Happy Halloween 2023!

Here we are at the spooky day itself, Halloween! Hope this day is frightfully festive, whether you are costuming, partying, or sequestering! As for me, I'm happy to be with you here in Tulgey Wood, so thanks for stopping by. Our treat today is a super one...it's my favorite superhero, Spider-Man. Thanks to Marvel, Spidey was the National UNICEF Day Safety Chair. (Today, October 31, is officially UNICEF Day, as it is officially is every year in the US.) As part of their participation in the annual Trick or Treat for UNICEF campaign, Marvel offered a special-edition Spider-Man comic book, The Trial of Venom, yours by US mail for sending in a donation of at least $5.00 to UNICEF. In this war-torn world, UNICEF and its mission is more important than ever. For more info on the annual Trick or or Treat for UNICEF campaign and an opportunity to make a donation, please visit the website. And Happy Halloween! 

On The Brink, Inc For Inktober 2023

Inktober and October on a creative collision course: Here are some spooky drawings for the spooky-season by Dean Brinkerhoff for Inktober 2023 (a piece of art for each day of October) for our Countdown to Halloween 2023. Be sure and check out more art and all kinds of pop-culture fun, check out Dean at his Instagram account. 

Great Stuff About The Great Pumpkin

Last year for my YouTube channel Tulgey Wood TV I created a video detailing some of the Great Pumpkin-themed Peanuts merchandise that predated the acclaimed TV special, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. That animated show debuted on October 27, 1966. To celebrate the phenomenal success of this show and the comic strip that inspired it, be sure and check out my video. 

Halloween videos on Tulgey Wood TV

Have a hankering for some Halloween fun? Check out my Halloween videos on my YouTube channel. There's a Halloween playlist for your viewing pleasure here. It's all at Tulgey Wood TV. 

The Most Monstrous Of All

More Archie for our Countdown to Halloween 2023: Makes sense that the monster kid-angle in Archie comics was most oft feature on the cover of Jughead's comic-book title. This "weird-o" definitely marches to his own drum. He is unapologetically himself, and cares not what others think. But wait, that's not a costume?? From Archie's Pal Jughead No. 78 November 1961. 

Spooky Night Treats For Spooky

The cover of Spooky No. 104 June 1970 answers the question that's been haunting us: What does Spooky do with his trick or treat bounty? Same as you, he eats it. Well, almost the same as you. Marching on with the Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Riverdale Monster Kids

Archie and his pals celebrate the monster-movie craze. The Riverdale gang consists of teenagers so how fitting that they like monster movies, as the primary audience for that genre was teens. Cover of Archie's Pals 'N' Gals Giant No. 35 December 1965. All for our Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Disney's Blackbeard's Ghost Haunts Again

Perfect for our Countdown to Halloween 2023 is the article I wrote for D23.com about Walt Disney's Blackbeard's Ghost (1968). Have you read it? In case you haven't (or even if you have), Dean Brinkerhoff reads my article aloud on his excellent YouTube channel. Check it out and have a frightfully fun listen. 

Laboratory-Tested Hobby Kits For The Boy Who Has Everything!

The October (when else??)1962 issue of Boy's Life brought forth this fun ad for the Universal Monsters Model kits from Aurora that many boys were going mad for. The monster models were introduced in 1962 so this boys' magazine (specially for Boy Scouts) got this off to a great start. But of course there were (and are) plenty of female Monster Kids, too. Whoever and whatever you are, be sure and check out all the boogie man-type blogs participating in 2023's Countdown to Halloween blogathon. 

The Debut Of The Bride

For our Countdown to Halloween 2023: 1934 trade ad announcing not only the sequel to Universal's monster hit Frankenstein (1931) but also its original title. It was of course to be released in 1935 as The Bride of Frankenstein. And as this ad promises, it is indeed greater than Frankenstein.

 

Casper The Treater Is Also A Trickster

Halloween is prime time for the world's friendliest ghost, that cutest of all comic-book stars, Casper. Here  he is on a most appropriate trick-or-treat themed drawing by Harvey Comics mainstay Warren Kremer on the cover of Casper the Friendly Ghost (or if you will, The Friendly Ghost Casper) #28 September 1960. Apparently Casper's woodland neighbors knew that Casper-branded Halloween gear was indeed manufactured. It's all part of our Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Happy Disney 100

Today, October 16th, 2023, is the official 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company. What can possibly sum up Disney after 100 years? Since we are in the midst of our Countdown to Halloween 2023 blogathon, let's choose something spooky-season related. And there is nothing that is better for Halloween than "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the masterfully animated second half of Walt Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Here we have a lobby card from the original release and ad art from 1958, who "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" was reissued as a stand-alone featurette.

Disney 100 At Tulgey Wood TV

To commemorate Disney 100 today, Disney's actual 100th anniversary, my YouTube channel will be celebrating all week with special videos. Today's video is a bonus episode of Digging the Details with Jim & Dean about the National Film Registry and some of the Disney films therein. Click here to see our special video and be sure and check back all week.

Where Monsters Are King

For Countdown to Halloween 2023: The Universal Monsters were featured on some of the coolest kids meals toys ever offered by Burger King, or anywhere else for that matter. Available in Burger King's Kid Club Meals in 1997, these monstrously playful toys (including Bolts and Volts Frankenstein and Down for the Count Dracula) helped everyone Scare Up Some Fun. Thanks to Dinosaur Dracula for this awesome poster Burger King used to encourage customers to "Collect All 4—If You Dare!" PS Be sure and catch Dinosaur Dracula's Purple Stuff podcast! 

TRON: A Fresh Look

Can Disney's TRON qualify as a Countdown to Halloween 2023 entry? It's not a horror film, but on the other hand, a malevolent some might say monstrous elecTRONic force abducts a hero and forces him to compete as a gladiator in games to the death. At any rate, my co-host on our YouTube series, Digging the Details with Jim and Dean, the uber talented artist-writer-historian Dean Brinkerhoff, has written an excellent multi-faceted article about both TRON and TRON Legacy. It's on the Communerdy website, which features many other fascinating articles as well. What's better than reading Dean's article? Listening to Dean read it! Check out Dean's YouTube channel and this video and give it a listen.   

More Than Casper and Spooky

With stars such as Casper and Spooky and Hot Stuff, Harvey Comics are a Tulgey Wood spooky-season staple, and Countdown to Halloween 2023 is no exception. But it's good to remember that Harvey Comics is more than the ghosts and devils and witches. Also among their stars were children, so of course Halloween is a perfect subject for those characters as well. Here, on the cover of Little Dot No. 156  December 1974, Dot helps us connect the dots by trick-or-treating as only she can. 

Halloween Time on Disney +

The Disney + streaming service celebrates the spooky season by spotlighting all kinds of Halloween worthy programming. What better way to celebrate Countdown to Halloween by delving into this collection (if you are a Disney + subscriber) and enjoying. In addition to anything else, you will find some of Walt Disney's classic animated shorts, including Lonesome Ghosts, Trick or Treat and the just-added The Skeleton Dance. 

Smorgie The Bad Tricks and Treats

For Countdown to Halloween 2023: October 10, 1952 saw the release of Walt Disney's Trick or Treat. Among the merch inspired by this beloved short is the famous comic-book adaptation by Carl Barks. The legendary comic artist-writer added some scenes and elements not seen in the screen story. Chief among these is Smorgasbord the Ogre. Here is Smorgie the Bad, immortalized by William Van Horn in this cover art for Donald Duck Adventures No. 47 December 1997, pictured here. Discover more about this classic animated short, the comic-book story inspired by it and all things Trick or Treat in the article I wrote for D23. 

The Marvel Family Meets Halloween

As noted previously here in Tulgey Wood, super heroes occasionally meet up with monsters. One can see such in The Marvel Family No. 52, October 1950, where Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Mary Marvel battle Ichabod Vort (great name!) and his school for witches. Aside from witches, bats, demons and even dinosaurs are on hand. Perfect for the Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Toys "R" Us Undead No More?

Word is that toy giant Toys "R" Us is making a comeback. Once upon a Halloween time, Toys "R" Us was very much a spooky season HQ, with costumes, decor and treats...so in celebration of that fun place-to-be for October goodness, here's a Trick-or-Treat bag.  No Toys "R" Us logo (to its credit), just Geoffrey the spokesgiraffe in eye-candy art, perfect for our Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

More Whitman Wizardry Inspired By Bedknobs and Broomsticks

When Bedknobs and Broomsticks was released on October 7, 1971, Whitman, Disney's longtime licensee, issued a cauldron full of tie-ins, much of it with beautiful art. Here's the cover of the box foe the Bedknobs and Broomsticks game with art that is typically enticing as well as enchanting. Celebrate the premiere of this bewitching musical fantasy with the article I wrote for D23. And be sure to stop by all month for more treats and maybe even a trick or two as we continue our Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Mad Mod Monsters, Archie-Style

As is our Tulgey Wood tradition, here's Archie to bring some monstrous fun for Halloween on the cover of Archie's Mad House #15 October 1961. The Archie's Mad House title was just that—mad. So it featured out-there gags and fun beyond the normal world of small-town high-school that was the Archie mainstay. Hence, Jughead transforming into a werewolf, because of course. It's all part of our Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Mickey Mouse Grapples With Ghosts

In the legendary series of giveaway comic-books that were a mail-in premium from Cheerios in 1947, the Mickey Mouse issue was Mickey Mouse and the Haunted House. Not surprisingly, this specially formatted comic book wasn't reprintred...until 1992, when it was republished in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #578. As we celebrate all things spooky for Countdown to Halloween 2023, here are a few pages of this rarity. (Cover art by Carl Buettner, art by Dick Moores). 

Trick-Or-Treat, Apartment-Dwellers Style

For our Countdown to Halloween 2023: Though they may not go from house-to-house, city children who live in apartment buildings love trick-or-treating, too, even though there may be no jack-o-lanterns in the hallways. In fact, according to this vintage cover from The New Yorker (November 1, 1958), a child might be inspired by the neighbors in creating a costume. Case in point: the girl (or boy) ringing the bell whose costume is that of a society matron. Art by the legendary William Steig. 

Uncle Scrooge vs Spooks

One of my favorite of Carl Barks' later 1960s Uncle Scrooge comic-book adventures is Mystery of the Ghost Town Railroad.  No surprise there, as this fun escapade combines two of my favorite things: spookiness and trains. In fact, I was lucky enough to be able to choose this as a subject to write about this story for Disney Train magazine, published in Japan by the publisher, Hachette Japan, for which I have written for (and continue to work for) on many projects. Carl Barks actually drew two different covers for this story, the second of which was published as the actual cover (Uncle Scrooge No. 56 March 1965), while the alternate was published as the inside front cover. One can see why the cover in its first form was not used, and the second was. In the actual cover, Uncle Scrooge is in the foreground and the characters (including the ghosts) are all in dynamic action. In addition, the locomotive is included in the background, a definite plus. Enjoy both versions as we Countdown to Halloween 2023. 

Monstrous Muppet Merriment

As everyone who has read my D23 article about the Muppet Monsters—or even if you haven’t—knows that the Muppets mean monsters. So those irresistible creatures that can seem scary, but really aren’t, were featured on the wonderful line of Muppet greeting cards issued by Hallmark in the late 1970s-1980s. Included was this card spotlighting the Monsters on the March as Kermit questions if only for a moment the friends who surround him. Stop by here in Tulgey Wood for more monster-sized Halloween fun all this October as we Countdown to Halloween 2023.

Welcome to Halloween Time 2023

Welcome, foolish mortals, to the 2023 Countdown to Halloween...31 days of frightful fun that leads straight to the spookiest day of the year! October 1st marks the official Opening Day of Walt Disney World so it's a Tulgey Wood tradition to kickoff this macabre mansion salute the Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion. This publicity still (provided free for newspapers and magazines) promoting the featurette The Magic of Walt Disney World (issued theatrically in 1972 on the same bill as Snowball Express) shows off the unique design of the Florida version of the classic attraction, a Gothic looking Dutch manor house with English Tudor influenced styling that fits in with its Liberty Square location. This photo (click on the image for a closer view) also shows how the spooky manse looms over the Rivers of America from the atop on which it sts. Come back tomorrow (and all through October) for more Halloween fun. And don't forget to visit all the oogie-boogie blogs ready to scare the (un)living daylights out of you during this month-long scary-bration.