Another Superkatt by Dan Gordon

Have another helping of some good ol' Dan Gordon funnies!

I love how Superkatt and the other animals assume that super-powers come from costumes...and of course those "costumes" are basically just human clothes. I wonder if Gordon was consciously spoofing the fetishistic qualities of superhero costumes, when he decided to have Superkatt dress up as a big baby? In this issue, though, Our Hero takes a break from his infantilism to indulge in a little cross-dressing. Enjoy, kids!

Gordon's expressive characters are always a joy to see. Everyone is so anxious or angry all the time. Junior's expression and pose in the first panel of page four just kills me!

Here is Superkatt from Giggle Comics #27 (March 1946):

Superkatt by Dan Gordon

I'd love to see a collection of Dan Gordon's funnies someday, but I'm really not sure how to package the Superkatt tales. The problem, obviously, is the depiction of Petunia. Unlike the housekeeper in the old Tom & Jerry shorts, you cannot simply overdub her voice and be good to go. Petunia is, bluntly, a demeaning racial caricature. Now, the argument has been made in similar cases for old theatrical cartoons, citing the "humor of the times", and the "absence of malice"; but that will never fly in the present day. It's just unacceptable, and rightly so. So how do you present a collection of "classic kids' comics" that is available only to "the adult collector"? I suppose it can be done...after all, the classic horror comics with their bloody dismemberment and gruesome rotting corpses were once available to any kid with a dime, and now come packaged for adults. So I guess expensive hardcover collections could be the answer.

It's just a little bit sad to think that these lively, wonderfully drawn comics may only be discovered by first-time readers who are well beyond their childhoods.


Here is Superkatt from Giggle Comics #23 (November 1945):

(another) SuperKatt by Dan Gordon

Giggle Comics #25 (January, 1946):

Superkatt by Dan Gordon

 

Dan Gordon is a great cartoonist. His comics are lively and violent and crude and a little mean-spirited...exactly what a good cartoon should be. I love his organic panel borders as well...so much so that I fully intend to steal them.

Cartoonist/storyboard artist Sherm Cohen has quite a lot of DanG goodies at his blog, including the biography he wrote for the Comics Journal. Read it at Cartoon Snap.

There's a great SuperKatt story as well over at Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine: Number 506.

Giggle Comics #46 (October, 1947):

Giggle Comics #24 (December, 1945):

Here's a bonus! An advertisement for Milt Gross Funnies, from Giggle Comics #46: