In addition to assorted adventures of teen-queen Bunny and her pals is the first story to feature Percival Pineapple, a.k.a. the heroic Fruitman!
Unlike most super-hero 'origin' stories, the folks at Harvey Comics chose not to tell us 'how our hero came to be', but rather to just jump in and let us enjoy the silliness - - umm, I mean the action.
Enjoy this thrilling introductory story, and for more background and more stories (including 'Fruitman in Israel') click over to a previous post; 'Sooper Hippie, Fruitman, and Bunny's Back Pages'.
Read 'Fruitman' ▶ from 'Bunny' issue #3 (1967) ▼ (click on links or images below to open pages in a new window)
I was very pleased recently to find another issue of 'Bunny', as published by Harvey Comics back in the swingin' '60s, full of more hip & zoovy super-fab teenage kicks!
Follow links to some previous 'Bunny' posts, if you missed them:
'Davey' was a recurring comic strip that ran in issues of Extension Magazine, 'the Catholic Saturday Evening Post', appearing on its back page.
I scanned these from the same issues where I found the Bill O'Malley cartoons I've posted previously.
(click on images to enlarge in a new window)
Above, ▲ from August, 1946
I don't know a thing about 'Davey', or the strip's creator, Joseph Berger. I'd love to hear from anyone with any information to share on the topic.
Having only these five examples as references, the storyline of the strip is a bit mysterious. The light-hearted lessons of the '46 strip above and the '52 strip at the bottom of the post are sandwiching a serialized plotline involving two sinister 'foreign agents'. I guess we can assume that everything works out okay - -? (Though I notice that something has happened to Davey's eyes by '52 - - IF that's even the real Davey. Hmmm...)
That range in storylines and the nature of the relationship between wide-eyed Davey and Father Paul makes this strip seem like it may have been sort of a twist on Little Orphan Annie. 'Little Catholic Andy', if you will.
So is Davey an orphan? If not, where are his parents? He seems to be living with Father Paul, is that right? He's an altar boy, yes? And what did happen to his dog, Spot?? So many questions, and for now, so few answers...
(click on images to enlarge in a new window)
Above, ▲ from November, 1946
Above, ▲ from March, 1947
Above, ▲ from June, 1947
Above, ▲ from March, 1952
(click on images to enlarge in a new window)
Please drop a line or comment on this post if you have any insights regarding 'Davey' or cartoonist Joseph Berger!
I've been working on updating some of the previously posted Archie Comics-related material I've gathered here on the blog, adding some more examples of how those comic books mirrored various aspects of 1960s and '70s pop culture.
Here's a little preview (more below), one that might benefit from just a little background info...
Scopitones were the name of one variety of 'film jukebox' that first appeared in the early 1960s. ▶
It's also the name of the films themselves, which were precursors to today's music videos.
They were popular in Europe and in the U.S. throughout the sixties, and on the wane by the seventies.
Scopitones weren't part of my experience at that time, but I've been a big fan of Scopitones.Com (sister site to Bedazzled!) for several years.
- Follow the link to Scopitones.Com NOW and watch some fascinating and groovy musical performances!
Betty and Veronica's brief interlude below at Pop's Chok'lit Shoppe occured in Archie's Joke Book #93 (1965).
(Click on image to enlarge in a new window) ▼
- Follow link to another informative site, Scopitone Archive, for a bit more history and background.
I recall first seeing his comics in the pages of 'Weirdo' back in the '80s, and then in' Crap' and other titles in the '90s, but it seems like it's been a little while since running across his name.
◀ This full-page ad could have looked just a little out of place when it first ran in mainstream American comic books towards the end of 1967.
(UPDATE, 1.13.09: It's been verified that the ad's design was indeed by Cal Schenkel, longtime Zappa visualist. More info below.)
'Pop-Art' and psychedelia may have begun to make gentle inroads into the look of the funny books by then, but this ad was something a bit different.
It promoted 'We're Only In It For The Money', the (then brand new) third album by Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, an LP every bit as innovative and mind-bending as their previous two, experimenting with familiar rock idioms in combination with avant-garde sound collage and large doses of social satire.
That alone is noteworthy, as despite the 'wholesome' tone of the ad's copy, this was clearly not squeaky-clean teen pop combo music like you'd have heard on your top ten AM radio or seen on TV's 'Hullabaloo' or 'American Bandstand' back in the day.
Hell, it still isn't.
But without providing any details, the ad also entices the reader to clip the coupon and send a letter off to 'United Mutations'.
United Mutations was the name of the Mothers of Invention's fan club, which Frank Zappa started in '67 as a way to respond to the often unusual fan mail the band received.
It's easy to assume that the average curious and presumably innocent young comic book reader would probably not have known this, however, just as it's easy to assume that they likewise would perhaps have had little familiarity with Zappa and The Mothers.
- So the question arises, had you cut the United Mutations coupon out of your comic and sent it in, what would you have received?
According to Chris Federico's Zappology site, you'd have received a 'thank you' form letter that included an application questionnaire for joining the club.
The text of that first letter read:
"We could have sent you a cheesy form letter, all 'The Mothers of Invention want to thank you blah blah for writing such a nifty letter blah and they love their fans who are so loyal and thoughtful blah and blah. But they are so busybusybusybusy that it would be virtually impossible for them to even begin to attempt to consider the possibility of any sort of warm personal reply, blah, blah, blaaahhh.'
"We could have sent you that sort of cheesy letter; instead, we have sent you this cheesy letter, the text of which reads: 'Dearest Wonderful and Perceptive Person: The Mothers of Invention want to thank you blah blah for writing us such a nifty letter, some of which you have written to us on toilet paper -- how wonderfully original. Golly gee, we are so awful busy being thrown out of restaurants and hotels in Montreal, ignored by taxis in New York -- have you had that trouble too? It's getting so you don't even have to be black to not be picked up -- mugged by policemen in Los Angeles and scrutinized by the censors of all major U.S. media. Willikins! It takes so much time to do all that crap, we hardly have any time to answer each of you in a warm, personal way. 'So: If you are a worried girl and you wrote to us because we turn you on and you want our bodies and/or you think we are cute, here is your own personal section of the letter: The answer to any and all questions is, yes, we love you even if you are fat, with pimples. 'If you are, or are considering the possibility of becoming, a boy, and you think you are very hep and swinging, and you wrote to us on a piece of toilet paper, this section is for you: Keep up the good work. We would like to encourage you to become even more nihilistic and destructive. Attaboy. Don't take any gas from your metal shop teacher or that creep with the flat-top in physical education who wants to bust your head because you are different. Give them all the finger, just like we would give you the finger for writing to us on a piece of toilet paper.'
"Would you be interested in joining what's called a fan club for the Mothers? The official name of the organization is United Mutations. We call it that because we are certain that only a few special people might be interested in active participation.
"It will cost you three dollars and you must fill in the accompanying questionnaire: Name, age, sex, height, weight, address, state, zip, father's name, profession, mother's name, profession. Answer these questions briefly: Who is God? ESP: Yes? No? Describe. Best way to describe my social environment is: If I had my way I would change it to: How will you change your social environment? When? What are you afraid of? What sort of help can the Mothers give you? On another sheet of paper, describe your favorite dream or nightmare in clinical detail. Send both sheets with three dollars to the address above, and in return, we will send you useful information about the Mothers and a small package with some other things you might be interested in.
"Thank you. Your signature in ink, please."
- According to the Zappa Wiki Jawaka , sending in the $3 would get you a club membership kit that included photos and biographies of the Mothers Of Invention band members, a membership card, copies of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, and a second form letter / questionnaire.
The text of the follow-up letter read:
"Hello. Thank you for responding to our initial proposal. It is necessary to know a few more things about you. We hope you won't mind answering another form letter; our files require it for continued membership.
"If you are interested in this worthwhile program of, let's call it self-help, please be advised that our work can be continued only if your membership is kept paid yearly and we have periodic reports of your activities within the context of our program. You will be notified by mail for your next membership report.
"For now, please fill in this form and return it to us, and read the enclosed material carefully. We are happy you took an interest in us.
"Answer these questions briefly. Please enclose a small photo of yourself. Are you a mutation? What can you do to help us? People's minds: How many do you control? Why not more? How do you control your subjects? Do they know? Do other people know? How do you avoid problems? Do you group-think? Is there another operator near you? Who? Does he/she belong to our association? If no, why not? Describe your relationship with your parents. How can the Mothers assist you?
"Your signature in ink, please. Date."
The Zappology site cites a mid-1967 interview with Zappa, conducted by Frank Kofsky, in which Zappa talked about the fan letters, the club, and the questionnaires, and about trying to offer people something that makes it okay be strange.
That Zappa and the Verve Record label succeeded in placing an ad for The Mothers of Invention in mainstream comic books is funny and odd, and seems of another era.
That the ad could have also sought to target and 'recruit' teenagers who may have felt like outsiders, and offer them the notion that they belong is also funny and odd, as well as gently subversive and pretty wonderful.
- - And it all fits in nicely with underlying themes present in the lyrics of those first three Mothers albums, too. Willikins!
I'm still very curious about that advertisement, though. How exactly did it come about? There weren't too many recording artist ads in comics at that time...
I'm wondering if the ad's layout may have been designed by Cal Schenkel, who signed on with Zappa right around this same time, executing the memorable 'Sgt. Pepper' cover parody for 'We're Only In It For The Money'. (Yep! See update below) It also looks just collage-y enough to have perhaps been done by FZ himself.
I'm sure we'd all love to hear from someone out there who knows about these things. I'd also like to hear from anyone who did respond to this ad back then, or who was an early member of United Mutations. (Yay! Another update, see below)
I hadn't seen this old ad in a long while. Thanks are due to artist J.R. Williams, who posted a scan of it in one of his Flickr galleries and got me to thinking about it. (Follow link for more on Mr. Williams)
UPDATE 1.13.09 - - (Continued from above) I had a nice little e-mail exchange with graphic artist Wayno, who was kind enough to get in touch with Mr. Schenkel regarding that Mothers ad in this post. Cal responded, "Yep, I dood it!". Great to have that verification, many thanks!
Schenkel provided many album cover designs and other artwork for Zappa over the years, and remains the primary artist associated with Frank's visual style.
For more about Cal Schenkel ▶ and his credits, see also: - The Wikipedia entry, and the Zappa Wiki Jawaka entry.
- Cal's website, www.ralf.com/, where he has artwork for sale.
- Below ▼, a video link to 'Dental Hygiene Dilemma', an animated sequence from the 1971 Zappa & The Mothers film '200 Motels', based upon designs by Schenkel.
- ANOTHER UPDATE, 7.15.09:
(Click on image to ENLARGE) ▶
BIG thanks to Nick for sending in a scan of a precious artifact; His copy of that introductory 'United Mutations' form letter, with a note signed by Pauline Butcher, Frank's personal secretary from '68 to '72, who ran the fan club at the time.
Nick said: "I started getting into Frank Zappa in the 60's, and not long after I sent a letter to U.M. asking about pictures of the band. They sent me the first letter. I still have it, not filled out, in the envelope it came in, with a hand written note from Pauline on it. Maybe brown shoes don't make but this letter does."
Always nice to hear tell of any new sightings of Robert Crumb's work, especially if it's a bit off-the-beaten-path.
Point d’ironie is a nifty, high-falutin' artsy freebie tabloid-newspaper-styled magazine that comes out roughly six times a year and can be found around the world in various bookshops, galleries, museums, etc.
Each issue is given over to a different artist; issue #45 features some recent work by Crumb, some of which you can see here, below.
Follow the Point d’ironie link (specifically to issue #45) to view more.
Elsewhere in recent Crumb sightings, if you saw this year's 'Cartoon Issue' of The New Yorker (November 3, 2008) you probably enjoyed the 4-page comics 'jam' by Robert, Aline and Sophie Crumb.
Over at The Official R. Crumb Website there's further background on the tale of their travels to the huge Crumb Family Reunion in Minnesota this past summer that serves as a nice follow-up to the New Yorker piece.
Click on the 'previous post' link of the 'Where's Crumb?' section for details and photos, as well as the 'Family History' link.
Fun stuff!
Meanwhile, Crumb's massive adaptation of the bible's Book of Genesis is said to be near completion, and (after several years in the making) may perhaps finally see print in 2009.
Prolific and beloved comic book auteur John Stanley, creator of Little Lulu, introduced Melvin Monster in a Dell Comics series back in 1965.
Melvin was a kid monster who, despite the wishes of his parents ('Mummy and Baddy') was not so terribly interested in doing monstrous things - - though (like a certain friendly ghost) some people were not entirely convinced. Another outsider hero, a lovable misanthrope.
Magic Carpet Burn has recently posted the entire story from Melvin Monster #10 (an exact reprint of '65's issue #1) for us to enjoy, divided into its chapters.
There are several spots around the web that have also been kind enough to post other exploits of Melvin and Company, in addition to those who focused on Melvin as a topic of discussion...
- 'Supermonster', from issue #8, reprinted at the 'Stanley Stories' blog. The post includes an examination of the character dynamics found in the series.
- Furthering such an examination, 'A very normal family', posted at headsOnBoards in Joyville compares and contrasts Melvin and other 1960's monster humor comics, such as Mr. and Mrs. J.Evil Scientist, The Little Monsters, and Oona Goosepimple. Many links are provided (including some you see here).
This being the internet, several other folks have already posted online regarding Mr. and Mrs. J. Evil Scientist, a curious little footnote in the history of comic books and animated cartoons. I figure I'll take a turn anyway...
One interesting facet about J. Evil Scientist and his family was that the characters were one of the few Hanna-Barbera properties to appear in their own comic book without ever having had a series of cartoons devoted to them.
Gold Key Comics (who published many Hanna-Barbera cartoon-based comics in the '60's) printed only four issues of the title, releasing one a year just prior to Halloween from 1963 to 1966.
Looking back on the mid-1960's, the ghoulish clan fit right in with assorted monster crazes and popular creepy families like the Addamses and the Munsters on TV.
(◀ Cover to issue #3, 1965. A couple of excerpted story pages from this issue follow below.)
As the mining of hit sitcoms for animated series scenarios was a tried-and-true method for Hanna-Barbera, it would be natural to assume that had been a key to the creation of 'the Scientists'.
In fact, the characters' history in cartoons and in comics predates those television comedies. Their origins go back to 1960, when the characters began as 'supporting players' to established H-B stars in a few various 'tryouts' (or pilots) for their own series.
Though unnamed in the cartoon, Mr. and Mrs. J. Evil Scientist and their son, Junior made their first appearance in a 7-minute animated Snooper & Blabber cartoon, 'Surprised Party', which (according to The Big Cartoon Database) premiered on TV's Quick Draw McGraw Show on December 3rd, 1960.
This was shortly followed by another 'guest appearance', opposite Snagglepuss in 'Fraidy Cat Lion', which had its premiere on The Yogi Bear Show on February 20th, 1961.
(See video clips at the end of this post!)
In those days, the most likely influence for the creation of the 'J. Evil Scientist' characters would have been the pre-TV 'Addams Family' seen for many years in the Charles Addams one-panel cartoons that ran in the New Yorker.
Mr. and Mrs. Scientist would turn up a few times in Gold Key-published Hanna-Barbera comic books as supporting characters or as a back-up feature, but in April of 1963 they had their 'official' comics debut in the anthology 'Hanna-Barbera Band-Wagon', ▶ issue #3.
The first issue of their own title appeared just a few months later. ▼
Some of the backward 'good=bad' / 'pretty=ugly' machinations seem similar, though maybe this over-estimates the popularity and influence the Bizarro World may have had at the time.
Although their characters may have pre-dated the proliferation of monster-family TV sitcoms, certainly by the second or third issue of 'The Weird World of Mr. and Mrs. J. Evil Scientist' Hanna-Barbera had caught up to the bandwagon.
The strongest evidence would come in 1964 with the morphing of J. Evil and his crew into The Flintstone's new neighbors, the Gruesomes.
That the Gruesomes looked slightly less reminiscent of The Addams Family could only work in H-B's favor.
(Cover to issue #2, 1964. ▶ A small excerpt from this issue follows below.)
Adding insult to injury in the demise of the J. Evil Scientist franchise was Gold Key Comics spinning the concept into their own non-Hanna-Barbera-owned property, Little Monsters, a comic book which ran from 1964 to 1978.
Scott identifies the issue's artwork as being by Pete Alvarado and fellow Gold Key workhorse Dick Hall.
- Comics creator Jay Stephens loves him some J. Evil Scientist, but as of this writing a couple of related posts archived at his Monsterama blog are missing their image links. Perhaps that will change.
- As previously referenced, here's a couple of video clips featuring early cartoon appearances of the J. Evil Scientist family. (Catch 'em while you can)
Below, ▼ Snagglepuss in 'Fraidy-Cat Lion'
- - followed by ▼ Snooper & Blabber in 'Surprised Party'
A lifetime of movies, cartoons, records, comics, bad teevee and lots of other ephemera 'n' junk has left me happily unfit for a normal life in the real world. - - And so here I am. Good to see you're here also! Welcome!
Sound files and other material you may encounter here are only made available for a limited time (as are we all), are assumed to be out of print or otherwise not readily available in these parts, and are meant for educational and entertainment purposes only - - Y'know, for FUN - - and NOT with any intent towards profit or copyright violation. However, I'm ready and eager to immediately remove any potentially infringing posting if it will avoid a hassle or hurt feelings. Please e-mail me if you feel your toes are being stepped on, and I'll happily rectify the situation.
As mentioned in the accompanying 'Bunny' comics post, I recently found a copy of issue #3. 
Enjoy this thrilling introductory story, and for more background and more stories (including 
Posts
