Sad Sack and the Sarge #128

If the cover to this 1977 Harvey Comic was Christmas themed, I would call this book a 'Scrooge'. We get this really really festive Halloween cover with Sad Sack skewering his gruff, but caring Sarge, as the most frightening decoration for the Army base's upcoming Halloween bash. But in terms of any of the stories being Halloween themed, there's absolutely nothing.

There are 4 stories starring Sad Sack, the Sarge and other characters in this book. 3 are paneled stories. 1 is prose. The artists and writers might have set these tales during the month of October. But there's nothing to the plot or settings that imply that the characters are in the throes of the season of the witch.

The opening story was the best. Sad Sack and Sarge are going on leave via air travel. Sarge got business class while Sad Sack flies 2nd class. The differences in the experiences of the 2 characters couldn't be more polarizing or funny. The middle story was interesting as it's got Sad Sack being an Army test subject to early virtual reality and hard light hologram technology. A funny read but lacking the magic of the opener.

The prose yarn was a rambling mess. These fillers were merely requirements to help meet first class postage standards and the lack of care and finesse shows. But it seems that whomever plotted the prose tale also scripted the last story which sees Sad Sack and Sarge on horseback getting lost on a vacation excursion at a dude ranch. 

There were also a couple of one-page gags that were okay. But again, not involving Halloween. In fact the only thing Halloween themed was an ad for UNICEF starring the main characters of Harvey Comics, including Richie Rich, Casper and Baby Huey. 

This is the second time that I have been burned by an issue of Sad Sack. I bought a reprint of Sad Sack: At Home for the Holidays that features a beautiful cover of the main character coming back to his metropolitan home for a Christmas break. But it was devoid of Holiday cheer. At least one story was set during Sad Sack's trip back home and there was snow. But none of the sets were decorated with boughs of holly; nor were there any 'fa-la-la-la-laaas' in the air.

If I had spent a ton of money on this book I would have been really disappointed. But the asking price was only 90 cents and I think I used trade credit. And at least half of the material in this book was decent. However, if I come across another Sad Sack comic book with a holiday cover of any sort of celebration, you can be assure that I will be making sure there's at least 1 themed tale in the book before I shell out some cash to purchase it.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 42

Secretary Alexander's official government photo, 1977.

   
Today's date in A Madman Turns 40 history commemorates the historic appointment of Clifford Alexander Jr. On this day, Alexander was appointed as the first black Secretary of the United States Army. Nominated by newly elected Jimmy Carter, he served until January of 1981 when he was replaced by Reagan appointee, John Otho Marsh Jr. 

    Since this is Black History Month, I thought it was appropriate to highlight this moment in American military history. So just who is Clifford Alexander Jr.

Former Secretary Alexander, circa 2015.

    A former member of the New York National Guard, Clifford Alexander spent his term trying to revitalize the now 'all-volunteer' Army. The draft was halted in 1973, but recruitment efforts were at an all-time low in the late 70s due to the painful legacy of the Vietnam War. Alexander also lead President Carter's new mandate to encourage diversity by awarding minority owned businesses a fair share of government contracts.

     After Alexander's term as Secretary ended, he returned back to the private sector where he served in numerous functions as well as a member of the American Stock Exchange's board of governors; a position he still holds. In the 90s, Mr. Alexander spoke before Congress against President Clinton's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy which barred openly gay Americans from serving in any military function. In 2011, Alexander and other opponents of the government's approach towards homosexuals in the military, celebrated in 2010 when President Obama signed an official appeal of DADT into law.

President Obama signing the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal into law, 2010

     Well, that's all this Madman has time for today. Check in again tomorrow- who knows where I'll go next in 1977 history...
   

Sarge Snorkel #13 (Family Comic Friday)

I’m not really sure how I got this comic. The only thing I can think of is that I bought it in order to add it to the stock of the reading program I started at my wife’s work. Still, I am not 100% sure. I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of the Beetle Bailey comic strip on which this comic is based.  I was a Hi and Lois fan, truth be told. (Fun Fact: Beetle Bailey is Lois’ brother and that series was a spin-off.)

Anyway, I found this cleaning out from under our bed so I must have misplaced it separating things I wanted from things I purchased for the reading program. But I decided before I got rid of it, I would read it. Couldn’t hurt.

The book is filled mostly with 1-2 page comics. I’m assuming they were rejected from the Sunday paper. They weren’t awful- they just weren’t my cup of tea. There was a short story in this book that was fairly decent. It was about a war-game held at the army base in which Beetle and Sarge is stationed. I usually skip prose tales in comics until I recently learned that comics had to include such a piece in their issue in order to qualify for first class postage. So, now I read them for the historical value.

At just about any convention, you can find little dollar gems such as these for kids and parents alike to enjoy. Most aren’t in the best of shape, due to the fact that kids owned these once and aren’t the best at keeping things pristine. Also, most of these books were massed produced and don’t have very much ‘collectability.’ It doesn’t mean that they’re awful it’s just not what collectors are clamoring for.

This is definitely going into my reading program’s inventory. I didn’t hate it, but it’s just not for me. It was fun to read, look at the old advertisements and get taken back to the comics of my youth. But a book like this could spark interest in the next generation of comics readers and thus, I will pass it on for them.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars