Baby Snooks and Friends

Now here's an unusual pairing: Fanny Brice's beloved Snooks teamed with the classic Looney Tunes gang...in the 1970's!! This ad comes from a 1978 Gold Key comic (note that the ad itself expires in November of 1977). As near as I can tell, this album collects unchracteristically "educational" children's records by Brice and then, for some reason throws in similar lessons from Mel Blanc as Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the Warner characters.

Baby Snooks was an abrasive, precocious child created by the legendary Brice for the Ziegfeld Follies. The character became a radio mainstay that appeared on her own show as well as various other shows right up until the actress's death. Considering all the trouble she caused for her baby brother, Robspierre, she was definitely NOT known for being a good role model for children!

Bugs and his buddies, revered by all today, were taken to task in the seventies for the inherent violence of the Warner cartoons. Some were banned, some cut and all were out of fashion for a time so it's only natural that they would attempt to use the squeaky clean children's records here. Remember, the originals were never meant just for children. Somewhere along the line people forgot that and we ended up with this record.

Dr. Who and the Turgids

This was an ad for a rather ridiculous sounding tie-in transistor radio available in th UK during the fourth Doctor's reign. In particular, 1978 was when this badly drawn story ad appeared on the inside back covers of early issues of Marvel's DOCTOR WHO WEEKLY. Note that it proudly proclaims to have "constant flashing laser lights." I'm certain parents LOVED this feature.

More Rare Steranko

This rare piece by Marvel's psychedelic sixties artist Jim Steranko was done for an early seventies Phil Seuling Con in New York City. I don't know. That last panel always looked more than a bit rushed to me but the rest is choice. Probably done for the program book, this art was reprinted in a 1972 issue of CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN.

Laurel & Hardy

Although the humor is quite different, Asterix and Obelix (see yesterday's post) were physically reminiscent of the great Hollywood comedy team of Laurel and Hardy. I first heard of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy when, as a child, I received the record seen below. It was a tie-in to Larry Harmon’s L&H cartoon series that wasn’t playing in my area so I wasn’t at all sure what to make of it.

A few years later, the Liberty Theater in my hometown closed for good, going out with an extravaganza of cartoons, FRACTURED FLICKERS and one of Robert Youngson’s loving Laurel & Hardy compilations (all for a dime and with free popcorn!). I became so enamored of the comedians and their civilized chaos, I returned twice that week.

What really hooked me though, along with William K. Everson’s tome, THE FILMS OF LAUREL AND HARDY, was the magazine pictured above, THE HISTORY OF LAUREL AND HARDY. Technically, E-GO COLLECTOR’S SERIES # 2, this was one of a series of well-researched and compiled fan-oriented magazines that covered individual subjects including Sherlock Holmes, Robert Redford, John Wayne and Henry Winkler. Written and edited by big-name west coast fans, the editorial staff included Ron Haydock (former actor and controversial monster mag editor), Don Glut (sometime Marvel writer, fan filmmaker and reknowned dinosaur expert), Paul Blaisdell (actor and filmmaker) and Jim Harmon (Old-Time Radio expert, Tom Mix buff and the editor of next month’s IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN 3 featuring my own debut short story. Order now from BearManor Media ).

Featuring short but loving articles on various aspects of L&H films, merchandising and fandom, each heavily illustrated with rare art and annotated photos, I got more of the essence of the comedians from this than any book. I went on to buy John Mccabe’s books, however, as well as any and all other volumes I could find on the boys. In my mid-teens, pre VCR, I would often try in vain to stay up for late period L&H comedies on the late, late, late show. Eventually, with cable, VCRs, TCM and DVDs, I was able to see nearly all of the available output of Laurel and Hardy and their "reciprical destruction" comedy.

The folks behind this wonderful series of magazines went on to try a regular mag entitled TV’S DYNAMIC HEROES but it didn’t last, possibly due to Haydock’s untimely death (but maybe not. I’m not certain of the timing). Many of them later turned up at Marvel doing their more adult FM clone, MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES, edited by Harmon.

If you've seen Laurel & Hardy, you probably love them. If not, give them a try. There is no one else really like them in film history. Here's a link to one of several knowledgable L&H pieces by the ever entertaining Mark Evanier: Laurel & Hardy Filmography - Page 1

Asterix & Obelix

The release of the latest Asterix book, the somewhat controversial ASTERIX AND THE FALLING SKY, has gotten me all nostalgic about the little Gaul’s adventures. With a massive worldwide first printing, this is, as I believe Tom Spurgeon pointed out recently, the most succesful comic book on the planet. In spite of many attempts, though, the series that began in the French magazine, PILOTE, in 1959 and became an international phenomenon has never caught in the US.

ASTERIX tells the story of a little French village that managed to hold out against the conquering Romans due to a magic super-strength potion invented by the resident druid, Getafix. Asterix is the little fellow who is gifted with the potion and his giant friend Obelix,who was dropped in it as a baby, helps him defend their village. Historically accurate up to a point, the strip is filled with lush, detailed artwork, punny dialogue and genuinely funny plots (as well as the occasional anachronistic joke).Translated into many languages, Asterix is well-known throughout the world but in this country, you’re most likely to encounter the graphic novel collections in your high school French or Spanish class. That’s actually where I discovered the series in 1974. I was able to find a few English translations in bookstores and became hooked. Beginning in February of 1978, there was a short-lived and apparently little-known attempt to syndicate a re-translated, re-pasted and retouched version entitled ASTERIX & OBELIX in US comic pages. I’ve posted a few panels from the original for contrast. Note the slave’s skin color changes. "Good natured" ethnic humor was and is a hallmark of the series with stereotyped characters from all countries. To be honest, the strip may have begun US syndication earlier as the first ones in my local newspaper began (after a pre-packaged week of introductory strips seen here. Note that "Getafix," presumably because of the drug implications, becomes "Readymix!")) with what was clearly the end of some other adventure. The only story printed in my area was ASTERIX MEETS CLEOPATRA, arguably the best known of all the adventures, and even it was never finished.

Printed here is a letter published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on April 20, 1978 and my own response defending the Gauls, published on May 8th. By that point, though, ASTERIX & OBELIX had already given up the ghost in the market, the final Sunday strip (seen here) having been printed on April 23rd. Whether it continued elsewhere, I do not know and have not been able to find out.

Since then, there have been more pushes for the American market, most recently when Barnes and Noble (through their Sterling imprint) put up dumps of Asterix in some stores to little effect. None of this, nor even the death of co-creator Rene Goscinny in 1977, has stopped the world-wide success of the series as continued by original artist (and now writer) Albert Uderzo. There are multiple animated films, several big-budget live action adventures (one translated by Monty Python’s Terry Jones!) with Gerard Depardieu as Obelix(!) and even a theme park in France!

Here’s a link to the Official Asterix website: ASTÉRIX - Le Site... Accueil and just for fun, a scan of a mass market style black and white British paperback from 1973 that I found recently in a used bookstore.

Marvel See-A-Shows!

Just on the off-chance that someone wants to see this lovely art (apparently drawn by someone's five year old), here are the remaining See-A-Show strips from the mid-sixties that feature Marvel characters.

The remaining unposted strips include King King, Hector Heathcote, Dick Tracy, Mister Magoo, Fury (the horse), Alvin, Linus the Lionhearted, Bozo, Dennis the Menace, Clyde Crashcup and the ever-popular Three Stooges. If anyone shows any interest, I'll post some of them also. Otherwise, that's about it for the See-A-Shows for now.

New Years' Greetings From Spidey

As adapted only slightly from a piece by John Romita in the 1975 Marvel Calender.