The Importance of Music Lessons

We continue our journey through Dell's Animal Comics #4 (August-September 1943) with a story about a carnival, petty thievery and music lessons. It's a part of series that ran in Animal Comics titled "Merry Meadows," drawn by Justin Gruelle (brother of Johnny Gruelle, the creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy).

 

The unknown writer of the series provided fun scripts, but--much as was the case with the Little Dinky story we looked at last time--it is the art that really gives life to the simple tale. 

There's a carnival in town, with the proceeds going to the Orphan Home. Robert Rabbit and Freddy Frog are anxious to go, so they run to the home of their friend Bertrand Bear to bring him along.

Bertrand has been practicing his saxophone and as a music lesson later on, but he does have time to go the the carnival first. So Bertrand brings his sax along with him, hiding it in a tree just outside the carnival entrance to retrieve later.

We get several successive and fun-to-look-at panels of the kids having fun at the carnival. There's a running gag here that actually fools me. Little Maurice Mouse keeps popping up, hand-cranking the rides and otherwise showing off prodigious strength despite his diminutive size. I expected this to be a Chekov's Gun, with Maurice's strength being a factor in foiling the upcoming theft. But no--it's just a simple running gag. I guess when you read these stories as a adult, it is very possible to out-smart yourself while analyzing them.

Meanwhile, Sly Old Fox (who is so evil he doesn't even get a first name) and Harry Hyena have snitched the gate receipts while no one was looking and hide the pennies in the same tree in which Bertrand hid his saxophone.

And so evil is foiled when Bertrand finds the pennies later on while taking his music lesson. 

The boys (and Professor Owl) get free rides all day at the carnival while the villains drudge off to sulk about the unfairness of being robbed of the stuff they had stolen first. 

So it is a simple story. But, gee whiz, is it fun to look at. Justin Gruelle's work isn't as famous as his brothers, but he was a great illustrator in his own right and his skill should be remembered and appreciated.

Click HERE to read this issue of Animal Comics online. 

Next week, it's back to the Pegasus Project once again.