Thanksgiving or Halloween?

 Two holidays clash in the great comic strip, Lio.  

Mouse On The Mayflower Monday

Celebrating Thanksgiving week with this publicity photo of images from the Rankin-Bass TV special, The Mouse on the Mayflower. This Rankin-Bass special debuted on NBC on November 23, 1968, Thanksgiving Day that year. Read my analysis about this unusual Thanksgiving animated treat (including a very Baloo-like, in terms of design at least, bear) here. 

Happy Halloween 2025!

October 31st is here, and our 2025 Countdown is over. Once again this year, I wasn't able to do as much as I wanted to with my countdown, as logistics and circumstances (such as work) interfered. So to all my followers and visitors this year, I hope you were able to enjoy what was here. To say Happy Halloween, here is a Sixty Years with Mickey-themed trick-or-treat bag. A tie-in with Mars Inc. to promote their line of confections (M & Ms, Snickers, Milky Way, etc.), these plastic bags were given away free in supermarkets. Happy Halloween to all! 

                         

Spidey For Halloween

Check out my latest YouTube Short starring Spider-Man and some not so Marvel-ous monsters from classic Marvel comics. The short was created especially for Halloween. And while you’re at my YouTube channel, head to my Halloween Playlist for other end-of-October fun. It’s all at Tulgey Wood TV. 

Archie's Here...Wait, No He's Not

That comic-book/comic strip Archie superstar is a Countdown to Halloween perennial...but that redhead from Riverdale is nowhere near to be found in this monstrously captivating cover (attributed to Samm Schwartz) for Laugh no. 130 1962, all the better to include that classic monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon. 

 

No Muss, No Fuss—It's Those Monsterous Gremlins

There are good Gremlins and bad Gremlins, but the problem is that the good leads to the bad (but only when fed after midnight). Released in 1984, Gremlins was heavily merchandised (a lunch box, trading cards, publications, Golden Books), including this glorious Colorforms Adventure Set. Featured are lovable Gizmo, evil Stripe, and even Gizmo’s human friend Billy (Zach Galligan). Enjoy the ghastly Sticks Like Magic setup as we Countdown to Halloween. 

Return To Oz With Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack Pumpkinhead from L. Frank Baum’s Oz books is a most suitable character for the spooky season. He is, after all, a living jack o’lantern. Here’s Jack front and center on the poster for the cult-classic Disney film Return to Oz (1985), celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. This artful poster also serves as a tribute to acclaimed artist Drew Struzan, who died today, October 13, 2025. This celebrated illustrator created iconic posters for everything from Star Wars to The Muppet Movie. Can you find Drew Struzan’s famous “drew” signature within the poster’s art? 

Granny Goodwitch Makes Some Not So Scary Music

For Countdown to Halloween 2025: One of the least well-known but most delightful cartoon witches, Granny Goodwitch was created as a foil for Post Cereal spokes-bear Sugar Bear in his animated commercials for Sugar Crisp. When the Linus the Lion Hearted TV series—with a cast of Post's animated cereal mascots—debuted on CBS in 1964, Sugar Bear was naturally included, but so was Granny (wonderfully voiced by the great Ruth Buzzi), as seen here on the cover of the Linus tie-in LP record. Episodes of Linus the Lion Hearted are now seen each week on Sunday night on the indispensable Me TV Toons channel. Word has it that a DVD of the masterfully remastered and restored Linus episodes will be released in the not-so-distant future. (Dare we hope that at least some of the Post cereal commercials will be included?) Of all the Post mascots that star in the show, only Sugar Bear is still active, as seen on every box of Golden Crisp (known as Sugar Crisp)—but unfortunately without Granny Goodwitch. 

A Haunting Cover by Barks

Master illustrator-writer Carl Barks drew up his share of spooky comic book covers over the years, such as this "spooky kooky" entry for his "House of Haunts" adventure story in Uncle Scrooge no. 63 in 1966. A perfect way to celebrate our Countdown to Halloween. 

 

 

Tell-Tale Animated Horror

Although Disney had already firmly established that the art of theatrical animation was more than capable of compellingly depicting horror, UPA created The Tell-Tale Heart (1953). Drawing upon its signature elements of striking design—in this case, expressionistic visuals and minimalist backgrounds—and powerful cinematic technique, including distorted angles and high-contrast shadows, UPA produced an engrossing and decidedly unsettling adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, converting it into a stark statement of psychological horror. Such was the power of director Ted Parmelee's short that Life magazine celebrated its considerable movie-making merits (click on the images below for a larger view), a perfect entry for our Countdown to Halloween.