[MarkWarner]

So last week's book Colossus Comics #1, was a hit which left a few of us (well me anyway) slightly bemused. Before we move on I'd just like to give another big thank you to Rangerhouse and Yoc over at DCM http://digitalcomicmuseum.com for acquiring and digitizing a copy!.

This week's choice is one that I am surprised we haven't already done. Well not necessarily this particular book, but the character! Whilst checking to make sure we hadn't actually read a copy I found this post on the forum from Jim (aka Narfstar) back in November 2014 "Someone should suggest a Joe Palooka or Curly Kayoe for consideration, if anyone has a favorite."

Well, a tad late here we are with Columbia's Joe Palooka #2 https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=32186.The story we are concentrating on is the first one "Palooka and Knobby are now in Cuba....."

[SuperScrounge]

While I knew of Joe Palooka, I don't remember ever reading the comic before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Not bad.

Interesting to see the "Defeat Equals Friendship" trope come up not once, but twice. Then again this wasn't written to be read in one sitting as a book, but over months as a comic strip, so it may not have seemed as repetitive that way.

[narfstar]

Love the cover but not so much the story. I have read some comic strip collections before and Li'l Abner, The Phantom, Alley Oop and some others that I liked. Joe Palooka just seems like nothing much to me. It is not a comedy and not much of an adventure. Seems more like a slice of life drama. From reading others I see where you get to know the characters and just follow their lives like a soap opera. I would consider Joe more a soap opera and not really that interesting. I did not like how they made Joe out to be dumb and uneducated and the intentional bad spelling. Not a hit with me.

[crashryan]

Since this comic reprints a newspaper strip, you can

[SuperScrounge]

The other odd thing is the way Knobby expresses his feelings at losing Joe. If this isn

[MarkWarner]

Although I know a little bit about the character, and Ham Fischer, I can't believe that apart from a quick skim to make sure all is in order I have never actually "sat down" and read any Joe Palooka.

"I'll be there b'fore you can count fifty. Oh hurry -- I can't count higher than ten."

He is, at least in this incarnation and story not as dumb as I thought he'd be. I really liked it and all the "homeliness". It was a cosy read .. with a "ENLIST NOW!!!!" message.

The two one page Joe's are GREAT. A third of the way through and this book is now officially a hit. I am loving it!

The next story is also good, but I think I prefer the one pagers. Two follow this!

It finishes with the best of the longer stories, which I really enjoyed.

Verdict: A hit! I thought this was an excellent read. Both Joe and the comic book had much more substance than I imagined. Ham Fisher did a good job!

[bowers]

Certainly a product of it's time. I was almost waiting for the Dead-End Kids to make an appearance. The strip ran for years and spawned at least ten movies and a TV series., so Joe definitely had a following.

Palooka was an iconic champion of fair play and patriotism but modest and happy to be just a regular fellow. Always ready to help a pal- including mopping up a batch of Nazis at the local skating rink!

This was quite a soap-opera but still a fun read. I found Knobb'ys reaction to losing Joe a bit strong, but I'll give him the benefit of a doubt and chalk it up to melodramatic writing.

A minor hit from a dead genre, boxing. Cheers, Bowers