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Happy new thread! Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 12/31/02  Brenda Starr 2/13-15/50 is beginning a new story. Brenda has rescued a little girl who'd stowed away on a ship to come to America. The girl turns out to be the queen of some fictional European country, and Brenda has just introduced the queen to her boss.    Smokey Stover 2/3/52  Everyday Movies 12/13/35 features Mopey Dick and the Duke, a pair of tramps who often appear in the strip.  "I'm sorry now I started this serial -- it takes up too much of my time." And now, new for this thread, welcome Invisible Scarlet O'Neil! Created in 1940 by Russell Stamm, who broke into the business as one of Chester Gould's assistants on Dick Tracy, Scarlet has the distinction of being the first super-powered woman in comics. Stamm had grown tired of Dick Tracy's frequently dark and violent plots, and intended Invisible Scarlet O'Neil to be a more low-key, positive adventure strip. Did it work? We're going to find out. Here are Scarlet's first strips, taken from the Tampa Tribune: Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/3-5/40  Well, that's a very Golden Age origin. Stamm said he'd come up with the idea of Scarlet pressing her wrist to activate her power because he was used to drawing Dick Tracy in a similar pose fiddling with his 2-Way Wrist Radio, so it was easy for him to draw.   Bonus News Story! Now wait a -- oh, you said "jooks." That's all right. 
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Jan 1, 2023 15:55
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Back again with more comics from the Fantastic (for some) Forties! Both of these strips started life as comic book features, Pogo in 1941 and Archie in 1942, before making the jump to newspapers several years later. Back then, comic books were scut work for a professional cartoonist -- having a syndicated newspaper strip was where the real money and prestige was. Things sure have changed, huh? Pogo 10/3-5/49 Pogo actually started syndication in May 1949, but these strips, from the Washington Evening Star, are the earliest I can find.   (Home Run Baker)  Archie 2/4-9/46 Of possible interest is this article on the question of who actually created Archie and the gang. (Short form: editor John Goldwater, the J in MLJ Publications, claims he came up with them based on his experiences growing up as a small-town kid; meanwhile, Bob Montana said he was just told by Goldwater to create a new non-superhero feature for MLJ's comics, and created Archie etc. on his own.) Upon request, I've added in the first two Archies as well.      
Selachian fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Jan 2, 2023 |
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Jan 2, 2023 01:22
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Bongo Bill posted:For the sake of archival, would you please put the first two Archie strips into that post? Done!
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Jan 2, 2023 04:44
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Buni Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/1/03  Brenda Starr 2/16-18/50    Smokey Stover 2/10/52  Everyday Movies 12/14/35  "It ain't gonna hurt you none to throw on a few extra shovelfuls of coal a day until Christmas." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/6-8/40   
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Jan 2, 2023 16:04
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Pogo 10/6-8/49   Archie 2/11-13/46  drat, that's a fine Jughead smirk. I'm more familiar with the standardized, simplified Dan DeCarlo style on Archie, and it's amazing how much better Montana is.  Sadly, I can't find a version where the third panel background signs are readable.  Some bits of '40s slang to decipher here: An "all black" in soda fountain parlance was a chocolate soda with chocolate ice cream. "Lindy hopper" refers to the Lindy hop, a popular dance in the prewar era but lame and outdated for a modern 1946 teenager. And "Greetings, Gate, let's percolate!" is indeed how a hepcat would invite someone to dance -- "Greetings, Gate!" was the catchphrase of comedian Jerry Colonna, usually worked into a rhyming phrase, e.g. "Greetings, Gate, let's celebrate!" Selachian fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Jan 2, 2023 |
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Jan 2, 2023 23:28
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/2/03  Brenda Starr 2/19/50  Smokey Stover 2/17/52  Everyday Movies 12/16/35  "If I could have anything I want for Christmas, Daddy, I would wish that we was off relief so that I could take a present to school, like the others -- so as to help the poor people." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/10-12/40   
Selachian fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jan 3, 2023 |
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Jan 3, 2023 13:34
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Pogo 10/10-12/49   Archie 2/14-16/46    Bank Night was an event at some movie theaters where a random member of the audience got a cash prize. Along with half-price admission (as seen here), it was a way for theaters to get people to come out in the middle of the week.
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Jan 4, 2023 00:33
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Mister Olympus posted:So which politician does Seminole Sam represent? It's too early in the strip's run for politics; Wiley Cat and Seminole Sam are just what they seem to be. Simple J. Malarkey, the Joe McCarthy expy, does resemble Wiley, but he won't show up until 1953. Selachian fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Jan 4, 2023 |
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Jan 4, 2023 01:25
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Buni Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/3/03  Brenda Starr 2/20-22/50    Smokey Stover 2/24/52  Would you know that was supposed to be Truman in panel two if Holman hadn't stuck on a label? Everyday Movies 12/17/35  "I'm frantic thinking what to give Bob for Christmas. He has a cigaret case, you know." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/13-15/40   
Selachian fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Jan 4, 2023 |
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Jan 4, 2023 13:05
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Green Intern posted:I don't think you're allowed to slap someone in the face in Basketball That's what "count it and one" means -- if you're fouled while shooting, you get the basket plus a free throw for being fouled.
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Jan 4, 2023 22:13
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Pogo 10/13-15/49   Archie 2/18-20/46    "A line on zoots with a stiff dickie" wouldn't be a bad thread title either.
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Jan 5, 2023 00:33
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manero posted:I'm kinda digging the art in Archie, I was never into it, so it's fun to read it now. And to settle another of the Great Jughead Mysteries: the S on his shirt is for Skunk Hill, a place near Bob Montana's hometown of Haverhill, MA.
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Jan 5, 2023 02:30
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/4/03  (that's the one for the violent, if you were wondering) Brenda Starr 2/23-25/50    Smokey Stover 3/2/52  Everyday Movies 12/18/35  "Reginald, don't you think we ought to send the Browns a card for Christmas? They are so dreadfully hard up, you know." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/17-19/40   
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Jan 5, 2023 14:42
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Pogo 10/17-19/49  "Real gone" was originally African-American slang for someone who was effortlessly cool.  Archie 2/20-23/46    Jughead suddenly getting all prissy about Betty's dress is a fun bit. Selachian fucked around with this message at 23:34 on Jan 5, 2023 |
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Jan 5, 2023 22:43
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/5/03  Brenda Starr 2/26/50  Smokey Stover 3/9/52  Everyday Movies 12/19/35  "Where's that present you promised me last year, Santa?" Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/20-22/40  Saved by the butt!  
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Jan 6, 2023 13:30
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Pogo 10/20-22/49   1. I need to find a way to work "Good jumpin' jizzywitches!" into a conversation someday. 2. What's with "Bock is back"? Bock beer was originally a seasonal drink, sold in the spring. In the days before the Coorsmillerbud monolith, people got their suds from local breweries, who would run ads letting bock fans know when it was available. Those ads usually included pictures of goats, because Bock means "billy goat" in German. Archie 2/25-27/46    Those kids today call this music? It's just noise!
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Jan 7, 2023 00:36
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/6/03  Stephen Collins  Brenda Starr 2/27 - 3/1/50  Fonzo von Hanky?   Smokey Stover 3/16/52  Everyday Movies 12/20/35  "Shall we take a chance on him, Duke, or shall we make sure of a couple of frankfurters?" Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/24-26/40   
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Jan 7, 2023 15:42
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Twelve by Pies posted:Invisible Scarlet is interesting but didn't it start out with her being a suspect in a murder or something? And then it just jumped to a guy wanting to win a baseball game. I'm liking it so far, at least. You mean the sample strips I posted in the last thread? No, those were from 1944, a few years later in the strip's run.
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Jan 7, 2023 16:08
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Pogo 10/24-26/49   Archie 2/28 - 3/2/46    So, the "stag line" is the guys who showed up without dates. In some situations, they were allowed to "cut in" during a dance by tapping the guy on the shoulder and then taking a dance with the guy's date. There were fairly elaborate social rules about when you could cut in and with who. (Was there a similar system for women? You know there wasn't. If you were a girl and you didn't get a date, your options were either stay home or go to the dance alone, be a pathetic wallflower, and hope some guy gave you a pity dance.) I'm pretty sure the joke in the second strip is that cutting in is banned at the school dance, and Weatherbee missed all the guys cutting in on Archie but catches him when he's trying to get back to his own date. Also for the It Was Another Time file: high school students leaving prom to go to a nightclub.
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Jan 7, 2023 21:54
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Professor Wayne posted:That glowup has nothing on Grundy in the Riverdale show   The resemblance is uncanny!
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Jan 8, 2023 05:33
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/7/03  Brenda Starr 3/2-4/50    Smokey Stover 3/23/52  Everyday Movies 12/20/35  "I have a dollar-fifty left, so I suppose we should get something for your father." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 6/27-29/40   
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Jan 8, 2023 16:58
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Kennel posted:Dustin I ... I am older than Ed loving Kudlick. This is a horrifying revelation. 
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Jan 8, 2023 19:33
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Pogo 10/27-29/49 wait, Russian roulette?  Some fine faces on Seminole Sam in this batch.  Archie 3/4-6/46    Bonus news story!  I looked into this and it got even weirder: along with being immortal, Hiram BeBee also claimed that he was really Harry Longabaugh, aka the Sundance Kid, who had somehow survived the fatal shootout in Bolivia in 1908. In any case, his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, and he died in prison in 1955, which must have come as quite a surprise.
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Jan 9, 2023 00:54
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Buni Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 7/8/03  Brenda Starr 3/5/50  Smokey Stover 3/30/52  Everyday Movies 12/23/35  "Don't try so hard, Mopey -- the message we really want to send is 'Merry Christmas to all.'" Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/1-3/40  one thousand and one   Any guesses as to how Scarlet gets out of this, given that she is not Invisible Flying Scarlet O'Neil? Selachian fucked around with this message at 12:43 on Jan 9, 2023 |
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Jan 9, 2023 12:37
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Pogo 10/31 - 11/2/49   Archie 3/7-9/46    It took me a few reads to figure out the magician's name is pronounced "so hammy."
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Jan 10, 2023 00:28
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Samovar posted:'Cissy'? It's a variant spelling that sometimes turns up in older British English. Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/9/03  Brenda Starr 3/6-8/50    Smokey Stover 4/6/52  Everyday Movies 12/24/35  "If she wakes up and asks if Santa has come, I'll have to say 'Yes' as I simply can't tell her a lie." Murdstone posted:I'm gonna say awning. Green Intern posted:She somehow collides with the pilot as he parachutes down, despite them starting hundreds of yards apart at improbable angles. Good guesses, but the actual answer is... Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/4-6/40  Every comics writer's friend, the convenient truck full of mattresses!  
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Jan 10, 2023 13:02
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Pogo 11/3-5/49   Archie 3/11-13/46    (Inflation calculator says that's about a $400 bill. Looking through the contemporary ads for comparables, you could get a Bulova wristwatch or a one-diamond wedding ring for about $27.)
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Jan 11, 2023 00:41
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Buni Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/10/03  Brenda Starr 3/9-11/50    Smokey Stover 4/13/52  Everyday Movies 12/25/35  "Look, Jim, how happy they are. Now don't you think it was worth all the little sacrifices we had to make?" Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/8-10/40   
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Jan 11, 2023 12:45
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Sweaty IT Nerd posted:To my knowledge no reputable study weighs in one way or the other on walrus algebra aptitude. They are, however, very knowledgeable about shoes, ships, sealing-wax, cabbages, kings, why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings.
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Jan 11, 2023 21:04
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Pogo 11/7-9/49   Archie 3/14-16/46   
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Jan 12, 2023 00:32
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/11/03  Brenda Starr 3/12/50  Smokey Stover 4/20/52  Everyday Movies 12/26/35  "I did pretty well. I got a fur piece, two dozen silk stockings and this wrist watch out of my Christmas investment of three 50-cent ties." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/11-13/40    Brenda, huh? Probably a coincidence, or both Messick and Stamm were inspired by Brenda Frazier.
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Jan 12, 2023 15:04
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Forum accident posted:Gonzo. Uncle Deadly.
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Jan 12, 2023 20:43
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Pogo 11/10-12/49   Archie 3/18-20/46   
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Jan 13, 2023 00:30
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What, you don't have business cards with your computer password ready to hand out to everyone you meet? Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/12/03  Brenda Starr 3/13-15/50    Messick is just so lovely at accents. Smokey Stover 4/27/52  Everyday Movies 12/27/35  "Can I exchange this silk underwear for an order on the grocery department?" Inflatable Scarlet O'Neil 7/15-17/40   
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Jan 13, 2023 13:01
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Pogo 11/14-16/49   Archie 3/21-23/46   
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Jan 14, 2023 00:24
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Mercury Hat posted:Yeah in a vacuum I wouldn't mind the new Popeye strips, but the characters aren't really Popeye characters anymore to me. I don't want emotional depth from any of them! It's funny that Thimble Theater Wimpy dumped a mermaid fiancee because she doesn't like onions and it's weird when modern Bluto is a doting uncle to his niece. Don't worry, I'm right there with you. It's fine giving funny characters a bit of emotional depth, but if you do too much it just slides over into bathos, and you end up with Funky Winkerbean. Rhymes with Orange  Get Political 1/13/03  Double Collins   Brenda Starr 3/16-18/50    Smokey Stover 4/6/52  Everyday Movies 12/28/35  "I wish we'd given the elevator man something for Christmas so now we wouldn't feel ashamed to face him." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/18-20/40   
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Jan 14, 2023 16:15
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Pogo 11/17-19/49   Archie 3/25-27/46   
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Jan 14, 2023 22:55
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Rhymes with Orange Get Fuzzy 1/14/03  Brenda Starr 3/19/50   Smokey Stover 4/13/52  (Blue coal, you ask? One Pennsylvania coal company painted their coal blue to make it stand out from the competition. Heating your house with burning paint fumes must have been fun.) Everyday Movies 1/1/36  "Wasn't that nice -- Peter got my watch out of hock for me for a Christmas present." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/22-24/40   
Selachian fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Jan 15, 2023 |
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Jan 15, 2023 15:17
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Pogo 11/21-23/49   Archie 3/28-30/46   
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Jan 15, 2023 21:32
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Snowi Rhymes with Orange  Get Fuzzy 1/15/03  Brenda Starr 3/20-22/50    Smokey Stover 5/18/52 (messed up my records and got the dates wrong on the last couple of days)  Everyday Movies 1/2/36  "David and I just have to attend these affairs occasionally or we'd become mentally stagnant." Invisible Scarlet O'Neil 7/25-27/40   
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Jan 16, 2023 15:41
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