You’ve wandered into the topsy-turvy world of Tulgey Wood, the blog of writer and historian Jim Fanning. Tulgey Wood celebrates artistry and creativity (and sometimes just plain madness): movies, animation, TV, books, comics—and of course Disney, lots and lots of true-blue, through-and-through Disney, including D23 and Disney twenty-three Magazine, and Sketches Magazine and the Walt Disney Collectors Society. Tulgey Wood is so fun, fascinating and full of frolicsome photos and facts, it’s scary. So wander through the wonder of it all, and enjoy.

Monday, October 31, 2016

Hanna-Barbera Monsters On The Loose (And Scooby Doo Is No Where To Be Seen)

Well, Halloween is here and the Countdown to Halloween 2016 blogathon is over. Many thanks to all who dropped by, especially new visitors, whether you had a costume or not. (If you have already done so, please check out the other participating blogs here.) To celebrate the spookiest day of the spooky season, here's Huck Finn again, with some cartoon monsters as only Hanna-Barbera could scare them up. It's all from the new DVD release of Hanna-Barbera's The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. As you enjoy these monstrous  apparitions—and perhaps consider adding the new Huck Finn DVD to your trick-or-treat bag—remember to have a safe and of course fun October 31st. Happy Halloween to one and all!














Sunday, October 30, 2016

Happy Halloween From Lio

Have you met Lio? One of the best newspaper comic strips to come along, this merry but macabre comic, written and drawn by Matt Tatulli, is a complete delight. Here is today's Sunday strip, marvelously getting us ready for the big day. Speaking of that big day (and night), stop by tomorrow for the conclusion of our Countdown to Halloween 2016.



Archie Rocks And Rolls With A Creepy Concert

We couldn't let October end without a classic Archie cover. This one is Laugh, # 126 (December 1961). Could the ghoul cats Veronica is none too thrilled to see be precursors for the Groovie Ghoulies? 




Saturday, October 29, 2016

Tricks And Treats With The McDonald's Happy Meal Treat Pail (Starring Charlie Brown)

McDonald's is helping Peanuts fans celebrate 50 Years of the It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with these wonderful Halloween treat pails. Decorated with authentic art from the beloved TV special, these Happy Meal premiums help everyone get ready for the big night (whether that's spent in the pumpkin patch or going door to door for tricks and treats). Rock not included.





Friday, October 28, 2016

Mummy Meets Mark Twain (Well, Not Exactly)

A little known show with a rabid cult following, Hanna-Barbera's The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn featured live-action Huck, Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher in an animated world—where the adventurous trio often met up with monsters. Here, in the comic book based on the TV series (1968-1969), the kids encounter the Mummy. You can see all the adventures of Huck and his pals—and all the monsters they meet—in the new DVD of the show, The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: The Complete Series. And come back to Tulgey Wood for more Countdown to Halloween 2016, and you'll see more off Huck (and more monsters, too).  



Thursday, October 27, 2016

"Lost Scenes" From It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

50 years ago on this date, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown made its debut on CBS. One of the greatest animated specials ever produced, the Halloween adventures of the Peanuts gang became an instant classic. However, one segment was only seen a few times: the portion of the delightfully spooky TV title sequence that showcased the sponsors of the show. Here, to celebrate five enduring decades of Charles M. Schulz's animated masterpiece, here are a few shots from that rarely seen sequence. 







Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Marty And The Mad Scientist

On this date, October 26, in 1985, Marty McFly met his scientist (some might call him "mad") friend, Doc Brown, at Twin Pines Mall in Back to the Future (1985). To celebrate, and to help emphasize the Halloween-like or at least horror aspects of the time-travel tale, here's the cover (or one of the cover variants) of the new comic book series, Back to the Future Citizen Brown (from IDW, that great publisher that also issues Disney Comics) featuring new BTTF adventures. It's all part of the Countdown to Halloween 2016




Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Bugs Cooks Up Some Halloween Fun

It's just not Halloween here at Tulgey Wood without a visit from Bugs Bunny. As evidenced from the many Halloween-themed comic book stories Bugs appeared in, the long-eared galoot certainly knows how to have a good time at Halloween. Here, featuring two double-w's (the wasically wabbit and a wicked witch), is the cover of the Bugs Bunny Halloween comic (No.3) for 1955.




Monday, October 24, 2016

Archie (Not Bunker) And His CBS Spin-Offs

Can you name a CBS character from TV history whose hit show spun off a spine-off and then that show was spun-off? Here's a hint: His name is Archie. But it's not Archie Bunker, it was Archie Andrews. When The Archie Show debuted on CBS in September 1968, it was a smash. So it was decided to add a character from the Archies comics universe to the show for the following season, and thus (You knew I'd get around to the Halloween connection sooner or later, didn't you?) in September 1969, CBS presented The Archie Comedy Hour. Not only did Saturday morning vid-kids get more of Archie they also got Sabrina the Teenage Witch. One hit leads to another, and the very next year Sabrina got her own show, Sabrina and the Groovie Ghoulies, also starring cartoon versions of the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula and the Wolf Man, who just happened to be the teen age witch's cousin. (Archie soldiered on with another hit show, Archie's Funhouse.) The following year, The Groovie Ghoulies debuted starring Sabrina's cousins in their own show. Here are two comic-book ads celebrating these characters.  





Sunday, October 23, 2016

Muppets As Monsters

Back here Tulgey Wood presented a Muppet Lift-the-Flap-Book for Thanksgiving. Now here's one for Halloween. Originally published in 1996, Halloween at Creepy Castle features Robin the Brave creeping through the frightening fortress. Robin needs to be brave because he keeps finding monsters, but luckily all the beasties turn out to be Kermit, Miss Piggy and the others in Halloween costumes. There's more monstrous fun ahead here at Tulgey Wood for the Countdown to Halloween 2016






Saturday, October 22, 2016

Make 'Em Laugh, Monsters Division

We lost the wonderful comic artist Jack Davis this year so it seems particularly appropriate to run some of Jack's masterful art for Halloween. These are from the 1959 Topps trading cards series, Funny Monsters. That simple title says it all because the combination of crazy comedy and kooky monsters were undoubtedly a draw for any true Monster Kid. Enjoy and dedicate your laughter to the memory of Jack Davis...and be sure and stop back for more monstrous doings during the Countdown to Halloween 2016




Friday, October 21, 2016

The New Scooby Doo Movies With Today's Special Guest, Jonny Quest!

The Scooby-Doo! Team-Up comic book has featured some fun guest stars, from Batman (and Bat Mite, for that matter) and Superman to the Flintstones and (no, it's not a  Halloween prank) Secret Squirrel. One of my favorites is No. 10 (July 2015) featuring Jonny Quest. The cool cover has Shaggy and Scooby and Jonny and Bandit (and Race) being pursued by a classic horror character, a mummy. Might there be more mummies soon the way in our Countdown to Halloween 2016? Come on back and find out.  


Thursday, October 20, 2016

(Not) A Scary Clown

Here's more Halloween fun from the latter-day Mickey Mouse Magazine. This playful cover is from the Fall 1992 issue. Mickey's decked out as clown, blissfully unaware that clowns are scary. Wait until 2016, Mick!  More fun on the way right here at Tulgey Wood's Countdown to Halloween 2016






Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Carved Pumpkin

It's the 50th anniversary of It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown. For the occasion, ABC has a nifty promo and a niftier logo for its annual broadcast tonight. Unfortunately, the version aired tonight is edited down, missing entire scenes, so bad for ABC. On the other hand, good for ABC for showing the entire, unedited TV classic on October 28.  It's all part of Tulgey Wood's Countdown to Halloween 2016. Stop by all October for some more tricks that are really treats, and vice versa.  



Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Off To See The Witch, The Wicked Witch Of Oz

Regular visitors to Tulgey Wood know about some of the premiums and offers associated with the little known Off To See the Wizard television series that ran on ABC during the 1967-68 season. One classic Oz character was rarely seen on the TV show itself, though she did appear in some of the merchandise.  In honor of Halloween, let us honor the Wicked Witch of the West with this rare Rub-On-type "Magic Picture Kit" premium that was offered Free! in "specially marked packages" of Jiffy Pop as a tie-in with the Chuck Jones-produced TV show. Four different scenes were offered, including the witchy one pictured here. It's all part of Tulgey Wood's participation in the Countdown to Halloween 2016 blogathon. 



Monday, October 17, 2016

Frankenstein Goes Pink

Welcome back for more tricks, treats, scares and spooks right here at the Countdown to Halloween 2016. This frightfully delightful issue of the Pink Panther comic book (No. 31, January 1976, published by Gold Key but my copy is the Whitman variant) features a full-on pink version of Frankenstein. Though it's the cover story, it's the last story in the issue, but that only served to draw riders deep into the mag, making it one frightening funnybook (but in a good way). 





Sunday, October 16, 2016

That Tricky Beagle Goes Trick Or Treating

Here's fun Peanuts art from the cover of the all-too short lived Snoopy Magazine. This fun cover from Fall 1999 pictures the costumed canine with a trick of his own flying straight out of his goodie bag. Spoiler alert: It's not a rock. More Peanuts fun and other sorts of treats coming up in the Countdown to Halloween 2016 right here at Tulgey Wood. 






Saturday, October 15, 2016

Halloween On Main Street, U.S.A

Like most decorative approaches, Halloween Time on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland Park is done very well. Here are a few recent photos of both decor and merchandise to help put you in a festive but frightful mood as we continue our Countdown to Halloween 2016









Friday, October 14, 2016

Some Boos From (And For) Some Baddies

The Countdown to Halloween 2016 continues with this beautiful cover featuring some villains whose behavior is not so beautiful. Though everyone has their favorite, it's hard to think of Disney villains more classic than these baddies, scaring up some boo-tiful frights on the cover of Disney Catalog Fall Preview 2003. Interestingly, Maleficent is the only magical villains of this terrible trio, though we also have a nefarious pirate and an outrageous fashionista. Guess which one is most to be feared? (Think The Devil Wears Spotted Fur.) Be sure and stop back all through October here at Tulgey Wood for more chills, thrills and probably some spills. (Irv, I was never in aisle seven!) 



Thursday, October 13, 2016

B & V & A Find A Fall Full Of Halloween Fun

Archie always delivers for Halloween, even when he has to share space with Veronica and Betty (not that he minds!) and a very large, very Halloween-y jack-o-lantern (and yes, I resisted the temptation to call it the Great Pumpkin). This fun cover of B & V Friends Halloween Annual (available in shops and stands as of October 5) is by Archie fan fave Dan Parent, who also wrote and drew (penciled) the new story, "The Costume Calamity," within the issue itself. More Archie, more comics, and more surprises are coming up in our Countdown To Halloween 2016, right here at Tulgey Wood.




Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Disney California Adventure Halloween 2016

The Countdown continues! Back here, I posted the Halloween 2016 "Your Guide To" guide for Disneyland Park. Now it's the Disney California Adventure Park guide's turn. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is spotlighted, and not surprisingly. Not only is the ghostly and scary thrill attraction perfect for Halloween Time, it's also fading away in early 2017 (January 2 is the last scheduled day) to make way for a Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy attraction. For these final months of the Tower of Terror, the park is offering “Late Check-Out” after twighlight (as in The Twilight Zone?) so that guests can experience  The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in complete darkness! In a fun addition for Halloween Time, the Hollywood Tower Hotel is hosting special performances by Buena Vista Street’s own Silver Lake Sisters. Dolly, Dottie and Ethel Bounds, veterans of the vaudeville circuit known professionally as Fiddler, Fifer & Practical (or the Silver Lake Sisters.