Today’s post is a follow up entry on Jimmy Hatlo’s comic strip, THEY’LL DO IT EVERY TIME,  featuring an original sales brochure from 1949. This was intended for newspaper editors only, so I guess it qualifies as a rare item. The nice color is about what the “art” proofs had. Below are the covers and center spread. The brochure further opened up to a poster-sized (22” x 30”) assortment of black and white daily panels.

Here for your reading pleasure are another couple of Hatlos:

The first “Hatlo’s Inferno” 28 June 1953. Would Danté approve?

Little Iodine had a habit of showing up every once in a while in THEY’LL DO IT EVERY TIME like in this 1963 panel.

The feature could be very clever and sometimes very obvious and repetitive, but that would be a reflection of the mixed nature of readers and their suggestions. Hatlo’s idea of audience participation was a stroke of genius and made his panel a real hit in syndication. It inspired a few knock-offs, including “THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW,” which was originally a McClure series that later went to United Features. Instead of writing out the full phrase, “There Ought To Be A Law,” as the payoff, often they shortened it to just someone exclaiming the acronym, “TOBAL!” At least no one blurted out “T DIET!” in our panel.

Perhaps, the next time we have an election for new Vintage entries, we should enter THEY’LL DO IT EVERY TIME into the fray. Thanks for bringing it up, Jeffrey.

To Tim:

It’s too bad to hear actor George Lindsey (“The Andy Griffith Show”) has passed on. It seems like there’s even fewer TV and film stars, or even character actors, around from my childhood. Perhaps, Sid Caesar will be the last man standing.

To John Rose:

Thanks so much for responding to our humble but earnest site. We’ve been touched by fame!

Yours ‘til the next time,

The Archivist

Cartoonist Tom Armstrong did a nine-day series loosely based on celebrity chef Guy Fieri, who stars in “DINERS, DRIVE-INS AND DIVES” on the Food Network. The “Guy Fries” storyline was so well received that it prompted a call between Tom and Guy Fieri, who positively loved being the subject of a spoof cameo in MARVIN. Guy told Tom, “I got a kick out of seeing myself in a comic strip. I nearly fell off the chair when I saw it,” he said. “Being in MARVIN was, honestly, a milestone in my career.”

Is there any downside to being parodied in a comic? If there is, Guy Fieri can think of only one. He has a feeling his new nickname, “Guy Fries,” will stick with his close-knit, prank-loving TV crew.

Below are links to the entire MARVIN and “Guy Fries” comic series.

March 26, 2012

March 27, 2012

March 28, 2012

March 29, 2012

March 30, 2012

March 31, 2012

April 2, 2012

April 3, 2012

April 4, 2012

Other cartoonists who regularly make celebrity references in their comics include Dan Piraro (BIZARRO) and Bruce Tinsley (MALLARD FILLMORE).

Not so long ago, Dan Piraro drew Jeff Dunham in a BIZARRO comic, and he received an email from the stand-up comedian and ventriloquist who admitted to being a big fan of BIZARRO.

Bruce Tinsley was labeled a “patriot” by FOX NEWS anchor Bill O’Reilly after the host of “THE O’REILLY FACTOR” made several guest appearances in MALLARD FILLMORE.

Here’s what Mr. O’Reilly had to say about Bruce Tinsley:

“From time to time I, your humble correspondent, am the subject of a comic strip. And here’s Mallard Fillmore today, authored by Bruce Tinsley. It says, quote, ‘In our status quo segment tonight, President Obama continues to blame America for bad stuff we never did: colonizing Muslim nations. Late-term abortion fans continue to blame Bill O’Reilly for bad stuff he never did. And those actually responsible for doing bad stuff continue to blame society.’

So true. Mr. Tinsley is a patriot.”

It’s nice to see celebrities who don’t take themselves so seriously and have a good sense of humor when they are mentioned in our comics. It’s even nicer when they admit to being comics fans.

This concludes this week’s Editor’s Dispatch. Have a good week!

One of the most under-appreciated moms in comics has got to be Connie Duncan, the much-beleaguered mother from ZITS, and the backbone of the Duncan family.  ZITS creators Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman say, “Connie Duncan was once a young woman with hopes and dreams of her own. Now that she’s the mother of a 16-year-old boy, she’s been reduced to hoping not to find his cell phone in the washer, and dreaming of the day she won’t find a rock band whenever she pulls into the garage.”

Connie’s life reflects that of a lot of modern women—while, as a young woman, she set out to have a career, she chose to stay at home once she had a family to raise.  Most of us remember feeling like our parents were always sticking their noses where they weren’t wanted, but Connie is also able to claim that it’s what she’s trained for:

“She’s a helicopter mom, hovering over Jeremy like a Sikorsky,” says Jim. “She shelved her career as a child psychologist in favor of staying at home and working on a book when he was younger. Now that he’s asserting some teenage independence she’s way too vigilant for his comfort.

“Yeah, Connie decided to write a book about raising healthy, happy teenagers when she opted to stay home and raise Jeremy,” says Jerry. “She figured her own wise parenting would serve as a model for the book. It looked good on paper.”

Fortunately, Jeremy’s Dad, Walt, is able to balance a lot of that out.  “He’s got enough yang to balance her abundance of yin,” say Jerry and Jim.  Meanwhile, Connie has been on a journey to learn how to let Jeremy make his own mistakes, to let him take responsibility for his own life, to not interfere with his friendships, and to keep her opinions to herself. She hasn’t gotten real far.”

While Connie may not always understand Jeremy, and sometimes clings at the wrong times, she and Jeremy still have a close and affectionate relationship.  When Jeremy’s down, he lets her mother him a bit more than he normally would, and occasionally Jeremy will do something to help Connie’s nostalgia kick in and remind her that teenaged Jeremy is still the same loving little boy, at heart.  While many of the strips in ZITS deal with parent-child miscommunication or Connie’s frustration over Jeremy’s mountains of dirty laundry, we still know that Connie loves Jeremy no matter what.

“Connie knows she’s a great mom — she just doesn’t understand why her masterpiece is taking so long to bake. She can tear her hair out all day long, then look back wistfully by nightfall. Someday she’ll say she misses these years. But at the moment she’d just like to cross a room without tripping over giant shoes.”

In honor of Mother’s Day, we asked Jerry and Jim what Connie’s ideal Mother’s Day would be:

“She’d allow herself to be taken to one of those Mother’s Day buffets where they serve mimosas in liter jugs and you dip Rice Crispy treats in chocolate fountains.  But her favorite thing is foot massages, of which Walt has become a Zen master.”

So we hope Connie gets her Mother’s Day wish—and we wish the same to all you DailyINK moms.  We do know she’ll get the traditional and especially thoughtful Mother’s Day text from her college-age son, Chad, who rarely makes an appearance: “happy mo day send $$$”

Today, I will follow up on the topic of censorship and self-censorship. It features our point of view on what comics are about. I thought you might like to peruse this excerpt from a 1946 short essay written by Bradley Kelly (1894-1969), who was King Features’ vice president and top comics editor.

“At King Features, we have a ‘Code of the Comics.’ No blood, no torture, no horror, no controversial subjects such as religion, politics and race. Above all is the important matter of good taste. The comics must be clean. No suggestive posturing and no indecent costumes. The figures must be natural and lifelike. In other words, BLONDIE is the daily doings in humorous form of a normal American family.

“This is the perfect comic, appealing to all ‘children’ 8 to 80. But the term ‘Comics’ is now used to include adventure features as well as the ‘funnies.’  The adventure comic is a comparative newcomer to the field of newspaper-illustrated strips.

“The growth of adventure features and so-called comic books has been phenomenal.   Obviously with such a big output, there is bound to be some bad with the good, as is true in every realm of entertainment.  Parents can be a factor in developing good taste and sound judgment.  In the main, newspaper adventure strips have constructive messages. There is punishment for violation of the moral code.

“While these adventure features are thoroughly realistic, none of them can equal the violence and ruthlessness of true life.  Can you imagine a daily strip portraying the news stories on the front pages of the newspapers?

“Recently, for example, an atom bomb was dropped in Bikini.  Thousands of live animals were used as guinea pigs in this death-dealing experiment.  It is a violation of our ‘Code of the Comics’ even to depict a child twisting a cat’s tail.  Today, every child in the country knows about Bikini.   If news of real life is not detrimental, certainly wholesome comics which extol the common virtues, which represent real American folklore—which are our chief American contribution to world culture—certainly the comics must be definitely helpful to the development of children.”

Source: “Comics Teach Kids to Laugh, Build Yank Sense of Humor” Evening News (Tonawanda, NY) 15 July 1946

Standards, of course, change through the years, but comics have more or less stayed as squeaky clean as possible, because offending newspaper consumers is hardly good business practice.

I enclose an example of how a syndicate, in this case the defunct Field Newspaper Syndicate, will bend over backward to avoid ruffling the feathers of readers by giving the client paper a choice. I’m showing the original offering from the proof sheet of this DENNIS THE MENACE from 1982 and the replacement, which was sent out separately for more sensitive editors.

There have been times when events forced a hasty change. In 1978, a PEANUTS strip included a TV with the words “Ah, Colonel Hogan” emanating from it.  But when Bob Crane was suddenly killed, they scrambled to provide a replacement word balloon, reading “Ah, Mister Spock,” but some papers, like the New York Daily News, couldn’t change it in time.

To summarize, the newspaper comics industry has always strived to give out family entertainment. Our offerings have to be moral but still clever enough to compliment the reader and not insult his or her intellect.  Well, we don’t always achieve that but we try.

Yours,
The Archivist

If you read my previous post about THE PAJAMA DIARIES, you’ll  know that Terri draws from real life and her semi-biographical cartoon character, Jill Kaplan, serves as both her muse and alter-ego. Married with two children, Jill works from home as a freelance graphic designer. Armed with a to-do list a mile long, and with the help of her reliable husband Rob, Jill manages to accomplish in one day what a small army could barely manage to achieve in a week.

Memories, gossip, and even marital intimacy are all revealed in in this daring and revealing comic strip about what it means to be a wife and parent in today’s fast-paced world. I sat down with Terri for a brief chat and we talked about her new book, breaking into cartooning, and her ideal gift for Mother’s Day.

Q: The first collection of THE PAJAMA DIARIES, called The Pajama Diaries: Déjà To-Do, is now available in print. Congratulations! Did you picture yourself in a cartooning career like this while growing up?
Terri: I always loved creating my own comic strips while growing up, but I didn’t know I wanted to do this until college. I majored in illustration and noticed that I kept gravitating toward a cartoony style. I also did a strip for my college paper, which I enjoyed. With an additional love of humor and storytelling, it all clicked when I was a senior. Only 12 short years later, the dream was realized!

Q: What was your first job?
Terri: My first semi-relevant job was doing paste-up work for my hometown newspaper in Pennsylvania— midnight shift— right after college. Simultaneously, I also had my first comic strip published in that newspaper (I had shown it to the editor and she loved it). It ran Monday through Saturday for about five months, but then I quit for my first “grown-up” job at American Greetings in Cleveland. This was nearly 20 years ago. I took a staff position as a humorous writer/illustrator. I’m both happy and sad to report that I still work there, on contract. Actually, I love it.

Q: What advice do you have for young women who want to get into the cartooning field?
Terri: Persistence, persistence. A lot of people have talent, but it takes a special blend of motivation, patience and self-abuse to break into cartooning (see “12 short years” comment). For some reason, more men tend to be in humor fields than women, so in a weird way, maybe that’s good for women.  It makes them stand out more.  Which leads to another piece of advice: write from the heart. It’s more authentic. It sets you apart from everyone else, especially coming from a feminine standpoint. On the flip side, you might have a more limited audience. But at least you’re writing what you know.

Q: How do you deal with the work-life balance struggle?
Terri: Babysitters and wine.

Q: We love the title— Déjà To-Do!—it really encapsulates the daily routine of modern motherhood!  Mother’s Day is around the corner. What would be your ideal Mother’s Day present?
Terri: Ironically, getting some alone time. This Mother’s Day, I told my husband I’d like nothing more than to spend a few hours by myself at the art museum (Cleveland has a great one). I did it a few years ago on Mother’s Day, and it was heaven. After I get my alone fix, I’d like to go out to dinner with my family. Best of both worlds.

Q: Any advice for new and soon-to-be new Moms out there?
Terri: Don’t listen to advice. Do your own thing. It all works out.

The Pajama Diaries: Déjà To-Do!  is now available for purchase online at pajamadiaries.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. Terri also has a line of greeting cards for sale at CafePress.

Controversies surrounding GLBT youth attending high school proms have heated up over the past few years. Tom was inspired by a similar, real-life story:

“I was reading the paper at breakfast one morning when I saw an article about a group of parents who were protesting at a high school over the school’s apparent tolerance of gays. I thought about how, when I sit in on the classes at my old high school, I get the impression that the younger generation’s attitude towards gays seems more open and accepting than that of their predecessors. Not perfect… but it seemed to show promise that this emerging generation might one day bring this cultural war to an end. I simply wanted to address that. It’s an attempt to reach across the generational divide and speak to the intolerance that still exists on the other side.”

As in Tom’s observation, the younger characters take the boys’ inclusion in the prom as a given, but some of the older characters respond with uncertainty and even indignation.

“One of the things that being ahead on the strip does is that it allows me a long runway when I’m developing a story. When you couple that with the large repertory company that I get to play with in the Funkyverse, I have an opportunity to reflect a little longer over how different characters are going to behave and react. The stripped-down theme of the story is tolerance versus intolerance, and all I was trying to do through my characters was to show both sides of that equation.

“The character of Roberta Blackburn represents a certain segment of society that’s afraid of the changes taking place in the world and their reaction is to pull up the ladders in an attempt to protect themselves. The problem is that it’s impossible to isolate themselves so they feel compelled to lash out at the things they feel are threatening them.

On the flip side, the characters like Summer and Keisha are young and idealistic and haven’t had to face too much compromise in their lives. Plus, there’s really no better way to declare your own independence than by making the adults around you a little uncomfortable.”

Many readers get a little uncomfortable when the “funny pages” turn to serious topics such as this.  But Tom has been tackling comics that deal with real-life issues for decades now, and feels that comics can be an important vehicle for such stories:

“If this were any other art form, this question probably wouldn’t come up. But for some reason, when you combine words and pictures, in the minds of many it means that the work is only suitable for children. The term ‘comics’ itself is an accident of history. When Joseph Pulitzer added a weekly humor magazine to the Sunday World, he called it the ‘weekly comics.’ later the ‘comics.’ When cartoons were added, even though many were straightforward adventure stories, they were lumped under the same term and so the form came to be known as the ‘comics.’ The challenge in getting past that is to treat the form with the maturity that it’s also capable of exhibiting. I do that by trying not only to write about the things that I know, but also the things that I love. I choose to write about the places I do and the things I do because they have meaning for me and they allow me to, every now and then, get close to an emotional truth.

I think at its core, art helps us to share the human experience. It helps us to order our world, sometimes providing new insights, sometimes confirming our worst suspicions… but it’s shared.  Comic strips are uniquely positioned to do this. Their presence in our lives every day allows readers to bond with the strips and their characters in a way that no other art form can.  I believe that daily presence makes the stories and what happens to the characters so much more powerful and compelling.

Because of their unique place in our lives, I think that the comics are a good place to frame the question. Comics alone can’t affect the answer, but they can reflect a cultural shift and that’s what I want to do with this story.”

As in real life, some of the adult characters aren’t entirely sure what the best way to support the gay teens in the story might be.  For parents and teachers who are trying to support GLBT teens in their lives, Tom recommends contacting organizations like GLAAD and the It Gets Better Project for advice.

We won’t give anything away, but the storyline contains a few surprises, and, as Tom says, “There is definitely an undropped shoe at the end of the story. What, if anything, will come of that is a writing problem for another day.”

We’re looking forward to it, Tom!  Keep reading all month to see how the story unfolds in FUNKY WINKERBEAN.

I thought you might be interested in a few more items on LITTLE IODINE. In our archives, we came across an unusual, battered item — a card that would be sent to a Jimmy Hatlo fan asking for an autograph. This one is still blank.

It looks like it is from about 1950. Jimmy Hatlo was hugely popular, and hundreds of requests for originals came in addressed to him. In the end, I guess these cards would have to do.  Little Iodine even had her own comic book and at least one paperback collection in the 1950s.

Jimmy Hatlo could do no wrong, and his first feature, THEY’LL DO IT EVERY TIME, thrived on suggestions by fans. That’s where Little Iodine was first seen as a recurring female character in examples of perplexing child behavior.

The first example was seen in the 5 September 1940 comic, concluding with a glimpse into her teenage life that, of course, never actually occurred in the series.

Another comic example, four months later on 4 January 1941, shows her still far from looking like the brat with whom we’re familiar.

Now, on to reader comments:

To Tim,

The British version of DENNIS THE MENACE debuted the same time as ours, which was pure serendipity. They have nothing much else to do with each other.

About 25 years ago, British Marvel put out a short-lived comic book of the American version, where it was simply called “DENNIS,” so as to not conflict with the more familiar local character. The first issue had, as British comic mags often do, a bonus trinket to lure you into taking a look. The “DENNIS” launch prize was a small, flat, toffee candy bar, gummed to the upper left corner of the cover.

Here, at King Features, we get samples of publications from all over the world when a licensee contracts to use one our characters. Unfortunately, nobody thought to remove aforementioned candy bars, and the comic books arrived with big greasy, gooey melted gobs of stale sweets mashed into the covers.

Censorship is actually rare in strips because we have several sets of eyes who read the strips from start to finish. It’s been said that some newspapers would erase smoking characters or something like that, but basically comics have always been calculated to be uncontroversial, family fare.

Yours truly,

The Archivist

Among Slylock’s rotating cast of kooky nemeses, Count Weirdly is often the one who stands out. We’re not entirely sure WHAT Count Weirdly is—a red-haired, green-skinned, mustachioed villain who wears a top hat, spectacles, high top sneakers and what appears to be a white nightgown, he definitely lives up to his name. Count Weirdly is constantly concocting plots and trying out get-rich-quick schemes on his unsuspecting victims. I asked Bob Weber, Jr., the cartoonist behind SLYLOCK FOX (and all of Count Weirdly’s sinister plans), to tell us a little bit about the dastardly Count:

“There is a revolving door of fiendish foes in Slylock’s universe, each with his or her own special brand of sociopathic behavior. Count Weirdly is probably the most eccentric of the bunch. He has spurts of scientific brilliance that enables him to invent amazing contraptions and formulas that he’s convinced will impress the world and bring him power. Weirdly’s downfall is his lack of attention to detail, that one tiny flaw that allows super sleuth Slylock Fox to foil the count’s self-serving plans.”

Count Weirdly lives in a castle that is reminiscent of something out of a classic horror movie—in fact, in many ways, he’s like an evil version of Dr. Frankenstein. “I love old horror movies,” says Bob, “so a lot of Count Weirdly is inspired by ‘mad scientists’ like Dr. Frankenstein. I’m also a fan of Jay Ward cartoons, and Weirdly definitely has a touch of Snidely Whiplash syndrome.”

We often see Weirdly surrounded by creepy creatures and bizarre-looking minions. Each cartoon in SLYLOCK FOX is a self-contained puzzle, more in the realm of a gag cartoon than an ongoing story strip, which leaves a lot of fans to speculate as to Weirdly’s background. “In the strip I’ve had scenarios that reference his twisted family roots that stretch back generations,” said Bob. But Bob also loves reading what people have to say about Weirdly online. “I’ve read speculations of Count Weirdly’s origins on message boards. One amusing post stated that Weirdly is a former TV host of a late-night horror movie show.”

Because of the nature of SLYLOCK FOX’s cartoons, which rely on logic games and puzzles, we wondered how Bob constructs a comic, and how it might be different from a typical gag, but Bob says that planning out one of Weirdly’s hijinks isn’t all that different from a regular cartoon.

“Writing Count Weirdly plots is similar to writing gags for a humor strip. There is no hard-and-fast formula. Sometimes I’ll write the solution first and work back from there. Other times I’ll make lists of statements or objects, plug them into the mind of Weirdly and hope his personality and motivations will dictate the direction for an idea.

“My favorite Count Weirdly scenarios are those that feature his laboratory and crazy inventions. Less dastardly strips, like his attempts to con buyers with bogus products at online auction sites, are fun.

“Count Weirdly strips are especially fun because they give me an excuse to include a menagerie of creepy creatures and monsters. Some appear only once, while others appear regularly. I really enjoy the limitless kooky eye candy that the Weirdly scenes allow.”

Thanks, Bob!

If you’re a fan of SLYLOCK FOX, you can also follow Slylock on Facebook, or try the SPOT THE DIFFERENCE app available on iTunes!

First, I’d just like to say I’m glad you all enjoyed the Dik Browne graph. It was even picked up by The Daily Cartoonist, which was very nice to see.

Browne drew the graph in 1983, as part of a promotion urging features editors to run HI AND LOIS, which was then about to reach its 30th anniversary.

It’s always a wonder to me how fast things come and go.  Younger readers will not understand what Browne means by going “gadget happy” or the reference to fuller medicine cabinets. But since he lived from 1917 to 1989, his perspective was from living in the threadbare 1930s and 40s, and then experiencing  the post-War explosion of new health and food products, luxury items and the rise of a well-to-do consumer class.

Some of his observations were timely in the 80s, but seem hardly momentous now, like the ones about roller skating and T-shirts. Perhaps, Chip delivering newspapers was to make a connection with the intended audience of the chart.

As I like to do, I’ll try to answer some reader questions below:

To Bhob,

I wish we had a really good file of artist photos. I have some, but it’s pretty hit-or-miss. Here’s one of the oldest photos I have, apropos at this time, a picture of Mort Walker and Dik Browne in the 1950s, deep in thought while collaborating on HI AND LOIS. (Dik’s the one with the glasses, Mort isn’t.)

And no, we didn’t save a print of the LITTLE IODINE feature. I was actually searching for this film to help out a friend who was among the compilers of the AFI catalogue of American film about 20-odd years ago. No soap. It apparently did poorly at the box office and when it finished its’ meager rounds, the film went back to the producer.  In this case, that producer was sometime movie star Buddy Rogers, who didn’t save it, nor did his wife Mary Pickford, who had a  vault for her own  films. So now, it’s up in movie heaven, along with the lost 47 reels of GREED.

Here is a still from that film. Hobart Cavanaugh was Mr. Tremblechin  and Irene “Granny” Ryan was Iodine’s mom. I don’t know what’s going on, but you can bet Iodine brought it about and Daddy will lose his job. (Still courtesy of Cole Johnson)

I was told a funny story by an older gentleman who also experienced the film. In 1946 he was in the Navy, on leave, in Baltimore. He went to a burlesque house, but due to a city ordinance, all theaters had to offer some family entertainment. He had to sit through LITTLE IODINE before they began what he was really there for!

To Chris,

A lot of strip creators are listed by the man who created it, not just the artist. Think of Lee Falk: how many dozens of fellows worked on his strips during his lifetime? It would be a sizable list.

To Michael F.,

We may put some Hatlo material into the mix. We have a substantial amount of both of his features. Are there a lot of fans out there? If there’s interest, we’ll happily provide more on him, of course.

Yours,

The Archivist

Family Circus – March 8, 2012

Here are a few other suggestions of DailyINK prints that we think Moms will love.

Zits – March 15, 2012

Gil – February 1, 2012

Baby Blues – October 19, 2012

Pajama Diaries – March 16, 2012

For more information on ordering prints, click here.

Or, how about a gift that’s good all year long? Each day, when Mom opens her customized daily email or accesses the DailyINK mobile app, she will think of you and smile. DailyINK is a Mother’s Day gift that keeps on giving throughout the year, no matter what the season, reason or holiday.

Click here to purchase a gift subscription.

As always, for every DailyINK gift subscription you purchase, we’ll add a month to your current membership!

We’ve also put together a list of “Top Picks for Mom’s Reading Pleasure,” which includes:

The Pajama Diaraies: Deja To-Do *Autographed Copy signed by Terri Libenson

Eat, Cry Poop: A BABY BLUES COLLECTION

Jeremy and Mom: A ZITS Retrospective That You Should Definitely Buy For Your Mom

Last but not least, you can sign, seal and deliver your Mother’s Day gift with a Pajama Diaries greeting card from cartoonist Terri Libenson.

Check them all out here: http://www.cafepress.com/pajamadiaries

If you are a mother, we want to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day! And, don’t forget Father’s Day will be here before you know it!