Category Archives: comics

Good Ol’ Fashioned Cartoon Plagiarism: Nutty Comics #6—”Helpful Hank”

DimwitThe Harvey Comics product was always about duplicating the feats of the New York animated cartoons in both sheen, design and staging, even before the company got the license for the Famous Studios characters. Here’s an oddity from Nutty Comics #6 (February-March 1947) that’s a direct ripoff of not a Famous pair, but a Terrytoons pair: the genial Dimwit and Percy.

That isn’t a surprise, because the artist is Terry director and animator Connie Rasinski (identified by Milton Knight). It’s drawn with considerably more vigor than his many legit Terry comics—perhaps he was having a particularly good day. (Maybe Paul Terry had just lied to him once again about giving him a piece of the pie when he finally sold the studio.)

 

 

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Giggle Comics #29: “Superkatt”

Giggle29_Page_0001Mike Barrier’s Funnybooks has prompted me to dig into my holdings of funny animal/”animated” comics, particularly the ones not published under the Dell label.

Mike doesn’t think much of the non-Western books beyond “missed opportunity,” but aren’t all failures technically missed opportunities? But I retain a number of animated and live-action shorts and features that aren’t very good for the simple fact that one gem might be there, so may as well hang onto those comic books (Dell or otherwise) too.

The crucial test: if it gets the laugh, it’s a winner. And it’s a lot harder to get them on the printed page when you don’t have any of the other arts and sciences to support you. Generally, I’m bored to tears reading the inane stories and artless artwork by ex-Disney layout men and moonlighting Famous animators that populate Comic CavalcadeFunny Stuff, Ha Ha Comics, Coo Coo Comics, and Giggle Comics. There are three active exceptions: generally anything of Sheldon Mayer’s at DC, The Fox and the Crow (by Jim Davis or not), and Dan Gordon’s Superkatt.

Milton Knight, a great cartoonist in his own right, wrote a wonderful appreciation of Gordon and his character at Cartoon Research last August, so rather than repeat those same points, I’ll direct you there.

Gordon was one of the shining lights of the New York animation and cartooning industry, and I’ll cover his story in detail in my forthcoming book. Almost every one of his contemporaries spoke warmly of him and his talent. He brought a Hollywood/Tex Avery-style self-awareness to the East Coast, was responsible for whatever merit Mr. Bug Goes to Town has, directed the wildest Popeye cartoons and had an amazing graphic style that Milton analyzed very well. Gordon studied as an architect which may account for his unconventional comic staging.

As I reacquainted myself with my sizable collection of Giggle Comics, I found myself laughing out loud several times at the sheer preposterousness of Gordon’s stories. The one in Giggle Comics #29, which I’ve posted below, with its self-awareness and “grown men shouldn’t read comics” detour, is a prime example. While there are quite a few “Superkatt” stories that, as Mike Barrier wrote, “sputtered and stalled well before the concluding page,” there are surely more than a few funny moments that warrant reexamination. A Superkatt reprint anthology would indeed be heavenly (so long as it emphatically isn’t by Yoe Books).

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Dell History is Good History

Funnybooks-350x518I reviewed Funnybooks, Michael Barrier’s important new book on the history of Dell Comics for the Comics Journal. You can read my review and comment at this link. I haven’t seen the printed book myself yet (I read the manuscript back in January), but I hope to soon. Amazon and University of California Press have been rather awkward in fulfilling orders since the initial November 28 publication date, although I’ve been notified that it should begin shipping December 16.

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Funnybooks

WDC&S_109_p01_fc_Oct.1949One of the books I most highly anticipate is one I can already heartily recommend: Michael Barrier’s Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books is set for publication at the end of December.

I had the opportunity to read Mike’s book in manuscript earlier this year and absolutely devoured the history he’s uncovered about the murky, untold story behind the Dell label that was adorned on billions of comic books in the mid-20th century. I’m sure some of his trademark acerbic commentary will outrage fans, but I personally found nothing that caused my eyes to roll.

His comments on the world of publishing rang true to me, especially since I’m deep into work on my own next book. I’m more reminded not of the demand to put Sick Little Monkeys in Kindle form (which really needed to be done in light of the skyrocketing cost of shipping things outside the U.S. that occurred in January 2013), but the losers who whined about my book’s $29.99 pricetag. Good books cost good money, yeah.

I’ll have more to say once I get my copy, because I feel anyone who loves the works of Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, and John Stanley shouldn’t have it spoiled and owes it to themselves to read this book.

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