Classic Doctor Who Comics #9 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In 1964, British horror studio, Amicus Productions decided to dip their toe into the science fiction genre. Hoping for an immediate hit, they contacted BBC Studios to license a series of films based on the smash television hit Doctor Who. 

They went with the Doctor's most famous foes, the Daleks. After penning a 3 movie deal with the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, Amicus went about adapting their origin story, aptly titled 'The Daleks.' Amicus then hired esteemed actor Peter Cushing as the title role. 

Not wanting viewers confused about there being another Doctor, the BBC demanded some changes be made. Instead of being an alien known only as the Doctor, Cushing's Dr. Who would be an eccentric elderly human who creates a time machine called TARDIS, which can also transverse the universe. Thus the Doctor can change the location of where his time machine emerges from a journey forward or backwards in time. He would also have 2 grandchildren, older teenager Barbara and precious 11-year old Susan. Along for the journey would be Barbara's klutzy boyfriend Ian. 

Adjustments would also be made to the Daleks. Their frames were bulked up and height was added to make the cybernetic aliens look more intimidating. As the film would mark the Daleks' first appearance in color, two new models were produced with a fiery red and black shell. Some of the suction cups were replaced with pincer claws. Other Daleks were to be armed with flame throwers. The BBC put the kibosh on that upgrade, fearing that it would frighten young viewers.

Dr. Who and the Daleks 1965 debut in the United Kingdom was a massive hit. While the TV series had universal appeal with audiences of all ages, the film was clearly aimed at children. Across the pond in the United States, the film bombed. 1966 audiences had yet to become familiar with the Doctor as it was still several years away from Doctor Who debuting on public broadcasting airwaves. 

Since the British sci-fi series was an unknown entity to American audiences, a comic book adaptation was produced. Dell Comics accepted the challenge for garnering interest in the movie. Joe Gill adapted the Milton Subotsky and Terry Nation screenplay. Gill must have been given an early version of the script because those forbidden flame-throwing Daleks menace Dr. Who and his family on more than one occasion in this book. Dick Giordano and Sal Trapani penciled and inked with photos of the cast adorning the interior and exterior covers.

The story of Dr. Who and the Daleks is an origin story. While showing his granddaughters and Ian his newly invented time machine, Ian accidentally activates TARDIS sending the quartet to a desolate planet. A thermonuclear war has caused survivors to mutate into two warring factions: the humanoid Thals, who developed a cure for the effects of radiation sickness and the underground dwelling Daleks, who look like giant brains with tentacles. The Daleks also happen to control the planet's limited food supply. 

The Thals make frequent raids on the Daleks stronghold for food while the Daleks seek the radiation cure. Finding killing abhorrent, the Thals would be willing to make a peace with their foes, trading food for medicine. The Daleks seek to annihilate their foes once the cure is in their grasp. As Dr. Who attempts to escape from his Daleks captors, a planet killing bomb is activated. Now the Thals must disarm the weapon in hopes of their survival, even if it means wiping out the Daleks forever.

The Dell adaptation of Dr. Who and the Daleks was never officially released in the UK. It was an American only release. One of the few times that the States possessed a classic Doctor Who licensed product and Britain didn't. A few copies are said to have appeared on American bases throughout the UK at the PX, eventually making it's way into the populace. 

British Who fans wouldn't get an official chance to see the collective work of Gill, Giordano and Trapani until the Summer of 1993. The 9th issue of Classic Doctor Who Comics, released by Marvel Comics UK, featured a complete reprinting of the 1966 adaptation. Colin Howard crafted the cover image of Cushing as Dr. Who, facing one of those terrifying new Red Daleks. The Neutron Knights by Steve Parkhouse and Dave Gibbons is this issue's backup comic. It sees the Fourth Doctor played by Tom Baker summoned to Earth by Merlin the Magician. Photographed posters of a reject from the Planet of the Apes called an Orgon and Mary Tamm as the first incarnation of the Time Lord Romana are centerfold inserts and producer/director John Ainsworth examines the comics of the Slyvester McCoy era of Doctor Who.

In 1966, Amicus produced its follow-up to Dr. Who and The Daleks. Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. was a box office bust. Production problems and Cushing's diminished role due to a serious illness were blamed for the film's problems. As a result, the sequel never made it to the States and Amicus scraped its option for a third film. Both movies have garnered cult status, though neither are officially canon. To explain the existence of the Peter Cushing films, they have been retconned over the years, explained to have been films officially requested by the Doctor in hopes of educating the populace to the threat of the Daleks. 

Completing this review completes Task #28 (A Doctor Who Comic or Graphic Novel) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Dell Four Color #950- Frosty The Snowman

This Dell Four Color from 1958 stars the second most popular character to star in a Christmas novelty song, Frosty the Snowman.

There's 5 or 6 short stories in this book. Though really, they read like chapters. For instance, Frosty is gifted a new scarf by a new friend he meets and throughout the remainder of the book, Frosty is drawn wearing that new accessory. The book begins with Frosty spending time with his forest friends. After gifting them a Christmas feast of carrots, lettuce and seeds, Frosty meets a little boy who cannot afford a fancy sled. So the lad made his own out of an old wooden barrel. Determined to help the little fella out, Frosty heads to the North Pole to ask Santa to make him a sled for Christmas. However, Christmas might be cancelled because Santa has run out of the magic star dust needed to make the reindeer fly. 

My last holiday read, but not review, for 2024. I really enjoyed this book. Being almost 70 years in age, the pages were fragile and I was seriously afraid that the cover would come off. But the Christmas magic inside the book never faded. 

I couldn't tell you who wrote this book. Nor who illustrated it. From a time when many comic book creators didn't provide their credentials, either purposely or by company policy, the artwork for Frosty was a tad generic. But his forest friends and Santa Claus looked so friendly and festive. The storytelling was quite creative. One of Dell's comics devoted to its youngest of readers, it was of a quality found in a Little Golden Book. And I mean that as a high compliment.

If you are a collector of holiday comics and you can find a copy of this either in the wild or at a shop/Con, it's really worth owning. Just read while wearing kid gloves - literally!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars.

Dell Giant: Christmas in Disneyland #1

Instead of gifts from Santa, a little boy and girl ask Santa to take them on a magical trip to Disneyland in this 1957 Dell Giant. 

Santa obliges, telling the children an assortment of stories based on the various lands and rides throughout the park. The Carl Barks classic 'The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama' starts things off with Uncle Scrooge and his nephews marooned on a deserted island at Christmas. Chip n' Dale must rescue Jiminy Cricket from the clutches of Br'er Bear, who forces the wise insect to teach him how to become Santa Claus. Mickey and Goofy attempt to deliver a payload of gold to a group of miners before Christmas Eve. The L'il Bad Wolf thinks his papa is making him a snow blowing machine to help him in his snow shoveling business. And in the surprise of all surprises, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell attempt to rescue Santa Claus who has been kidnapped by the dastardly Captain Hook!

I was extremely excited about that Peter Pan story. The 1953 Disney classic plays into the story of how my wife and I met. I had no idea about the existence of this story. It was such a great read and I loved seeing the Tick-Tock Crocodile fly after getting sprinkled with pixie dust.

There were also several arts and crafts activities and a fun and games section in the back. Considering that this issue is nearly 70 years old and only 1 of those pages was torn out, probably by some child who had zero idea how collectible old comics would one day be, I consider myself very lucky. I paid less than $10 for this issue and if that page hadn't been missing, the book would probably have been priced out of my price range. 

On my wish list of Christmas comic books, I've got issue #38 of Gold Key's Walt Disney Comics Digest. The front invites readers to enjoy 'Christmas at Disneyland'. I have a feeling that the contents of this special are reprinted in that digest edition. I'm still keeping that book on my wish list. However, as I now own this book, in 99.% entirety, obtaining the Gold Key book is on the back burner for now.

Sure, this was a big ol' commercial for Disneyland which had opened less than 2 years prior in California. But the whole thing was jammed packed Christmas fun starring many of my favorite Disney characters and it's a treasured addition to my Christmas comic book collection!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Garrison's Gorillas #2 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Spinning out of the popularity of 1967's The Dirty Dozen, Garrison's Gorillas debuted on the ABC airwaves the following year. It followed a commando unit compromised of 5 American convicts given a chance at parole and having their records wiped clean if they serve on a suicide squad in World War II Europe. Consisting of a con man, a safe cracking mechanic, a demolition expert and a cat burglar, the Gorillas were led by 1st Lieutenant Craig Garrison, referred to as 'The Warden.' The cons knew that if they refused to serve in the most dangerous of missions behind enemy lines, the Gorillas won't be sent back to prison; they'd be executed by firing squad for desertion. 

As a tie-in to the 1968 live action series, Dell released a comic book adaptation that ran for 5 issues. 4 of the books featured art by Sam Glanzman including this sophomore effort. A Navy veteran aboard the USS Stevens during the second World War, Glanzman's war comics are notable among fans for it's extreme keenness to detail. The artist's renderings of the actors might not be that close to real life, but Glanzman's illustrations of military vehicles are second to only that of the manuals servicemen used to operate them!

There's two stories of behind the lines espionage in this issue. The first story has the Gorillas posing as crashed American airmen in an attempt to locate whose providing the Nazis with the plans of the Holland resistance. Story two takes place in occupied France with the commandos tasked to destroy a gigantic Nazi super cannon that travels via railroad.

Neither story is all that different from other war comics of the day. If the plots of the TV series are indicative of this issue, it's no wonder that the show only lasted for a 26 episode season. Ironically, Garrison's Gorillas would see a tremendous resurgence in 1980s China of all places. Reruns of the war drama were so popular, it's rumored that the Chinese government would schedule their meetings around times Garrison's Gorillas was due to air. While that story is probably just American propaganda or folklore, is it true that the Chinese government did award the series a public service award for being so popular that even criminals would stay home when it was on. No word on if any of the producers or stars of the show were ever presented with a tangible certificate of merit for the government honors.

With the abrupt cancellation of the series, whether all 5 members of Garrison's Gorillas made it to the end of World War II unscathed and earned their pardons has never been revealed. But if Garrison's Gorillas was to end similarly to that of The Dirty Dozen, you can be sure that at least one or two of these commandos earned their freedom.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (A Dell Comic based off a Live-Action TV Show) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Beverly Hillbillies #18

Getting a comic book adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies has been on my wish list for a while. Finally over the winter break I was able to get a decent copy for a reasonable price. Yet somehow, this comic ended up in my REVIEW pile . It wasn't until yesterday that I realized I hadn't read this yet.

There are 4 stories in this issue. 3 star the Beverly Hillbillies. Story #1 has Granny feeling like she's got to get a job despite living in a mansion with all expenses paid. She takes a job as an ice cream man, thinking the work will be a piece of cake. However in true sitcom fashion, everything goes wrong on her first day.

Tale #2 has Jed hiring a pop art house decorator on the recommendation of Mrs. Drysdale. Of course, Granny hates the artist's aesthetic and will do everything in her power to keep her house the way it is.

The last Clampett story has Jethro head over heels in love with a department store sales clerk when he mistakes her salesmanship as romance.

The fourth and final story is about a character called 'The Shutterbug'. I've never heard of him. But I've found listings for this guy in a couple other Dell books. He's apparently this cub reporter who is sent on photo assignments, only to muck them up. In this story, Shutterbug is allowed to cover his first pro baseball game to disastrous effect.

The one page prose story, required for certain postage requirements, is about a truck driver that has a mishap while transporting a shipment of live chickens. I've read this story before. I wouldn't be surprised if Dell had a standard prose yarn that would be inserted into their entire line of books for the month. 

Unlike the Car 54, Where Are You? books that had great renderings of the stars of the show - but were swiped over and over, there's no sort of repetition in this book. None of the faces look like they were taken from promotional stills. But the characters look like who they are supposed to represent. Maybe that's because all 4 of the Clampetts wore costumes that never really changed. When Granny is acting as the ice cream seller in this book, you can tell it's her, not because she looks like Irene Ryan, but because the artist has Granny still wearing her patchwork dress underneath her uniform.

Mrs. Drysdale looks like a generic person. Not Harriet MacGibbon. I don't know who's escorting her to the Clampetts big unveiling of their newly redecorated mansion. But it sure isn't investment banker Mr. Drysdale. The guy on her arm doesn't even have a mustache! 

And where's Ms. Hathaway, Drysdale s ever faithful assistant? Surely, she would have been invited to that fete! If only to occupy the yokels when they got on Drydale's nerves.

The stories were entertaining. While formulaic, they're not rocket science. I've wanted an issue of the series for a long time and this was worth the wait. A great addition for a fan of classic TV like myself. I just don't see the average fan of comics seeking books like this anymore and that might be why I got a good deal on it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Brain Boy #6 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Matt Price is a young man with a miraculous ability. His highly advanced brain allows him tremendous mental powers including levitating, telepathy and the ability to control others minds. However, Matt's talents will face their most difficult tests when he takes a much needed vacation in the Canadian wilderness.

Code-named Brain Boy by the secret government agency that he works for, Matt's abilities were the result of an accident that happened while he was still in the womb. An electrical tower collapsed on the vehicle carrying his parents. The blast killed Matt's father while transferring energy into his mother. That massive power surge accelerated the prenatal Matt's cerebral cortex, turning him into one of the most powerful psychics ever known.

On his vacation in the Great White North, Matt arrives at a small fishing town where small town life is anything but normal. Most of the townsfolk appear to be in a daze. The two young children that Matt can get to talk to him keep inviting him to take a swim in the community swimming hole. But instead of crystal clear water, the lake has a sickly green hued to it.

When Matt arrives at the lodge he is to vacation at, he meets a man that while arrogant and brash, is the complete opposite of the zombified citizenry. That all changes when the man is persuaded to take a dip in the lake and he emerges from the waters an empty shell of himself.

Now Matt finds himself on the run as the last visitor to the community that hasn't swum in the mysterious lake. With his psychic abilities not working against the community, Matt will have to use his intelligence to find the secret of the lake's bizarre mind altering properties or he'll become the next victim of the mysterious reservoir!

Brain Boy debuted in the pages of Four Color Comics #1330 (March, 1962). Co-created by Herb Kastle, and Gil Kane, the next adventure of Matt Price was Brain Boy #2. His self-titled series concluded with this, the 6th issue. Brian Boy would make a cameo appearance in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen universe before being revived in a brief 2013 series released by Dark Horse Comics.

'The Mindless Ones' was written by Kastle. The story which elicits fears of who can you really trust has elements of the classic sci-fi thrillers Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Village of the Damned. Adding to the chilling tone of this issue is a one-page prose story titled 'The Devil Worshiper' and a 4-page backup feature starring the white Tibetan trained mystic; the Strange Mr. Ozymandias. 'Devil's Acres' was crafted by Frank Springer, who was also the regular artist on the Brain Boy spin-off from Dell Comics.

Painted cover by Vic Prezio.

Completing this review completes Task #2 (Comic From the Silver Age (1956-1970) ) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Ghost Stories #19

I've had this 1967 comic book for several years now. I keep forgetting I have it until after Halloween. Thankfully, someone from a Dell FB group that I am a member of posted a pic of their copy recently. That photo jogged my memory and made 2023 the Halloween season I finally gave this book a read. 

This anthology contains 4 stories.

• A man on a subway car misses his stop. When he gets off in up-state Connecticut, he finds himself a man out of time, with everyone ignoring him.
• A trio of distant relatives scheme to do away with their wealthy uncle. His frequent talks with his deceased wife might be the foothold the family needs to have the man committed. Or maybe he really is communicating with his late wife...
• A treasure hunter who has just stolen a valuable idol runs afoul of the African tribesmen that he robbed.
• In the cover story, an astronaut is swept off course and faces spending the rest of his life lost in space. However, hope unexpectedly comes when another space capsule suddenly appears in the vessel's porthole. 

The last 3 stories each involve ghosts. I'm not so sure about that first tale. Maybe the man becomes a spirit when he misses his train stop. I'm just not sure. It definitely feels like it could be something from the Twilight Zone or other similar horror anthologies from 1960s TV and I liked that story very much. I just debate that the story was a legitimate ghost tale.

As for the real ghost stories, I wasn't such a fan of the story involving the treasure hunter. Maybe it's because the main characters are unlikable and so I wasn't upset at all when they met supernatural justice. I liked the story about the 3 gold digging relatives. It had lots of great twists and I thought the demise of those despicable family members was rather gruesome for late 1960s comics. 

The space story was a reflection of the times. 1967 was smack dab in the middle of the Space Race. An astronaut becoming stranded in space and floating for eternity in a space capsule coffin was a very real possibility. (If you believe some historians, a pair of cosmonauts actually are orbiting around our solar system due to a similar miscalculation.) I thought the story was thrilling and the ending was telegraphed, but it wasn't scary at all.

A good read with a mix of stories, one of which I do believe fits the theme of the comic. And it was the best of the 4 tales! But very high quality for the time period.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Get Smart #7 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Get Smart was a comedic satire and parody of the secret agent movies and TV series that dominated the 1960s. Created by the dream team duo of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, Get Smart aired on NBC from 1965-70. 

The title character of Maxwell Smart was played by comedian Don Adams, then known by legions of kiddos as the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo. Smart was an agent of the good guys CONTROL. Designated as Agent 86, Smart was considered the agencies top agent. Though he was an incompetent boob.

The real brains of CONTROL was Agent 99. The sultry partner of Maxwell Smart was played by Barbara Feldon and it was 99 who got Smart out of a lot of the scrapes that he often found himself in. Dumb luck is what got Agent 86 out of the rest of his predicaments.

Throughout much of the series, there was a definite will they/won't they romantic vibe between 86 and 99. This is large part to Smart being oblivious to Agent 99's advances. The pair finally became husband and wife during the show's fourth season.

The baddies of the show were the evil agents of KAOS. Smart matched wits with an assortment of villains. But Max's main arch-enemy was Siegfried. Played by future Love Boat crew member Bernie Kopell, Siegfried was a top operative whose position in KAOS was always changing; often due to losing out to Max and the agents of CONTROL.

As with many sitcoms of the 1960s, Get Smart was made into a comic book tie-in. Dell  Comics produced a total of 8 issues from 1966-67. Some legendary names worked on the early issues of the comic. Steve Ditko, Sal Trapani and Dick Giordano are attributed as having worked on some of first 4 issues. Unfortunately, for this issue, #7, I can't find any sources stating who was behind the scripts nor artwork.

There are 3 stories in this issue. The first adventure takes Max to Egypt where he is tasked in preventing KAOS from getting their hands on an ancient scroll. While it's never revealed just what is so important about this parchment, the ending gag is that Max discovers the phrase 'Made in Japan' on the artifact.

Story #2 has Agents 86 and 99 going down into the briny deep to investigate the operations of a KAOS submarine. However, the mission takes a high flying turn when an airplane removing buoys from the ocean accidentally snag the bathysphere containing the two CONTROL agents!

Lastly, 86 and 99 infiltrate KAOS headquarters as a married pair of recruits. Only 99 is wearing a mustache and Max is in drag! 

Dell's adaptation captures the zany spirit of Get Smart very well. Likenesses of Don Adams and Edward Platt, who played the Chief of CONTROL operations were very good. The oddest thing about this issue was that all 3 stories were titled as 'The _____ Caper'. This is clearly a parody of how all of the episodes for the quasi- comedic spy series The Man From UNCLE which would title all of its episodes as 'The ________ Affair.' A quick search through IMDB.com and one will note that this wasn't the style of Get Smart at all. Definitely, the brilliant satiric idea from one of the Dell Comics creative team.

1970 would not mark the end of Maxwell Smart. He would return alone in a maligned 1980 feature film called The Nude Bomb (AKA- The Return of Maxwell Smart.) Despite the film being a failure, Don Adams would frequently be cast as Agent 86 in a number of commercials including ones for K-Mart and Toyota New Zealand. Barbara Feldon, Bernie Kopell and several other regulars from the TV series would return for a 1989 made-for-TV movie titled Get Smart, Again! Its relative success sparked a minor revival in the franchise with a short-lived 1995 Get Smart revival on Fox that starred Andy Dick as Max's son. 

And of course, there's the fan theory that beloved animated character, the bumbling Inspector Gadget is in reality Maxwell Smart having been converted into a cyborg. Though Gadget is voiced by Don Adams, it's only a theory. But the parallels of ineptitude between the two characters is unquestioned. 

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #4 (Based Off a Live-Action TV Show) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Dell Four Color #1245- The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The world's greatest detective returns in a pair of cases in this 1961 edition of Dell Four Color. First Holmes and Watson tackle the case of 'The Derelict Ship'. Inspired by the mystery of the Mary Celeste, a desperate man employs the sleuth to uncover the whereabouts of the gentleman's missing crew and its load of contents. After a 2-page short in which Holmes schools Inspector Lestrande on a case involving a early morning break-in and trio of suspects, the private eye goes face-to-face with the Napoleon of Crime, Professor Moriarty! A single-page article in the inside back cover of the book that details the methods of deduction Holmes would have used during the Victorian Era close out this issue. 

This was the second issue in less than a year that Dell would publish of all-new mysteries involving Holmes and Watson. Unfortunately, this issue, #1245, would be the last time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most beloved characters would grace the voluminous Dell Four Color series. The fan-favorite series stopped publication with issue #1354 in the Summer of 1962 after Dell's publishing agreement with Western Publishing came to an end.

The two main stories have been attributed to Paul S. Newman. One of Newman's most enduring claims to fame was as writer for the series Turok, Son of Stone. The writer crafted stories of the time displaced Native American warrior for an impressive 26-years. Paul S. Newman would later be credited in the Guinness Book of World Records as the 'World's most prolific comic-book writer' with over 36,000 pages of published work to his credit. 

The cover of this issue, along with Holmes' 1961 Dell debut, were painted by George Wilson; a prolific artist for both Dell, Gold Key and later Whitman. Wilson's beloved works included covers of comic book adaptations of popular 60's TV shows such as The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. 

Though interior art credits were not assigned in this book, a couple of websites claim to know who did the artwork. Mycomicshop.com, for instance, cites Bob Fujitani as the main artist. Fujitani must have really enjoyed working with Paul S. Newman on this project as the pair, along with editor Matt Murphy, would eventually co-create the sci-fi character Doctor Solar for Western's new comic imprint, Gold Key. 

None of these stories were adaptations of works by Sir Arthur. Though a radio series of the same name ran on the ABC radio network for over a dozen years decades prior, a quick rundown of the complete series shows that these whodunits are not from that mystery drama either. The content of this book was truly New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #22 (A Mystery) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Dell Giants #28 (Bugs Bunny's Winter Fun)

I'm not really sure when and where I picked up this frosty read. According to my records, I paid 50 cents for it. So I must have gotten it at a con or comic shop sale. Based on the cover, I had filed this 1960 comic in with my holiday books. But I may need to rethink that now.

There are about a dozen stories in this book. You'll have to forgive me for not being all that accurate. The cover was hanging on by a single staple and some prayer. I've already re-bagged this book and don't want to risk further damage by taking this 62 year old comic book back out for a looksie. 

The majority of the stories are set during winter time. Some examples include Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam taking a wrong turn at Albuquerque and winding up at an ice festival in the Alps. Porky Pig plays intermediary between Jack Frost and Old Man Winter trying to outdo each other. Daffy and Elmer Fudd conduct some Looney Tunes level shenanigans when Elmer refuses to let the duck into his warm and cozy cottage. The story between Tweety Bird and Sylvester as well as Foghorn Leghorn and plucky Henery Hawk's adventure seem awfully familiar to me. I swear that I've seen animated versions of both those stories as a kid!

There's also some characters that I am just not all that familiar with and most of those episodes are the ones that do not occur during winter. A little girl named Suzanne, who appeared only once in a 1955 Fritz Freleng short starring Sylvester the Cat, visits a sick friend. A tiny mouse named Sniffles and his human friend, Mary Jane, help a tired gopher find a safe place to hibernate. Finally, readers are taken South of the Border to meet the family of Little Pancho Vanilla. 

That story is full of stereotypes. However, it's nothing compared to how the character appeared in the sole 1938 Merrie Melodies short that bears his name. And if you thought the portrayal of Speedy Gonzales and his lazy mouse friends were bad, try reading a similar story drawn with human characters.

This Dell Giant also contains a character that I've grown-up with all my life but never encountered a story starting them until now. Porky's forgotten girlfriend Petunia Pig was on not one but two Pepsi glasses. Both were said to be my Grandmama's favorite glasses in the series as she was a fan of the character. I now own those very glasses and cherish them. Yet it's only in the Porky Pig/Jack Frost/Old Man Winter story that I've finally come across a story starring Petunia! (It's taken 45 years, folks!)

The unofficial title to this comic doesn't lie. 3/4 of this issue is full of winter fun. Since Pancho Vanilla lives closer to the equator and his story involves rain, that tale very well could occur in Mexico's winter season. I just don't know. The reason I put this book in holiday was that I hoped it might have a couple of Christmas themed stories inside. Only, I knew how fragile this book was and didn't want to damage it until I was ready to read to find out for sure.

I was originally gonna to read this for my 2022 Christmas reads. But after that first story, I realized that this wasn't as such. So I kept this out until after the holidays. It was a fun read; though a story or two is a bit racist in its caricature. As for where to file this book, I'm assuming it's now going to get categorized as a 'Kids Cartoon, Non-DC/Marvel'. I'll probably file it under letter D for Dell Giant in my long boxes. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

John Wayne Movie Comics (Gwandanaland Comics #133)

Gwandanaland Comics presents a quartet of John Wayne movie adaptations that have lingered in the public domain. From the legendary Dell 4 Color series, these books have never been reprinted nor collected before. And since Dell and in the case of 2 of the films, the production companies don't exist anymore, you probably will never see these comics reissued.

First up is 1956's The Conqueror. Here, a very American John Wayne is portraying mighty Mongol Genghis Khan. Actually, there's no Genghis Khan. The film begins with the historical figure as just your everyday tribal chief named Temujin. Bent on revenge at the death of his father, Temujin seeks assistance from fellow tribal ally Wang Khan against the Tartars. But treachery is afoot as the Khan's shaman is scheming to overthrow his great leader in hopes of arising from the ashes of total war. 

Clearly, Temujin would run afoul of this plan. But the daughter of Tartar's chief has stolen his heart. The New York Times called this film an 'Oriental Western.' I call it schmaltz. Very uneven story and it's just weird trying to imagine all of the characters as Asia when they're all played by white Hollywood actors. 

Rating- 4 out of 10 stars.

Next up was an adaptation of 1959's Horse Soldiers. I reviewed this film separately as part of my 2022 reading challenge. It has John Wayne as a Union Soldier on a mission into deep Southern territory to ransack a supply depot and to destroy the railroad. William Holden and tennis legend Althea Gibson co-starred. 

A thrilling adventure that was also a bit uneven. The opening scene is about 18 pages long. The climatic final battle clocks in at just 2. But the story is nowhere as melodramatic as The Conqueror.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Then we have the western comedy North To Alaska. Wayne plays a prospector who goes into Seattle for supplies and to pick up his partner's fiance while the lover builds a honeymoon cottage on their claim. Well, fiancee decided that 2 years was too long to wait and went and got herself hitched to some other dude. 

So Wayne's character returns with another gal, a saloon hostess in hopes that she'll fall in love with the guy staying in Alaska. But she's in love with Big John. Meanwhile, claim jumpers are causing trouble all over the town. The Union had gotten involved and commandeered everybody's property. But like they say 'Hell Hath No Fury Like a John Wayne Scorned!'

Legendary comic and late night pioneer Ernie Kovacs played one of the swindlers. I'm a big fan of his and though this book is missing his wit and wry sense of humor, I really enjoyed this gold fever farce. I think I might actually seek this out if the movie ever hits AMC or TCM.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

1961's Comancheros is the featured adaptation on the cover. This is the book that really captured my interest. Sadly, it's the weakest of all the books. It's not Dell's fault though. 

The first half of the story has John Wayne playing a Texas Ranger who keeps getting the slip from a Louisianan card sharp on the lame for killing a man in a duel. That part is really good. But when the ranger and the rogue join forces to infiltrate gun runners to the violent Comanches, things get confusing. There's double-crosses. Wayne going undercover as one of the black marketeers just doesn't make sense because I feel that the guy who is his contact should have known who he said he was wasn't the guy. Plus, the whole dynamic of the family of gun runners that John Wayne finally meets is just off. Really, nothing made sense.

I've grown over the years to appreciate the films my dad and grandpa used to watch together. But if this was the first Western I'd give a try to, I wouldn't have the new found fondness. I'd stick with my original opinion as a tyke- Boring and jumbled!

Rating: 2 out of 10 stars.

The collection itself was a Gawndanaland Comics triumph. The images were colorful and crisp. Great color printing. I loved it. The subject mater varied in quality. Some of it is uneven and I put that blame on Dell for focusing too much on unimportant parts of films. Some of it is clumsy. I put that blame on the movies for not being all that well made. John Wayne might be an American icon much like Joe DiMaggio. But DiMaggio only batted .325. 

Face it- some of these films were duds.

Rating of the quality of the volume: 10 of 10 stars.

Overall Rating: Worth Consuming
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Four Color #1048- The Horse Soldiers (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

John Wayne. One of the top box office draws from the 1940s-60s, Wayne starred in over 170 movies in a career that spanned roughly 50 years. Though his star started to wane in the 1970s, Wayne earned an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for 1969's True Grit.  

In 1959, during the pinnacle of his career, John Wayne starred in a Civil War picture titled The Horse Soldiers. Wayne played Col. John Marlowe, a Union solider sent deep behind enemy lines to destroy a train depot and it's supply train. With Col. Marlowe is regimental surgeon Major Henry Kendall. As Marlowe's wife died during surgery, the Colonel is resentful of doctors. But he understands that will Kendall around, many of his troops will survive this mission. 

Joining the troops on the mission is Miss Hannah Hunter. Normally a Southern Belle wouldn't be a part of a union secret mission. But since Hunter and her servant Lukey know of the Union's agenda, they're both along for the ride until it's mission accomplished.

The Horse Soldiers was directed by John Ford, a frequent Wayne collaborator. Based on same name novel by Harold Sinclair, the film was distributed by United Artists. Though number one at the box office, The Horse Soldiers has been regarded as a Hollywood failure. That's because the $4 million dollar box office was not enough to recoup the high salaries of both Wayne and costar William Holden (Stalag 17).

One surprise name attached to the film is that of Althea Gibson. A professional golfer and tennis player, Gibson was the first black woman to win a grand slam title when she won the French Championships in 1956. Wimbledon and the US Nationals were won in '57. Gibson repeated those two titles the following year. The Horse Soldiers was Gibson's only film credit. While her role as Lukey did not garner her any award nods, she was praised for her refusal to say her lines in ' the stereotypical 'negro' dialect written in the script.'

The Horse Soldiers was released as part of Dell's Four-Color Series, issue #1048. The script was written by Gaylord Du Bois (Turok, Son of Stone). Wonder Woman's Mike Sekowsky penciled. The cover artwork was taken from the theatrical poster. This was not the only movie tie-in released by Dell. They also reissued the complete Harold Sinclair novel (Dell F76) with a completely different painted cover that seems to show John Wayne's character atop a steed.

Having never seen this film, I don't know how accurate the adaptation is to the film. However, I can say that the ending seems rushed. The story plot is summarized with production stills in the front inner cover. Yet, some of that introductory material is omitted from the comic itself, primarily General Grant giving his orders to Col. Marlowe. The inner back cover is utilized to finish out the story which sees Marlowe and Kendall parting ways. The artwork seems to resemble Wayne fairly well. But I couldn't pick the other actors out of a lineup; much less really telling if Sekowsky captured the likenesses of Holden, Gibson and the rest. 

Overall, an entertaining story. Good art. But the plotting seemed uneven. The opening scene seems to take over 1/3 of book's roughly 64 pages. The climatic final battle- less than 2!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #25 (Set in the 1800s) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Car 54, Where Are You? (Gwandanaland Comics #648- The Complete 7-Issue Series)

I know that when I say that I'm a big fan of something it probably sounds trite because I like a lot of things. But when I say that I am a big fan of Car 54, Where Are You?, I'm not lying. 

In the very early 90s, Nick At Nite used to air the series in rerun. I used to stay up late on weekends and during the Summer with my mom watching marathons; laughing my butt off! The show which only ran for 2 seasons, from 1961-1963, starred Joe E. Ross (It's About Time) and Fred Gwynne (TV's Herman Munster) as Big Apple beat officers Toody and Muldoon. Toody is kind of a schlub, having never earned a medal or commendation in his surprisingly long career. Muldoon is a mama's boy, living with his two sisters while eternally swearing off the prospect of marriage.

My favorite episode of the series is titled 'White Elephant.' A gang of criminals have rented an abandoned greasy spoon in hopes of breaking through into the bank vault that sits on the opposite side of the wall. Toody feels bad that 'such nice people' are stuck with such a crummy eatery. So he gets his fellow police cronies to help fix up the place. As hard as they try to fail, the gangsters give up their life of crime and end up becoming successful caterers. 

As the episode ends, an elderly couple has rented the dump next door to the caterers. It's their plan to rip through their wall and break into the safe of the caterers next door. But with the arrival of Toody and Muldoon, those plans are squashed. It appears the elderly crooks are going into the stamp collecting business!

'White Elephant' is the measuring stick to which I judged the 7 issues of the Dell Comics adaptation of Car 54. I even went as far to re-watch that classic episode just to make sure it held up. And what do you know? I laughed so freaking hard. It was great! Even more so when I learned that legendary boxer Jake LaMotta, the real life inspiration for Scorsese' Raging Bull was playing one of the gangster!

The writing of the stories were top notch! One issue has Toody and Muldoon at odds with each other to the point of requesting a transfer! Another has the boys assigned to truancy beat. While on patrol, they keep running into a young lad who in reality is a baby-faced crime lord. Toody's chance to earn a police medal and the issue where the cops of the 53rd Precinct get starry-eyed and ruin a movie shoot were such perfect stories, I wouldn't be surprised if either story were actual plots written by the series writers of my favorite episode. 

Not every issue was perfect. The story where everybody confuses a chimp in a police uniform for Toody was down right goofy. I don't even think the yarn where a cowboy and his pack of Indian colleagues accidentally rob a furniture as way to repay Toody, would be allowed on airwaves today. I could see Netflix or Hulu having to pull this one after complaints of Native American stereotypes or something of the sort.

My biggest complaint has got to be the artwork. The images of Toody and Muldoon are great renderings of Ross and Gwynne. But those are the only two characters who look like their real life counterparts. Al Lewis, who would go on to immortality as Grandpa Munster, played Officer Leo Schnauser. In real life, Lewis had a sharp nose, round face and widow's peak. Yet in these comics, Schnauser looks more like a portly Don Knotts!

Going back to the illustrations of Toody and Muldoon. They get repetitive. I think that the artists were tasked to draw about 25 images of the actor's faces in different poses. Then those sketches were superimposed over and over and over in every issue. I first thought 'Wow! Whomever drew these did an amazing job making great renderings.' But I quickly realized that these was the same drawings as the positioning of the character's heads didn't quite match with the bodies.

If I had only read 1 or 2 issues, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But having read them all in just a couple of days, I noticed. I felt a little gypped. I also understand that publishers like Dell had to fight ways to cut costs in order to compete with DC and up-and-coming Marvel. 

Nits aside, I loved all 7 issues. It was fun getting to see old friends. It's even inspired me to watch all of the episodes of Car 54 again. Feel good reads for sure- if you can find them!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #49 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'That Makes You Smile.'

Hogan's Heroes #3 (2022 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Challenge)

In the waning days of World War II, the P-47 Thunderbolt flown by my wife's grandfather was shot down. He parachuted behind enemy lines and wound up in a Nazi POW camp. Russian ground forces were breaking though Germany from the East. As the Russians treated captured Nazis a lot more harshly than other Allied forces, a guard used hand gestures and scribbles in the dirt to orchestrate a prison break with granddad. 

While behind enemy lines, the German solider held a Luger on my wife's grandparent. Any time they met other Axis troops, the guard make show of having caught an American. Once they got into Allied territory, the guard handed over the Luger and became the prisoner of an American pilot. Eventually they both made it to a base to which as the two parted ways, the German solider saluted before surrendering his credentials and gun to his co-conspirator. The two were never to meet again.

I tell this story because I often joke to my wife that her grandfather was the inspiration for the World War II sitcom Hogan's Heroes. Though to be honest, there's a episode of M*A*S*H* that follows my in-law's plight a lot more closer. But if you ever saw pictures of my wife's grandfather in his uniform, he looked a heck of a lot like Col. Hogan.

Hogan's Heroes aired on CBS for six seasons from 1965-71. It starred Robert Crane as Col. Robert Hogan. The pilot along with the rest of the POWs of Stalag 13 very well could leave the prison camp at any time as the guards and it's commandant, Col. Klink, are incompetent boobs. But in secret, the soldiers have been ordered to remain behind bars, secretly working to sabotage the Axis forces with a hidden radio, vast system of tunnels and contacts with the German and French resistance. 

Klink knows that Hogan and his men are behind the string of catastrophes that besiege the Nazis. But with his perfect record of no recorded official escapes, Klink survives being transferred to the dreaded Russian front. Klink's main prison guard, the portly Sgt. Schultz also keeps a blind eye as long as whatever Hogan does won't get him into trouble. 

The argument that secretly Klink and Schultz were working for the Allies in order to save their own necks seems to be confirmed in this issue. For one, Klink acknowledges on several occasions that he knows Hogan has a secret radio and other spy devices. Yet he does very little to uncover it. Klink also doesn't seem very upset that Hogan's men have brought in several goats onto the compound. The same goes for Schultz, who permits the farm animals as long as he gets a share of fresh milk every day.

The goats are just a goofy prop for the rest of this issue's plot. A noted German spy has decided to use Stalag 13 as her headquarters while she plans a secret mission. Hogan is tasked with learning the names of her spy ring. The list is in her head and things get tricky when one of the goats causes the intelligence coordinator to get injured. Now with amnesia, Hogan must play the part of a German doctor to help the enemy regain her memories and save the Allies from a forthcoming Nazi invasion. All the while, Klink's uniform is falling to pieces thanks to those hungry goats.

Hogan's Heroes managed to do something that really nobody has been able to do before or after- make Nazis funny and fan-favorite. I've heard many fans of the show express their love for Schultz in particular. Schultz was played by Austrian born American actor John Banner. Banner, also a Jew, lost a lot of his family to the Nazis. The actor would often claim that Sgt. Schutz was not a Nazi but instead a good German who got forced into fighting a war that he was not in support of. So maybe Schultz really was secretly on the side of the Allies.

It has long been a goal of mine to own a copy of Hogan's Heroes. My dad had a coverless copy that I would pour over whenever he would bring out his comic book collection. If I'm not mistaken, this was the issue he had! 

Part of Dell Comics' fabled line of comics based on licensed properties, Hogan's Heroes ran sporadically for 9 issues from 1966-69. The likenesses of many of the actors is pretty decent. Sadly, the images of Cpl. Newkirk, played by future game show legend Richard Dawson looks nothing like him. But I really thought French resistance member LeBeau and Schultz were literally going to jump off the page; they're so lifelike. 

Before I go, why don't I bring you up to date on my 'real life' inspirations for Hogan's Heroes. Ernest Useted, Sr. returned home to Connecticut and married high-school sweetheart Helen. They had several children before relocating to St. Louis. Ernie passed away in the late 90s before I had a chance to meet his eldest grandchild, Jan.

As for the German solider, I know a little about him. After Helen passed away, I had a chance to inspect the Luger and credentials first hand. With a degree in history, I was able to utilize a few websites. I learned that after the war, the guard was interned in Oklahoma and then Nebraska. A number of low-level German POWS were kept in the US up to around 1947 as investigations were made into each prisoners war crimes backgrounds. 

In 1946, the former Nazi known as Schmiddt, was granted work release parole and worked in a Nebraskan grocery store with several other prisoners. One resident recalls that the Germans were' very quiet and polite. A couple went on to marry local girls.' 

By the fall of '46, Schmiddt was released and quietly disappeared. He probably stayed in the US as former records of the POWs would have recorded if the parolees returned back to Germany. A number of former Nazi soldiers changed names without going through official channels after their release to further distance from their Axis past selves and it's possible Schmiddt did too. It's just another one of history's mysteries I guess.

Hogan's Heroes will forever be tied into the war from which it came. Though Ernie and Schmiddt's backstory probably had nothing to do with the show, their story of their escape in World War II will forever be linked to the show in my eyes. And the comic book of course is yet another link to it. That's the beauty of personal histories. They have unusual pathways!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #12 of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 'More than 20 years old.'

Walter Lantz New Funnies #215

If a comic book with a holiday cover has no Christmas related content inside, I call it a SCROOGE. And this January, 1955 dated issue is definitely a Scrooge. But I'm actually not too upset about it.

The first story stars Woody Woodpecker and his niece and nephew: Knothead and Splinter. Woody gets the impulse to sell his old house, buy a fix-er-upper and do some renovations. Unfortunately, Woody got swindled when he bought this massive money pit.  

After that Andy Panda and a pal cross paths with some thieves while doing public service work in the park. Oswald Rabbit seeks a new music teacher for his tone deaf sons. Finally, Chilly Willy and Homer Pigeon must save Chilly's village after Waldo Walrus makes a play to steal their supply of winter fish.

All of these stories were good. But the Woody Woodpecker comic was probably my least favorite. Why? Woody just didn't seem to be himself in that story. In my experience, Woody is like a talking version of the Road Runner. Able to free himself from any conundrum while making a witty one-liner. In the money pit story, Woody is just too much like Homer Simpson. I've not really seen any of the Knothead and Splinter cartoons. So maybe Woody gets dumber when his relatives are involved? 

There's a two-page prose story in this book. As with many comics of the era, in order to meet certain US Postal Service regulations, titles were required to publish 2 pages of written story. (This would later change to just 1 page and then eventually a provisional ruling for a letters page was allowed.) This story involved Woody being invited to spend time with his aunt. Only, Woody gets mixed up and ends up holidaying in the wrong place!

Now to why I am not so upset that there's no Christmas content to match the cover. It all boils down to the ads. There's 3 really cool advertisements. One is for readers to subscribe to Dell Comics as a Christmas present. I'm jealous of the price of 12 issues for only a buck. Then on the back cover is a holiday ad for a Red Ryder air gun! You know, the prized dream weapon of Ralphie from A Christmas Story. That was a really cool addition. Lastly on the back cover was an ad for a TV show called Super Circus. Well, actually it's for 2 paper puppets based on characters from the show that kids can get with 2 Snickers wrappers. I've never heard of the show. I was neat to learn about. The artwork was beautifully painted. And as a professional chef and food historian, I am amazed by how different a Snickers looked in 1955.

I think I would have been furious if not for these ads. I love the vintage ads in an old comic book. And they added to my enjoyment enough to forgive the lack of holiday content I feel I was promised. Barely. But enough to be happy with my purchase.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Dell Giants #26

The cover is touted as 'Walt Disney's Christmas Parade'* and the entire amount of over sized content does not disappoint. I didn't count pages. But I would estimate that this was either an 86 or 100-pager. Every story was Christmas themed from a team-up with Pluto and Grandma Duck against those tricky crows from Dumbo to a Goofy and Mickey caper involving a ton of stuffed moose heads. Then Donald and his nephews learn about Christmas in other lands from friends Tinkerbell, Jiminy Cricket and others. Uncle Scrooge gets in over his head in anticipation for a winter ball thanks to his desire to save money... Man- it was just an awesome issue from 1959. 

I was lucky to find this issue is really decent shape. There's a bunch of games and puzzles. A page to color. And no less than 3 opportunities to cut up this beauty with do-it-yourself holiday crafts. But other than a small nick on a corner on the front cover, there's not a page missing or fun page filled in. 

True, the pages have yellowed some. But the colors inside are vibrant. Especially the yellows! Those hues look almost like the printers used highlighters, those yellows are that full and bright.

The only thing that might have aged poorly was the Br'er Rabbit story. The cultural value of the Uncle Remus stories, especially in regards to the Disney film, Song of the South, has warranted a lengthy debate over whether such stories should be cancelled. If this issue was reprinted today, there's a very good chance that the Br'er Rabbit tale might have been censored if not omitted all together. I thought it was a charming story about a Americanized version of the classic trickster god character seen in stories about Loki and Anansi otherwise But yes, I did wonder if it was wrong of me to enjoy it or not.

As a whole, this was a timeless collection of Christmas stories. The art was crisp and clean. The jokes were fresh and plots delightful. This Christmas Parade was a welcomed diversion from a holiday season that was anything but normal. And heck yes- I'd read the entire thing again from cover to cover!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

* Despite what the cover says, this was a part of the Dell Giants series. Leaving off that 'S' can make database searches quite difficult as I learned the hard way. 

Rango #1

We lost a comedic legend yesterday with the passing of Tim Conway. I have fond memories of watching him crack up not only his fellow cast members on The Carol Burnett Show but my mom and Grandmama and the rest of my family. Thus, as a sort of tribute, I dug through my vast collection and decided to give this comic a read.

My mother used to always say that Tim Conway was the kiss of death to a TV show. True, the actor did guest star on the ill-fated sit show Turn On; perhaps the only show in history to be cancelled midway through it's debut airing. Yet, Conway was an integral part of many hit shows. Along with The Carol Burnett Show, Conway was on the long running McHale's Navy, costar of many beloved 1970s Disney pictures and the star of a series of very popular direct-to-video shorts about a tiny man named Dorf. Later in his career, Conway turned to voice acting, most notably as Barnacle Boy on SpongeBob Squarepants. 

Alas, Rango was not one of those timeless hits...

Tim Conway was the title star. As Rango, the worst Texas Ranger ever, Conway's character was prone to accidents, a yellow belly with dreams of bravery and not-too-smart. Rango was often assisted by an Indian named Pink Clouds; though the Native American was mostly helping the bumbling law man on the sly. Rango often got the bad guy but only through his own dumb luck.

Rango was western comedy that ran on the ABC network for less than a full season. While not considered one of Conway's hits, Rango is one of the few representations of a work of the comedians that became a comic book. I am a member of quite a few groups devoted to comics on Facebook and I saw quite a few fans posting pictures of their copy of Rango #1 as a memorial to Tim Conway. 

Dumb luck seems to also be how I found my copy of this book. A few years back, I was leaving a thrift store when I found this issue and several other Dell Comic gems in a display case. Being closing time, I negotiated a sweet deal. But for one reason or another, after bagging, tagging and adding to my database, I never got around to reading any of these books. I guess I was waiting for such an occasion as this to finally get around to it.

Rango: The Comic Book, only ran for 1 issue. The cover proclaims that it's a collector's issue and oddly enough for such an obscure property, I have seen this issue pop up a lot in collector's posts online. There's 4 stories in this issue. Each one has Rango starting out being overlooked for some sort of mission. But by sheer coincidence, the Ranger ends up running afoul of the villain. Somehow, Rango captures the baddie and becomes the hero.

One thing that was oddly absent from the book was a love interest. You would think that it would have been set up where both Rango and either the captain of his Ranger unit or another Texas Ranger would be vying for the affects of the town's most beautiful and eligible belle. Her name would be something like Annabelle or Clementine and she'd always wear some pink frilly thing with a bonnet. Then Rango and some rival for her affection would compete to see who'd win the chance to take the lass to the town dance or something by being the one to capture the bad man of the week. 

Yet, no such rivalry occurred and I think by not being so formulaic, it spelled disaster for the comedy. Something that wouldn't fly on today's TV is the portrayal of the Indian, Pink Clouds. The character was played by an Italian-American actor and not a Native American. Plus, while the Indian is the smartest character of the entire cast, he plays the fool for Rango's benefit. I think had Rango been on TV today, it would have been cancelled before the credits of the first episode ran.

The stories were sub-par but the art was pretty good. None of the characters look like the actors playing them. But I have learned recently that this was the case of most artists and writers only had a story bible to help them navigate how to craft the comic book. So, I can forgive. But I do wish I knew who did the artwork as for it's time when adaptation comics were considered hack work, this was pretty good western fare. 

An okay read that I wish I was reading for other circumstances that to pay tribute to the late Tim Conway. It's not the best thing I've ever come across. I'm glad it's a part of collection if only for the kitschy oddity of it all.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Adventures of Tinkerbell (Dell 4-Color Comics #896)

Last month I reviewed a holiday collection called Walt Disney's Christmas Classics. The book was published by IDW. It reprinted an annual holiday comic strip that ran in newspapers for almost 50 years. 

In these festive tales characters such as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell would share adventures with Cinderella's pet mice. Or maybe Bambi and Sleeping Beauty would team together to save Santa from the Beagle Boys.

I thought that these crossovers were the only ones of their kind. But I found that to not be the case in this 1958 issue of Dell 4-Color Comics #896 (Walt Disney's Adventures of Tinkerbell). 

I bought this book as a part of my wife's Tinkerbell and Peter Pan Collection. A gift for her, I got to read it first before it went into her permanent collection display case. I had seen copies of this book for upwards of $100. Yet while in Chicago, I got a very good deal for a fraction of that cost. 

The book begins with a clever plot device. Normally, Tinkerbell doesn't speak words as you and I do. She communicates with tiny tinkles and jingles of her wings. But to have a comic book in which the main character doesn't speak was pretty unheard of in the 1950s. So, the writers of this book came up with a smart idea to have Tink get a yearly 'fairy wish' and for this year's wish, she gets to speak English with all her friends. 

There are four stories in this comic. The first takes place in Neverland with Peter Pan stealing the bell from Captain Hook's ship. In return, Hook kidnaps Peter's bell- I.E. Tink! A cute story- it felt like a retelling of the 1953 Peter Pan movie only there aren't any of the Darling children.

Tinkerbell then goes off to visit some of her friends and this is where the crossovers come in. First, she teaches the Wicked Witch to be nice to the Seven Dwarfs. Then Tinkerbell goes to visit Dumbo's circus where a new lion attraction has gotten the flying elephant into a terrible tizzy. Lastly, Tink travels to Italy where she assists Pinocchio and Geppetto in finding some beautiful flowers for a special festival.

On the back cover there's an activity in which children could cut out a picture of Tinkerbell, make a few folds, add glue, string, a stick and some flour and make a pixie dust kite. I have a feeling a lot of these books ended up with the back cover being destroyed, thus why pristine copies are so expensive. 

There's a sequel book to this comic. It of course in on my list to find for my bride. It's just about as expensive as this book is. But that volume is actually harder to find as I have never seen one for sale except online. I wonder what activity kiddos were expected to make out of those issues.

Worth Consuming if not for anything else that it's charming as hell, a fun crossover comic and classic 1950s Disney through and through.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.