Having re-acquainted myself with the earlier Hanna-Barbara cartoonage during frequent evening (and even middle of the night) viewings I have perhaps not-so-surprisingly grown to appreciate the early HUCKLEBERRY HOUND cartoons. Not having seen any of the first gen HB efforts since their final local Sunday AM broadcasting in the late-seventies I was surprised, not only at the ingenious ways the animators cut corners what with the use of bowties and collars enabling them to draw only a head instead of the entire body, but to the plain fact that these cartoons were just as appealing and as humorous to the grownups who happ'd be be watching along with the turdlers. Like with BULLWINKLE and even the UPA-era DICK TRACY cartoons there were a load of gags that were just gonna go over them kids' peabrains and straight into their parents' gag reflex, and although none of these HB efforts were as naughty as all of those Tex Avery cartoons complete with all of those sexual references they still were a whole lot snazzier'n the usual BABY BUNNY IN THE FLOPPY FOREST gaggeroonies that couldn't appeal to anyone over the age of a fetus.
This comic rendition of the original HUCKLEBERRY HOUND lineup is about as close enough to the originals as I would expect. No cigar though, but then again how could you really translate the animated form into print as anyone whose ever read the comic strip and book adaptations of ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE not to mention HOUND co-star YOGI BEAR can tell ya. (Gotta admit that I really went for the BUGS BUNNY comic strip but that had a life of its own --- always liked the running gag where Sylvester and some bum friend of his would stroll into Bugs' lunch counter if only to scarf the free crackers and ketchup.)
But if yer an eight-year-old Saturday Afternoon Barbershop Kid waiting for your own clipping back '59 way I don't think it's gonna offend your sense of suburban slob aesthetics reading these. The stories might not be as slam boffo as the tee-vee cartoons but they ain't gonna let ya look at the POLICE GAZETTE so just settle back with one of these 'n don't ferget to tip the guy!
Well, at these stories do try to somewhat stick to the patented tee-vee form. Just like on tee-vee Huck's profession changes from story to story with him being on the police force on the search for an escaped gorilla in one (I think this might have been copped from an actual animated adventure but don't clobber me if it ain't) to another with him as a private eye combing the northern reaches of Canada for a shaggy prehistoric entity who looks remarkably like the Captain Caveman that Hanna/Barbera would unleash on Saturday AM tee-vee a good fifteen or so years later. That dog just can't keep a job but at least the same kinda yuks that you really went for way back'll come rushing like diarrhea after givin' a few of these halfway decent sagas a spin.
Yogi Bear had yet to graduate to his own series and comic book but he's present here and his stories are about as true to the original thrust as Huck's. Yogi's not as anarchistic here as he was onna tube but I've yet to rip out a page for some timely wiping so I guess he's good enough. The ones with Pixie/Dixie/Jinks also seem true to the animated efforts, but then again how much leeway does one get with these cat 'n meeces efforts anyway? Still far from aggravating and if you were one to spend Sunday PMs reading cheaply-acquired comics such as these after a long day of garage sale and flea market combing well, I'm sure you'll get the same tired, but it's a good tired feeling as you comb through these whilst waiting for your frozen pizza to cook up.
Hey, 's a worthy one to scoop up if yer in the mood for some pre-hippie values and pukka shell drapes comic book reading. And given the quality of most post-mid-seventies comic book wares who'd blame you if you decided to snatch this outta the paws of some wise and on the ball six-year-old clutching onto one of these things? They're appealing enough and heck, even somewhat timely considering the story where Huck, on the search for a place to live, runs for president (with Yogi as his campaign manager) just so's he could settle down in the White House. And to add some omnidirectional funzies to the thing, just about the entire Hanna-Barbara stable ends up hitting the campaign trail in support to the point where you know that the guy just hadda win since as history has proven he woulda been better'n either Kennedy or Nixon!
Health note...these Gwandanaland titles are clean and hygienic unlike a lotta the flea market goods I came across way back when, some which looked so atrocious that I hadda shed a tear if a much wanted title looked as if it was used as a feminine napkin. No boogers, food stains or dried baby batter to worry about in these pages so you don't have to wash your hands after reading these like my mother used to make me do (and you should have heard the things she used to tell me in order to keep me from buying old comic books, like what if some colored boy was reading it in the bathroom and picking his nose...I was so naive I had no idea what she was talking about until years later!).
I have their first two volumes of the early "Flintstones" comics, and those are funnier than the show they were derived from.They have that sarcastic, smart-ass humor that one would find in a lot of Western Publishing's titles of this period. If only they had followed suit with rest of their H-B line.
ReplyDeleteTo our left of Huck: who's the fag strangling himself? Why is the fag there?
ReplyDeletein case you didn't know:
ReplyDeletehttps://cartoons.osu.edu/events/the-nancy-show-bushmiller-and-beyond/
The only fags I see are Pixie and Dixie.
ReplyDelete...and Yogi Bear. I mean the guy used to sleep in the same bed as pal Boo Boo and I remember an episode where an irate Ranger Smith called the pair into the station waving a book saying something along the lines of "THIS IS THE BOOK --- DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO WITH IT?" and Yogi replied "marry us"???????????????????????
ReplyDelete