Danger Trail

Sea Hunt

2011-02-14T17:51:00.013-05:00

Last fall a friend mentioned he'd been watching Sea Hunt on hulu. I was a fan of the old show back in the stone age of TV so I started watching them too. The opening theme song was just perfect for the show, it was pure 50's underwater theme music.

Lloyd Bridges starred as Mike Nelson, a former Navy frogman now freelance diver who often dives for Marineland. Produced by ZIV Television Sea Hunt was syndicated from 1957-61 to local stations for airing rather than broadcast by a network. Ivan Tors produced the series. Tors returned to TV later in the 60s with Flipper.

Which brings us around to the topic at hand. Dell published three issues of Sea Hunt in the Four Color Series. Sea Hunt continued as a quarterly with it's own numbering beginning with issue 4 and continuing to issue 13 dated April-June 1962. All issues featured photo covers of Bridges in his scuba gear.

The first issue in number 928 in Series II. Undated on the cover and indicia it carries a job number on the first story page that appears to be SEA H. O.S. #928-588. This would have it scheduled for August 1958.

Cover priced at 10 cents and 36 pages. The cover has Bridges in full gear and wetsuit giving us a concerned raised eyebrow. Inside the front cover we get some more photos and a descriptive paragraph introducing us to Mike Nelson.

The first story is "Dynamite Cove", a 22 pager with art by Dan Spiegle. We open with a half page splash of Nelson in a large tank at Marineland feeding the sharks to the wide-eyed astonishment of school kids on a field trip.

Meanwhile out in the Pacific a small cargo ship carrying secret military equipment for the Space Missile Program hits a coral reef and sinks. At a Secret meeting in Washington a Naval Officer recommends Mike as the perfect guy to either salvage the equipment or destroy it before it falls into unfriendly hands.

Contacted by the Navy Mike accepts the assignment and select 3 additional divers from the Navy to assist in the operation. Using the cover story that they are a fishing party they take off for the site of the wreck. Upon reaching the island they find a yacht anchored in a cove.

On the yacht are agents of a foreign power seeking the prizes on the sunken ship. Both sets of divers explore the cove while keeping a wary eye on the others. The yacht's divers find the ship first. The leader decides to send some of his men to capture Mike's boat and the rest to dispose of the crew searching underwater.

Mike and his diving partner escape from the underwater battle only to be captured when they reach the boat. Mike devises a plan to escape and blow the equipment. As you can see the right Mike's crew has overpowered the enemy agents and taken control of both vessels. Mike reached the sunken ship and placed his charges and set the timer.

Pushing against the clock he makes it back to his boat just in time to board and pull away as the charges go off destroying the secret missile equipment.

Our successful warriors set off to home as the story ends.

The second story "Ghost Island" immediately follows. A 10 pager it fills out the inside story pages.

This story is also illustrated by Spiegle. Writer credits on both stories are unknown at this time.

We find Mike and friend Bill James doing some relaxing and sport fishing off the coast. Mike hooks a large yellowtail but losses it during the fight. Deciding to call it a day Bill turns the boat and heads towards shore.

As they pass Santa Luna Island they notice a line of smoke rising from the interior of the island. Supposedly a haunted island it's been uninhabited for over 100 years and is currently owned by the U.S. Navy who has declared it to be off limits.

When Mike attempts to raise the Navy on the radio to notify them he finds that it's not working properly. So they decide to head for the island and see if they can find who's there and warn them off.

Mike finds a couple of teen boys on the island. A friend with a boat has dropped them off to explore the island while he's off fishing. A third teen is diving in a cove.

While Mike is rounding up the boys Bill has gotten the radio operational and has contacted the Navy. He gets just the news that island is scheduled to used as bombardment practice before the radio quits again. Bill uses the boats horn to signal Mike using Morse Code of the impending shelling.

As the shells begin to fall Mike has rounded all the boys and Bill and picked the lot of them up. They safely continue back to shore as the story ends.

The inside back cover is a one pager entitled "Man Beneath The Sea" which illustrates various ancient and early methods devised to breathe underwater. It appears to be drawn by Spiegle as well.

The back cover is a Juicy Fruit Gum ad that gives kids advice on playing safely.

The second issue is number 994

Newspaper Reprints: Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy

2007-10-22T17:25:00.000-04:00

One of the all time classic strips is the focus of this post. Washington Tubbs II first appeared on April 14, 1924 as a small town clerk in a Midwestern grocery store. Diminutive with big round eyeglasses Wash was a spunky adolescent who soon felt the call of adventure and began to roam the world in search of excitement, treasure and girls. Wash soon matured into a young man but retained his small stature.

His first partner was Gozy Gallop, described by Maurice Horn as gawky and cocky. These adventures were part realistic adventure and part big foot humor with humor holding the edge. The focus shifts to the adventure side in May 1929 when Wash meets his longtime partner in a middle European prison.

Captain Easy, a soldier of fortune, with a hazy past, a Southern accent and manners joins up with Wash. They break out of prison and begin a series of adventures together that lasted until Wash finally married and settled down. Easy is then left to pursue adventure pretty much alone. On July 10 1933 the strip was formally renamed Captain Easy.

Royston C. Crane was born in Abeline Texas on Nov 22 1901. By the time he was 14 and living in Sweetwater he signed up for the C.N. Landon mail-order cartooning course. Crane's $25 investment would pay unexpected dividends in a few years. Crane enrolled and dropped out of several colleges before hitting the road. He rode the rails and served as a seaman on a freighter. Eventually he landed in Chicago where he was again studying Art. Crane next moved to New York where he landed a job as an assistant to cartoonist H.T. Webster, creator of Casper Milquetoast, The Timid Soul.

Crane had a short-lived panel called Music to My Ears syndicated by United Feature. After it flopped UF suggested he try out with their Cleveland affiliate NEA. C.F. Landon was now comics editor of NEA. He disliked the panel and suggested Crane submit an idea for a strip. The result was Wash Tubbs.

Crane's art was unique and his influence was wide spread. He became a master of Black and white work before he began to experiment with benday. His use of gray halftones set the standard.

Crane left Captain Easy in 1943 to create Buz Sawyer for King Features. Crane died on July 7 1977. Among his honors he received a Ruben in 1950 and left an endowment to the University of Texas which established an award for achievement for UT Art students.

Captain Easy continued under Crane's assistant Leslie Turner. Turner did the daily while Walter Scott briefly took the Sunday before turning it over to Turner. In 1960 Mel Graff took over the Sunday page. Both continued until late 1969 when Turner's assistant Bill Crooks took over the art and Jim Lawrence the story. Captain Easy came to an end in 1988.

Easy and Wash appeared in a one-shot reprint issue published by Hawley in 1939, 8 reprint issues from Standard beginning in 1947 and a one-shot reprint by Argo in 1956. All were published under Captain Easy. Dell issued one Captain Easy book in Series I and one in Series II. Wash Tubbs was issued 3 times in Series II.

On the cover of Issue 24 from Series I we find Captain Easy at the mast with a nasty brute advancing with an axe while Wash is getting poked in the eye in the background. The issue is 68 pages and reprints strips from 1939 and 40.

We open on the inside of the front cover where we find Wash, Easy and the Milsons (Father and Daughter) held captive on a modern pirate vessel, hence the cover scene. Wash has a rare and unique jungle animal as a pet, called a swink, which has a knack for causing mayhem. It gets loose and is chased by the crew. He hides in the galley stove pipe causing it to back up and send a huge cloud of smoke skyward where it is spotted by the Navy. They board, discover the captives and arrest the crew. Phew, that's just the first page!

Taking a liner home they arrive back in the States. The swink has never been in a big city and is frightened by everything resulting in mayhem and destruction. Wash has to pay for damages from his reward money. Resting in the park the swink generates so much attention that a huge crowd has formed, Wash realizing the audience generating potential sinks his remaining money into buying Dr Ducks Medicine show, which consists of a truck with a cabin on the back, a recipe for patent medicine and a banjo.

Wash and Easy hit the road and in the next town the swink raids a bait shop eating all the trout fly lures, hooks and all. This sends the poor beast into agony. Wash is beside himself...What to do? Out of desperation Easy pours Dr Ducks Indian Remedy into the swink. In five minutes he's rooting through the cabbage in the produce bin outside the grocery store. Wash and Easy realize the stuff really works and set up to begin pitching.

The tonic works wonders curing ills in kids and animals and growing hair on bald men. However a side effect soon manifests - everyone that took the tonic has started to grow warts. The townsfolk rally and run the boys out of town. Easy takes a dose to test it and sure enough..he has a face full of warts. Just like that the boys are out of business.

On the road they run out of gas. Pushing the vehicle along they stop at a farmhouse to ask if they can buy any gas. The farmer's wife whips up her grandmother's home remedy for warts out of potato peels and Easy's warts disappear. The boys are back giving away a free bottle of wart remover with every bottle of tonic.

In the next town the swink gets lost by falling into a mail box. Wash goes looking and word gets around that it's valuable, worth a million bucks! Wash finds him when the postman opens the box and the swink escapes. However local crooks get wind of it and decide to grab the swink and cash in by selling it to a museum. The grab him and hide out in the woods. Wash has put up reward posters all over the area. In order to hide him from prying eyes, they paint him black and put a stripe down his back disguising it as a skunk. They hang him out on the back clothesline to dry but the swink escapes.

The swink spots the truck and is following Wash and Easy. They think it's a skunk and keep trying to run it off. Meanwhile the crooks are searching for it. They mistake a real skunk for the swink and well you know... Anyway, a rainstorm finally washes the swink clean of the paint. Wash spots him and rushes to feed him goodies. The swink after all Wash's efforts to run him off when he was painted is skittish.

In a sudden skip we know find our heroes taking refuge from another storm in a remote farmhouse. There we meet Little Bessie who want to run away and join a medicine show with her pistol shooting and knife throwing. Wash and Easy decide to try and sneak off in the middle of the night to leave her behind. They are well away when they start to have car trouble. It seems Bessie had hitched her trailer to the back of the truck. Easy has her push the trailer while Wash cuts the rope holding it to the truck and they leave her behind.

The escape is short-lived as Bessie catches up with them as they enjoy they company of a bunch of bathing beauties they find at a lake. Easy sets up another escape ploy by having Bessie and the swink battle it out over a pie. The swink drops her in a mud puddle. As Bessie's clothes are hung from the line to dry Wash and Easy take off again.

Wash gets the idea to try to use the swinks advanced sense of smell to find gold. He locates gold fillings and gold watches but no gold mine. So they change the search for oil. An oil magnate looses a gusher to Wash and for revenge send him a hippopotamus. The hippo named Kitty wreaks havoc across town until Wash unloads it on a fisherman that hooked it in the city pond.

We switch gears where we find the find news that Dovey Jo Wicket has inherited money and a mule but has only two weeks to find a husband or lose this fortune. Her brothers decide to hold a raffle to select the lucky bachelor which causes all the single men to head for the hills. Which is when Wash and Easy arrive on the scene and are told they are the lucky finalists. Easy is captured and Wash escapes. As he searches for help he runs into Bessie who is on her way home. Wash tricks her into rescuing Easy. When she hugs him he pretends to be injured and Wash sends her for a doctor. They quickly take off again.

With Bessie hot on their trail they buy airplane tickets on the first plane out, which is destined for Peru. On board the plane they meet Mary Lancaster who is on her way to search for her Archaeologist father who disappeared three years ago. When she arrives the authorities refuse to let her go to the Lost Canyon where her father disappeared. So Mary has Easy fly her into the canyon where she parachutes to the ground. When he returns the authorities inform him that he took her to a wild and untamed region where the natives have resorted to savagery. Wash and Easy fly back in to rescue her. They find a lost city where they are captured and reunited with Mary and her Father. Wash and Easy are sentenced to be sacrificed to the Sun God. Dr. Lancaster concocts a scheme to use the swink to save the boys. He convinces the King that the swink will eliminate their bug problem but only Wash and Easy can control the swink. They are freed.

Leaving the swink behind in exchange for their freedom the four head out of the valley led by scouts from the Lost City. However the scouts desert them at night under the King's orders. Fortunately the swink has followed them and leads them out of the mountains in it's search for food. The group parts company as Wash and Easy try riding the rails to get back to civilization. Wash is captured and tossed into jail where he meets another American, Lonnie Plunkett. Known as The Great Plunkett he is a magician and escape artist. Lonnie breaks them in and out of jail to have dinner and get furnishings for their cells. This drives the guards insane. Easy drops by for a visit and is let in on the scheme. They escape for good and stow away on a freighter for passage back to the States.

On arrival they rely on Lonnie's act to provide for them. A crook tricks Lonnie into opening a safe. He locks himself inside foiling the robbery. Upon release he is offered a job with the safe manufacturer.

Easy spots a suspicious fellow who turns out to be a foreign spy as well as captures a notorious escaped criminal. This leads to his being hired by eccentric spinster Minnie Blunt to find solve the mystery of her missing Chinese cook, Wing Duck. Easy solves the case proving that her short tempered brother killed the cook.

Wash and Easy have been making out pretty well lately collecting reward money for catching crooks. They pick up a hitchhiker who takes their suitcase by mistake and leaves his, which has money and guns in it. The crook, Pretty face Nixon, whose m.o. is to disguise himself as young women comes back after the loot. Easy pops a couple of women by mistake before catching Nixon. With this last bit of reward money they buy a new airplane.

Easy and Wash meet up with an old pal of Easy's, Woodie Woodson, who is developing a top secret weapon called the flying torpedo. Woodie has had spies and crooks after the plans and prototype so the boys sign on as security.

A group of spies has been watching and waiting for a chance to grab the prototype. They finally get the chance when it lands on a freight train. Racing along they board the train as Wash and Easy land their plane on the train. The spies manage to reach the torpedo first and make a getaway. They catch up with them and manage to recover the device. Having proven it's value the Government purchases it and takes over.

As Wash and Easy are flying off a disgruntled spy takes a potshot at their plane and hits a fuel line. They land in a maze of cactus. There they are found by a pair of outlaws and are taken prisoner. The only other prisoner is a half-wit girl or so the crooks think. She's been playing the part biding her chance to escape. With her help they capture they crooks and escape.

We jump once again as Wash finds himself hired to fly a plane of machine parts. He finds he has landed in Mexico and that the parts are rifles. The bandits force him to fly for them. Easy tricks the guards and escapes as the issue comes to a close.

Series II Issue 11 is another 68 pager reprinting strips from 1937 and 1938. On the cover jst below Wash's right foot is a rarely seen Dell logo with a boy and girl riding on Pegasus holding a banner that says Dell Publishing Co.

We open on the inside front cover where we find Wash and Easy on board the S.S. Platonic returning to the States from South America. Also on board is Helga Zmith, a green eyed beauty that all the fellows, and most especially Wash are all panting over. Miss Zmith has frozen all the would be suiters out. Easy has found her dropped handbag and declares that he can make her acquantance.

Easy and Miss Zmith quickly develop a relationship spending the rest of their time shipboard in each other's company. Upon making a port of call in Trinidad Easy encounters Barney Hill and old adventuring buddy. Easy agrees to keep an eye on Hill's daughter Beverly who is boarding the ship to journey on to the States. This sends Zmith into a jealous rage and she and Easy part company. Each siteing of Easy and Beverly sends her into a rage that is only calmed by her bodyguard reminding her that their trip is for business. The business is piracy. Zmith is the leader of a pirate crew that attacks the ship and escapes with $3,000,000 in gold and kidnaps Beverly.

The authorities have had no luck locating the pirates so Easy and Wash take leave of the liner and rent a sailboat and begin a search. After 17 islands they approach Cutlass Island where they are fired upon as they approach. Warned that it's a leper colony they turn around. The Captain tells them the island is haunted as well.

Wash and Easy return after dark and find the Pirate's boat as well as the ruins of an old plantation house. Suddenly a trap door opens and Zmith appears. Zmith tells Easy that Beverly is down below and he goes in after her. Easy knocks out the guards and is about to escape when an alarm is raised. Easy and Beverly escape out of a secret passage and pick up Wash and Zmith on their way to the boat. The Pirates fire upon the boat and scare the Captain who sails off leaving them on the island. Recaptured Zmith puts our heroes down a dry well.

After the pirates desert the island, the captives escape by making a human ladder. They start a signal fire which is seen by the pirates who return to the island. They attempt to steal the boat while the pirtaes are searching the island but run onto a sand bar and are again recaptured. This time the pirates take to the sea with our heroes.

Chumming the water to first attract sharks Wash is tossed overboard. It looks grim until a destroyer arrives. The sailboat captain had found the navy and brought them to the rescue. Wash escapes the sharks, Zmith escapes the Navy, the remaining pirates are captured and the gold is recovered. The Navy drops them off in Puerto Rico, where they book passage to continue on to the States.

On board ship Easy receives a mysterious telegram. Once they arrive in New Orleans Wash and Easy part company, Easy to answer the telegram and Wash continues on home. He looks up his old pal Gozy who takes him home to see the family. Wash and Gozy's tales of life on the road finally get to the Mrs who throws them out of the house into the cold and snow. Gozy having been domesticated is ill suited for the matter and soon finds his clothes taken by a gang of bums. Found by the sheriff they are returned home where Wash resolves to settle down and find a job.

After overhearing the local girls discussing him in a derogatory way, Wash packs his belongings and is on the way out the door when Carol McKee arrives. Wash falls immediately in love with Carol and she seems to return his feelings. Her father, being a wealty businessman decides to check Wash out. He meets Gozy's father who tells him that Wash is "the laziest, good for nothing imbecile I laid eyes on".

Wash recieves a windfall check in the mail, a $3000 reward for recovering the gold. Wash places an ad in the newspaper looking for investment opportunities and immediately all the sharpers in town are out to part him from it. Wash leases a night club, the Topsy Turvy Club. What he didn't now was that he leased it from Frankie Slaughter, the biggest gangster in town. Unfazed Wash set out to redecorate the club when Easy reappears. Wash appoints him Assistant Manager of the club.

The big night arrives for the Grand Reopening of the Club. Wash is on the way when he comes to a detour on the road. The road is being repaved. Wash stands to loose his investment if he can't find a way to get customers to the club. Things get worse when Wash buys a minauture steam locomotive at auction. Inspiration strikes him and he sets up a railroad to get customers past the construction and to the club.

Wash is a success, the club is going over big and Wash is rakingit in. Still his success is bittersweet. He hasn't heard from Carol for weeks. That's because she has been out of town visiting. Upon her return she learns from her father that Wash's club is going over. However he still hasn't changed his opinion. She contacts Wash and the romance is on again.

Trouble rears it's head as Frankie Slaughter is moving back in on the club trying to muscle Wash out. Wash stands up to him so Frankie begins vandalizing the place. Business is off and things are looking grim again. Wash has hired himself bodyguards. Frankie gets the drop on Wash and gives him a beating. Easy sets up a trap and Frankie falls into it. The gang is captured but Frankie escapes. Things are still bad as Wash has no cash and payday is coming. Frankie shows up at the club and is tricked into giving Wash $15,000 to buy back the lease.

Despite his iron-clad alabi Frankie is arrested as Easy has been collecting the evidence against him. Frankie goes out in a blaze as he tries to shoot it out with the police.

Riding the glory of the moment Wash proposes to Carol. She says yes which sends her father into spin. Mr McKee tries to impress upon Wash the importance of her marrying the right man. He trots out his family pedegree and Wash responds that he grew up poor and was orphaned young. Switching to his business acumen Wash reveals that his final profit from the night club was 20 cents. Mr McKee refuses to grant his concent to the marriage. Carol agrees to travel to California with her father. If she is still in love with Wash upon their return he will give his concent.

As the issue comes to a close Wash having resolved to make a success of himself has adopted a stray dog and finds himself a place to stay at Mother Grey's house.

Our next entry is Series II Issue 28 . This issue has been downsized to 60 pages and reprints strips from 1939. We jump from last issue skipping much to find the McKees being held prisoners in the Central American country of Panazuela. Wash arrives with Easy (who is suffering from amnesia) to free them. They have been captured and thrown into prison as well when the revolutions breaks out. Shells destroy the prison and Easy regains his memory. All this withing the synopsis on the inside front cover as the issue opens.

The revolution is being led by Easy's old enemy Bull Dawson. The President loots the treasury and is attempting to flee the country. Dawson who has been playing both sides tricks the money out of the President as he puts him aboard an airplane to make his getaway. Dawson has loaded the loot uaboat a boat that he runs into a sand bar. Meanwhile, the McKees being unsuccessful in trying to find a way of leaving the country spot the boat. When they hail it they find that Dawson is on board. Dawson sets Mr McKee up to take the fall for looting the treasury and he's is soon arressted. Easy rescues Mr McKee and they get the boat away from Dawson and make their escape. Reaching the shipping lanes they are picked up by an ocean liner. Mr McKee has been so impressed by Wash's actions and dealings he offers him a position with his company.

Meanwhile back home at McKee Industries, Rowden Splendix Sr and Jr are conspiring to marry Jr off to Carol and have access to the McKee millions.

Upon their return home Wash and Easy meet with Mr McKee at the plant. Mr McKee introduces them to Splendix Sr and Jr. Junior is to show them around but upon spotting Easy he tries to make excuses to leave but to no avail. Turns out that Jr was the person that conked Easy over the head with a wrench causing him to lose his memory. Easy extracts his revenge beating Jr to a pulp.
Upon his return to "work" Jr puts into motion a plan to make Wash look bad in Mr McKee's eyes. The plan works, McKee sends a memo that Splendix Jr is boss over Wash, so he begins to overwork the poor boy causing Wash to break dates with Carol. Junior is on the spot to pick her up and take her around. Jr arranges to have Wash caught up in a bar brawl and arrested. Despite all his efforts Carol still believes in Wash and stands behind him. Jr attempts to break into Wash's desk but is thwarted by Easy. Sr assigns Easy to be an assistant to the assistant manager of the hairpin department to get him out of the way.

Their next step is to discredit Wash by turning up his long lost missing and presumed dead father. Wash rushes down to the train station to meet the old man. After no one exits the train Wash is confused...until a bum crawls out from under a car and declares himself to be his father.

After some delays and excuses, Wash finally has to bring his "father" to dinner at the McKee's mansion. Of course he is an utter boor embarasing Wash and insulting the McKees.

Piling it on Junior locates Fifi, a girl he had problems with in the past but is willing to do anything for a buck. The Splendix's hire her and her boy friend to frame Wash. Junior sends Wash out to supposedly wine and dine a customer but it's a set up to put him and Fifi together. Meanwhile Easy overhears a phone conversation between Splendix Sr and Wash's "father". Easy now aware of the deal tracks Wash down at the night club and gets Wash away from the table. Easy then returns to the table and lets Fifi know he's wise to the scheme. Fifi then goes to her boyfriend and tips him about the bigger stakes involved which sends him back to Splendix Sr to demand more money to carry out the frame. Wash returns to the McKee's home where he finds "father" has spent the evening insulting them. In walks Fifi and Wash suddenly finds himself behind the eight ball. Carol trows him out.

Back home at Mother Grey's, she and daughter Virginia tell Wash what Junior has been up to and reveal that his "father' is a bum they hired.Wash is outraged and is determined to get his revenge on the Splendix'. He stroms to their home spouting threats. he arrives and finds Senior in a chair. Wash soon realizes that he is not asleep in the chair but has been shot dead. With the police at the door Wash goes out the window but is seen by Junior. Desparately on the run he runs into his "father" who helps him escape on an outbound freight train.

Junior tells the police what he has seen, Wash's fingerprint's are found on the murder weapon and he's fled town. Wash is the only suspect. Carol however refuses to beleive it and convinces her father of Wash's innocence. They go to the police but they refuse to accept anything but Wash as the killer. Easy encounters the McKee's as they are leaving the Police Station and tells them he has information that will clear Wash. Easy then meets with the Police and proves Wash's innocence and puts them onto Fifi and her boy friend, Coker. The police arrest Coker for the murder.

Returning to the Grey's he finds Wash is missing. Later he recieves a letter from Wash telling him he didn't do it but couldn't involve the McKees in a scandal and to tell Carol he will always love her. On the bum with his "father" they get off in a small town where Wash is dressed up as a little girl to fool the police. Unfortunately Pop is arrested as a vagrant and Wash is placed in the care of the Sherriff's wife. Unable to maintain the masquarade Wash gets the Sherriff's keys and sneaks out to the jail to free the old man. They go to the train station and purchase two tickets to Cincinnati but get off the train early. Finding a shanty boat they purchase it and being a live as river rats. Back home Carol convinces Easy to track Wash and bring him home. Back on the boat Wash and Pop put ashore and sneak onto a farm stealing a chicken which they take back to the boat and cook up. The farmer and mother track them down and during the fracas it is discovered that Pop is the father of the farmer and husband to mother. They stay on the farm as Pop vows that he will not runaway again but stay and be a good husband. Wash decides that he is only in the way and goes back to the baot and casts off. As the issue closes a row boat approaches the boat. It's Easy who takes Wash back home to Carol.

Series II Issue 53 is a 52 pager reprinting strips from 1939 and 1940.

Series II Issue 111

Reference: The Funnies: 100 Years of American Comic Strips, Ron Goulart, Adams 1995; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996; Grand Comics Database; University of Texas, www.utexas.edu ; The Comics: An Illustrated History of Comic Strip Art; Jerry Robinson; G.P. Putnam's Sons; 1974

Newspaper Reprints: Flash Gordon

2007-09-20T17:49:00.000-04:00

I've procrastinated from writing this entry because..well....what is there to say about Flash Gordon and Alex Raymond that hasn't been said before? Nothing. So I'll just be repeating what you've undoubtedly read somewhere else.

Flash makes his first appearance in Series II in issue number 10 and follows up in issue 84. These are the only two issues reprinting the newspaper strips. Flash graduated to a single issue of his own numbered Dell series (numbered as 2) but featured new material as did the later Flash issues in Series II. He also made many appearances in other publishers books. Most of these featured new stories and art although a couple here and there had reprints. There have been many hardbound and softbound book collections of the Newspaper strips.

Alexander Raymond was born on October 2,1909 in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Iona Prep school and upon graduation went to work in a Wall Street Brokerage. Raymond lost his job there after the crash of 1929 and tried his hand in the mortgage business before going to work as an assistant for his neighbor, Russ Westover.

Raymond attended the Grand Central School of Art. He went to work for King Features in their art department and spent time assisting and ghosting on Tim Tyler's Luck. His big break was getting the assignment to draw Secret Agent X-9 with Dashiell Hammett doing the writing.

King looking to counter the success of Buck Rogers was looking for a Space Opera. Raymond and ghostwriter Don Moore borrowed heavily from Philip Wylie's novel "When World's Collide" and produced Flash Gordon. Along with Flash, Raymond delivered a topper, Jungle Jim, intended to compete with Tarzan.

Little can be found on Don Moore. He was involved in pulp magazines as an editor and continued to write the strip after Raymond left.

Flash arrived on January 7, 1934 as a Sunday only. A daily strip, drawn by Austin Briggs began on May 27, 1940. Raymond continued to draw the Sundays until April 1944 when he entered the Marine Corps. Upon his discharge in 1946 Raymond created Rip Kirby which he drew until his death.

On Sept 5, 1956 Raymond and his passenger Stan Drake (creator of the strip The Heart of Juliet Jones) were in an auto accident in Westport Connecticut. Alex Raymond died in the accident. Drake was severely injured but survived.

Flash Gordon continues to this day, now written and drawn by Jim Keefe.

Issue number 10 is a 68 pager, reprinting Sunday strips from 1938, 39 and 40. Unlike any other series the inside covers have a photo feature on Raymond. Whether this is reprinted from a magazine, provided by King Features or put together by either Dell or Western Publishing is unknown at this time. Some Flash scholar out there probably knows and will eventually provide us with the answer.

The inside front cover is at left, with Alex in his reference library, posing a model and model looking at the drawing.

At right is the inside back cover, with Alex and his children at the drawing board, Alex and wife in front of their home and Raymond going through a pile of fan mail.

Sunday pages are printed one to a page in a tabloid format. We open with Flash and Dale lost in a cavern believing that Zarkov and the rest of their party drowned in the underground river. They escape and find the others still alive and reach the forest kingdom of Prince Barin and Aura. Barin and Aura are proud parents of a new son. All is wonderful until they receive a message from Aura's father Ming the Merciless. Ming thinks that Flash is dead and so he is coming to visit. Ming intends to take the child with him but is rebuffed and leaves.

Flash and Barin crash their airship in the forest and Captain Solis leads a rescue party out into the forest to retrieve them. Meanwhile Ronal takes Dale and Aura out in a airship to search as well. Solis is captured by spies left behind by Ming.

Ronal crashes the airship but Flash and Barin hear it and soon all are reunited. They soon meet up with Solis' men and learn he is missing. Meanwhile, Ming has Solis being observed by Major Lingan who is to return to Arboria in disguise as Solis, where he is to kidnap the child and bring him to Ming.

Lingan as Solis makes an attempt to kidnap the child but is thwarted by Flash, he then sets up another officer as a fall guy.

On his next attempt he is captured but again blames the officer. Flash and Barin are unsure and attempt to set a trap to make the real kidnapper reveal himself.

The trap fails and Lingan succeeds in grabbing the child and escapes after setting fire to the castle. Lingan takes to the forest where he meets Solis who has escaped from Ming. Flash and Barin spot the two and realize that one of the Solis' is Ming's spy and Flash puts an arrow into him. The child is saved.

Solis tells Flash that Ming knows that he is alive. Flash wanting to protect his friends leaves with Dale, Zarkov and Ronal to explore the vast Northern regions of Mongo. Once again their ship crashes, this time into the frozen wastes.

They are found by Queen Fria of Frigia and a party of her soldiers who take them prisoner. Saving the Queen from an ice monster Flash and friends are treated now as guests in Fria's palace. Fria finds herself falling in love with Flash.

Count Malo has plans of marrying the Queen and taking power over the kingdom. He becomes jealous of Flash and makes an attempt to assassinate him but fails. Another ice monster is destroyed by Flash to save the Queen and Malo confesses. He is forgiven. A gang of ice giants attack the party and make off with Dale, Malo and Ronal. Flash and Fria pursue the party and find the frozen Malo, staked out as a warning to not venture further.

For you Golden Age Comic Fans this next sequence is the mother-lode of swipes. Looking at the art here you can see where so many Hawkman poses came from. It's hard to pick up a GA comic from the early 40's and not see one of these panels used.

The ice giants return with their captives to the caves where they live. Fiery rivers run through the cave providing heat and light. Flash and Fria trail them to the cave and observe the situation. Dale is to be the slave bride of the leader of the giants. Flash upon hearing her screams can stand it no longer and rushes to the rescue. He is finally overcome and is chained up with Ronal as a prisoner.

Fria enlists the slave girls to drug the giants. All but the leader are overcome. Dale frees Flash and Ronal from their chains. They flee as Brukka the giant pursues them. Ronal, who has long secretly loved Dale drops behind in an attempt to slow Brukkas pursuit but is easily beaten by the giant. Flash and Dale find the unconscious Ronal and soon meet up with Fria who uses steam controls to send a live stream of lava at the giants and they escape.

Back at the Castle, Count Korro has noticed the Queen's interest in Flash and decides he must end the Queen's growing infatuation. Flash is to join him, Ronal and Zarkov on an expedition. Fria insists that she and Dale must accompany them or there will be none, so they are invited along. A giant glacier monster causes an avalanche that disables their ice glider and they are forced to make camp in the frozen wastes. As Zarkov labors to repair their vehicle the monster has located their camp and captures two of the party which it promptly disintegrates. The party is forced to flee into an ice tunnel. The monster has them trapped in a cavern, deep within the icy mountain.

Flash labors with a hand tool to chop through as their air supply is giving out, he succeeds just be he is about to pass out.

They break out onto an underground river. Flash goes exploring the stream looking for an exit. He encounters the monster and is knocked out. The others pull him back to safety when his lifeline goes slack but he is thought to be drowned. Count Korro extracts a pledge from the Queen that she will not make Flash the King of Frigia before he uses his experimental serum and revives Flash. Fria extracts a pledge from Dale in return that she will not marry Flash.

The men turn to building a device by which they may combat the deadly ice creature. Ronal has discovered the traitorous Captain Lupi blasting the airtube of the device in an effort to drown Flash's and the others while they are testing the device. Ronal jumps him and they are swept downstream. Flash rescues him when he spots them floating past. Lupi is seized by the creature before Flash can get to him.

After repairing the airtube, they float Flash inside the device out into the open where he fires a harpoon attached to a wire cable into the creature. Signalling the others, they send a charge into the creature causing it to explode. They repair the glider and return to Frigia.

Flash doesn't understand Dale's new coldness and makes a trip into the frozen wastes to Zarkov's lab. Fria follows him and is saved by Flash when a Avalanche threatens her. Fria declares her love and Flash fearing Dale is lost to him responds positively. They reach Zarkov's lab and reveal their marriage plans. Zarkov is horrified that Flash would betray Dale and demands they return to the palace. Korro reminds Fria of her pledge and she smiles, she only promised not to make Flash King so she will abdicate. Dale is furious and slaps her declaring that she tricked her. Flash asks that he freed from his pledge and Fria orders him imprisoned. Relenting she secretly frees him and urges him to leave. The issue ends as Flash, Dale and Zarkov plan to flee Frigia.

Flash returns in issue 84, a 36 page issue that reprints strips from 1942 and 1943. This issue opens on the inside front cover. Once again we find Flash, Dale, Queen Desira and Zarkov in an underground cavern. This time they are caught in a mysterious suspended gravity and are floating up towards the ceiling. They emerge from the cave into Desira's kingdom. They trek to one of her outposts, where the Queen demands a jungle car to return them to the Capital. Flash, suspicious of the Captain's reaction follows him and discovers him speaking to the Queens traitorous cousin Prince Brazor. It appears the cousin has declared the Queen to be dead and himself King. Flash informs Desira of the situation and she insists on returning and reclaiming her throne.

They imprison the garrison and commandier glyphs to ride for the trip. Brazor in the meantime has arrived at the outpost and frees the soldiers. The Captain informs him that there were 2 men and a woman with the supposed impostor and that they are headed for the capital. Brazor sends out patrols in scout cars to find them.

Sending Zarkov ahead with Dale and Desira, Flash creates a landslide that cuts the trail for the scout cars. Flash catches up with them in the volcanic desert. As they press onward they are attacked by a fire dragon which Flash finally dispatches with a fatal shot. Unfortunately the dragon killed two of the glyphs before they were able to stop it. Flash attempts to catch the last remaining glyph that has run away.

Before he returns with the glyph an eruption has split the desert and lava is flowing freely. Flash manages to return to the others and they devise a rope bridge from clothing to escape the lava flood that has encircled them. The heat however has overcome the last glyph forcing the group to proceed on foot.

As they proceed the lack of food and water begins to take it's toll. As the others stop to rest Flash presses forward to scout for food and water. Flash begins to hallucinate and is found by Zarkov. Meanwhile Gundar, son of the desert, has been leading his band through the wastelands looking for a caravan to plunder. They find the party and take them captive. The outlaws feed them and leave for Gundar's mountain fortress.

Gundar attempts to make a deal with Brazor for the Queen and their party, however Brazor attempts to double cross them. Flash spots the trick and Gundar retreats to his fortress to prepare for Brazor's attack. During the captivity Gundar and Desira have developed feelings for each other. As the issue comes to a close Brazor is attacking the fortress.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996

Newspaper Reprints: Tillie the Toiler

2007-08-02T17:24:00.001-04:00

Russ Westover's working girl creation, Tillie the Toiler is our next reprint title. Tillie appeared once in the first series and 5 times in the second series.

Russell Channing Westover was born in Los Angeles on August 3, 1886. His family were merchants, his father owned a haberdashery (a store that sold men's shirts, ties, hats and accessories) and employed Russ as a boy to work the counter wrapping packages. Russ would decorate the paper with his comic drawings. Eventually his father tired off such antics and fired him. Westover then found work with the Southern Pacific Railroad as a clerk. He continued his cartooning by decorating the employees pay envelopes. This amused the railroad as much as his father and Russ was once again looking for work.

Instead he attended the Hopkins Art Institute of California. By his own account his education ended after four months when his instructor informed him: "Young man, the drawing of Caesar is good, but that caricature you made of me on the border is terrible".

Westover's first newspaper job was on the San Francisco Bulletin. One of his first assignments was to visit the City Morgue and sketch a drowning victim. The place was so dark that Westover was spooked and left, later turning in a drawing of an imaginary person. He moved on to the Chronicle and later to the Post where he drew a baseball strip called Daffy Dan. In 1913 the Post folded when it was taken over by the San Francisco Call. Westover was let go. He was also recently married so he took off for New York looking for a job.

He found a job with the New York Herald drawing a Sunday strip titled Betty. He soon added a second strip, Fat Chance. After five years on the job, the Herald merged with the Tribune and Russ was once more left out of the new paper. This time he began to freelance cartoons for the popular magazines. Life, Colliers and Judge carried his work.

It was the early 1920s and Russ began to put together a strip featuring the popular flapper character. Originally called Rose of the Office the title was changed to Tillie the Toiler and submitted to King Features which bought the strip. Tillie first appeared as a Sunday on January 3, 1921 with the daily beginning on October 10 1922.

The strip followed the social whirl and office activities of Tillie Jones, an attractive brunette and her co-workers and friends. Tillie was variously employed as a secretary, stenographer and part-time model in the fashion salon owned by J.P. Simpkins. Much of the story revolved around the relationship between Tillie and co-worker Clarence 'Mac' MacDougall. Mac was a diminutive, jealous and combative suitor. Drawn with a bulb nose and bad haircut Mac was frequently in Tillie's company and often the object of her affection, nevertheless she was quite fickle and would drop him as soon as a handsome beau appeared on the scene. And they frequently did.

Westover had many assistants over the years. Among them were Alex Raymond, Charles 'Doc' Winner, Martin Sheridan and Westover's youngest son Alden. Westover was chronically late delivering the strip to King and they eventually replaced him with writer Bill Kavanagh and artist Bob Gustafson in the early 1950s. The strip finally ended in March 1959.

Russ Westover died in San Rafael California on March 5, 1966.

Tillie's first issue in Series I is number 15. A 68 pager it contains reprints. Update will follow once my good friend Henry Peters gets his copy scanned.

The second issue appears in Series II, issue number 8 is another 68 pager and reprints strips from 1937 and 1938.

Pictured on the cover is Tillie and Mac. As usual in this gag Mac's romantic overtures go astray. The fun starts on the inside front cover as a Sunday strip has Mac and Tillie at a ritzy night club. The usual good looking guy, Ted drops by the table and Tillie is off for a dance. Mac gets steamed and leaves with the intention of sticking Ted with the check. Meanwhile, Ted's fiance Ida makes him leave Tillie and return to their table. Tillie is stuck with the check and in the final panel wakes Mac at home and demands he get back there immediately.

There really is no story continuity here, all the gags are contained within the Sundays being reprinted. There are the running gags of the strip, Tillie is fickle, Mac is jealous, Tillie can't cook, Mrs Jones likes Mac and fellow workers Wally plagues Mac with practical jokes and insults which prompt Mac to respond in kind and Glenny is a naive young office boy that Tillie takes under her wing to protect and tutor in matters of the heart.

In the example to the right, Mac and Wally make a bet as to who will take Tillie to the dance. As usual Wally cheats and gets to Tillie first. The gag is when Mac catches up and reveals how Wally cheated.

In this example, Tillie shows her true heart and Mac reaps the benefits.

Tillie returns in issue 22, another 68 pager. This time reprints are from 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1940.

Once again we are presented with Sunday strips and there is still no story continuity. In addition to the usual antics, there are several strips where Mac's dancing is mocked and his dislike for Jitterbugging is the central gag.

The example at left reflects Mac's feelings about Modern Dance Trends.

This final example from issue 22 reflects the relationship of Tillie and Glenny.

The next appearance is issue 55. Now down to 52 pages this issue reprints strips from 1940, 1942, 1943 and 1944.

On this Cover Tillie and mac are in uniform and naturally Tillie is fawned over by two handsome officers as poor enlisted man Mac can only look on.

The cover reflects the majority of the issue contents. Tillie in her effort to do her Patriotic Duty joins the WAACs.

Once again the book features Sunday strips and there is little continuity other than Tillie is in the Service. Most gags again center around men and fashion, this time with a tilt toward Army life.

This is a typical example, Tillie is home on leave and encounters a couple of girlfriends. One is a WAVE and one is trying to decide what branch to enlist in. Naturally, the deciding factor is what uniform she will look best in. However, the punchline revolves around meeting a handsome Marine and being a woman - the good looking guy trumps fashion.

The final half of the issue finds Tillie back home and working as a Recruiter. Finally a bit of continuity. But it's slight, a continuing series of gags over Tillie's efforts. Mac gets back into the picture. Despite his being in uniform on the cover he's spent the war guarding the home fires. At the left we find Mac doing his part to help Tillie with recruiting.

Tillie 89 is a 36 pager and reprints dailies from 1941. This issue has a storyline.

As seen at left the story begins on the inside cover as Mr Simpkins announces that he's selling the shop and getting out of the business. As consolation he takes the staff to dinner at a night club with a South American theme. An accidental conk on the head convinces him that opening a shop in South America is the thing to do. The artist responsible for his inspiration is Senor Romero and he will assist in the opening of the operation. Tillie, Mac and Wally encourage the idea and hoist Mr Simpkins up and are parading him about when he conks his head again on a light fixture. Simpkins now rejects his inspiration and is back to selling out.

As they are all returning from the club in Simpkin's car, the gang attempts to talk him out of selling and pursuing the South America shop when Simpkins clips the rear of a car. The car's driver is the shop buyer who cancels the deal on the spot. Simpkins is still angry the next day and is about to fire everyone, when Tillie points out the newspaper article that showed that the potential buyer was actually a crook. Simpkins changes his mind and agrees to the South American plan.

Romero is engaged to assist in the plan. Meanwhile he begins to get telegrams, phone calls and visitors all telling him he needs to return home, that his Father is ill and requires his return. Romero refuses as he has verified that his father is well and it's all just a plot to get him back in South America. It is later accidentally revealed that the seemingly poor Romero is actually Felipe Ordonez. His father is one of the riches mine owners in South America.

A romance has begun to bud between Tillie and Ordonez. Wally and Mac team up to try to break it up but their efforts only make the lovers more determined and they decide to marry. Mac disguised as a cab driver takes them into the country instead. Every marriage license they pick up is destroyed by Mac and Wally.

After a mishap in a canoe it is discovered that Felipe has measles and is quarantined. Mac sends Tillie a fake letter from Felipe to arrange a meeting which Mac keeps. Tillie realizes the trick, leaves Mac and boards a bus where she sees Felipe in the company of beautiful South American woman. Felipe sees Tillie and tells her it is his sister but he cannot introduce them. Tillie is hurt and breaks off the engagement.

Meanwhile Mac has met the sister and discovers that she came to the States to try to break Felipe's engagement and get him to return home. Tillie overhears this. In another farce scene she is telling Wally off when Felipe overhears and mistakes her comments as being directed at him and leaves. Tillie is unable to follow to explain.

A romance has now begun between Mac and Felipe's sister, Blanca. The tables are reversed, Felipe wishes to return to South America and Blanca doesn't want to go. Following the standard previously established, Mac and Tillie are having an argument when Tillie slips and falls hitting her head. Blanca misinterprets the situation and thinking Mac has hit Tillie leaves. Mac and Tillie hop into the car and head for the airport where they drive out onto the field and block Felipe and Blanca's plane from leaving. They explain the misunderstand but are arrested. Felipe and Blanca arrive in court and back Tillie and Mac. The Judge declaring all the world loves a lover dismisses the charges but forbids them from riding in a motor vehicle in the city.

Forced to walk and ride bicycles Mac and Tillie find themselves in strange circumstances that put them in a bad light. What makes this worse is Father Ordonez has now arrived to find out first hand what is going on and witnesses the events. This naturally makes him even more opposed to the romances. The lovers spite everyone and vow to marry. Felipe is disinherited, Mac's temper gets him fired from the shop, Felipe's fashion drawing accidentally features a wealthy patron's image which offends her. She storms out and Felipe is now fired as well.

All the lovers are commiserating at a casino when the owner spots Felipe and Blanca dancing hot South American numbers and hires them as a dance team for the club. An ankle injury forces Felipe out of the act. He is replaced by a Senor Manuel Alvarez. Mac is soon replaced in Blanca's affections by the new dance partner. As the issue comes to an end, Tillie has also realized that Felipe is also in love with another but he hasn't realized it. Manuel and Blanca and Felipe and Dolores fianlly realize their true feeling for each other due to Mac and Tillie's scheme and fly off to South America, leaving Tillie and Mac back together.

The final reprint issue is number 106. The page count has been increased back to 52 pages as this issue returns to reprinting the Sunday strips from 1939 and 1940.

Like the other Sunday reprints there is no continuity, just the standard gags and situations we've seen in all the prior issues. What makes it so unusual is that you quickly start to think that these sure are familiar looking. It's not that the themes are being repeated. It's that most of the strips in this issue were previously printed in issue 22. Although I've seen strips in the series printed in other anthology tiles like Super and Popular and they also appear in the McKay titles like Magic and Ace. This is the first issue that I've realized that these strips were printed in a prior issue. We'll see this happen more frequently when we get to the Disney titles.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996; Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com

Newspaper Reprints: Smokey Stover

2007-07-10T16:35:00.000-04:00

Bill Holman, the great foo-losopher, and his creation Smokey Stover take the spotlight now. Smokey and his fellow firefighters were in 4 issues using reprinted syndicate strips in Series II. He returns later with 2 more issues of new original material. Smokey never graduated to his own numbered title.

Born in Crawfordsville Indiana, Bill Holman moved to Chicago and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. Holman worked as an office boy in the Art Department of the Chicago Tribune. He moved to New York as a Staff Artist for the Herald Tribune. It was in New York that he began to freelance his cartoons to magazines such as Colliers, Saturday Evening Post, Life, Judge and Everybody's Weekly. His success led to a contract with the Chicago Tribune - New York News Syndicate to produce a comic strip. Smokey Stover was the result beginning on March 10,1935. Following the custom of the times Holman produced a second strip (called a topper because it was printed on top of the main strip) for Sunday featuring Spooky, a cat that he had been drawing into his various newspaper panels, magazine gags and strips. Spooky began on April 7,1935. Both strips were Sunday only. Holman also produced a daily panel, Nuts and Jolts.

Holman expressed a fondness for firemen in many interviews and the result was Smokey Stover and the crew at the Fire House, led by Chief Cash U. Nutt. As a contrast we also visited the Stover Home where Smokestack resides with wife Cookie and son Earl. Spooky resided with his owner Fenwick Flooky, a barefooted chap who was often sitting in the rocker doing embroidery.

Both strips feature Holman's absurdest sense of humor, loaded with puns, some quite twisted metaphors and visually populated with unusual objects as everyday items. A roller coaster of a comic strip, each panel is loaded with gags. Holman also produced many catch phrases and created nonsense words. His most famous was Foo, which in most explanations was printed on an ancient Chinese vase. Notary Sojac, another popular nonsense concoction has at least a couple of versions of what it means. Bill was quoted as declaring it to be Gaelic for Merry Christmas. Another time he said it was Gaelic for Horsecrap.

Holman continued to produce the Sunday Spooky and Smokey Stover until his retirement in 1974. Bill was a founding member of the National Cartoonist Society and served two terms as President. He died in 1987.

Bill's nephew, Victor Alsobrook provided the photo of the young Holman at his drawing board. Vic has a website dedicated to his Uncle with many more photos and additional biographical information as well as magazine articles, comic strips and other goodies. Visit his site -http://www.smokey-stover.com/

Smokey's first issue is number 7. Unfortunately it's still on the missing list. So I can't tell you any more about it at this point. If you can help with this or any other missing issues get in contact with me.

Smokey's second issue is number 35, a 52 page issue that reprints strips from 1938,39,40 and 41.

We jump right in on the inside cover with a Sunday and continue for 13 pages of Smokey strips. We then shift to Spooky for 6 pages, return to Smokey for 8, back to Spooky for one, Smokey for one, Spooky for one and Smokey for 5, Spooky for 8, Smokey for one , Spooky for 5 and wind up with Smokey on the back cover, inside and out.

Here's a typical Smokey page. Check the rocking chair and telephone extension arm. How about the pictures in all the panels, captions and signs? Catch a few puns in there? Did you find all the foos?

A favorite Spooky page. Check out the gadgets and apparel.

Issue 64 is another 52 pager. This time strips from 1941 and 42 are reprinted. All 52 pages are Smokey strips, Spooky only appears in the background here and there.

From this issue a couple of examples of life in the Stover household. At left Earl and Smokey get a deal on ice cream.

On the right Smokey shows Cookie his invention to avoid shoveling the sidewalk.

The final issue is 229, a 36 pager that reprints strips from 1946. Spooky appears on the inside and back covers. The rest of the issue is Smokey strips.

Compared to the earlier strips a maturity in style is noted. While the drawings and gags are just as wild, the strip has a cleaner art look and there is more continuity within the strip. A situation will lead to connect puns throughout the episode, where in the previous issues, the strips were more anything goes.

One final example from this issue closes out the Smokey Stover review. If you like word play, terrible puns, wacky situations and odd ball characters, you'll enjoy these issues of Smokey Stover.

References: Smokey-Stover.com; Grand Comics Database; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996; Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942

Smilin' Jack Updated

2007-07-02T23:03:00.000-04:00

A synopsis of Series II issue 14 has been added.

Newspaper Reprints: Smitty

2007-06-20T18:40:00.000-04:00

Smitty appeared in Series I with one issue continuing in Series II with 5 more issues reprinting syndicate material and 7 issues of his own title. Smitty and Herby returned in 1958 for one more issue in Series II, this time with new material.

Smitty chronicles the life of an office boy and his employer Mr Bailey as well as the adventures of his younger brother Herby. Creator Walter Berndt draws upon real life experience as his career began as an office boy on the New York Journal. Berndt quit High School after six months and in 1916 at the Journal he began an association with cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan. He stated that this is how he learned to draw - from assisting TAD. Berndt began drawing a gag panel around 1918 called Then The Fun Began as well as filling in for Dorgan on Mondays with a Sports Cartoon.

Walter left the Journal and signed on with the Bell Syndicate to produce a daily strip called That's Different. The strip was a failure and Berndt and Bell parted ways. He next joined the New York World where he created the daily strip Bill The Office Boy. After two weeks he was fired from the World for as he put it "the way I addressed the boss".

That very same day Berndt visited Captain Joseph Patterson at the New York Daily News and showed him the strip. Patterson liked it and signed him to a contract with the stipulation that he change the boy's name. Berndt picked up a phone book, opened it at random and saw the name Smith and Smitty was born. Beginning in 1922 Smitty continued until Berndt retired 52 years later in 1974. Berndt was 80 when he died in 1979.

The Long Island Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society honored him by naming their group The Berndt Toast Gang.
Series 1 Issue 10

This issue has not been located so more information will be forthcoming in the future. See the list for missing issues. If you can provide a copy for scanning (or scan it yourself) get in touch with me.

Series II Issue 6

This is also a missing issue. Got one to lend?

Series II Issue 32 is a 60 page issue and reprints strips from 1937, 38 and 40. Beginning on the inside front cover, Smitty gets his friend Stanley hired by Mr Bailey. Stanley is supposed to be Smitty's assistant but shirks all work and brown noses Mr Bailey constantly. Stanley is out for Smitty's job and is constantly running him down to Mr Bailey and sabotaging Smitty's work. Not content to just stab Smitty, he is stealing others ideas as seen in this page.

Stanley finally succeeds in his dirty work. Smitty is reassigned to the shipping department and he takes his place assisting Mr Bailey. Smitty has been fooled by Stanley all this time, not knowing that it was Stanley's doing that got him transferred. The other men in the Company try to put Smitty wise and he begins to catch Stanley in lies. With Herby's help, Smitty comes up with a plan to expose Stanley and get his job back.

Herby is hidden in a file cabinet where he uses his skill with the slingshot to pop Stanley at the right moment causing him to drop Mr Bailey's lunch on him. Stanley catches Herby and sits him on the desk where the intercom is accidentally turned on. The entire building hears Stanley admit he's a crook. Smitty hears Stanley smack Herby and rushes to the rescue chasing Stanley out of the building. Mr Bailey has also heard the confession and gives Smitty his old job back.

After a short sequence where Smitty trades in his Short pants for Long Pants we meet George the Indian Guide from the North Woods. What's That? You don't understand short/long pants? Ok youngster, here's the deal. Many years ago, boys wore shorts. Men wore pants. It was a sign of reaching manhood when a boy traded in his short pants for long. Now back to the narrative.

George is in town to ask Mr Bailey for a job. On the spot Mr Bailey doesn't know what to do, George is only familiar with the outdoor life. Smitty has the answer, put him in charge of Mr Baileys new penthouse. It seems Mr Bailey has put in trees, flowers and a little brook on the roof of his building, 36 floors above the street.

Later George gets a telegram from home that his Suzette has had a baby boy. As George heads for home we find out that Suzette is his mule.

Mr Bailey decides he and Smitty should catch an airplane and fly to the North Woods. Since George is taking the train they expect to arrive before him and play a joke by putting the baby mule into a crib as well as bring other baby gifts. After a good laugh Smitty takes off in a canoe and looses his paddle in the rapids. After drifting off overnight Smitty is found by a group of Indians and taken to their camp. Meanwhile George and Mr Bailey set off in search of Smitty.

Smitty goes native and finds a friend his age in the camp as he learns Indian ways. A thief meanwhile has been stealing food. Smitty and his friend track him down only to find it's a bear cub. Smitty wants to keep the bear as a pet but the Indians want to kill it as a menace. When they think that it has bitten a small child they are on the verge when Smitty discovers that a wolf bit the child, the bear then saved the child by killing the wolf. The cub is freed back into the woods.

Mr Bailey and George find Smitty and after some jokes on Mr Bailey they head back home.

The focus of the issue now switches to follow an adventure with Herby. As seen in the page on the left Herby has sold his dog without really meaning to.

Heartbroken Herbie spends every day after school searching for Freckles. He finally finds him behind a big fence in the yard of a wealthy boy. The boy sympathises with Herby but cannot give him back the dog. Herby visits every day and one day notices that Freckles is not in sight. Eventually he discovers that the dog is sick. Convincing the boy that Freckles will recover if he takes him home, the boy relents. But Herby must return Freckles after he recovers. Seeing how well Freckles is doing at Herby's house the boy gives him back the dog.

As our issue comes to an end we make a quick trip back to the office where Mr Bailey is practising his ventriloquist act for his Club show. A couple pages of jokes about voices from unusual objects closes us out.

Series II Issue 65 features Mr Bailey and Smitty on the cover with another outdoor scene. This 52 page issue reprints strips from 1937, 40-41. The issue opens with a Sunday page joke featuring Herby on the inside cover.

On the next page Mr Bailey is entertaining Steve Smart an old friend from the old Home Town. What no one knows is that Smart is a crook and has hidden a pearl necklace in a vase in Mr Bailey's office. Smart is passing himself off as a magician with sleight of hand tricks rather than as a pickpocket and sneak thief. Picked up by the police Smart calls Bailey who is about to bail him out when he learns that Smart really is a crook.

Smart decides to get his revenge by implicating Bailey as his partner in the pearl robbery. Taking the police to the office he produces the necklace from the vase. As Bailey tries to explain Smart disappears.

Mr Bailey is suffering under the strain that everyone thinks he's a crook. Smart meanwhile reads in the paper the the vase he hid the $500 necklace in was worth $10,000. He sneaks back to steal the vase only to discover it was a trap laid for him by the police. Mr Bailey's reputation is restored.

After a quick resumption of the ventriloquism story from the prior issue Mr Bailey gets a phone call from George the Indian Guide. "The Old Fighter", the big fish has returned to the lake. Smitty and Mr Bailey fly off to the North Woods to catch the fish that's eluded Bailey all these years.

We meet another North Woods character, The Old Trapper, who sells Mr Bailey his lucky fishing hat. Must be lucky George says, he's sold it ten times before. After lots of bad fishing luck Mr Bailey has finally hooked The Old Fighter only to have the canoe sink.

The issue now suffers from the trademark bad editing the newspaper strips exhibited in the series, we suddenly return to the office where Mr Bailey has problems he needs to solve but can not concentrate on the answers. A trip to the Florida Beaches will solve it.

As seen in the page on the left Smitty is having a grand time but Mr Bailey can't seem to relax. Eventually he decides a fishing expedition is what he needs. He charters a boat to go out fishing without knowing that the ship is carrying weapons and explosives for Jamaican rebels. What better cover than having a couple of fishermen on deck.

As they arrive in Jamaica a storm blows in and sends the ship towards the rocks. The crew deserts leaving Smitty and Mr Bailey on board. Mr Bailey doesn't know how to sail and decides they need to wreck the boat on the rocks before the storm blows them out to sea. Somehow they manage to keep missing the rocks and eventually beach it on a sand bar. Mr Bailey tosses his cigar which falls into the hold as they leave.

The smugglers seeing the boat on the sandbar rush towards it to claim the explosives only to see it blow up before they get there. Thinking Smitty and Mr Bailey were aboard they flee. Meanwhile Smitty and Mr Bailey settle down on the beach to relax and figure out what to do now that they are marooned when they hear an eerie voice calling "stay out of the death pit". Turns out they aren't marooned but are sitting in a sand trap on the Paradise Palm Golf Club.

The scene now shifts back home. Mother Smith is under the weather so Herby takes over as Mom. We get several pages of role reversal as Herby takes on the persona of Mother. Eventually Mom has recovered and Herby returns to being a kid.

Back in the office Smitty decides to try to fill an open sales position. His joy in the new job begins to wear out and he misses his old job with Mr Bailey. Bailey is also missing Smitty. Smitty's work is suffering and as the issue comes to an end the head of the Sales Department fires Smitty, much to the delight of Smitty and Mr Bailey.

Series II Issue 99 returns once more to the North Woods on the cover reflecting Berndt's interest in the outdoors and fishing. Smitty and Mr Bailey look aghast at the Indian in the canoe. We'll meet him shortly inside.

The issue reprints strips from 1941 and like last issue the inside cover features Herby from a Sunday page where his teacher misinterprets why Herby is walking to school with Officer Barney. It's the first day of the School year and she thinks he's one of the bad boys she's been warned about while they are just passing the time. Poor Herby finds himself in the sitting in the corner without knowing why.

As our story opens we find Mr Bailey consumed with a noise only he can hear. "Thump Thumpa Thump". The doctor advises him to head for the North Woods and relax a bit. So off go Smitty and Mr Bailey. Turns out the noise is from Little Moose (our cover Indian). Little Moose is troubled and is sending a message to the Great Dark Spirit. He hasn't trapped any muskrat in many moons and ask the Spirit to send him some muskrat. What he gets instead is Mr bailey who follows the beat to Little Moose's camp. Bailey broods over the black magic calling him and Little Moose's superstition and decides to civilize him. Little Moose accepts the invitation to move into the cabin.

After many false starts and jokes it appears that Mr Bailey's efforts are paying off when "The Old Fighter" is spotted again out in the lake. Both Bailey and Little Moose have been trying to land the big fish for years and a heated rivalry erupts. The fish escapes again and Smitty and Mr Bailey return home.

Our focus now switches to Herby. His new teacher is looking for a place to stay and moves in with the Smith family. This is beginning to have an effect on Herby's friends. Meanwhile a new arrival comes to the door. Herby doesn't realize that his teacher has a boy friend. Herby is saved when they marry and move out.

The scene now shifts back to the office. The Coach of Mr Bailey's College has called upon "Cannonball" Bailey, the Captain of the 1906 Football Team. The Coach would like to get his secret never fail play for the upcoming Big Game. The only problem is Mr Bailey can't remember who it goes. After much effort he finally remembers it, draws it out and gives it to Smitty to deliver to the Coach. The Big Game arrives and the team runs the play at the last moment to score a touchdown and win the game. Mr Bailey watching from the stands is confused, that wasn't the way it was supposed to go. The problem is Smitty delivered the play his sandlot team was going to run. Smitty's team ran Bailey's play only to have it fail.

Mr Bailey has been looking out the window and notices a girl in the building across the street is putting signs in her window, such as Good Morning, Gone for the Day. Hello and so on. Mr Bailey thinks a romance is in the offing and sends Smitty out to have a sign made that says What's your name?. Mr Bailey sees it in the window and finds out that he was looking at the sign shop. The girl was putting the signs in the window to dry.

Smitty gets a letter threatening him with a poke in the nose. He tosses it for the waste basket only to have a fan blow it onto Mr Bailey's desk. Bailey finds the note and now both he and Smitty are worried and trying to figure out who sent them such a note. After much anxiety Mr Bailey finds out that a joker in the office sent the note to Smitty. Mr Bailey gives him a hearty laugh and a return shot.

We next find ourselves on Mr Bailey's rooftop garden where he and Smitty grow vegetables which they sell and use the proceeds to buy War Stamps. We next find Herby out to buy War Stamps. The incentive is a kiss from Mary for ever 10 cent stamp purchased. Every time Herby gets close he gets cold feet and runs off. He finally manages to make his purchase as noted in the page at left.

Mr Bailey decides he wants to return to his roots, so he and Smitty are working part time in the Shipping Department.

As the issue ends we get a patriotic message as Smitty gets turned down as too young by the Army and Navy when he tries to enlist.

Series II Issue 138 is the final reprint issue and features material from 1941. Another 52 pager, my copy was scanned from microfiche, so colors are off a bit and resolution is not real sharp. On the familiar North Woods theme cover we find Smitty and Herby hiding in plain sight on the Totem as Mr Bailey and Little Moose search for them.

We open on the inside cover with a crisis, Mr Bailey has been suddenly called out of town. The entire office must rely on Smitty as he knows where Mr Bailey puts everything and also knows what bailey would do in sitautions. Smitty is enjoying his new position as boss and makes the most of it. The fall back to office boy is tough until he remembers his slingshot.

Mr Bailey is suffering from "Logus of the Bogus" or too many business worries. The Doctor advises him that he must become more childlike to relieve himself of worries and therefore he shoudl do everything Smitty does. The juvenile antics fail to improve the situation, indeed they cause more problems. Bailey fires his Doctor and he and Smitty head for the North Woods.

George sends Mr Bailey off to a special spot and he finally has his cares washed away. Feeling better he decides he should try to find Little Moose and pay a visit. Little Moose dislikes Bailey and decides to make him his slave. He cooks up a magic potion but accidentally drinks it himself and finds himself as Bailey's slave. Mr Bailey realizes that Little Moose can take him to The Old Fighter and that he can finally catch him. Little Moose has him hanging by a rope over a ledge when the spell wears off and he drops Bailey into the stream.

Little Moose realized him plan had backfired but he is able to salvage it but telling Bailey he will not lead him out of the deep woods until he carries him on his back. He leads him on a long winding path around camp for a week before Bailey smells bacon cooking and finds his way home.

We shift scene to return home where we find Herby at the beach. He decides he wants to be a life guard and the girls decide he's so cute why not humor him. So Herby is made a life guard. We have series of life guard jokes before we return to Smitty who decides to go to night school to further his education. Eventually Mr Bailey gives him a raise and Smitty quits school.

Mr Bailey is trying to meet with Mr Van Zanny to finalize a contract renewal. Van Zanny keeps putting him off and is getting Bailey's goat. Bailey finally gets the idea to make Smitty legally the President of the Company so that Van Zanny must deal with him. Smitty once again finds himself as the big boss, this time officially and enjoys it. Van Zanny is upset but decides to turn the tables again by negotiating an even better contact with Smitty. Upon completion he and Bailey make their usual trip to the yacht to celebrate the deal.

We now return again to the North Woods where we find George the Guide enjoying his daily trip to Little Moose's camp to watch the little Indian try to sit on the seat cane given to him as a present by Mr Bailey. As usual Little Moose doesn't know how to use it and continues to fall over as he tries to perch himself on top. Finally, having enough he creates a voodoo doll of Mr bailey which he uses to torment him long distance.

Mr Bailey back in the city finds himself beset with sharp pains in the posterier, falling out of bed and other mysterious ills. The Docotors are not able to find anything wrong with him. Finally speaking with an explorer friend at the club he realizes he is the victim of Black Magic and only Little Moose could be doing it.

As the issue comes to an end we find Mr Bailey and Smitty back in the North Woods where they enlist George and get the doll back from Little Moose. They leave him with a portable radio as a gift even though it only recieves static that far north. Little Moose is happy with that.

Berndt's simple drawing style and gentle humor is quite easy on the eyes and reads quickly. Even with the awkward edits made by Dell the stories flow nicely. It's easy to see why Smitty was popular for so long.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; Grand Comics Database

Newspaper Reprints: Smilin' Jack

2007-05-31T17:09:00.000-04:00

Smilin'Jack is the first title in the second series that also appeared in the first series. Issues 5 and 10 in series I featured the flyer and his friends, lovers and enemies. Issue number 4 in series II is the first of 6 appearances. Jack graduated to his own series from Dell which ran for 8 issues. All the Dell issues reprinted the material from the Syndicate.

Zack Mosley was the creator of Smilin' Jack Martin, a knight of the skies. Mosley himself was an aviation enthusiast and flyer and brought that attitude and experience to his cast.

Born on Dec 12, 1906 in Hickory Oklahoma Mosley became interested in flying after an old Army Jenney made a forced landing on the family ranch in 1918. After graduating from High School Zack moved to Chicago where he studied art at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and the Chicago Art Institute.

Mosley submitted samples for an aviation strip to the various syndicates. Captain Joseph Patterson of the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate accepted the strip and on October 1, 1933 "On the Wing" debuted as a Sunday strip. The strip centered on the adventures of Mack Martin, an aviation student and his fellow student flyers. Mosley himself was a student at the same time and earned his pilots license on Friday November 13, 1933.

Captain Patterson changed the lead characters name to Jack and renamed the strip Smilin' Jack on December 31, 1933. The daily strip began on June 15, 1936. One of the most popular of the aviation strips it continued until Mosley retired on April 1, 1973, a forty year run.

Mosley was an avid flyer and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol and logged over 300 hours flying planes along the Atlantic Coast during the opening months of WWII. His strip and flying exploits put him in contact with famous pilots from pioneers Jimmy Doolittle to astronauts Buzz Aldrin.

Mosley died in 1994. His daughter Jill is the keeper of his legacy and has a website where she sells prints, original strip art and Mosley's autobiography "Brave Coward Zack".

Smilin' Jacks first Four Color appearance was in issue number 5 in Series I. At this time, I don't have a copy to review. See the want list for this and other issues needed to complete the series. If you have a copy that you can scan or are willing to loan or sell cheap, get in touch.

Check back for future updates on this issue.

Jack's second appearance is also in Series I, issue number 10. This one I have a scan made with microfiche as the source. The colors are a little washed out and it gets blurry when it's enlarged but it beats not having it all. If you look closely at both covers you can see that Jack is clean shaven. By the next issue Jack has grown his signature mustache, one of the few "good guy" characters to sport one. This issue reprints strips published in 1937-38.

As the issue opens on the inside front cover, Jack is disguised as a passenger on a South American airplane being piloted by two of his associates, Von Bosch, a German and Marcel, a Frenchman. Along with Sir Percy, an Englishman they make up the Legion of Lost Pilots, a group of ex-patriot flyers from the Great War. They attempt to extort the passengers of the airplane by threatening dangerous maneuvers unless they pay. Jack reveals himself and forces they back to the airfield.

They continue with other schemes, bombing ranches and selling fake parachutes to frightened passengers for outrageous amounts. Jack catches them again in a trap and fires them from Pedro's Brazilian Airline.

Meanwhile Jack's complicated love life involves Bonita, a local Senorita with designs upon him and his old flame Dixie, working as a "hostess" (the modern title is Flight Attendant) for an airline back in the States is on the verge of marrying Dude Duncan. Dude is a scoundrel, he dupes the airline and is rewarded for successfully landing his plane in the mountains after running into trouble. He promptly loses the money in a card game. He gets Dixie to give him more money om the pretense of buying furniture for their new home. However, he promptly heads to the casino where he runs into an old girl friend and loses the money.

All this time a letter that Dixie wrote to Jack telling him she will marry Dude unless he returns finally makes it's way around the world, only to fall into Bonita's hands. She holds it past the wedding date before giving it to Jack. But what Jack doesn't know is that the wedding was postponed. Duke returning from his drunken casino date crashed his car and had been unconscious in the hospital.

While Dude is in the hospital he flirts with all the nurses continuing to pull the wool over Dixie's eyes. Jack sends a congratulatory cable which Dude receives and destroys before Dixie can read it. Jack meanwhile is starting to fall for Bonita.

The Legion of Lost Pilots decides to finish Jack off by pushing him out of a plane. Marcel rebels and wounds the others saving Jack's life.

Bonita decides she wants to take up flying and have Jack teach her. Von Bosch from his hospital bed plots his revenge on Jack by having his agent crash a plane into Jack who is about to fly a load of nitroglycerin. Bonita sees it and intercepts the agents plane. Jack believing Bonita will not survive agrees to marry her, but she knows she will recover and puts off the wedding.

Dixie has accepted a new run with the airline, to Brazil. Dude knowing Jack is in Brazil tries to delay her so she'll miss the flight, however they both make it. Dude then tries to get the pilot to marry them, trying to convince everyone it's just like a ship captain. He reluctantly agrees but doubts it's legal. He calls back to the airline and it's confirmed, he cannot marry passengers, so he tells Dixie and Dude they aren't married.

Upon landing in Brazil, Dude decides to fly out into the jungle with Dixie until he can get her to agree they are married. He fakes engine trouble and lands. Unfortunately for him, Jack was also flying in the area and lands to offer assistance. He learns Dixie is not married to Dude, but feels bound to his pledge to Bonita. Dixie and Bonita meet and Bonita tells her of her claim on Jack. Dixie is upset but Jack finally explains the situation to her. She forgives him but they can't figure out how to escape the mess.

Jack is hired to fly a group of new Hostess trainees that Dixie is to train. Bonita sneaks on board to protect her interests. During a tropical storm they crash on an island. Bonita and Dixie fight it out when Jack suffers sunstroke. Dixie knocks her out and establishes her claim to nurse Jack. They meet a group of what they think are wild men but they turn out to be shipwrecked sailors. The girls pair off with the sailors and are married up. With the sailors help, they rig the airplanes fuselage into an outrigger and Jack, Bonita and Dixie set sail. Another storm destroys their sail, Jack sacrificing his rations has become delirious. Finally the plane drifts into a sea lane and they are picked up by a liner. Bonita frees Jack from his promise and leaves.

Back in Brazil Jack finds that Von Bosch has been attacking Pedro's planes and forcing them to crash. Jack takes to the air to track him down, but Von Bosch marked Dude's plane to look like his and Jack forces Dude to crash. Dude is alive but Jack is arrested for attempted murder. Marcel destroys Von Bosch and finds his agent. He flies in time to rescue Jack from a firing squad. Jack is freed.

Jack and Dixie return to the States where Jack proposes. She accepts but trouble arrives in the form of her brother Cotton. Cotton wants to be a pilot but is too lazy and vain to put in the effort. He crashes Jacks prize racer and tells Dixie his injuries were from a hit and run driver. As the issue comes to a close, Jack has lost his plane, lost Dixie when she defends Cotton and has lost his pilots license as Cottons erratic flying of his plane is blamed on Jack.

Whew! 68 pages of nonstop action. Other than a couple of bad edits that make the story jump, it's an entertaining read.

More updates to come on the remaining issues.

Series II issue 4.

UPDATED July 2, 2007, review of Series II Issue 14 .

We open with a quick synopsis on the inside cover, Jack has lost Dixie who has married Dr Medic and had signed on as a test pilot to forget her. Jack and his friend Gull Wing on the trail of saboteurs and out to prove the innocence of Gull Wing's daughter have hidden away on a plane owned by Miss Gale. They overhear a conversation between her and a fellow named Powder and find the two are spies. A fight breaks out and all except Gull Wing are knocked out.

We open with Gull Wing landing the plane and Jack turns the spies over to the Authorities as represented by the Inspector. Looking over papers found on the injured Powder the Inspector notices a remarkable resemblance of the Spy to Jack. The Inspector proposes a daring plan, Jack will impersonate Powder and meet the boss of the spy ring.

Jack agrees and has his hair permanently waved and bleached, begins to grow a mustache and worst of all has his hand branded with a symbol to match Powder. After much study we see Jack preparing at the right for his first test. Can he pass himself off as Powder to Miss Gale. We also see on this page, Jack's first appearance with what would become his trademark mustache.

Jack passes the test and is on his way to the rendezvous with fake documents. He arrives on board the Spy Ship only to be confronted with Laura. Jack quickly learns she is Powder's wife. Even worse he has an infant son Wally! What to do? Laura will quickly determine he's an impostor. Jack solves his dilemma in family newspaper fashion - he picks a fight and declares he's leaving them.

Jack next meets the head of the Spy Ring - "The HEAD", a small man with an oversize head and big buggy eyes. He also meets his henchman, "The Claw" and huge man with a hook for his right hand.

Jack continues to play the role but finally slips up and is exposed as an impostor. Jack is tossed into the hold until they reach The Head's island base where he will be tortured and killed. Enduring his time Jack hears the engines of a Navy airship, stolen by agents of the Head landing next to them. He greases himself up and manages to squeeze out the porthole. Landing in the water he swims to the far side of the airship and takes over the plane. The Head and Claw pursue him in a light plane from the ship and attempt to shoot Jack down. Jack turns the tables and shoots them down, watching them land in a fiery crash in the water.

Jack's luck gets worse, he flies into a storm that forces his ship down and destroys it in the rough sea. Jack eventually makes it to an island, helped by friendly porpoises. Jack fall asleep on the beach only to be awaken when grabbed by native savages.

Well one native isn't a savage. As seen in the page at left, is the first appearance of Fat Stuff. Jack is once again mistaken for Powder. It seems he has visited before and agreed to marry the Chief's daughter. Despite his protests he is engaged. One native, a huge brute Taboo challenges Jack to a fight for the girl. This proves not to be Jack's out, the loser goes into the volcano. Jack prevails and Taboo proves to be too big to be carried up to the volcano, escaping the booby prize. The final step in the wedding ceremony is a drink from the Mystery River. Jack sees that it flows from an underground cavern and dives in hoping to make an escape. He finds Fat Stuff has come along. They escape the cave into the ocean where they spot a boat. Swimming for it they are spotted and rescued.

Once again Jack is mistaken for Powder. This time by Limehouse, a passenger on the ship and the former Head Guard at Death Rock, a notorious South Sea prison. Limehouse also recognises Fat Stuff. It seems both Powder and Fat Stuff were escapees from the prison. Jack and Fat Stuff are now on their way back to the Death Rock. Limehouse gives Jack a chance. Before escaping Powder killed another prisoner and stole a treasure map. If Jack will lead Limehouse to the treasure, he will not turn him in at the prison. Jack agrees hoping he and Fat Stuff will be able to escape from Limehouse.

Upon reaching the island the three set off in a jeep. Limehouse is about to shoot Fat Stuff when Jack convinces him that he is more valuable for the reward of turning him in. They leave him tied up in a hut. Jack leads Limehouse on a trip into the jungle, pretending to be following the map and makes a break. Limehouse manages to shoot him in the leg and recaptures him. He gives up on the treasure and turns them in at the prison getting the reward and his old job back.

It seems the other prisoners disliked Powder for many reasons and are getting their revenge by tormenting Jack. Only Fat Stuff's watchful eye keeps it from being fatal. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, The Head and the Claw appear as new prisoners.

Backed by the Claw's muscle (and the jagged knife the Head devised to replace the hook taken by the authorities) The Head establishes himself as boss of the prisoners. He sends them out on a scheme to make money and bribe the guards so they can escape. Once they earn enough they escape taking Jack and Fat Stuff with them. Fat Stuff is able to trick them into losing all their provisions and leads them through the jungle for days, weakening them physically. They finally break away from the Head and the Claw only to be captured by natives who turn them in to the prison for the reward.

All are sentenced to solitary confinement on the island of the Devil's Kitchen, a towering rock island. Things look bad for Jack until one day Limehouse discards a broken lighter near his cell. Jack manages to reach it and begins to fashion a key from it in hopes of opening the lock on his cell. He succeeds and a plan for escape begins to form. Jack has noticed an airliner that passes over the island on a regular basis. He begins to build a glider in hopes of taking off and getting noticed and rescued by the ship.

Scavenging from around the island at night Jack builds his glider and is awaiting the Clipper when he is spotted by Limehouse. During the fight Limehouse falls to his death. Jack takes off and is spotted by the airship, which lands and picks him up.

Informed by the pilot that he must return him to the prison, Jack is finally saved when his is recognized as Smilin Jack by the navigator. It's the first appearance of his old friend Downwind Jaxon!

Returning to the island prison Jack gains Fat Stuff's freedom by threatening the warden for falsely imprisoning him. Now they all head back to the United States.

Upon arriving back in the States, Downwind quits his airline job and joins Jack in a freelance flying business. Jack get Fat Stuff a job as a cook in the airport diner and enrolls him in school.

As the issue comes to an end Jack has begun a romance with a mysterious woman ham radio operator he met on the airwaves during a hazardous moment on a job. Downwind has girls on every arm. Fat Stuff wants a girl friend too and of course Downwind has just the girl for him. He hooks him up with a member of the chorus at the Tropical Club, Woo Woo Bali.

Another action packed 68 page issue, this time the reprints were from 1938. And one of the best issues in the series with lots of action and little of the romantic soap opera that most of the other issues feature. This one's a winner.

Jack looks confident on the cover of Issue 36 but opening to the inside cover we are informed that Jack's love life is as chaotic as ever. "His wedding postponed by an emergency call, Jack tries to fly an acute appendicitis case to a hospital, but a storm forces him to crash land. When the operation is performed in a farmhouse, the patient proves to be Dixie, Jack's old sweetheart, now a widow and blind. Mary, jack's fiancee goes to the farm to care for Dixie". Starting from that point the issue reprints strips from 1938-39-40.

Jack's buddy Downwind Jaxon arrives by auto pulling a trailer to ferry Mary and Dixie back to town to the hospital. Mary, knowing who Dixie is and of her past relationship with Jack worries about a spark being rekindled. Dixie unaware of Mary and Jack's engagement tells Jack how lucky she is to have them as friends.

Downwind is about to have women problems of his own. A magazine article published his photo along with his current location. Scores of his former "de-icers" (a Mosley term for a pretty girl as in so hot she'd melt the ice off a wing) are on their way to extract their revenge for the various affronts they suffered at Downwind's hands. He escapes by jumping into his plane and taking off. Followed by a flight of de-icers he ducks into a cloud and disappears.

Fatstuff has a different problem, he's in love with Woo Woo Bali, a former South Sea dancer before she gained too much weight and became plump. He proposes and Woo Woo accepts.

Mary and Jack decide to fly Dixie to see a specialist who might be able to restore her sight. Knowing her pride they trick her into the trip. However, she discovers the true purpose and during a refueling stop takes off. Mary discovers her missing and goes searching, finding her in a wind tunnel. Jack discovers them just as the test begins and manages to lock his legs around a hot steam pipe and hold on to the girls. The force is strong enough it pulls Dixie's dress which goes through the blades. The shredded material blows out and realizing something is wrong the test is stopped.

They are rescued in time but Jack's legs suffered third degree burns. Unless Jack has skin grafts he may never walk again. So massive are the burns they will need more than one donor. Immediately both women volunteer.

While recovering in the hospital Jack discovers that his ward mate is none other than Downwind. The de-icers caught up with him and messed him up. Downwind is released but is worried about his looks, who would want to go out with him now? However it doesn't slow him down, girls continue to flock around. Jack attributes it to personality rather than looks.

As Jack is being released from the hospital, he is visited quickly by both Mary and Dixie who each kiss him and depart. Jack discovers notes from each girl telling him she is leaving so that he may be with the other. Both have disappeared.

Jack throws himself into his work to escape. He and Downwind have landed a contract to train College students as pilots. One student in particular, nicknamed Rabbit has a profound fear of everything. He has enrolled in the hopes that if he can conquer his greatest fear, he can overcome all the others. Jack has taken him on as a student but all appears hopeless for poor rabbit.

Meanwhile Madam Mongoose has summed her agents. She is out to sabotage the training program. He plan is to cause the instructors to have a fatal crash and scaring off the students.
She slips poisoned gum to Jack who is going up with Rabbit. Jack is put to sleep by the gum but Rabbit is able to resist and safely lands the ship.

Pursuing a lead Jack and Downwind find themselves captured by the Mongoose and taken to her estate. There they find that Dixie is innocently working for the Mongoose. She devises a death trap for the three and binding them fly high into the atmosphere where the lack of oxygen will kill them. However they plane ices up before that point and crashes. The Mongoose is escaping only to find herself killed by a plane she sabotaged as this 52 page issue ends.

Issue 58 reprints strips from 1940. On the cover we find Jack waving to Dixie. As the issue opens a man is at the airport attempting to hire a pilot for a Mister Beaverduck. As soon as they hear the name they all cut and run.

Dixie has met another fellow in Jack's and is now engaged. She tells Jack of her predicament and that the fellow threatens harm to anyone who attempts to steal her away. Jack doesn't care he's not worried, If Dixie loves him that's all he needs. Dixie refuses to be a blind millstone around his neck. Jack has found that there is only one doctor who might be able to treat Dixie and regain her sight but he is in war torn Europe. To raise the money Jack signs on to work for Beaverduck.

The job is to teach Beaverduck's daughter Joy to fly properly. Joy is a socialite with an attitude and jack has his hands full dealing with her and her tipsy friends. Jack finally has enough and takes Joy over his knee and gives her a good spanking. Beaverduck is delighted and promotes Jack to oversee all her activities. Joy is starting to get interested in Jack but he shoots her down by telling her he's engaged to Dixie.

Not one to take no for an answer she hires an Bottles, an ex-pilot and bootlegger to help her get Jack's pilot's license revoked so he can't earn the money for Dixie's operation. Bottles stows away on Jack's plane and knocks him out during a flight. He then executes dangerous maneuvers so that Jack's plane numbers will be reported. Bottles, Pours booze into Jack, set the plane on auto pilot and bails out. Jack recovers and lands the plane but is accused of the airborne stunts and along with the booze on his breath loses his license.

As seen on this page Joy has come up with a scheme to keep Jack around but since he can't fly she pays him less, so he can't raise the money f0r Dixie's operation. She hires Downwind to teach her pilot a glider but proves to be just as bad flying a glider as a plane.

Joy finally throws herself at Jack but he rebuffs her. She becomes infuriated and decides to set a glider altitude record by recklessly flying a thunderheads updraft. As expected she runs into trouble, her glider is broken up and she parachutes out. Landing hard she is knocked unconscious. Downwind is unable to fly a rescue plane, he had partied too hardy the night before, so Jack takes the controls. Joy has been badly injured, many broken bones. Jack and Downwind deliver her to the hospital where they discover she needs a blood transfusion. Having a rare blood type the only person that's a match that can be available in enough time is Dixie. In her delirium Joy reveals her plot to capture Jack which Dixie overhears. Noble to the end, Dixie provided the needed blood.

Upon recovering Joy experiences a change and decides that she owes Dixie fro saving her life. Joy secretly provides the money to send Dixie to Europe for the operation to restore her sight.

Meanwhile Jack and Downwind accept a job to dust crops for their old friend Cyclone. Cyclone is laid up from a crash, it appears someone is trying to run him out of business. As Jack is walking down the street he runs into none other than Joy Beaverduck who is visiting her uncle. It appears her uncle Gumbo is behind all the dirty business, trying to force all the other cotton farms into bankruptcy so he can acquire them cheap. Jack tells Joy her uncle is behind the plot but she refuses to believe him. Jack while investigating Gumbo's cotton gin discovers how Gumbo disposes of dead bodies and is on the verge of experiencing it first hand when Joy arrives. Jack grapples with Gumbo who falls into the gin. As the issue ends so does Gumbo.

Issue 80 is a 36 pager and picks up in 1940 where issue 58 ended. Jack and Downwind have completed their cropdusting assignement when they learn Dixie's operation was a success and is returning home.

Meanwhile Fatstuff and WooWoo have become parents of triplets.

As Jack and Dixie try to get married before anything else gets in they way she receives a telegram. Her long dead husband has turned up alive. Dixie leaves to be with him as he is too ill to travel. Jack once again is down in the dumps. Joy Beaverduck is still around and just as much in love with Jack as ever, but doesn't know how to approach him. Downwind decides to try to re-ignite the romance between Jack and Joy.

Downwind has decided to organize a "Sixth Column" to fight the Fifth Columists. He "interviews" prospective de-icers by kissing them, if they pass then they become members. When they encounter a suspecious person they get information using their feminine whiles and pass it on.

A group of Fifth Columnists led by the Eye has learned of Downwind's group. Those are the fellows with Downwind on the cover of this issue. One of the girls has become suspicious of a fellow worker at the airplane factory. During a night of drinking and dancing he reveals his connection. The Eye decides to send Miss Fahrenheit to lure Downwind into their trap. In true James Bond fashion, his kiss brings her over to his side.

Downwind's efforts as matchmaker are beginning to pay off, but he discovers that he is also falling for Joy. While wandering the streets bemoaning his situation he is captured by the Eye. Downwind is taken to the harbor where is tied up on a ship that is to be towed out to sea and used for dive bomber practice by the Navy.

Tepid Fahrenheit has learned of Downwind's capture. Hurrying to the airfield she learns from Joy that Jack has flown out of town. Revealing what she knows to Joy, they spot the planes lining up to attack. Joy jumps into her plane and takes off to intercept the squadron. Once airbourne she discovers that her radio is not operational, so she flies into the formation disrupting the attack. Joy crashes her plane into the water and is able to pull the unconscious Downwind from the ship. As a seaplane lands to pick them up she is stuck by a floats and they sink. Pulled from the water they are resusitated. Tepid gives Downwind the location of the Eye's headquarters and they break in and thrash them soundly before turning them over to the authorities.

Meanwhile Jack has made the realization that he is in love with Joy. Jack tells Downwind who leaves rather than come between them. Jack and Joy are married when word arrives that Downwind has disappered in the mountains. Leaving his new bride behind Jack takes off to find him. He locates his crashed plane and later finds him safe at a farmhouse. As the issue ends on the last page, Jack gets tossed into jail for car theft.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996; Grand Comics Database;www.smilinjackart.com

Series II issue 149

Newspaper Reprints: Alley Oop

2007-05-27T18:16:00.001-04:00

The third issue in the series features V.T. Hamlin's caveman Alley Oop. This issue was Oop's one and only appearance in the series. Alley is the chap with a grip on Eeny, the villain of the issue. Alley's girl friend Oola stands behind him. looking over the situation is his pet dinosaur Dinny and his pal Foozy.

Oop didn't star again in a Dell comic until 1962 when he appeared in two issues of Alley Oop with stories produced specifically for the books. He did get his own series at Ned Pines Standard Publications. Beginning in 1947, nine issues of Alley Oop, numbered 10 through 18, were published under the Standard banner. I haven't seen any issues, so it's only speculation, but based on other titles I've seen from Standard that featured newspaper strips, they were reprints of syndicate material. Oop also appeared in 3 issues of reprints published by Argo Publications in 1955-56.

The creation of Vincent T. Hamlin, Alley Oop first appeared as a daily comic on Aug 7, 1933. A Sunday page was started on Sept 9, 1934.

Hamlin was born in 1900 in Perry, Iowa. When the U.S. joined the Allies in World War I, he enlisted in the Army. At the age of 17 he was sent overseas to France. There he amused his comrades with his sketches. He met a wounded newspaperman at a Hospital who suggested Hamlin start a comic strip.

Hamlin returned to Perry in 1918 after the Armistice and resumed High School, then studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He found work as a reporter for the Des Moines Register and Tribune and the Des Moines News.

Hamlin moved on to Texas where he went to work at the Fort Worth Record as an arist and photographer. It was in Texas that he developed an interest in fossils and rock formations in the oil fields. Hamlin left the paper and began a career as an artist producing maps, posters and other items for the various oil companies. Hamlin's interest in geology sparked another interest in paleontology.

Moving to Houston he returned to the news business as a photographer. It was at this point he began experimenting with comic strips. His first concept was a girl strip. He abandoned that and following his wife's advice began a strip with a modern family in cavemen times. After a year of working on the idea he scrapped it and began another cave-man style strip. That effort lasted six months before he dropped it when he got the idea for Alley Oop.

NEA picked up the strip which continues to appear in newspapers. Hamlin retired in 1973 and his longtime assistant Dave Graue took over the strip. Jack Bender took over from Graue upon his retirement in 1991.

Issue Two's story (originally published in 1937-38) opens on the inside front cover. Oop is bored and spots Foozy and suggests they go see how Oola is doing in her new job as Grand Wizer. Foozy, who speaks in rhyme, doesn't want to as he feels it's gone to her head. They decide to head out into the jungle instead. They spot King Guzzle on a ledge as a storm blows in and strands Guz on the ledge.

Guz catches the attention of a wandering dino and escapes by rolling down the dino's back, which the dino likes and promptly snatches Guz and places him back on the ledge to repeat the manouver. Guz takes it on the lam and Oop's laughter gets the dino to chase him back to Moo (where they live) and hides in a cave. Queen Umpa, who has dethroned her husband as ruler of Moo, smacks the dino on the tail and finds herself carried off into the jungle by the dino.

Oola tells Oop they must save her and off they go on Dinny. Umpa is freed by Eeny who is from Jerooly. Eeny knows the dino is tame and only wants it's back scratched. She is telling Umpa how in Jerooly they have domesticated dinos when Oop and Oola arrive.

Eeny through force of personality soon has Foozy making stone wheels to build a cart for the dino to pull. Oop has developed a large dislike for Eeny but Umpa is protecting her. Eeny continues to step in and usurp more of Umpa's power for herself. Oola objects but Umpa refuses to see it. Oola resigns as Grand Wizer in protest and Eeny appoints herself as replacement. Eeny secretly begins to build her own secret organization of followers (called Hairshirts) among the women of Moo.

Eeny uses her influence and pulls a coup appointing herself as dictator. If you haven't noticed by now the parallel to Hitler and the Nazi's you're not paying attention. Oop takes a job as the Assistant Dictator, which he thinks he can use to reign in Eeny. She thinks she has Oop just where she wants him and all Alley's friend turn their back on him.

Eeny eventually doublecrosses Alley by having the Hairshirts, cause a rockslide that traps him inside his cave. Oola has escaped from the tribe and is at large in the jungle while Foozy is held prisoner in the pit. Eeny lies to Umpa about Oop not being in the cave when the collapse happened only to hear him cry out for help. They begin to battle and Oop frees himself only to have the women unite and drive him away. He rescues Foozy and they escape from the Hairshirts.

Alley and Foozy meet up with some of their old foes and they form an alliance as Oola, Guz and the rest of the Mooians that fled from Eeny's depotism join them. A great flood sweeps Eeny away and Umpa and the remaining women are rescued.

King Guz having returned to power decides they should head for Sawalla and make a new home. Oop, Foozy, Wur, Dootsy BoBo and the former Wizer decide to stay behind and form their own country. They survey and stake out their new home which Oop christens Mootoo. Eeny wanders into the camp and is prepared to stay until Oop walks in and she runs off. As an act of revenge she begins to set up signs and direction markers inviting people to settle in Mootoo. She places them where Guz will spot them and bring the rest of the group along. Meanwhile dissention is begining in camp. Foozy and Alley break away from the others and capture a small dino for entertainment. They set up houskeeping in a high cave on a cliff to escape the dino's mother. Suddenly Guz has arrived with the rest of Moo and they begin to layout their new home.

Oola and Dinny have been out in jungle and she meets up in turn with Dootsy Bobo, Wur and the Grand Wizer who rescues her from the others. They meet up with Oop and all return to Mootoo as the issue comes to an end.

Like the first two issues, this one is 68 pages with no ads. As for readablity, it's top notch. Little Joe wasn't bad, I just need a break when reading Harold Gray so I put it down a couple of times. Harold Teen was just tough, especially issue 2. The old slang and old dialect wore me out. I put it down several times. Issue 209 was better but I still had to take a break. Alley Oop in contrast I read and enjoyed straight through. Hamlin not only could tell a story well but had a pleasant art style to complement it. This one is a four star book.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996; Grand Comics Database

Newspaper Reprints: Harold Teen

2007-05-21T20:44:00.000-04:00

Harold Teen is featured in two issues of Series II, numbers 2 and 209.

Created by Carl Ed in 1919 Harold lasted 40 years in the newspapers ending in 1959. Ed (pronounced Eed) was born in Rockford Illinois in 1890. He graduated from Augustana College in Rock Island Illinois.

Ed started as an artist with World Color Syndicate in St Louis drawing a baseball strip entitled Big Ben. he left St Louis moving back to Rock Island as a reporter and sports editor for the Argus newspaper. There he drew another baseball strip, Luke McGluke, which was syndicated.

Moving to Chicago, Ed worked first for the Chicago American and later for the Chicago Tribune. It was at the Tribune that Ed submitted his idea for a teen strip entitled Seventeen. Captain Joseph Patterson changed the name and The Love Life of Harold Teen premiered on Sunday May 4, 1919.

The driving gimmick behind Harold Teen was the use of contemporary teen-age slang. Ed kept up with the slang and styles throughout the Twenties with the help of his teen-age daughter.

The strip was quite popular and was adapted to the radio and was also made as both a silent movie and a talkie. The silent version starred Arthur Lake as Harold. Lake later starred as Dagwood Bumstead in the movies and on TV.

Four Color Comic Number 2, another 68 pager, shows Harold sitting at the table in Pop Jenks Sugar Bowl, dreaming of his girlfriend Lillums Lovewell. That's Pops behind the counter polishing up a glass. Hustling across the front with some coin for a soda is Harold's pal "Shadow" Smart.

We open on the inside front cover with a synopsis. In this story line, reprinted from 1937, "Harold and Lillums have had a quarrel but with Shadows urging they have made up. Harold, bitten by the poetry bug, spends all his time composing love lyrics".

Naturally, this sends Shadow around the bend as he no longer has Harold to pal around with. As he bemoans his fate, he is unintentionally insulted by an old woman who mistakes him for a child due to his small stature. Turns out she is Lillum's Aunt Prunella, who has come for a visit. A modern woman, she insists that once Lillums completes high school in the Spring, she must go to Junior College. Even if Aunt Prunella has to pay for it. Excited by the prospect, she phones Harold to inform him of her good fortune. This sends Harold into a funk as they will be separated. He feels the pressure to compose the perfect love ballad. Shadow decides that he and Harold team up as a song writing team.

As the word spreads about Lillums going away to college in the Fall, all the other fellows begin to make a play for her. The result is that the Lovewell home is overrun with teenage boys. Mother and Father Lovewell are called out of town to take case of sister Susie who is ill. Aunt Prunella stays behind to chaperon the situation. Turns out Aunt Pruny is quite the hep cat, dancing the latest steps and shooting dice with the boys.

The boys decide to stop fighting and let Lillums make her choice of boy friend. This leads to lots of one-upmanship with gifts and a dating schedule as to what time each may call.

Shadow, constantly out of cash and with no credit, begins to take Aunt Pruny to the Sugar Bowl to buy soda. While there she strikes up with Pop. He puts on to Shadow about not liking women but it's obvious it's only an act.

The boys all show up at the Sugar Bowl with an attitude. Shadow acting as spokesman for the group demanded that Lillums pick one. Pop's asks which one did she pick? The answer, all of them.

The big day arrives and Lillums has gone off to college. Aunt Pruny decides to stay with the Lovewells which she is away. Everyone misses her terribly and imagines she is homesick, until Harold gets a letter where she raves about the college boys. Shadow is supposed to be keeping an eye on Harold for Lillums, but everyone sees through his disguises. Meanwhile, Aunt Pruny is on a campaign to spiff up Pop's wardrobe.

In the example on the left, the gang has skipped out without paying for sodas. Meanwhile, Harold drops by the Lillums household and Aunt Pruny gives Shadow an assignment. Loaded with lots of late 30's slang.

As Christmas arrives the gang is all excited as Lillums will be home from school on Holiday Break. They gather at the train station with flowers and hustle her for dates as she steps off the train. The days are a whirl for her with dates round the clock, but Harold is morose as he is only getting a portion of her time.

The New year arrives and the strip moves into 1938 as Lillums returns to school. Once more the town is in the dumps. meanwhile Pops romance is picking up with Aunt Pruny. As the issue comes to a close, Harold is behind the counter at the Sugar Bowl, Pops is dining at the Lovewells.

Two Hundred and seven issues later Harold returns for his seecond and final appearance in the series.

We see a split cover, on the right we have Harold writing a letter to Lana as he stares at her picture. On the left we have Harold's Grandfather writing to Aunt Prunella.

The inside front cover has a Sunday gag that is outside of any continuity. Shadow and Goofy are going to surprise Honey by baking up some buns. Instead they fall into horseplay and Honey throws them out of the house when she sees the mess in the Kitchen.

We now begin to follow the continuity of a story line from 1941-42. Grandfather Timothy Teen and Aunt Prunella Lovewell meet on the train. They are travelling to Covena to visit their respective families. Being old friends they spend the trip catching up. What they don't know is that Harold and Lillums have had a quarrel which has sparked a feud between Mother Lovewell and Mother Teen.

Aunt Pruny and Grandfather Teen reject the feud and pick up on an old relationship. Gramps (as the family calls him) reveals that he has a gold mine on his ranch bad in Arizona and has stuck it rich. He names his mine the Prunella Gold Mine No. 1. Things get hot with the parents as both mothers try to position their families to inherit the mine.

Harold having graduated from high school is working at a plant, presumably doing war work and is having lunch with Gramps when they are approached by a former classmate Veronica Vale. Veronica had just learned that Gramps was loaded and quickly decides to separate Gramps from his gold. Harold attempts to warn Gramps but he won't hear it.

Veronica turns up the heat by continually popping up and imposing herself upon the situation. Her flattering of Gramps is working and he is becoming smitten. He mentions her in Prunellas presence and covers his track by saying she is Harolds new girl friend. Gramps wants to meet Veronica's mother and she reluctantly sets up a visit at her home, dressing her mother up as an old lady.

Mother decides that she better grab Gramps instead and begins a campaign. Mother and daughter are waging war with Gramps the prize. Veronica has gotten herself a job in Gramps office and Harold confronts him. They have an argument and Harold leaves.

Gramps eventually feels regret and reconciles with Harold. Gramps has finally come to his senses and dumps Veronica, returning to Prunella, who never knew what was going on. In a last ditch effort to keep her plan going Veronica makes an appeal to Gramps that she needs to keep her job to pay for a needed medical procedure for her mother. Gramps falls for it and keeps her on.

Gramps is able to resist Veronica until his old buddy from out west HughDunnit arrives for a visit. Veronica accepts a dinner invitation from Hugh where she continues her plot by getting Hugh to believe that she has fallen for Gramps but is too shy to tell him. Hugh takes the bait and passes the message.

Gramps is hooked again and is back in Veronica's clutches. She poisons him against Prunella and he goes to tell her off. But her sweetness overcomes him and he can't do it. Gramps begins to think again and decides to get away for a bit to break things off and will return and propose to Prunella.

The issue ends on this happy note, but if you have access to reading the newspaper strips, Veronica had overheard the plan and was taking steps to overcome them. Undoubtedly this situation continued to be played out into 1942.

The back cover (inside and out) has two more Sunday pages featuring gags with Shadow, Goofy and Honey.

Final page count is 36 pages with no ads.

You can also see that the art work is better in the second issue. Ed has apparently changed assistants.

Reference: Comics and Their Creators, Martin Sheridan, Hale,Cushman and Flint 1942; 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996

Newspaper reprints: Little Joe

2007-05-18T17:26:00.000-04:00

The second series starts off with Little Joe in issue number 1.

Little Joe was syndicated by the Chicago tribune New York News Syndicate and debuted on Oct 1, 1933. Little Joe was drawn by Ed Leffingwell and written by his cousin Harold Gray. Ed Leffingwell died in 1936 and his brother Robert took over the art chores. Gray quit writing the strip in 1946 and Robert took over the writing as well continuing until the syndicate cancelled the strip in 1969. Leffingwell was Gray's assistant on Little Orphan Annie and stylistically is quite similar. Toss in Gray's writing and philosophy and it's even more similar.

Pictured on the cover with the red plaid shirt is Little Joe Oak, a plucky fellow who lives with his widowed mother on their ranch out west in contemporary time. The fellow in the center is Utah, the ranch manager. A hard-nosed former gunfighter Utah dispenses the philosophy along with fists and six guns when necessary.

Little Joe never appeared as the headliner in any other comic, at least as far as I've ever seen.

Stories in this issue reprints strips from 1936 to 1938. Strips are edited roughly so continuity doesn't always flow smoothly.

The first story begins on the inside front cover. Don Jose owns a large ranch and has been trying unsuccessfully to acquire the Oak's ranch. After his own men beat him he escapes and goes to the Oak's home where despite his past actions he is taken in and doctored. Restored to his health Don Jose attempts to take over the home only to be outsmarted by Joe and run off by Utah.

The next episode begins with Utah away from the ranch when a group of gunmen ride up looking for Black Jack Smith. Joe stands his ground and the group departs. He turns and runs into Black Jack who thanks him. Mrs Oak refuses to allow Black Jack to remain even though he professes his innocence. His timely help in treating her rattlesnake bite changes her perception and he is welcomed. Utah throws down on him when he returns but is swayed by the Oak's defense of Jack. Jack eventually leaves to lead to posse chasing him away from the Oak ranch.

In the third adventure sheepherders move onto the range. Utah naturally objects but the herder and his wife prove to be tough characters. Utah delivers a subtle ultimatum. The sheepherders finally realize he means business and skedaddle.

Utah is expressing his philosophy on how the only thing lower than a sheepherder was an Injun when they run smack into a group. In a fit of bad editing Joe has suddenly become their prisoner when they learn he's the son of Big Joe Oak and send him home an Honorary Chief. They come to an understanding with the Oaks and Utah.

Squatters have moved onto the range and are now fencing it off much to Mrs Oak and Utah's chagrin. Utah takes a hard line trying to oppose the farmers who hired Lawyer Blurb who has advised them regarding filing claims on their plots. Blurb is elected Judge and the farmers have fenced off the Oak's herd from the water. Utah is arrested for attempting to cut the fence and his disdain for Blurb lands him in jail. As the herd begins to die of thirst Blurb attempts to purchase the cattle only to be run off by Mrs Oak. The Indians having heard of the situation return and offer to move the cattle to a secret water source known to them. A dust storm blows up bringing hardship to the farmers. Utah is released after his 90 days is up.

The page at right is a typical example of Gray's storytelling technique, the tongue waggers and bootstrap philosophy.

Mrs Oak and Utah decide to build a new and better home higher in the range and work begins. The farmers having heard of the plan all pitch in and help build the house. Despite their having ruined the range Utah accepts them and a bond has been forged between the ranchers and farmers.

Utah's old pard Three-Card Al arrives and convinces him to run for Sheriff of the town of Centipede, the county seat. His argument that we need six-guns not lawyers to take care of rustlers doesn't work until he questions Utah's courage. That does it. Utah runs and is elected after singled handed he stops a bank robbery. With Joe's help he catches the rustlers and returns home in time for Christmas.

A hiker by the name of Drill arrives and asks if he might lodge with them for a few days. Mrs Oak agrees. Drill turns out to be an engineer and is scouting to build a dam. Drill gets Joe interested in science and provides him with several textbooks. This results in some humorous situations with Joe and Utah as they attempt some experiments. Utah has also received word that crooks and gamblers are taking over in Centipede in his absence. He returns and quickly cleans up the town.

As the issue comes to a close Drill has built a small dam and has provided electricity for the ranch house. The Oaks have electric lights and can listen to the radio. Joe pulls a trick on Utah and Three-Card on the back cover.

Sixty Eight pages including the cover wrap and no ads.

References: Grand Comics Database: 100 Years of American Newspaper Comics, Maurice Horn ed., Random House 1996

Series II Introduction

2007-05-17T16:59:00.000-04:00

With 1322 issues, classifying Series II becomes a challenge. My classification and presentation will follow this outline:

Newspaper Strips
Reprints
New Material produced for the books

Movie Cowboy Stars

Adapted from the Pulps
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Zane Grey
Johnston McCulley
Max Brand
Ernest Haycox
Romance
Luke Short
Ellery Queen

Radio Shows
Crime
Comedy

Walt Disney Licensed
Cartoon Characters
Movie Adaptations
TV Adaptations

Warner Bros Licensed
Cartoon Characters

Walter Lantz Licensed
Cartoon Characters

MGM Licensed
Cartoon Characters

UPA Licensed
Cartoon Characters

Movie Adaptations
Cartoons
Comedy
Adventure
Western

Magazine Cartoons
Marge
Roland Coe

Holiday Comics
Christmas
Easter

Original Creations
Humor
Western
Adventure

Literature Adaptations
Humor
Adventure
Teen Advice

Miscellaneous Licensing
Recordings
Breakfast Cereal
US Forest Service

Hanna Barbera Licensed
Cartoon Characters

TV Adaptations
Westerns
Kid Shows
Cartoons
Comedies
Adventure
Mystery
Educational
Crime Shows
Doctor Shows
Family Shows

Instead of presenting each title in numeric sequence, titles are grouped within the categories and issues combined.

Four Color Companion Introduction

2007-05-14T19:58:00.000-04:00

One of Baseball's enduring myths is that Abner Doubleday, one sunny Cooperstown day invented the game. Serious students of Baseball history know that the game predates that day having evolved from the old English game of rounders. Called, old cat, three eyed cat and town ball it was a popular pastime for children. It became a game played by young gentlemen and was codified by Alexander Cartwright, a member the the Knickerbockers Club. His original rules are largely unchanged in the modern game.

Comics have their myths as well. The Yellow Kid was the first newspaper strip. Famous Funnies was the first comic book. We all know those are not quite true either.

One of my favorites is how a salesman at Eastern Color printing, M.C. Gaines, took a handful of giveaway comics, stuck a 10 cent price sticker on then, dropped them off at some newsstands and invented the industry. There is probably some truth to the story and the impact of that experiment did ultimately lead Gaines to publishing and he influenced others to give it a try too.

One of those was George Delacourt. This was Delacourts second attempt at comics. In 1929 he published The Funnies, which according to Ron Goulart was more like a newspaper tabloid than a comic book. The book was 24 pages in length, issued weekly and sold for 10 cents. After 36 issues Dell called it quits.

Gaines was employed at the McClure Syndicate by 1935 and there packaged Dell's first true comic book, Popular Comics cover dated Feb 1936. Popular followed the Famous Funnies formula of offering reprints of established newspaper strips such as Dick Tracy, Skippy, Mutt and Jeff (a Gaines favorite, he printed M&J under his All American line), Little Orphan Annie, Tailspin Tommy, The Gumps, Don Winslow of the Navy, Bronc Peeler, Smokey Stover, Terry and the Pirates and Ripley's Believe it or Not.

This also established a pattern for Dell, for the next 30 odd years they purchased the comics they published as a package. The primary supplier was Western Publishing and Lithographing Company. Western took over packaging Popular and appointed Oskar Lebeck as editor.

Gaines packaged Dell's second book, resurrecting The Funnies as the title and cover dated October 1936. In 1937 Dell published The Comics and in 1938 added Crackajack and Super Comics to their list of titles.

All these titles were anthology titles consisting of newspaper reprints, original strips produced by Western and licensed properties from Stephen Slesinger.

Along with Dell and Eastern Color's Famous Funnies, United Features published anthology titles reprinting newspaper strips that they syndicated. Tip Top comics first appeared in 1936 followed by Comics on Parade in 1938. The David McKay Company of Philadelphia published comic strips syndicated by King Features beginning in 1936 with King Comics. They added Ace Comics in 1937 and Magic Comics in 1939.

Each of these publishers launched an omnibus title where they would feature an individual strip. The advantage to these books is that in the case of continuity strips an entire story would be printed. In the anthology books most strips would get 2 to 4 pages in each issue. You were pretty much following at the same pace as the Sunday paper except you got 4 weeks once a month instead of one week at a time.

There was more precedence for these single character books. Foxy Grandpa and Buster Brown appeared in more than a dozen books reprinting their Sunday adventures between 1901 and 1917. Many of these were published by the newspapers themselves. Heart's New York Journal printed 5 in 1902. Available from all the Hearst papers nationwide were titles like The Katzenjammer Kids and Happy Hooligan. Hearst passed the publishing rights over to the Frederick A Stokes Company in 1904 who continued to issues books of Hearst strips until 1916.

In 1906, New York publisher Couples and Leon began publishing. By the time they quit in 1934 they had produced over 100 different issues. Their most popular title was Bringing Up Father, who appeared in 26 different books. Other collections included Little Orphan Annie, Mutt and Jeff, The Gumps, Tillie the Toiler and Smitty.

In January 1922 Embee Distributing published the first issue of the Comic Monthly. Unlike the C&L books this was closer to the Comic Book format that evolved in the 1930's. Each month a different Hearst strip was featured beginning wit Polly and Her Pals. Comic Monthly lasted for a year before it ceased publishing.

David McKay was the first publisher to print an omnibus issuing Feature Book in 1937. The first issue was unnumbered and titled Dick Tracy the Detective. Zane Grey's King of the Royal Mounted was the first numbered issue, cover dated May 1937. A large book at 9x12 and 64 pages it reprinted the newspaper strip.

United Features followed with their Single Series in 1939, with the Captain and the Kids, Fritzi Ritz, Broncho Bill, Ella Cinders and Li'l Abner among the featured titles.

Dell entered the omnibus race in 1939 with the Large Feature Comic, an oversize book that mixed issues with newspaper reprints like Dick Tracy and Terry and the Pirates and illustrated text stories like issue #7 entitled Hi-Yo Silver The Lone Ranger to the Rescue. These were black and white with color covers. But Sept 1939 also marked Dell's first Four Color Comic, Dick Tracy #1, 68 pages all in color. A total of 25 issues appeared on the stands mostly reprinting newspaper strips. Disney produced two issues that showcased animated cartoons, #13's The Reluctant Dragon and # 17's Dumbo.

In 1942, Dell started the numbering for the Four Color Comics over with #1 Little Joe, reprinting the newspaper strip. Series II continued until Summer 1962 with a total of 1322 issues. Issue 1329 was believed to be issued with the number 01329-207. Issue 1354 Calvin and the Colonel was the final issue published. Issues with 1331,1334,1338-1340,1342-1347 and 1351-1353 were never printed.

Reference: Grand Comics Database www.comics.org; Over 50 Years of American Comic Books, Ron Goulart, Mallard Press 1991; The International Book of Comics, Denis Gifford,Crescent Books 1984