[Yoc]

Hi Gang,
Thanks for the replies so far.  It's nice to see most here are enjoying the choices.

So here I am, talking about one of my first comics loves.  Walt Kelly!  A love passed down to me by my late father who agreed to a suggestion I made back in 1980 when I was 12 or 13 years old and just starting to become a serious comic fan.  I agreed to go with him to the annual EAA Oshkosh Fly-In in Wisconsin, and he would take me to comic shops on our root listed in the 1979 Overstreet Price Guide.  A great adventure for a kid new to the hobby who had never seen a comic shop before!  Dad loved the idea of flying but never got his pilots license so we drove.  I got to visit perhaps 8 comic shops of varying quality.  The most interesting was in Chicago near Wrigley Field.  It was a decrepit home with a roof so bad plastic tarps hung from the ceiling in the comics room, directing the water away from filing cabinets of comics.  Oh to be there again with my current knowledge!  I'm sure I missed out on buying a lot of fun stuff that trip.

While visiting these shops Dad was buying up the Pogo Possum reprint books.  I'd never seen the character before this.  I read his Pogo while Dad agreed Marvel's 'Not Brand Echh' was fun.  I got the entire 13 issue run on the trip.  Dad got most of the Pogo reprint books.

+++
More Fun Comics #7 (1935).  One of Kelly's first comics pieces is 'Down by the Old Mill Stream' one of many strips in this anthology title.  I've read Kelly was using pen and ink at this time.  I figure this and being young would explain the more stilted look he has here.  Kelly was about 21 or so when it came out.  He would join the Disney staff shortly after in Jan. 1936 staying there until Sept. 1941.  You can see early glimmers of his talent.  Note his use of mice and fairy folk here.  His love of folklore and innocent fun. Themes that would dominate his career. 

Camp Comics #2 (1942)  Leaving Disney he would use their connection with Dell to quickly land comics work.  His Camp Comics work was done around the time of his 'Albert' in Animal Comics #1.  You can see Kelly has grown leaps and bounds in his confidence and brush work.  His panel work and backgrounds are lots of fun even if the subject matter isn't his usual cup of tea.

He would become a Dell regular by 1942, doing many seasonal Mother Goose books.  You can tell he immensely enjoyed working on them.  One of these was reviewed in Reading Group #20 back in 2014 - Christmas with Mother Goose which is here:
https://comicbookplus.com/forum/?topic=9481.0

Animal Comics #1 (1942) features 'Albert the Alligator' as the star and 'Bumbazine', a human(!), appears in that first story and gets promoted to co-star with #2.  He plays a 'Christopher Robin' type of human among the talking swamp animals.  Bumbazine would last until Animal Comics #12.  Like Eisner's 'Ebony' found in The Spirit, some might have problems with Bumbazine.  You can read a 2014 editorial about Bumbazine and George Carlson book 'Perfect Nonsense' on The Comics Journal website at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/2etz4ptj

Kelly retained the rights to Pogo and debut a Pogo comicsstrip in the New York Star in July, 1948.  Kelly became a comic strip artist powerhouse working on Pogo.

Animal Comics #19 was the focus of Reading Group book #252 in 2021 - https://comicbookplus.com/forum/?topic=21040.0

March of Comics #3 - Featuring M.G.M Our Gang (1947 giveaway).
Kelly was assigned the feature back in 1942 when the very old MGM shorts were near their end.  The title would outlast the movie serial by a couple years.  The cast was changed to reflect the serials before Kelly slowly started featuring his own characters 'Red', 'Janet ' and 'Two-by-Two'.  Kelly also aged the cast over time.  'Buckwheat' became 'Buck' and started working at the malt shop as seen in this March of Comics I've picked for reading.  Our Gang Comics went 39 issues before adding Tom and Jerry to the title and ending at #59 (1949).  A Wiki for the title can be read here: https://ourgang.fandom.com/wiki/Our_Gang_Comics

This issue is late in the run for Kelly.  Only Froggy and Buck(wheat) appear from the original shorts.  It's a 30 page action/adventure story.  The story is undeniable well made but lacks the spark of later Pogo stories which is understandable.  The Our Gang title has gotten a bad rap over time because of the comparison.  I liked this adventure enough to want to give it a chance and read more.

Adventures of Peter Wheat starting in 1948.  Created to encourage bread purchases the charming stories are filled with fairytale action as Peter and Gang feud with The Wizard and Dragonel, Queen of the Hornets. Like a typical Grimm's fairytale, death can happen in the PW pages including this first issue.

PWN#18 was the focus of Reading Group book #18 at this link, back in 2014 = https://comicbookplus.com/forum/?topic=8691.0

+++
For any big Kelly fans out there you should check out this very good blog.  Sadly it's been silent since 2020 but well worth a read.  Whirledofkelly.blogspot.com/
Funny fact, the JUNE 13, 2020 update there is about our first choice - 'Down by the Old Mill Stream'.

Thanks for letting me crash the party here.  Stay well everyone!
-Yoc

[The Australian Panther]

OK!
Few items.
1/ I just send a PM [Personal message] to most of those who have responded to this Reading Group choice - re Walt Kelly. Not everybody here has been sent a PM by me before, so to recap.
To send and receive a PM - after you have logged on and clicked on FORUM, you will see on the bar to the right of your Avatar, 'My messages' If you have one, there will be a number next to the words. Click on that to read and respond to it.
Note, they are called PM's [Personal messages for a reason, don't mention the content of PMs on the open forum. That's for personal chat only!
2/ Yoc, thanks for the newly uploaded CAMP COMICS. Can't wait to read them.
3/ CrashRyan, love the new avatar of your alter ego. Well done. 
4/ Peter Wheat

n 1948, the Peter Wheat Bread Company decided to start publishing a monthly comic book about it’s mascot, Peter Wheat. The title lasted 66 issues, however, neither the comic nor the company are around today.
Unlike other advertising characters like Captain Tootsie, Peter Wheat never endorsed his product throughout his stories. He was all-hero, all-the-time and, even though he was only a young child, would get right to business when evil was nearby: punching birds in the face, slicing hamsters with his sword, etc…
He regularly came into conflict with Queen Dragonel of the Hornets.   

I believe we have a few of the books on CB+
Then there are these guys. Not bad?
peter wheat & the breadmen '' - baby what's new 1966.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r6paLQ01s8
Peter Wheat & The Breadmen - All The Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDRDSouUh_s
Thank you, Yoc! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have found this band.
cheers!   
         

[OtherEric]

This is the2nd Peter Wheat I've tried and I still don't see what all the fuss is about.  Seems quite well drawn but is it for kiddies -the insect characters and the way the story is told would suggest that.  Yet the mention of torture seems to suggest otherwise.

I'm not sure I can explain what's so amazing about Peter Wheat if you don't get it just reading it; it's Kelly doing a kid-friendly adventure strip that's just exciting and charming and miles better than I ever expected a promotional tie-in for a bread company to ever be.  But not everything works for every person; if it hasn't grabbed you after a couple tries it's probably just not for you.

It would be a very dull world indeed if everybody liked the exact same things, I appreciate that you trusted the wisdom of the group to give it a second try!

[paw broon]

Yes, you're bang on OtherEric.  Roob finds Tommy Cooper a bit juvenile while I find him hilarious.  Probably reflects my lack of taste rather than Robbs.
I've downloaded all the Peter Wheat I can find and tha Pogo comps.  I'm not finished with these guys yet.
I wish some of you would take a look at Tom Poes, the classic Dutch strip, if only to enjoy the art.  It is a lovely creation.
And Rupert the Bear, a lifelong favourite of mine. Go for the Bestall stories.

[The Australian Panther]

Sounds like Peter Wheat is overdue for an anthology here on CB+!

[Robb_K]

Sounds like Peter Wheat is overdue for an anthology here on CB+!

Anyone on this forum or DCM who plans to make a Peter Wheat Collection, please contact me first.  I have more "Adventures of Peter Wheat", "Peter Wheat News", Bell Bakery Peter Wheat Books, 4-In One Fun Pacs, and special one-shot Peter Wheat books than I've seen on CB+, DCM, and other commonly known websites.  Although I don't want to be the one who uploads the collection (due to my many failures in attempting to upload from my ancient I-Mac to this website), I can provide at least a few stories and "Peter Wheat"-related graphics to the collection, to make it more complete.

[Quirky Quokka]

Hi everyone

I'd never heard of Peter Wheat, either as a comic book character or as a brand of bread. I've seen comic book characters advertising products before, but this one was certainly better than most. A longish story with a couple of brave heroes fighting injustice, in the form of Peter and Beetle. The art fits the cute fairytale genre, though as Paw Broon said, the mention of torture is not typical for a children's comic. Also a fairly serious tale, rather than the humour we see in a lot of other stories with cute animals.

Interesting advertising tool, in that bread isn't mentioned though the wheat field is an important part of the plot. I guess that idea was that little kids who like fairy stories might pester their mothers to buy Peter Wheat Bread or be more likely to eat the Peter Wheat bread that mother bought. Did these giveaways come with the loaves of bread? Quite a substantial giveaway.

Interesting selection.

Cheers

QQ

[Robb_K]

Hi everyone

I'd never heard of Peter Wheat, either as a comic book character or as a brand of bread. I've seen comic book characters advertising products before, but this one was certainly better than most. A longish story with a couple of brave heroes fighting injustice, in the form of Peter and Beetle. The art fits the cute fairytale genre, though as Paw Broon said, the mention of torture is not typical for a children's comic. Also a fairly serious tale, rather than the humour we see in a lot of other stories with cute animals.

Interesting advertising tool, in that bread isn't mentioned though the wheat field is an important part of the plot. I guess that idea was that little kids who like fairy stories might pester their mothers to buy Peter Wheat Bread or be more likely to eat the Peter Wheat bread that mother bought. Did these giveaways come with the loaves of bread? Quite a substantial giveaway.

Interesting selection.

Cheers

QQ

We didn't have Peter Wheat Bread in Canada, but, as I understand it, households subscribed to their local Peter Wheat Bakery's bread and baked goods home delivery service, similar to a Dairy's dairy products home delivery service.  The bread delivery trucks had pictures of Peter Wheat painted on their sides and had the same type of body as dairy delivery trucks.  it is my understanding that when a household subscribed to the bakery's delivery service, they automatically received a subscription to the monthly comic book 'Adventures of Peter Wheat".  On the other hand, the monthly 6-page "Peter Wheat News" was distributed as free advertising from local commercial bakeries, who, it seems also handled some Peter Wheat bakery products. So, it may be that Peter Wheat Bread Co. didn't operate their own stores, but wholesaled their products to other bakeries for resale, and sold subscriptions to homeowners for delivery. There were also special books , that probably were sent to subscribers as well, and maybe they handed them to mothers who came physically to the client bakeries if they bought extra-large orders. 
Here is how the truck looked:


I assume this was sold at a modest price, and also perhaps given to special long-time customers who bought a lot of baked goods, regularly.  Both book series had two different formats (those with NO Bakery store name on them (ostensibly the books mailed to homes with delivery subscriptions), and those with names of the client bakery outlets (handed out at their stores).  So, apparently, "Peter Wheat Adventures" was also handed out at the stores.

[The Australian Panther]

Sometimes it pays to look more closely at CB+ first.
I just found out - to my embarrassment - that we already have a Walt Kelly subsection here, including a Peter Wheat Omnibus.
The Art of Walt Kelly {Link fixed]
https://comicbookplus.com/?cid=2464

Here is one complete PW story.
Peter Wheat Omnibus (PWN25-27)
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=59999
And who uploaded that? Somebody called OTHER ERIC some guy going by Yocitrus
Hmm?!!
 

[The Australian Panther]

There has been some confusion this time around -entirely my fault.
So, this choice stays for another week and then on the 10#th Kingcat will surprise us with something new.
cheers!   

[Robb_K]

Sometimes it pays to look more closely at CB+ first.
I just found out - to my embarrassment - that we already have a Walt Kelly subsection here, including a Peter Wheat Omnibus.
The Art of Walt Kelly
https://comicbookplus.com/forum/?action=post;topic=23632.25;last_msg=90890

Here is one complete PW story.
Peter Wheat Omnibus (PWN25-27)
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=59999
And who uploaded that? Somebody called OTHER ERIC some guy going by Yocitrus
Hmm?!!

Panther, your link to "The Art of Walt Kelly" merely goes to the "Post Reply" box to reply to your post, rather than to the Kelly collection you intended ("The Art of Walt Kelly"). 

[The Australian Panther]

Panther, your link to "The Art of Walt Kelly" merely goes to the "Post Reply" box to reply to your post, rather than to the Kelly collection you intended ("The Art of Walt Kelly").

Thanks. Fixed. 

[K1ngcat]

Peter Wheat

I had a look at #1, I found it quite sweet in a childish way, the art was appealing (though the printing could have been better!) I don't think the reference to torture chambers was any more "off topic" than Peter thinking he would have his head chopped off, or him putting a shrew to death with a small sword, or a mouse planning to attack a band of hornets with a scythe like some miniature  Grim Reaper. The whole thing seems rather savage in a medieval swashbuckling sort of way. Anyway, full marks to both Peter and Dragonel for showing "good form" in their dealings with each other, I'm sure Captain Hook would approve!

I'll post more when I get the time!
All the best
K1ngcat

[SuperScrounge]

Camp Comics #2

Rusty O'Reilly
Not bad.

Seaman Sy Wheeler
Ummmm... yeahhhhh... there's good gags and good cartooning, but the story is a mess. It should have been better.

Philo Vance
Generally okay, although it had too few suspects to make guessing the killer difficult, and as a nitpicker I'd point out that rubber masks really only work at a distance and that bank official must not have been paying close attention. Also, isn't it amazing that she was apparently the same height as the dead man.

True Spy Stories
Interesting.

Rimfire Ferguson
How closely did the editor read the script? There were some odd word choices there.

General Fluffle
Hey! George Lichty! I wonder if these are repurposed Grin & Bear It cartoons? The best of the one-panel cartoons so far this issue.

Hank and Lank
Uhhh... different. Not terrible, but not my cup of tea.

[SuperScrounge]

Indeed, they did use those pseudonyms.

Usually pen names were used so readers wouldn't think a limited pool of creators were writing the stories, although this issue did have some writers writing multiple stories, so it doesn't seem to have been an editorial decision.

[K1ngcat]

Camp Comics #2

To be honest I was a little surprised by how classy this comic was on the inside, after seeing the cutie on the cover. The artwork on the serious strips was neat and tidy, the stories were all entertaining and about as plausible as stories generally are in comics. As for the humour features, I was a little less impressed. Sy Wheeler looks clumsy and hurried, and isn't massively amusing. Hank & Lank is slightly better thanks to Frank Thomas's art, though it's far from being his finest work. A pity we couldn't have Elmer and Bugs Bunny. Still, I'd read more, so thanks for arranging them to appear on CB+.

All the best
K1ngcat

[Quirky Quokka]

By the way, it's great having Yoc's suggestions for the 300th reading group, but I just wanted to add my congratulations. I only discovered CB+ last August and made my first comment on Reading Group #278 in September. I'm used to commenting on forums, so I thought I'd throw in my two cents' worth. I found a lovely bunch of people, who encouraged me to keep commenting. Occasionally there are some selections I'm not crazy about, but there have been many others I've added to my favourites. Regardless of the topic, I've learned a lot from all of you. I see some of you have been around since the very beginning of the reading group forum, so well done for staying with it that long. I've got a long way to go.

Anyway, cheers to the organisers and everyone who's taken part. Here's to the next 300 discussions. 

Quirky Quokka

[crashryan]

Camp Comics #2

Like K1ngcat I was pleasantly surprised by the classy presentation. The art is good, the stories okay, and the printing, like most of Dell / Western's printing, was a cut above the other comics of the time. They seem to have  thought Camp Comics would be a big seller and put some of their better personnel on the project.

Rusty O'Reilly doesn't till any new ground storywise, but I like that she's given a lot of space to do her sleuthing. I didn't mind the "To be continued" because the episode was complete in itself and didn't end in a cliff-hanger. The art is very good and maddeningly familiar. The GCD doesn't offer any suggestions. I've seen this guy before, but where? Could it be Jim Gary? There are echoes of Bob Jenny in some faces but frankly Jenny wasn't this good a draughtsman. It strikes me as funny that while the comic is aimed at adult males, the artist avoids most opportunities for cheesecake. Maybe the Dell Pledge to Parents applied to PX comics, too.

My main objection to the story is Rusty's friend Betsy, who exists to be captured and nearly scuttles Rusty's operation by injecting herself into it.

A clean shave was definitely an obsession in those days. I imagine the razor and shaving cream makers thought Camp Comics would be a great place to advertise because the Army definitely had no patience for Five o'Clock Shadow.

I want to like Seaman Sy Wheeler because it's Walt Kelly, but the forced humor comes off as stupid instead of funny. The generic art style lack's Kelly's usual flair for lively posing and expression. You know what's the best part of the story? The dog on our page 23. Now that's Walt Kelly. (P.S.: Do you suppose "Sy Wheeler" is a pun on "side-wheeler"?

The Party Line pinups are lovely. I wonder who drew them.

I don't understand the second cartoon on page 32. At first I thought the woman was reacting to being stuck by the pin on a loose medal but "dropped" seems an odd choice of words. Is the idea that the medal dropped into her cleavage?

Philo Vance boasts another familiar art job. In many places, especially secondary characters like "Skittles" (he's sweet but sour), it looks like Alfred Andriola. Charlie Chan ended in 1942, the year this comic appeared, and Andriola worked a few months for Quality before launching Kerry Drake. This might be him, but it's not quite his style and the lettering (Andriola lettered his Quality strips) is wrong. Tom Hickey had a Caniff-ish style like this but his other Dell work at the time wasn't this slick. Mysteries!

Oops! Duty calls! I'll be back with the rest of the book.

[SuperScrounge]

March of Comics 3

The Old House Mystery
More serious than I expected, but not bad.

[SuperScrounge]

I've seen this guy before, but where?

I had that feeling with a lot of the art in this book. Familiar, but couldn't place it.

(P.S.: Do you suppose "Sy Wheeler" is a pun on "side-wheeler"?

That was my guess.

[Robb_K]

Camp Comics #2

To be honest I was a little surprised by how classy this comic was on the inside, after seeing the cutie on the cover. The artwork on the serious strips was neat and tidy, the stories were all entertaining and about as plausible as stories generally are in comics. As for the humour features, I was a little less impressed. Sy Wheeler looks clumsy and hurried, and isn't massively amusing. Hank & Lank is slightly better thanks to Frank Thomas's art, though it's far from being his finest work. A pity we couldn't have Elmer and Bugs Bunny. Still, I'd read more, so thanks for arranging them to appear on CB+.

All the best
K1ngcat

Check your CB+ message box.  I've left a message for you.

[SuperScrounge]

Animal Comics #1

Albert Takes the Cake
Pogo before the plastic surgery.  Clearly the series was intended to go a whole other direction from where it ended up. With Bumbazine the lead, Pogo his sidekick, and Albert the stereotypical villain, but Bumbazine was boring, even here Pogo was more interesting, and Albert became less threatening and more comical.

Katonka Flies North
Kind of a downer when were told Rooney died off-panel.

Piggy Pranks
I know this is Animal Comics, but when the animals are the most annoying part of the story, that's a problem. Also relatives of mine grew up on farms so I kept expecting Bobby to be reminded of why most pigs are raised.

Right of Way
Eh. It's hard to root for such entitled animals.

Muzzy and Ginger
Didn't really feel like a well thought-out story.

The Monarch of Panther Gorge
Animal stories tend to bore me and this was no exception.

Milk for the Baby
Eh, okay.

[Quirky Quokka]

March of Comics #3 - Featuring M.G.M Our Gang (1947 giveaway).
Kelly was assigned the feature back in 1942 when the very old MGM shorts were near their end.  The title would outlast the movie serial by a couple years.  The cast was changed to reflect the serials before Kelly slowly started featuring his own characters 'Red', 'Janet ' and 'Two-by-Two'.  Kelly also aged the cast over time.  'Buckwheat' became 'Buck' and started working at the malt shop as seen in this March of Comics I've picked for reading.  Our Gang Comics went 39 issues before adding Tom and Jerry to the title and ending at #59 (1949).  A Wiki for the title can be read here: https://ourgang.fandom.com/wiki/Our_Gang_Comics

This issue is late in the run for Kelly.  Only Froggy and Buck(wheat) appear from the original shorts.  It's a 30 page action/adventure story.  The story is undeniable well made but lacks the spark of later Pogo stories which is understandable.  The Our Gang title has gotten a bad rap over time because of the comparison.  I liked this adventure enough to want to give it a chance and read more.

Thanks for the extra link, Yoc. When I started reading this, I was thinking of the 'Our Gang/Little Rascals' shorts I saw on TV when I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s, obviously in re-runs by then. I thought they were funny, and I remember Alfalfa with his funny sticking-up hair. But Alfalfa isn't in the comic and it was a much more serious tale. From the extra info, I see that the cast changed many times over the years. Interesting that by the time they made this comic, Bucky, the African-American character, seemed to be on a more equal footing with the white kids, and they'd gotten rid of the stereotyped dialect. Though some other sites I looked at mentioned that some of the films are criticised for stereotyping. Poor Janey doesn't have much of a role.

Not the greatest story, but interesting to see how the characters evolve and that ordinary kids are the heroes.

Cheers

QQ

[SuperScrounge]

The Adventures of Peter Wheat

Nice exciting little tale. I imagine kids reading this and looking forward to the next adventure.

[crashryan]

Camp Comics #2 (continued)

I usually don't read the text stories but this one caught my eye because it mentions the San Diego naval base in 1935. My dad was a sailor boy (literally--his father had to sign to allow underaged Dad to enlist) at San Diego about that time. I'm not sure just when he got there. It could have been 1936-37. Funny to think he might have been around when this spy story took place.

I'm impressed by the artwork in Rimfire Ferguson. The horses, the backgrounds, and the posing are lively and have an air of authenticity. The art reminds me in places of Red Ryder's Fred Harman (a genuine cowboy) but not so cartoony. In the third issue of Camp Comics the Ferguson story is signed by one John Hampton. The #3 art looks like the same guy as #2 but #3 appears to have been rushed. I looked Hampton up on the GCD. It turns out he drew backup stories in several Dell Red Ryder issues. He'd have been a good fit. Hampton was founder and president of the Cowboy Artists of America and was director of their museum.

As for the story...it's rather jumbled, but the cattle stampede is exciting thanks in large part to the art.

General Fuffle isn't any worse than other Army-themed cartoons, but it pushes an odd button. When I was in grade school the local newspaper ran George Lichty's Grin and Bear It panel. For some unknown reason I developed a hatred for George Lichty's art style. I can't explain it. I hated his art in general and I had a particular distaste for the odd way he drew open mouths in profile. Is that weird or what? Looking at his cartoons now I can't see why out of hundreds of gag cartoonists he's the one who made me gag, but there you are.

This brings us to Hank and Lank. Everybody else has disliked them, but they appeal to me. It's not for what they are. Frankly, the drawing is weak, the pacing is way off, and the jokes aren't very funny. But I love the idea of two frumpy street sweepers turning into superheroes. They make me think of Mario and Luigi. I bet a good humor writer could make something of the pair. (The notion of the invaders all looking like little Hitlers is amusing, though).

All in all Camp Comics was an entertaining read. I guess not enough GI's agreed, since the title lasted only three issues.