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(As you woulda already known after reading my bile for the last umpteen years...) Having been a big fan of pre-hippoid comic fare ever since I can remember hopping up on my dad's lap and forcing him to read me the comic page, you can just IMAGINE how interested I was in finding out more about this particular once-somewhat popular yet long-forgotten strip. A pretty hard if not downright Herculean task too...it ain't like MISS LOLLY was ever whatcha'd call one of those upper-echelon titles in the pantheon of classic comic greatness that would achieve the same heights as other fifties efforts as PEANUTS or DENNIS THE MENACE. T'was just the kind of funny pager whose style and theme would eventually become outdated and thus fizzle the comic into obscurity while only the biggie bigs of the post-WW II suburban fambly gagsters like HI AND LOIS could manage to hang on. Losing plenty in the process but on the comics page they stayed.
Not that it got that much exposure...I mean when the bunch of us would go on vacations I'd always comb the newspapers not only for local tee-vee listings (always was curious as to how UHF and/or indie-styled stations in other markets differed from the ones I was accustomed to) but to see them strips that had been hanging on years after you thought they would outlive their usefulness...
...and y'know what --- I NEVER came across MISS LOLLY anywhere in the back pages of any fishwrap I could think of! In fact, the only reference to this strip that I'm aware of in years of gathered flotsam/jetsam of books and mags cluttering up my fart-encrusted bedroom (amongst other places) is one mere cameo by the title character's kiddoid brother named "Pepper" in the pages of MAD. Well, as far as these ranch house kiddie comic strips went MISS LOLLY wasn't exactly THE NEBBS!
But I learned slowly but surely. When I got some original comic art to give my cyster for Christmas years back there was a MISS LOLLY in the batch. It was a definitely from way later-on in the strip's lifetime and had all of the hallmarks of seventies-era fare in looks as well as content. The style was remarkably different than the LOLLY you see on the above cover, and the overall idea I got from this particular example was that the comic was an update of sorts on the old workplace strips a la BLONDIE or even WINNIE WINKLE for that matter. In my mind of minds LOLLY was one of those fly-by-night seventies strips that went nowhere and probably got canceled a good five or so years after its inception---how wrong I was!
Dunno if these Dell stories reflect the earlier comic strip much --- I mean the comic book version of BEETLE BAILEY didn't exactly live up to the actual item and in many ways was quite lacking --- but this collection was a fine enough introduction to a title I'm sure as shootin' you'd never remember. And from this intro I kinda get the feeling that MISS LOLLY was nothing I would particularly take to my heart in the same way I accepted Nancy and Sluggo as my own personal saviors (from a life of unfunny droll) as a child, but I like it if only because it does capture the spirit of post-World War II/pre-hippie suburban slob ranch house living.
Well, artist Pete Hansen (or one of his assistants or even some Dell staff artist for that matter) was fine with a pen, and even if a lot of the stories dealing with office politics and unruly brats have been long smashed into the ground I found 'em somewhat entertaining even at first glance. By the time I was over and done with the book I found MISS LOLLY extremely entertaining given that the spirit and downright drive of this Silver Age comic strip was definitely embedded into the suburban slob appeal I definitely am on the lookout for when pouring through these things.
Sure the entire gist of MISS LOLLY smacks you right in the face from sexy secretary Lolly to her grandmother in typical cloth dress with frilly collar and sleeves (who goes by the name "Granny"...well, you never did complain o'er the fact that Nancy's dog's named "Poochie" so don't go putting on airs of intellectual superiority) on to boss Mr. Quimby who is pretty much indistinguishable from alla them other cringe-inducing comic bosses from Mr. Dithers on down. But the artwork is satisfying in the same way I find a whole load of these fifties-bred efforts to be, and although the stories have the predictable over-used plots with the expected twists and turns well, it's sure fun to see them storylines dredged up once again 'stead of the castrated and downright unfunny mulch to have been found ever since the major clampdown on offensive material. You remember, the sick and sorry trend in newspaper comics that began with that BAILEY storyline where General Halftrack went to a sensitivity seminar ruining not only that strip but the entire funny page seemingly for good.
Strict attention should be paid to kid brother Pepper who with the ne'er removed hat and small stature comes off looking like a kindergarten Bailey while behaving a whole lot like the early and out of control Dennis the Menace. Not that it means a hill of turds --- while Dennis had an anarchistic feeling and spirit that made the overall'd one so outrageous Pepper just comes off grating and downright annoying. His antics are just as out-there as Dennis' were during the early days, but there is nothing likable to this kid who pulls one dumb boner and kiddoid trick after another which only makes you wanna splatter his guts on the sidewalk. Despite the amount of carnage he delivers, the little turdburger's more irritating rather than har-har. Well, at least Pepper ain't spared the rod and often gets the what-for unlike Dennis, whose parents seem to dismiss even his worst transgressions with the ol' "aw shucks" treatment I sure wish I experienced during my own growing up days!
Like I said, there's nothing that much different plot-wise to make MISS LOLLY stand out next to the other comics that were competing for page space. Many of the tales have to do with Pepper's misconduct such as when he handcuffs himself to Grandma so he could go on an outing or becomes the owner of a large and over-protective dog who shows vicious propensities whenever the kid's in for a lickin'. Older 'n old hat true, but the spiffy and by now ancient style makes this one about as fun to read as...well, those early-seventies Marvel Comics reprints of various old Atlas-era kiddie comic strips which I guess had their moments if only because Stan Lee knew how to swipe an idea and milk it for all it was worth!
I know most all of you 'cept for Wade Oberlin couldn't care one whit, and that's your own problem I guess. Still, I find a collection of a comic character like Lolly, who sure ain't gonna get the Fantagraphics treatment, not only quite historical but downright time-wastin' fun! Hey, what else are you gonna do on your Sunday afternoons anyway...watch some dull sports game or movie on the tube, go bicycle riding, or settle down in your room with a bowl of Cheetos on the floor and Miss Lolly in the palm of your yellowed up hands! Anybody out there who wouldn't just love snuggling up with this 'un better turn in his Archie Club press card and badge and like right now!
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