I Yam Classic

As I've mentioned before, although I love superhero comics, I wish there were more comic books about our favorite characters, as back in the time when multi-paneled magazines such as Woody Woodpecker, The Flintstones, Pogo, Tom and Jerry—and of course all the Disney comic books—crammed the newsstands and spinner racks. Today, there are a few, such as Looney Tunes, Spongebob Squarepants, Peanuts and Garfield, for which we are very thankful. And we are also most grateful for Popeye and Classic Popeye. Published by one of the current premier comics publisher, IDW, these punched-up periodicals features classic (drawn by Bud Sagendorf, the artist who carried on the Popeye newspaper comic strip and comic book after the untimely death of Popeye creator E. C. Segar in 1938) and newly created Popeye adventures. Word was that the Popeye titles had been cancelled—but now the (better) word is that the Popeye comic books will continue. Enjoy this cover from Issue 5, September 2012, featuring the mighty Sailor Man himself actually drawing a comic-book story (drawn by contemporary artist Bruce Ozella —and don't forget to pick up a copy of Classic Popeye and Popeye online at your comic book shop. (IDW is also collecting the Popeye comic-book classics into hard cover.)

The Fllntsones Meet Frankenstein

The countdown is over and Halloween 2012 is here! I love cartoons and I love monsters so it would just go to follow how much I love cartoon monsters—so this Flintstones comic is a favorite of mine and I hope you find it a fun Halloween treat. It seems the one place you could count on meeting cartoonized ghouls and monsters was Bedrock, home to the Flintstones. Was there something about living in prehistoric times that meant one would meet monsters? After all, as mentioned here, the Flintstones lived near the Gruesomes.  (Samantha and Darren Stevens—Hanna-Barbera animated them for the famous Bewitched title sequence—also moved into Fred and Wilma's neighborhood in an episode aired on the close-to-Halloween date of October 22 1965—not that the bewtichingly beautiful Sam was a monster, but she was a witch, which certainly qualifies her honorable mention in this Halloween post.)  And in the Flintstones comic book, as seen in the images below, Fred and Wilma met Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman and the Mummy. In "The Flintstones Meet Frankenstein and Dracula" (from Issue 33, April, 1966 and written by Vic Lockman), the monsters accidentally time-travel to prehistoric Bedrock where Fred mistakes them for visiting cousins. Incredibly, Frankenstein and Dracula as seen in this comic are the Universal versions of these monsters (the Frankenstein monster certainly is), but there is no indication that official permission was obtained or an official licensing deal was arranged, so one wonders how Hanna-Barbera and/or Gold Key got away with this. Perhaps they were feeling monstrously audacious. (UPDATE: Gold Key comics expert Joe Torcivia informs me that Phil DeLara drew this Flintstones comic book.) This post marks the conclusion of the Countdown to Halloween 2012 blog-a-thon. Thank you to everyone who stopped by—be sure and come back often and discover even more madness here in Tulgey Wood. 

Hey, Mickey, Come Over For A Party!

Today, November 18, is the date used as the anniversary of Mickey Mouse's introduction to the world, as it was on this day in 1928 Steamboat Willie premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York City. That's a mighty big place for such a little guy to make his debut but as we all know Mickey turned out to be a mighty big Mouse. In celebration of the day, here's a comic book (Mickey Mouse #188) from 1978 featuring a great and oft-reprinted cover (originally from #73, 1960) by Mouse comic-book master Paul Murry. Look closely (next to the unfortunate UPC code) and you'll see the fun "Happy Birthday, Mickey" logo that was created for Mickey's 50th that year. (Click on the comic cover for a larger view.) Happy Birthday to the Mouse who started it all.

A Tricky Treat From Bugs Bunny

We can't let Halloween time fly by here at Tulgey Wood without a visit with Bugs Bunny. Bugs regularly celebrated Halloween in his comic books, and you can revel in one of that wascally wabbit's trick-or-treat comic book treats in its entirety. Just head on over the excellent horror-comics blog, The Horrors of It All, or as it's known, THOIA, and enjoy the spooky story from Bugs Bunny's Trick 'n' Treat Halloween Fun (#3 1955)—the terrific art pictured at right is from this Giant Comic's back cover. While you're there check out the other horror comics master blogger Kraswell has posted but beware—it's all pre-Comics Code material so there's some strong stuff here and there.

Big Bang Is Back, On TV And In The Comics

As most of you already know, this past Monday, September 21, brought The Big Bang Theory back for a third season on CBS. What you may not know is that the four comic-book loving geeks—make that geniuses—also make an appearance in a comic book now on the stands. In the October issue (no. 4) of Power Girl, written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Amanda Conner, the Big Bang boys make a cameo appearance, as you can see in the page pictured to the left. It's entirely appropriate that the male stars (sorry, Penny) of the show appear in this context, not only because the geeky guys are funny-book freaks but also because Power Girl is published by DC, which is owned by Warner Bros., which produces The Big Bang Theory. Now that's synergy of a very fun kind. For more Big Bang fun, check out Ed Squair's (who has already posted about the Big Bang-Power Girl crossover) report on the show's presentation at this summer's Comic-Con.