Watch Out For That Tree!

"George of the Jungle" is one of my all-time favorite cartoons. I wish they had made more than one season; but I suppose if Jay Ward had continued to make cartoons, the politically correct would have taken all the fun out of them. Ward probably would have had to water down Bullwinkle and the gang so they were just as bland as anything coming out of Hanna Barbera or Filmation in the 1970s.

Only two issues were produced by Gold Key. I always wonder how new books sometimes get killed so quickly...I assume more issues were planned, but only two were finished when the cartoon was cancelled (tie-ins usually only last the life of the show). One cool thing about these comics is that they are actually adaptations: the scripts were based on episodes from the series.

The art is credited to Paul Fung, Jr.

Here is George of the Jungle #2 (1969):

Great Supporting Players #4: Churchy La Femme & Howland Owl

Walt Kelly's Pogo may have the biggest ensemble cast of any comic strip; it has a cast of thousands. (well, maybe not literally...a cast of hundreds, more likely) A relatively minor character could take center stage for a week or two: P. T. Bridgeport would come to the swamp, visit each of the characters in turn, and be the focus until he left. "Ol' Mouse" and Snavely the Snake, or the Three Bats (B. Witched, B. Othered, and B. Mildred) could hijack the strip from the main cast at any moment. Kelly was so good at creating these characters and writing funny dialogue, that many of them are fan favorites.

Albert and Pogo were always at the heart of the strip. But the "core" cast (Porkypine, Beauregard, Churchy and Howland, Albert and Pogo), feel like sort of a dysfunctional family unit. To me, anyway. Everyone will have their own favorites, but I am particularly fond of Churchy and Howland. With their goofy schemes and toothless battles, they don't need Albert around to be funny. And as far as owls and turtles go, you won't find too many designed as well as these two.

Here are a couple of stories from the last year of the Pogo Possum comic book.

"The Semi-Mental Gentlemints" from Pogo Possum #15 (Jan-March 1954):













"Greetings From Soup to Nuts" from Pogo Possum #16 (April-June 1954):

"Choo-Choo Charlie" by John Stanley

First, some general info...Choo Choo Charlie was the cartoon mascot for "Good & Plenty" candy (licorice with a crunchy candy coating). He appeared in commercials animated by UPA in the early 1960s. A full, comprehensive write-up (on Good & Plenty, and this comic) can be found at Scott Shaw!s fantastic Oddball Comics website:
Oddball Comics #1198

You can even watch the old commercials on youtube:







This great old comic feels like one of Stanley's classic Little Lulu comics. Reading the dialog between Charlie and the unnamed little girl, they could easily be Lulu and Tubby. And I love how Stanley draws animals! I wish he had done a funny animal comic somewhere along the line, drawn in his own style. If there is a "funny animal" equivalent to say, Melvin Monster out there, please let me know!

You'll notice my copy has "5 cents" written on the cover...remember when you could find this stuff in a used bookstore for great prices? Not any more. I paid 4 bucks for this at a convention (which is still a deal, I guess, considering the other copies I saw were priced starting around $20). But I digress. I love/hate my expensive hobby.

Okay, enough talkin'! Here is Choo-Choo Charlie #1 (1969):

More Frankenstein by Dick Briefer

These last two stories sort of run together (and the final one doesn't actually have a title) so I decided to just post them both...Enjoy!

From Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Youth Restorer" by Dick Briefer

The more I reread this work, the more I'm convinced it should be collected. The recent collections of Fletcher Hanks and Boody Rogers are very nice, and soon we should be seeing a collection of Milt Gross' comic book work. A color collection of Briefer Frankenstein comics would fit right into that section of the bookshelf.

"Frankenstein Sees the Effect of the Youth Restorer" is the third of five stories from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein Meets the Terrible Werewolf" by Dick Briefer

Alter Ego #41 ran some "Frankenstein" comic strips that Dick Briefer had drawn as a tryout (in the 1970s) for syndication. This werewolf story was one of the stories he adapted into those strips (another story from issue number 4, "Frankenstein and the Sorcerer", was also adapted into the strip...I will be uploading that story soon). 25 of his 61 tryout strips are reprinted over 5 pages. It also has an article on different versions of Frankenstein in the comics, some Alex Toth sketches of Briefer's Frankenstein, and a 2-page biography of Dick Briefer, written by Dick Briefer himself. Back issues are still available from Twomorrows: buy one here.





"Frankenstein Meets the (Terrible) Werewolf" is the second of five stories from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

"Frankenstein and Awful Annie" by Dick Briefer

More great Dick Briefer fun! This story has Frankenstein, the "Merry Monster", helping his friend Awful Annie, who lives "out near the garbage pile". Annie is depressed, and like a reanimated Fat Albert, Frankenstein decides to help. Good "Addams' Family" type gags in this one.

My copy of this issue was stapled from the top, near the spine. So the even-numbered pages may be a little distorted because the artwork goes right up to the crease in most cases. This first story didn't scan too badly, though.

This is the first of five stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and Awful Annie" from Frankenstein #4 (September-October 1946):

More Granpa Feeb!

Can you ever get too much Granpa Feeble? I think not!

Here is "The Arctic Trail" from Tubby #27 (March-April 1958):

"Plesiosaur" by Bob Bolling

In his introduction to the first collection of his stories, Bob Bolling relates how he was given the freedom to create the world and supporting cast for Little Archie. The stories were comedies similar to the regular titles at first, but "soon, the story possibilities for Little Archie were endless and I got to relive my own boyhood fantasies through many of these tales. Who among us didn't dream of having a neighborhood clubhouse and building rafts and cars out of scrap lumber? Or wish we could go on fantastic adventures in exotic locales like a pirate ship, a wild West ranch,or even outer space?"

Here is "Plesiosaur" from Little Archie #20 (Fall 1961):


























The Adventures of Little Archie (volume 1) contains 8 full stories, including "Little Archie on Mars", "Pirates", and "Robots of Doom" (the first appearance of recurring villain, Mad Doctor Doom):

"Frankenstein and the Time Machine" by Dick Briefer

I love splash pages...it's something you don't see much anymore, but you see them in just about all these old Frankenstein comics. Briefer's splashes are simple and effective.

An acknowledgment is given to "Bruce Elliott" for his help with the stories in this issue, but it doesn't specify what help was given. Inking? Plotting? Anyone out there familiar with Bruce Elliott?

I have to take issue with the cover's proclamation of "52 pages of action and fun"...there are only 43 pages of Frankenstein, the front cover, and a house ad (I'll allow that) for a total of 45 pages. 47 if you count the 2-page text story (I will but don't want to...it has nothing to do with Frankenstein. Pure filler). The rest are ads. The 52-page books were actually 48-page books, but with both sides of the front and back cover counted as additional pages. When Dell claimed 52 pages of comics, there were comics printed on those covers, not ads.

Still, it's a small complaint. A 52-page comic with no ads would probably run at least 7 or 8 bucks now, while this great old comic cost a dime.

By the way, I brightened up the scans of the first three stories, so you might want to take another look at them. I think I improved the readability a bit!

This is the last of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Time Machine" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Mummies" by Dick Briefer

This is a silly little story; I suspect Briefer just wanted to draw mummies. It does end with a nice visual punchline, though, unlike the first two stories in this issue. But seeing Frankenstein strolling the ship's deck in a suit, complete with straw hat and walking stick, is hilarious. Oh, and that establishing shot of Egypt is a hoot.

This is the third of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Mummies" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):

"Frankenstein and the Monsters" by Dick Briefer

This is the second of four stories in this issue.

Here is "Frankenstein and the Monsters" from Frankenstein #3 (July-August 1946):