Dog Owners: Beware!!!!

 

cover artist unknown

The first story in Richie Rich and Dollar the Dog (September 1977), by an unidentified creative team, includes an important PSA for all dog owners. If you are ever rehearsing a play in which you play a bad guy who dislikes dogs, MAKE SURE your dog doesn't hear you and take the dialogue out of context. This won't end well. It's what happens when Richie's dog Dollar (a dollarmation, of course) overhears Richie and his friend Freckles doing just this.

I don't care how silly the above images are--if you own a dog, this is a heartbreaking scene.

Dollar runs away and begins hitchhiking. He's picked up by a pair of gangster, who by now has heard the news that Dollar is missing and that there's a huge reward. But bad guys are bad guys. Rather than settle for just the reward the Rich family is offering, they come up with a complex plan to smuggle Dollar out of the country the statue of a horse, sell him to a rare animal dealer, THEN tell the Rich family where he is to collect THAT reward.

The horse with Dollar inside is loaded on a plane, but the pilots hear Dollar barking and immediately land again. Dollar makes a break for it.

The gangsters spot him and give chase. Fortunately, Dollar runs into the local school in his attempt to get away, where that play is currently being performed. Richie and Freckles take care of the gangsters (and, wow, does Richie pack a powerful gut punch!), Dollar finally understands that Richie doesn't hate him and everyone is happy. Well, everyone except the gangsters. They get arrested.

It is a silly story, but it's fun. And, by golly, if you own a dog, the story will become an emotional roller-coaster. It can't be helped.

Next week, we return to The Mighty Hercules. 

Cover Cavalcade

 MAY IS ADORABLE HARVEY COMICS COVERS MONTH!

From 1978. No artist is credited.

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 MAY IS ADORABLE HARVEY COMICS COVERS MONTH!

From 1965. Once again, the artist is not credited.

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 MAY IS ADORABLE HARVEY COMICS COVERS MONTH!

From 1964, with the artist uncredited.

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 MAY IS ADORABLE HARVEY COMICS COVERS MONTH!

The artist who did this 1968 cover is uncredited.

Yet Another One and Done Character

 

cover art by Pierce Rice

All-New Short Story Comics, published by Harvey Comics, ran for three issues in 1943. It then shortened its title to All-New Comics and ran for another sporatic 11 issues, finishing up for good in 1947.

The first issue (January 1943) includes the only story featuring newspaper reporter Steve Case. The writer is unknown. The artist is Harry Sahle (who often signed his work with just his last name). Sahle had a respectable career as a comic book artist in the 1940s, working for Harvey, Timely and Archie. His work is fun to look at, bristling with kinetic energy and featuring eye-catching character designs.

"Poison Pen Murder" begins with Steve and his editor meeting with two ex-cons. One of the ex-cons has written a story about his time in prison. He's delivering the manuscript. Also, he and his companion, Big Mike Scorey, have to sign a release.

But the author dies suddenly just when he's about to sign.

Steve suspects murder and scraps some dried ink from the dead guy's fingers. But outside the office, he's jumped by a big guy. (One can argue there's not much of a mystery here. The big guy is masked, but he's the exact same build as Big Mike.) Steve drives off his attacker and sees that the guy has dropped a pen. He brings this to the police lab as well.

Sure enough, the ink in the pen is loaded with poison that can be absorped through skin pores. Steve realizes the killer wants to stop the manuscript from being published. Rushing to his editor's home, he stops the killer from obtaining the manuscript. The killer, though, escapes. Steve is really good at punching people, but he's apparently weak on following up on his punches.

It doesn't matter, though. Steve has also noticed the killer is the same build as Big Mike, so he uses the poison pen to scare a confession from him. The manuscript contained information that would have sent Big Mike back to jail.

Which makes you wonder why the manuscript's author brought Big Mike with him to the newspaper as if the two were best buddies. 

The mystery is a very simple one, but that's to be expected in a six page tale. It's Sahle's kinetic art that makes it work. And, though we never get to see Steve Case work another case, "Poison Pen Murder" was reprinted in Super-Dooper Comics in 1947 and in Golden Age Greats Spotlight iin 2018. So Steve has managed to poke his head out of Comic Book Limbo a couple of times.

You can read the story online HERE. 

Next week, we'll look at the one and only issue of Marvel's Western Team-Up.

Cover Cavalcade

DECEMBER IS DICK TRACY MONTH! 

This 1952 cover is by Joe Simon, ghosting for Chester Gould.

Cover Cavalcade

 DECEMBER IS DICK TRACY MONTH!!!

This very cool cover from 1957 is by Joe Simon, ghosting for Chester Gould. 

Cover Cavalcade

 DECEMBER IS DICK TRACY MONTH!

This 1950 cover was drawn by Joe Simon, who was ghosting for Chester Gould.

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A cover from 1971 by an unidentified artist. I didn't know ghosts got thirsty. 

Defeating Evil with.... Niceness?

 

cover artist unidentified

Casper's Ghostland #38 (October 1967) teaches us an important lesson. If you are nice to your enemies instead of mean, then... you'll be able to get away from them when they start fighting each other?

Many stories appearing in Harvey Comics can be accurately described with the word "Delightful" and "Spook School" (drawn by Warren Kremer; writer unidentified) can certainly be included in this. It begins with the Ghostly Trio--Casper's uncles--once again being aggravated with Casper for being so friendly all the time. Ghosts are supposed to be scary, not friendly!

They decide to send him to Spook School, where young ghost are taught how to boo, curl wallpaper, crack windows and do other scary stuff. Sadly, Casper's boo is weak and he can only manage to uncurl wallpaper and uncrack windows.

The story then takes a bizarre twist. Over in Goblandia, the Goblin king is annoyed because his people are so busy farming and growing food that they don't have time to be scary themselves. So they come up with a plan to raid the Spook School, capture a bunch of ghosts, using Spook-proof bags, and forcing the ghosts to do the farm work.

The plan goes well at first, but the ghost rather understandable dislike being used as slave labor. They keep stunning the goblins with loud Boos, while the goblins retaliate with mean tricks.

All but Casper, who begins to act friendly towards the goblins. The goblins actually like this and begin to question why they aren't nice to one another. 

Which, in turn, leads to the goblins fighting one another because each objects to the other being mean. The ghosts easily escape amidst the ensuing confusion. 

So, the next day, when the Ghostly Trio look in on Casper, they are horrified to see him teaching other ghosts to be friendly. A loud Boo is used to destroy the Spook School before this heresy can continue, because one Friendly Ghost is more than enough.

I love this story. I love how it teaches a lesson about being nice, but twists that lesson about in an ironic and hysterical way. I love how it can show so many of the characters being mean without the story itself being mean-spirited. I love Kremer's clean and imaginitive art work. 

And I love that I now know that if I'm ever captured by goblins, I can get them to destroy each other by being nice to them. And knowing is half the battle.

I enjoyed looking at a whimsical tale this week, so we'll do the same next week as we follow Super Rabbit on wacky adventure.

Cover Cavalcade

 

From 1966. Real-life barber shops need to take note of this.

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A cute Sad Sack cover from 1960, drawn by the character's creator George Baker. 

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A downright adorable cover from 1969. The artist is Warren Kremer.

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I generally don't feature anything on my blog that requires the adjective "adorable" to be attached to it, but this cover is downright adorable.