The Partridge Family #16 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Inspired by the real life family singing group, the Cowsills, ABC's The Partridge Family rocked airwaves for 4 seasons, from 1970-1974. In fact, the child members of the Cowsills were originally considered for the sitcom. Officially, their lack of acting experience rules them out of contention. Unofficially, the prima donna antics of the Cowsills' manager, their father, William, might have doomed the children's chances at television stardom.

Once the Cowsills were ruled out of contention, singer and actress Shirley Jones was cast in the mom role. Oldest son Keith would be played by her stepson David Cassidy. There might have been even more of the Cassidy family, as David's father, Jack Cassidy was cast to play Mrs. Partridge's boyfriend who happened to be the Partridge Family's manager. The actor even co-starred in an un-aired pilot, but ABC executives decided to forgo the romance angle between the adults. Jack Cassidy's character was cut while David's role as eldest son Keith was beefed up to make him the romantic heavy as he tested extremely well with young viewers. 

David Cassidy's near Beatles level stardom made him the main focus of the series. By the time this issue hit newsstands, Cassidy was attempting to break out of the wholesome image of Keith Partridge. Maybe that explains why in the cover feature Keith puts his music career on hold and goes out for his high school basketball team. Unfortunately for the rest of the family, Keith is really good at basketball and that means everything else takes a backseat to his current passion- including the band!

Rounding out the rest of the family was Susan Dey as oldest daughter Laurie. Red headed Danny Bonaduce as the smart aleck Danny. Suzanne Crough as youngest daughter Tracy and on drums, Jeremy Gelbwaks as Chris. Not quite fitting in with the rest of the cast and reputedly the target of Danny Bonaduce's incessant bullying, Gelbwaks was replaced after season 1 with actor Brian Foster. 

Actor Dave Madden completed the cast as the band's manager, the long-suffering Reuben Kincaid. Instead of being Mrs. Partridge's love interest, young Danny Partridge would do everything in his power to set up his Reuben with a future Mrs. Kincaid. 

Reuben's role with the family has a lot to do with the plots of the 2 backup stories. First Keith falls head over heels for Reuben's visiting niece. So much that the lad wants to make her a part of the band. Only the girl cannot carry a tune! Then in the last story, it appears that Danny has finally succeeded at playing matchmaker, introducing Reuben to an old friend of Mrs. Partridge.

In the early 1970s, Charlton Comics was still relying on prose stories to help their comics maintain their affordable 2nd Class postage rates. In a clever spin on the requirement, this issue features a 2-page spread of lyrics to several songs that appear on the series. The spread doubled as advertising for a magazine called Song Hits, which reprinted the full lyrics of both crock classics and pop hits of the time. 

If you're a collector who enjoys reading the classic ads in back issues, you'll enjoy this one. But don't expect much of a variety. With the exception of the 3 pages devoted to Song Hits Magazine, all of the rest of the ads are about products pertaining to The Partridge Family and its cast. There's an ad for a beauty and lifestyle book written by Susan Dey, several ads for posters and photo books featuring David Cassidy and on the back cover, information about joining the official Partridge Family Fan Club. 

I was pretty lucky to find an issue that wasn't full of holes from a rabid fan clipping out dozens of requests for Partridge Family merchandise. When I inherited some of my mom's old horror and TV comics, I noticed that her issue of The Partridge Family was all cut up. I couldn't understand why she had left that book in such poor condition especially since she claimed to be a huge fan of the show. After reading through this issue, I now understand as almost every ad had a small order form included.

Featuring art stories by Don Sherwood, there's amazing likenesses of all of the Partridge Family. But I think Sherwood copied the images from publicity stills because many panels are of extreme close-ups and the poses are stilted. As for the stories themselves, they all start out very well in terms of plot and pace. But I think Sherwood was the type of comic book creator who just couldn't stop himself because all 3 stories end abruptly with no real sitcom style conclusion in which the dilemmas are adequately wrapped up. 

Add all these factors together and this issue reads less like an officially licensed comic book adaptation and more like the material for a fanzine.

Completing this review completes Task #22 (Live Action Comic Adaptation from the 1970s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 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.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 29

   Today is a tragic day in 1977 history. January 29th marks the sad death of comedic actor Freddie Prinze. 

    Prinze had risen to fame as a noted young comedian. In 1974, Prinze was cast as the lead role of Chico in the NBC series Chico and the Man. An immediate hit, Chico and the Man was the first series to be set in a Mexican-American neighborhood and one of the first to star a Chicano actor. 

    Sadly, fame was an enemy to Freddie Prinze. With popularity in Hollywood comes increased exposure, extra-long hours, folks coming out of the wood-work to latch on to your fame, parties, and the inevitable drugs and alcohol. 
  

Jack Albertson (Right) played Ed AKA The Man.
His character was apprehensive to the ethnic change of his East LA neighborhood.

      In 1976, Freddie and his wife welcomed a baby boy, Freddie Jr. (Fred of Scooby-Doo live-action film fame.) But as Freddie Sr's addiction got worse, his wife took their child and filed for divorce. A DUI while under the influence of Quaaludes was the last straw.

     Prinze did try to clean himself up. He took up karate as an outlet for his addiction. However, depression over his failing marriage, along with an intense daily  schedule that took him from the Hollywood set of Chico to Las Vegas for a nightly stand-up routine was too much for the comedian.

    On the night of January 28, after talking with his estranged wife over the telephone, Prinze in front of his business manager put a gun to his head... 

   The next day, at UCLA Medical Center, his family removed life support.

Prinze was good friends with singer Tony Orlando, singing background on several songs.
Orlando repaid the favor by appearing on Chico and the Man.

    According to friends, Prinze had a history of faking out friends with a Russian Roulette routine and believe that the incident was accidental. However, investigator's found a suicide note nearby. The star was also found to have drugs in his system and after several years of litigation, a judge ruled his death accidental, freeing up some insurance policies.

      Prinze's legacy lives on in many ways. His son is an accomplished actor and currently is the voice of Kanan on Star Wars Rebels. Prinze is also used as an example of dangers of fast fame amongst the Hollywood elite and his ground breaking series is seen as a cultural benchmark in Mexican-American Civil Rights and culture.

Freddie Prinze Jr, circa 2015.

      Freddie Prinze's death hits me hard for another reason. My wife is my best friend but my best guy friend decided about 6 years ago to end his life by a self-inflicted gun shot wound. I don't remember very many things completely, but I remember every minute of the day I got the phone call from his wife.

      Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We all reach lows and there have been times I wish I could take a permanent nap. I wish I had better sign of troubles with my friend or was more aware of problems...

    If you are reading this post and you feel like giving up and you need help or you have a friend that needs help, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. It's completely confidential. But more importantly, it just might save your life.

Simpsons Comics #141 (Family Comic Friday)

    I debated for a couple of weeks before posting this review. To many, the Simpsons are not family friendly. But there are many a family in which mom, dad, and the kids gather round every the tube every Sunday to watch the exploits of American's favorite eight-fingered family. I tried to research what the rating for this comic was. The verdict: it's virtually impossible. The Bongo Comics website does not list a rating. (This is a big pet peeve of mine as DC, Marvel, and several other publishers are guilty of this sin of omission. ) I couldn't even get an answer from Yahoo! Answers or Amazon.

   So I went analog and checked several covers of this series. Again, I could not find a rating. I do know from my DVR that the show is rated PG-13. So, some kids could read this. Upon further research, I discovered that about the first 80 or so issues were given the Comics Code Authority stamp on its cover until Bongo abandoned the dying system in 2010. Generally, Code approval was for materials deemed suitable enough that they could be read by readers aged 8-10 and up. So, with that evidence, I deem Simpsons Comics #141 worthy of Family Comic Friday review.
 
Simpsons Comics are pretty much an episode of the series in print form. There's tons of sight gags, funny signs, parodies, and much, much more. I've read a bunch of Simpsons Comics and watched almost every Simpsons episode ever aired. So, I can say with some authority that some of these issues are better than the show!

  In this issue, Grandpa Simpson is tired of being ignored by his family and becomes adopted by the Flanders. Homer is jealous of the new found attention and auditions a replacement Grandpa. The winner of the Simpsons grandparent sweepstakes? Why, Mr. Burns, of course.

    The story was fun, it was fresh, and it was hilarious. The only thing missing was a short story at the end of the book. Usually, there is a 20-page story starring the Simpsons and at the end of the comic, is a 4-8 page tale that focuses on one of more of the many residents of Springfield. That backup feature is omitted here for some reason. But since the Flanders, Grandpa, and Mr. Burns are really the stars of this story, maybe that's why there isn't a 'Citizens of Springfield' backup feature.

    This issue really wasn't objectionable. Since the Flanders do appear in this issue, there are a few jokes about religion. Mostly, they involve Homer getting something wrong about the Bible. There is some violence in this book, like Homer strangling Bart and an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon which has the ubiquitous cartoon blood and gore. But I've seen worse in all-ages rated superhero comics and Bugs Bunny cartoons from the 40s.

    One thing missing from this issue is the language. On the sitcom, there's a peppering of 'hells', 'damns', and the occasional b-word. In my readings of this series, I've only come across the occasional 'hell' and the Madman Family favorite Star Wars has a couple of those in it. So, you can rest easy that your little angel isn't going to learn how to speak like a sailor in these comics (unless the Old Sea Captain is involved. Then you're on your own.)

     The biggest divide about this comic is that there is humor that a 10-year would get and a 6-year old would not. Topical humor, based on pop culture, current events, and famous people, is like beauty; as its humor can be found in the eyes of the beholder. A youngster isn't going to get a joke about Michael Jackson that an 18-year old might because Michael Jackson has been dead for five years now. But then again, I used to read Time Magazine at age 4, so some kiddos might understand a joke about the Kardashians or the war on terror while a grown-up might go "huh?"

      If I had a child, I would let then read this book if they were about 10. That's probably about the age my wife and I would allow them to watch the show. I would advise parents and guardians of kids who like the Simpsons TV show with the following: if you're letting them watch the show, there's no reason you can't let them read this book.

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Saved by the Bell Holiday Special

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you probably remember this live-action TV series. It's main star was blonde and brash Zach Morris and his adventures (or was it misadventures?) at Bayside High School. The show aired on NBC and spawned at least 2 spin-offs and numerous merchandising goodies. I don't think that many people thought the show would thrive as it did in syndication but it's been almost 25 since the show began and it still airs on various channels, including one of the MTV stations.

   Anyhow, items that were released during the run of the show did abound but they weren't huge sellers. As I said, Saved by the Bell more or less became a cult classic after it was finally cancelled. So, a book like the Harvey Comics publication is considered rare. But rare thus not always mean valuable. Plus condition matters too. This isn't in the most perfect of shape. I found this for only a dollar in a bargain bin. However, some Saved by the Bell comics have a value of anywhere from $20-$50 depending on the condition. But again, that's if you can find it.

    In this holiday special, we've got a couple of tales along with a fun and games page and a couple of pin-ups. In the first story, Zach is trying to win Kelly's heart again. So, he tries to recreate her hometown as it would be for the holidays. But troubles bound to happen when he mixes up St. Paul, Minnesota for St. Paul, Florida! Then, Principal Belding decides to impose a rule where no Bayside student can go to the Winter Dance if they do not bring up their grades by a single point. Enter businessman Zach to turn the students of Bayside into a tutoring racket to line his pockets.

    The quality of the stories weren't bad. They captured the essence of the characters quite well. The art, however, was abysmal. They didn't look anything like the actors who starred on the show. Well, Belding looked pretty good but for all I know, the artist was drawing 6 random people to star as Zach, Kelly, AC, Screech, Lisa, and Jessie.

It's not the worst comic I've read, but it is one of the worst drawn comics based on a licensed property of all-time.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

My Favorite Martian 2012 FCBD

For a TV show that hasn’t aired a new episode in 40 years nor been in reruns since the late 80s, I’m not sure why reprints of My Favorite Martian were chosen as a Free Comic Book Day 2012 selection- even if Hyperion Press is releasing the comics in a hardbound form. (Ok- to be honest, I’m not sure why My Favorite Martian needed to be reprinted period.)

The stories were bad- like B-movie Mystery Science Theater 3000 bad. But sometimes the art was spot on of a young Bill Bixby and Ray Walston. It’s classic Gold Key movie/tv tie-in in that it's a guilty pleasure to pick out continuity errors and make fun of the horrible plots..It was a pleasant surprise. That doesn't mean I’m gonna run out to my local comic shop and buy the collected edition either.

But, if you are a fan of the series or you love old 60s sitcoms, this series could be right up your alley.

Worth Consuming.