[Kracalactaka]

Well, obviously Sir Mark has been taxed for available time and since it has been quite awhile since we have had a reading group entry, I'm going to use my discretionary powers as an admin and post one.

For this entry let us view Suzie Comics #49 . This book is kinda special to me because it is the culmination of this series (scanning wise). About two and a half years ago I stumbled across this title and at the time we only had 6 entries and some were incomplete. All we had of Suzie 49 was the cover and a poor, low-res scan of the Ginger back-up story. I'd never read this type of comic before, but something about Suzie grabbed me and I started looking for copies to scan on ebay and I found quite a few at reasonable prices. Then Soothsayr started scanning what was available at the LOC (which has issues 57-100 in its collection) and so eventually we had it all except that pesky #49 (the 1st book in the title). Then Sooth came through again, acquiring a water damaged copy from someone on the CGC forums. When I was in DC last November for my 1st LOC raid, I met with the estimable Soothsayr and we came to terms and I carted this treasure home with me. (along with a short box of his books that I still need to finish scanning )  Thanks to everyone who contributed to getting this run done. So without further ado Suzie Comics #49 can be found here:  https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=71776

[POWPUCK]

What is honey doing in a pet shop, and how did Suzie manage to slip on it of all things? I'd think it much too viscous and sticky...

Mr. Moochers really filled out the chest of that dress! Now his milkshakes will bring all the boys to the yard.

Also, nice to see ads for American judo, wouldn't want to practice that inferior Japanese judo! No Sir! Not Me!

[crashryan]

That wasn't honey, pardner, but this being a family magazine  they couldn't say so.

[K1ngcat]

I'm sure it was honey, crash, there it is again twice on page 24 - maybe they stock it for feeding pet winnie-the-pooh-type bears?   

Sorry that's as much as I could take of Suzie, maybe it's one of those "you had to be there" comics? I'm not an afficionado of the whole genre, from Suzie and Candy to Ginger and Katy Keene.  Isn't it mostly just about how funny women are when they're being dumb? Mind you, I don't go for the Archies of the comix world either, maybe I'm just a humourless old bugger? You'd find plenty of people to agree with me on that!

[SuperScrounge]

Out Of This World - Cute.

Gone To The Dogs - Funny.

Suzie's Diary - Okay.

Short Short - Eh.

Moocher Dept. Store - Okay.

Jest Jokes - Eh.

Welcome To Hilldale - Okay.

[lyons]

Nothing new or exciting here.  The comic is a compilation of tired gags and worn-out writers.  That it ran for 51 issues, and had market appeal, is mystifying.  The redeeming feature is the cover, but it is not enough to offset the banality that lurks beneath its promising wrapper. 
Good to see the Reading Group back in form.                         

[narfstar]

Tired gags, but were they? Is there really anything new? Suzie did as well as most in presenting the old tired gags. I did enjoy the art more in the second story. The attempts at GGA in the first were pretty lame. The second story would have made a pretty good cartoon at the time.

[Morgus]

I made it to about page 38 and noticed I had stopped reading and just scanned the rest of the book. This might have been pretty risqu

[Kracalactaka]

hmmm seems pretty much no one likes it, guess I'll delete the upload and burn the book....

[MarkWarner]

Maybe a tad drastic ... lol

[The Australian Panther]

Well, lets see if I can find something to like. Well I like Al Fagaly's drawings, particularly on the first story. Just goes to show that comedy is harder than drama. Try this, read the first story, just looking at the art, not the balloons. That way you see the visual story Al told, which was ruined by the scriptwriter who can't tell a gag.
For detail look at the middle bottom panel page 11. Also note the Zoot Suit on the character on page 12 and the cheesecake shots on the same page. Mild stuff by today's standards,but remember, back then for young teenage boys this was probably the best they had access to. 
Makes you realize how good the guys were who did Archie and Tippy Teen. I like Harry Sahle's splash on  'Gone to the dogs' but that's about it. I'd like to see a copy of , 'How to get along with boys'  - not 'how to get a boy', but 'how to get along with boys.' Note the emphasis. 'How to to keep your soldier's love when united' yeah, how do you do that? 
But seriously folks, who says we all have to like the book?
Sharing the reactions is half the fun.
Keep em coming! 

[crashryan]

A bit of a slog this time. The jokes are tired. You'll find the "vanishing cream" gags in 1920s animated cartoons. Many of these situations would in fact have worked better as cartoons, such as the multiple doors and the sleepwalking.

I expect a modicum of logic even in humor comics, so setups like that in "Going to the Dogs" bug me. Why would a pet shop owner entrust his store to a perfect stranger just because she feeds animals in the park?

Al Fagaly's art isn't bad, though he really sloughs off the backgrounds.

I wonder what exactly was the readership that kept Suzie alive for so long. I don't get the impression the book is aimed at kids or teens like the Archie titles. It seems to be intended for undemanding adults. The cheesecake is very mild; a horny adolescent would get much more for his dime from Quality's "dumb dames" features. The only items that might appeal to girls or women are the movie reviews and the dress patterns.

[paw broon]

It's all a bit corny. Perhaps that's us reading it decades later. I didn't find any of the stories funny but that could be a cultural separation.  The short story with Suzy falling asleep and sleepwalking seemed awful familiar and I'm sure I've seen it in an old Buster Keaton? film, and in other comics. Also, there were echoes of classic farces where trousers fell down or were lost or skirts were pulled off and doors kept opening and closing. But I found Walls & Lynn, Robertson Hare and Brian Rix much more entertaining.