "inadvertent funny" found in the opening splash panel of  JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #44 (DC Comic, Cover Date: May, 1966)!  

I'll just let the panel itself speak to this (presumably) unintended misstep...

...And quietly bow-out with what little remaining blogger-dignity I may still possess left intact!

Happy (?) Easter 2022!

I wish you all a Happier Easter than Sourpuss is having on the cover of TERRY-TOONS COMICS #21 (Timely/Marvel Comics, Cover Date: June, 1944).  

At the very least, may all your Easter Eggs be colorful and/or sweet tasting... and not (Gandy) Goose Eggs! 

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!

I’m Not an Artist, But… What's Outside the Iris-Out?

To paraphrase Star Trek's Doctor McCoy, I'm a WRITER, not an ARTIST! 

What that means is that I couldn't lay out an interesting comics page to save my life... 

...Not that such an inability has stopped others, I must point out!  

But, what it DOES mean is that I don't have an eye for creating interesting visuals... interesting dialogue, absolutely - but not interesting visuals!  

So, when I see one - even a rather inconsequential one, within the greater whole of the story - I very much appreciate it!  And such is the case in the story "The Master vs. the Pupil!" from BATMAN #34 (DC Comics, Cover Date: April-May, 1946 - Art by Dick Sprang), where Batman puts an overconfident Robin to the test in a game of (pardon) "Bat and Mouse"!  

A great story, with an unusual plot premise, but HERE'S something I really like about the art...

It's not just an "iris-out", but a CHIMNEY is placed OUTSIDE the iris-out!  Even if I *was* a competent artist, that's something I would never have the vision to do! 

Dick Sprang has long been considered one of the best of the long line of artists who have drawn Batman in the various eras - and (with the possible exception of Jerry Robinson) THE BEST of his particular era - and a tiny little detail like this shows why!    

...Okay, time for me to "iris-out"! 

Adventures in Comic-Boxing: Judy, Judy... JUDY?!

There are a bunch of famous "Judys" scattered across our pop culture zeitgeist (Gosh, I've always wanted to use "zeitgeist" in a sentence - and now I have!  Yay for me!).

Judy Jetson...

Judy Robinson from Lost in Space...

Judith Grimes from The Walking Dead...

Judy Garland...

Judy ("Sock-It-To-Me") Carne from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In...

Judge Judy...

And, of course, "Judy, Judy, Judy" herself, Rita Hayworth - as (not exactly) spoken by Cary Grant!  

I'm certain you can name more.  But, to paraphrase a popular Christmas song... "But, do you ree-calll... the most INFAMOUS Judy of allll"?  

Yes, from SNUFFY SMITH #2 (Charlton Comics, Cover Date: May, 1970)...

...It's the inflatable "Judy" doll! "Made of soft, smooth, pliable vinyl.  Judy looks and feels amazingly lifelike.  INFLATABLE - Just add air and instantly you have a Life Size Beauty. 

Judy comes with a money-back guarantee... "GUARANTEE: This is the ULTRA deluxe model, there is no other inflatable doll as LIFE-LIKE as Judy.  You must be delighted or your money refunded." [..."Delighted", heh!]  As the little white rectangle above says: "Just Add Air Life Like in Every Detail" ["Every", heh, again!]   

Judy speaks to us, via the ad copy:  "I'm Judy, the Life-Size inflatable London doll made with startling detail. ["Startling", heh x 3!] I'm formed from [WORD OBSCURED BY ILLUSTRATION] smooth vinyl, with a human-like softness and feel that will amaze you and your friends." ["Amaze", heh x 4!]

"INFLATABLE - Just add air and instantly I become a 5'4'' beauty who wears size 8 clothes. You can dress me up for any occasion. ["Occasion", heh x 5!]  Take me riding [NO! Even *I* won't go there! no "heh" this time!], or to a party, boating or swimming (I FLOAT).  [I would HOPE SO!  If not, I'd want my money back!]  Around the house, I'll be the ideal burglar deterrent; prowlers will see that someone is home - me." 

Judy now gets to the heart of the matter:  "Just let your imagination go and you will see that I can be the most exciting thing ever invented ["Exciting", heh x 6!] for party gags Your [sic] bound to find hundreds of exciting and unusual uses for me."  [NOPE! NOPE! Not touchin' THAT either - in ANY sense you can come up with!] 

Judy starts to walk-back her more outrageous claims: "Give your daughter a Judy Doll and she'll be the talk of the neighborhood [NO DOUBT!] with the largest doll in town." 

Aw, but Judy just can't let it go completely: "I'm the most unusual gift that you can give to yourself (or to a friend if you can bear to part with me)."

Judy tosses it back to the ad-copy writer:  "COMPLETE PACKAGE... For the ultimate enjoyment of your London Doll order Judy complete with pajamas, bikini and wig in blonde or brunette." [At THIS POINT, I'm simply going to censor myself and move on!]

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I'm at something of a loss as to what to say about this, so maybe the best thing to do is throw it over to the book's lead character - Snuffy Smith himself!  

If Snuffy were to read this copy of his comic (assuming Snuffy can read ANYTHING AT ALL), he'd probably say it was "bodacious"!  Then, he'd probably forget it and take a nap under some tree.  

As for me, even at the time, I had enough of an inkling of what Judy was trying to tell us through her "inflated" double-talk to wonder why such an ad would appear in a comic like this...

...Oh, no... wait... I've got it... It's CHARLTON!  

"Nuff said!" ...Or, in this case "Snuff said!"