Potrzebie
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Puck the Comic Weekly
At bottom are typographical emoticons from the March 30, 1881 issue of the satirical humor magazine Puck, published from 1871 until 1918. In 1916, it was purchased by Hearst, who later assembled Sunday comics under his Puck the Comic Weekly masthead (where Puck proclaimed "What fools these mortals be" each week). Puck the Comic Weekly was distributed to the 17 Hearst Sunday papers with a combined circulation of 5,000,000.
By the mid-1940s, Puck expanded to 16 pages (two eight-page sections). Puck in the New York Journal-American for January 11, 1948 carried George McManus' Snookums, Bringing Up Father, Flash Gordon, Dick's Adventures, Blondie, Prince Valiant, Uncle Remus, Little Annie Rooney, Tim Tyler's Luck, Seein' Stars, Gene Ahern's Room and Board, Harold Knerr's Dinglehoofer Und His Dog, Tillie the Toiler, Dudley Fisher's Right Around Home, Edwinna Dumm's Tippie, Buz Sawyer, Jungle Jim, Little Iodine, The Little King, Donald Duck, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, The Lone Ranger, Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, The Phantom and The Katzenjammer Kids.
Control click heading above to hear The Comic Weekly Man as broadcast August 6, 1950.
At bottom are typographical emoticons from the March 30, 1881 issue of the satirical humor magazine Puck, published from 1871 until 1918. In 1916, it was purchased by Hearst, who later assembled Sunday comics under his Puck the Comic Weekly masthead (where Puck proclaimed "What fools these mortals be" each week). Puck the Comic Weekly was distributed to the 17 Hearst Sunday papers with a combined circulation of 5,000,000.
By the mid-1940s, Puck expanded to 16 pages (two eight-page sections). Puck in the New York Journal-American for January 11, 1948 carried George McManus' Snookums, Bringing Up Father, Flash Gordon, Dick's Adventures, Blondie, Prince Valiant, Uncle Remus, Little Annie Rooney, Tim Tyler's Luck, Seein' Stars, Gene Ahern's Room and Board, Harold Knerr's Dinglehoofer Und His Dog, Tillie the Toiler, Dudley Fisher's Right Around Home, Edwinna Dumm's Tippie, Buz Sawyer, Jungle Jim, Little Iodine, The Little King, Donald Duck, Barney Google and Snuffy Smith, The Lone Ranger, Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, The Phantom and The Katzenjammer Kids.
One of two statues of Puck on the Puck Building at 295 Lafayette Street.
Labels: blondie, buz sawyer, dudley fisher, hearst, pepsi, puck, roy crane
¶ 5:08 AM 2 comments
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Topps #3: Pee-wee's Big Adventure
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In 1966, at the request of Art Spiegelman, I submitted gags for Topps' Insult Postcard series. The first freelance gag I sold to Topps was part of that series: "Come alive! You're in the Monster Generation!" spoofed the familiar Pepsi Generation commercials. Wally Wood and Ralph Reese illustrated the series.
.In 1966, at the request of Art Spiegelman, I submitted gags for Topps' Insult Postcard series. The first freelance gag I sold to Topps was part of that series: "Come alive! You're in the Monster Generation!" spoofed the familiar Pepsi Generation commercials. Wally Wood and Ralph Reese illustrated the series.
Cover: Esau Andrews
Although Ralph took an extended leave from illustrating, he returns this month with a wild DC Comics tale, "The Thirteenth Hour," featuring monsters crawling over buildings a la Cloverfield. Look for it in issue #13 (May) of editor Angela Rufino's revival of House of Mystery for Vertigo.
As I explained previously, I began working with the Topps Product Development staff in December 1967. By then, Art had taken off for San Francisco, and when he returned a few months later, we would take sketchpads down the hall to the Topps cafeteria, which was deserted during the hours before and after lunch. While the kitchen staff prepared lunch, we would drink coffee and toss gags back and forth.
Others in the Product Development department, run by Woody Gelman, were the cartoonist-designer Rick Varesi, Len Brown (now a classic country DJ in Austin, Texas), Mad writer Stan Hart (who only came in once a week), the clever, creative Larry Riley and the secretary, Faye Fleischer. Riley was a terrific raconteur with hilarious tales of his years working on Paramount animated cartoons, and I regret never tape recording his stories. When he left Topps, he worked as an animator on Ralph Bakshi's movie, Fritz the Cat (1972).
Although Ralph took an extended leave from illustrating, he returns this month with a wild DC Comics tale, "The Thirteenth Hour," featuring monsters crawling over buildings a la Cloverfield. Look for it in issue #13 (May) of editor Angela Rufino's revival of House of Mystery for Vertigo.As I explained previously, I began working with the Topps Product Development staff in December 1967. By then, Art had taken off for San Francisco, and when he returned a few months later, we would take sketchpads down the hall to the Topps cafeteria, which was deserted during the hours before and after lunch. While the kitchen staff prepared lunch, we would drink coffee and toss gags back and forth.
Others in the Product Development department, run by Woody Gelman, were the cartoonist-designer Rick Varesi, Len Brown (now a classic country DJ in Austin, Texas), Mad writer Stan Hart (who only came in once a week), the clever, creative Larry Riley and the secretary, Faye Fleischer. Riley was a terrific raconteur with hilarious tales of his years working on Paramount animated cartoons, and I regret never tape recording his stories. When he left Topps, he worked as an animator on Ralph Bakshi's movie, Fritz the Cat (1972).
The inventive Larry Riley at Topps
Occasionally, other people would arrive and briefly take a crack at gagwriting. However, a special knack was required, and these wannabe humorists usually had odd and puzzling notions of what constituted humor.
One day Woody Gelman explained to us that the Topps execs were sending in a crackerjack humor writer to work on creating cards with us. I don't think Woody was too pleased about the situation of a newcomer crashing his party. Rick, Len, Larry and I were sitting in Woody's office waiting for the new guy to arrive. Expectations were high, because why was he being sent over unless he was a funny fellow? Indeed, he came in wearing a plaid jacket, a bowtie and big, confident grin. In retrospect, he looked sort of like Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman.
After a round of introductions and handshakes, Pee-wee took a seat, and Woody asked him to go right into his presentation. Pee-wee pitched a very strange concept. He said, "Okay, picture this. You show the world as it looks from a dog's point of view." Dead silence... as we all tried to comprehend just what he was describing.
I said, "So in other words, the dog is looking up, and there's a drawing of what he sees in an up-angle from ground level?"
"Yes," said Pee-wee with a big smile, obviously proud of this idea.
I continued, "So if that's the first card in a series of 44 cards, what would you do for the other 43 cards? Would card #2 be a cat looking up? Then maybe a hamster?"
He had no response. His smile faded. He began to twist slowly in the wind. And after that meeting, we never saw him again. In the bubble gum universe, another bubble had burst.
"Cowpoke in Africa" is another Krazy TV card with gag and color rough by me. John Severin drew the finish. The card caricatures Chuck Connors in the short-lived TV series Cowboy in Africa (1967-68). Coincidentally, Chuck Connors grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, within walking distance of the Bush Terminal where Topps offices were located.
One day Woody Gelman explained to us that the Topps execs were sending in a crackerjack humor writer to work on creating cards with us. I don't think Woody was too pleased about the situation of a newcomer crashing his party. Rick, Len, Larry and I were sitting in Woody's office waiting for the new guy to arrive. Expectations were high, because why was he being sent over unless he was a funny fellow? Indeed, he came in wearing a plaid jacket, a bowtie and big, confident grin. In retrospect, he looked sort of like Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman.
After a round of introductions and handshakes, Pee-wee took a seat, and Woody asked him to go right into his presentation. Pee-wee pitched a very strange concept. He said, "Okay, picture this. You show the world as it looks from a dog's point of view." Dead silence... as we all tried to comprehend just what he was describing.
I said, "So in other words, the dog is looking up, and there's a drawing of what he sees in an up-angle from ground level?"
"Yes," said Pee-wee with a big smile, obviously proud of this idea.
I continued, "So if that's the first card in a series of 44 cards, what would you do for the other 43 cards? Would card #2 be a cat looking up? Then maybe a hamster?"
He had no response. His smile faded. He began to twist slowly in the wind. And after that meeting, we never saw him again. In the bubble gum universe, another bubble had burst.
"Cowpoke in Africa" is another Krazy TV card with gag and color rough by me. John Severin drew the finish. The card caricatures Chuck Connors in the short-lived TV series Cowboy in Africa (1967-68). Coincidentally, Chuck Connors grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, within walking distance of the Bush Terminal where Topps offices were located.
Labels: gelman, krazy tv, memoir, monster, pee-wee, pepsi, ralph reese, reubens, topps, varesi
¶ 4:55 PM 4 comments
