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[Robb_K]

Happy Christmas everyone!  This fortnight's reading books for revue include Dell/Western's "Four Color Comics #254 (Santa Claus Funnies)" from November 1949 (for December of that year), as well as Jingle, Jangle Comics #42, from December of 1949.  The latter was a special Christmas issue, containing all Christmas stories, unlike the seven previous December issues, having Santa Claus on the covers, but no stories dealing with that holiday.  This book, like all other issues, feature stories ("Jingle Jangle Tales", and "The Pie-Face Prince"), written and drawn by renowned artist, George Carlson, who was one of the major syndicated, freelance Puzzle and activity book artists of the 1940s and early 1950s.  He had a unique, very recognisable drawing style, much in the tradition of the early 1900s fairytale style.  The "Santa Claus Funnies" book contains fairytale style artwork by Walt Kelly, including a special Albert and Pogo story not printed in the "Albert and Pogo" or "Pogo possum" series.



You can find "Santa Claus Funnies 4C254" here:  https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=26098



You can find "Jingle, Jangle #42" here:  https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=24598

I hope you all will enjoy perusing the artwork and reading the poems and stories.  And maybe these books will remind some of you of the happy times and wonder of the winter holiday times during your youth.

[Morgus]

SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES; the 2 Walt Kelly stories made my night. I love that line where Santa tells the 'doll' that he'll pick him up and then the 'two will go out and celebrate'.  Yeah. Pure Kelly. He didn't say 'hoist a few, but you got the idea'.
The Pogo and Albert had great wordplay and a cast of characters that was already starting to fill up with all stars.

JINGLE JANGLE was perfectly serviceable as a kids Christmas comic...the art reminded me of Fleischer Brothers animation a lot. Loved the ads most of all. (Gee mom. A cigarette lighter. Can WE get one??) The book series was intriguing. What do you think? They took public service posters for spotting enemy aircraft and just published that?

Merry Chrismtas, and happy holidays, Robb. It's been a good year here on site.

[Quirky Quokka]

Santa Claus Funnies - 4-Color #254

Christmas in the Heart

Nice sentiment in this short poem.

Santa’s First Helper

Interesting take on the story, with a good moral of sharing what you have. Contrary Mary’s change of heart also shows that no one is beyond redemption. My favourite character was the talking dog. He had some great facial expressions.

A Visit from Saint Nicholas

An illustrated version of Clement Moore’s famous poem. Though I did wonder why the pipe suddenly popped into the illustration for ‘The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth’, and then disappeared again in the next frame.

The Land Without Christmas

Aside from the fake science of flat stars etc, this was a cute fairytale with an outer space twist. And in spite of the new fandangle technological advancements, Santa’s reindeer and sleigh still have their uses.

Visit Santa Game

The instructions for this board game seem overly complex. Why blindfold each player for their turn when you could just roll dice and move round the Snakes-and-Ladders-type board? I guess it’s an alternative for houses with no dice.

Santa Claus and Timothy’s Horse

Another nice morality tale where the naughty boy learns to share, though I was a bit concerned that ‘broke wind’ seemed to be something that got you on the naughty list (see last item on Santa’s list on the first page). But never fear. It later turned out to be ‘broke window’. Also shows that when someone is naughty, it can be for a deeper reason, in this case because he didn’t have any friends and was lonely. I’m alarmed that capable fireman with a workshop couldn’t figure out how to repair the rocking horse. Lucky that Santa’s surveillance technician was on the job to save the day. Will Timothy be a good boy now that he has a talking rocking horse as a friend? Next year’s ‘naughty and nice’ list will tell.

Baby Reindeer Cut-Out

If you cut the reindeer out of comic book paper, would it stand?

Albert and Pogo’s Christmas

I think Walt Kelly and Pogo were mentioned in the group sometime in the last few months, but I must admit I’m not really familiar with the character or his neighbourhood. I found the original voice difficult to get my head around at first. It’s a creative tale with some sight gags and humour that would probably have made kids laugh, and the art is good. However, some of the Southern humour didn’t translate well for this Aussie girl. For my American friends, has this humour dated or is it still funny? Interesting cartoon though.

Long, Long Ago

Short poem about the Biblical Christmas story. I know the angels are supposed to be ‘bent low’, but the two on the cloud look like they’re fainting.

Christmas Carol

Are these the lyrics to an actual Christmas carol? If so, I haven’t heard this one. If it’s not meant to be sung, I have trouble coming to grips with Joseph ‘a-walking’. But nice to end with the origin of Christmas.

Overall

Quite a good comic, with some original story ideas as well as traditional stories, generally good art, and some nice messages about sharing and not being selfish. Something fun to find in your stocking on Christmas Day. Thanks Robb.

[Robb_K]

SANTA CLAUS FUNNIES; the 2 Walt Kelly stories made my night. (1) I love that line where Santa tells the 'doll' that he'll pick him up and then the 'two will go out and celebrate'.  Yeah. Pure Kelly. He didn't say 'hoist a few, but you got the idea'.
(2) The Pogo and Albert had great wordplay and a cast of characters that was already starting to fill up with all stars.

JINGLE JANGLE was perfectly serviceable as a kids Christmas comic...the art reminded me of Fleischer Brothers animation a lot. Loved the ads most of all. (Gee mom. A cigarette lighter. Can WE get one??) (3) The book series was intriguing. What do you think? They took public service posters for spotting enemy aircraft and just published that?

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays, Robb. It's been a good year here on site.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you, too, Morgus.  Do you have lots of fresh snow covering the ground now up in the Southwestern Peninsula?

(1)  Well, the Dwarf WAS old enough to have grown a long all whitish-gray beard, despite his baby face under it.  So, my guess is that he had reached puberty many years before (unless he had one of those freakish hyper-aging diseases).  So he's legal for downing a bunch of pints, or even some smooth, Moravian Shlivowitz.  And he'd well deserve it, after being ordered to dress up like a little girl and being given as a Christmas present for a selfish, spoiled little brat! 

(2) Yes, Kelly's humour in his early Albert and Pogo stories was already becoming quite quippy and witty, and  with a lot of subtlety hidden in it.  Luckily, my cousins, who lived above us, had all the post War "Animal Comics" and "Albert and Pogo Comics", and earliest few "Pogo Possum Comics".  So, we were missing only the 1943-early 1946 "Animal Comics" that couldn't be sold in Canada during the wartime foreign import publications ban.  And I bought all those we missed at a used book store in Chicago during the early 1950s, while visiting family there after a few years of visits.  I bought ALL the rest of the Pogo Possum books, except for the first few, which my parents bought for me.

(3) Yes, that book sales advert seems to have a weird grouping (combination) of book genres, featuring magic tricks, card tricks, games to play, and puzzles, Learn Self Defence(Judo), as well as "Know Your Army", "Know Your Navy", and "Know Your Airplanes"  This Jingle Jangle issue was from December 1949.  So, WWII had been over for more than 4 years.  So, the only "enemy planes" and ships they'd need to worry about would be Russian, as the "Cold War" was barely starting to ramp up.  But the ad mentioned only learning to know your own (USA's) Army's planes and Navy's ships, and then,I assume, a book with more detail on airplanes.  The US Air Force started near the end of 1947.  So, the book, "Know Your Airplanes" may have come from a different source from that from The  Army and Navy.  Those 2 may have been public service brochures given out to public schools for free.  And the mail order vendors of "library of Fun were illegally selling them, but burying them among 17 other books, could get away with that.  The "Know Your Airplanes" book was probably a free brochure from The Air Force or an association of commercial airlines? 

In any case, woe be unto the unwary, trusting, little kid, whose parents allowed him to send good money to those shlock salesmen who advertised too-good-looking-to-be-true penny items in comic books.  I never met any kid who was satisfied with what he bought from them, including seeds to sell to family members and friends and neighbourhood locals that could win you a brand new bicycle, -that absolutely NO one would buy.  I never met a boy who was satisfied with the 200 soldiers, or the whoopie cushion or plastic vomit.  I take it back!  the fly inside the clear plastic fake ice cube worked great!  A LOT of sisters let out a lot of screams having that in their drink.  The cheap Whoopie Cushions would burst holes and shred after only a few uses.  They were too flimsy. A novelty shop or good Five and Dime store had more heavy duty versions.  I never wasted my money on any of that.  I saved it for comics, hockey cards, sticks, gloves and pucks, and later, records.  Two of my cousins were jokers, and into that stuff.  So, I had the fun of seeing people scream for free, or see adults laugh at them, or yell at them for acting so foolish, at their age.  And the notion that with those 20 "Books" (tiny pamphlets) totalling 500 pages of 'entertainment" could make a kid "Popular" at parties and social gatherings is good for a few laughs.  I finally read the caviat: This "Library Of Fun" will only be sent to the subscriber AFTER he or she SELLS a subscription to "Hunting and Fishing Magazine" (ostensibly to a relative or neighbour who feels sorry for the kid).  So the kid spends hours walking from house to house all over his neighbourhood, making a nuisance of himself, making his mother feel sorry for him, and so forces his father to buy the bloody subscription to a magazine he doesn't want.  And when the boy takes his "library of fun" to a party and breaks it out, he's laughed at and ridiculed so much for being so foolish, that he the butt of jokes forever until he leaves that school.  The old "will never be able to show his face there again syndrome).  This would make a good comic book plot:  A mass murder mystery, in which an elementary school student murders all his classmates, one, by, one! 

[Robb_K]

Santa Claus Funnies - 4-Color #254

Christmas in the Heart

Nice sentiment in this short poem.

Santa’s First Helper

Interesting take on the story, with a good moral of sharing what you have. Contrary Mary’s change of heart also shows that no one is beyond redemption. (1) My favourite character was the talking dog. He had some great facial expressions.

A Visit from Saint Nicholas

An illustrated version of Clement Moore’s famous poem. Though I did wonder why the pipe suddenly popped into the illustration for ‘The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth’, and then disappeared again in the next frame.

The Land Without Christmas

Aside from the fake science of flat stars etc, this was a cute fairytale with an outer space twist. And in spite of the new (2) fandangle technological advancements, Santa’s reindeer and sleigh still have their uses.

Visit Santa Game

The instructions for this board game seem overly complex.(3) Why blindfold each player for their turn when you could just roll dice and move round the Snakes-and-Ladders-type board? I guess it’s an alternative for houses with no dice.

Santa Claus and Timothy’s Horse

Another nice morality tale where the naughty boy learns to share, though (4) I was a bit concerned that ‘broke wind’ seemed to be something that got you on the naughty list (see last item on Santa’s list on the first page). But never fear. It later turned out to be ‘broke window’. Also shows that when someone is naughty, it can be for a deeper reason, in this case because he didn’t have any friends and was lonely. I’m alarmed that capable fireman with a workshop couldn’t figure out how to repair the rocking horse. Lucky that Santa’s surveillance technician was on the job to save the day. Will Timothy be a good boy now that he has a talking rocking horse as a friend? Next year’s ‘naughty and nice’ list will tell.

Baby Reindeer Cut-Out

(5) If you cut the reindeer out of comic book paper, would it stand?

Albert and Pogo’s Christmas

I think Walt Kelly and Pogo were mentioned in the group sometime in the last few months, but I must admit I’m not really familiar with the character or his neighbourhood. I found the original voice difficult to get my head around at first. It’s a creative tale with some sight gags and humour that would probably have made kids laugh, and the art is good. However, some of the Southern humour didn’t translate well for this Aussie girl. For my American friends, (7) has this humour dated or is it still funny? Interesting cartoon though.

Long, Long Ago

Short poem about the Biblical Christmas story. I know the angels are supposed to be ‘bent low’, but the two on the cloud look like they’re fainting.

Christmas Carol

Are these the lyrics to an actual Christmas carol? If so, I haven’t heard this one. If it’s not meant to be sung, I have trouble coming to grips with Joseph ‘a-walking’. But nice to end with the origin of Christmas.

Overall

Quite a good comic, with some original story ideas as well as traditional stories, generally good art, and some nice messages about sharing and not being selfish. Something fun to find in your stocking on Christmas Day. Thanks Robb.

(1) I consider Walt Kelly one of the very best fairy tale illustrators, and the 2nd best Funny Animal artist, after Carl Barks.  Kelly's animals always had such great human-style facial expressions.  He was right up there with Will Eisner in that regard.

(2) To me, that's a novel use of the word "fandangle" as an adjective.  I've only seen that spelling used for the noun, and only seen or heard "fandangled" used for the adjective.

(3) For us, who grew up with no TV in the house until in our teens, board games were a very big part of evening entertainment and on days when blizzards were blowing.  We always had plenty of dice in the house, and board games without them had to have a spinner, or move markers through picking cards.  Even IF you were such a 1940s board game bereft family (poor things), and also had no chronic gambling uncle residing with you, and so, had no dice or spinners, you could draw a circle on a piece of paper with a compass (or a string attached to your finger, holding a pencil), divide it into 3 or 6 equal sections, and make a spinner out of a pencil on a string emanating from the circle's centre, long enough for its point to land inside one of the sections.  Everyone seems to want EVERYTHING tailor-made for them now, or they can't function.  Back in the 1940s, we were practical, inventive, and a lot more self sufficient than the bulk of the population nowadays!   

(4) Ha! Ha!  I could understand how IF a kid was  a chronic "wind breaker", he might be lonely.   
I know that is cruel, but true to life.  In any case, no American comic book would bring up personal body functions in a story (unless it would be a medical public service giveaway comic book) handed out a doctors offices.

(5) I'd guess that the paper reindeer wouldn't stand up very well.  It would probably be practical if you'd reinforce it using pieces of wooden popsicle sticks as a base (glued behind the paper).

(6) Funny thing about Kelly.  His Southern Swamp characters are BY FAR, what he is known for around The World.  And yet, he never lived in The South of USA.  He was a Northerner, who only made a couple trips to The South (which makes up about a third of The contiguous Continental states of USA, and is NOT one large homogeneous culture , with one language dialect and set of customs).  His "Swamp World" is TOTALLY fictional, with little resemblance to the real World.  But, it is clever, funny, and interesting, nevertheless.  And he has captured and portrayed many great character types from real life, and his non-comic book daily and Sunday newspaper strips also made fun of politicians and people in power, and crooked and lazy people, and all sorts of other character types - which makes it enjoyable for most English-speaking readers (EVEN if they know only little about The USA).  Like Carl Barks, he made fun of common Human foibles, to which most people can relate.   

(7)  Yes, maybe Crash or Scrounge might be a lot better at answering whether or not current American comics readers would like Kelly's old-fashioned humour in his comic book stories.  He was much more political and doing parodies of current celebrities and more timely with current events in his newspaper strip.  I'd guess that most current American kids would be bored with Kelly's old comic book stories.  And his "newest" newspaper strips only went up to 1975.  So, I'm guessing most would be bored with those, too.  But young aspiring artists would probably appreciate and like his drawing style.  I know a lot more about what comic-book reading aged children and teens like in Holland and Denmark than in USA or even in Canada.  In Germany they all seem to like Manga and Animé.  Funny Animal comics are still hanging on in Germany, Denmark, and Holland, but dropping drastically each year.  But animated electronic games, and animated films are big.

[paw broon]

Thanks for the suggestions Robb.  I'm afraid I didn't get much from Santa Claus Funnies apart from the lovely
"A visit from Saint Nicholas" and the ifc page.  They were both lovely.
As for the other contents, Santa's First Helper seemed a bit nasty to me and not a nice way to treat  a willing helper.  The dog was amusing.
The Land without Christmas, because of the style of the drawings, was very unappealing.  I skipped through it.
Reading Timothy's Horse, there were a couple of panels which made me smile.  Our page 29, panel 5 was good fun, and our page 53 was well done. 
But I still don't get Pogo.  Like QQ, the language made it difficult and slow going and, to me, it wasn't very funny or entertaining.

[SuperScrounge]

Four Color Comics #254 - Santa Claus Funnies

Christmas in the Heart
Kind of an interesting way to show different groups of people and what unites them with Christmas in a one-page format.

Santa's First Helper
Okay, kind of a mid-level Kelly Christmas story.

A Visit From Saint Nicholas
A classic poem, for good reason as it establishes a lot of the Santa legend as we know it, even if the name Santa isn't used. Nice illustrations that accompany it.

The Land Without Christmas
A land on another star. Good to see science well-represented in the story-telling. Aliens watching Christmas reminded me of the set-up to Santa Claus Versus The Martians.
King Pepy "blew his head off" LOL! Was the writer just being silly or did he know that phrase was a euphemism for suicide? Yeah...
A weak little tale.

Santa Claus and Timothy's Horse
Not a bad tale, but I don't think the toy gaining the ability to talk helped the story any and did break my suspension of disbelief.

Albert and Pogo's Christmas
Cute. Fun little story.

Long, Long Ago
Okay, but nothing special.

Christmas Carol
Ditto.


Super Scrounge's Snarky & Silly Skippable Stuff

The silly thoughts that ran through my head reading this.

Christmas in the Heart
"Ah named muh knife Christmas!"

Santa's First Helper
His name was Norrin Radd when Santa came to his planet...

Long, Long Ago
In a galaxy far, far away!

[Quirky Quokka]

(2) To me, that's a novel use of the word "fandangle" as an adjective.  I've only seen that spelling used for the noun, and only seen or heard "fandangled" used for the adjective.

Hi Robb

I was going to use 'fandangled', but used 'fandangle' after checking the dictionary. Your comment had me reaching for the dictionary again, and I think the adjective is meant to be 'newfangled', meaning 'of the newest style or kind' or the more derogatory 'objectionably new'. I meant it in the more positive sense. Maybe 'new-fandangled' is one of those mondegreens (like a misheard lyric). 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

(6) Funny thing about Kelly.  His Southern Swamp characters are BY FAR, what he is known for around The World.  And yet, he never lived in The South of USA.  He was a Northerner, who only made a couple trips to The South (which makes up about a third of The contiguous Continental states of USA, and is NOT one large homogeneous culture , with one language dialect and set of customs).  His "Swamp World" is TOTALLY fictional, with little resemblance to the real World.  But, it is clever, funny, and interesting, nevertheless.  And he has captured and portrayed many great character types from real life, and his non-comic book daily and Sunday newspaper strips also made fun of politicians and people in power, and crooked and lazy people, and all sorts of other character types - which makes it enjoyable for most English-speaking readers (EVEN if they know only little about The USA).  Like Carl Barks, he made fun of common Human foibles, to which most people can relate.   

Thanks for the extra info, Robb. By the way, are any of you familiar with the Australian cartoon strip called 'Swamp'? It ran in the newspaper here for years and years and there are some compilations. I heard the creator, Gary Clark, give a talk on writing humour once, and really enjoyed it. Swamp was one of my favourite newspaper strips. Alas, Australian newspapers have largely gotten rid of comic strips.

https://swamp.com.au/

Cheers

QQ

[SuperScrounge]

For my American friends, has this humour dated or is it still funny?

I didn't notice any datedness to the humor. Maybe it's just the Generic American Southern Dialect that's giving you a problem? Outside of American TV shows & movies you probably don't hear it much in Australia.

Are these the lyrics to an actual Christmas carol?

According to the GCD " An abridged version of the traditional English Christmas carol "As Joseph Was A-Waukin'" as printed in The Home Book of Verse, Volume 1 (New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1912.) One stanza is omitted and the spelling is slightly modified."

[Morgus]

Q.Q, I don't think  there is too much that a kid wouldn't pick up if they read it cold now. The idea of malapropisms would catch on, and as 'Super says, there isn't anything that would date it. They'd probably respond according to taste. The word play is probably like blue cheese or jazz. You either like it or don't.
Robb I'm CONVINCED the only reason the folks at EC didn't use your idea for a serial killer like that in one of the horror mags was because they didn't think of it. I can see it now. Jack Davis or Will Elder. Man, that would have been great.
And it was a green Christmas here. No snow whatsoever, temps well above freezing. i walk into work and only needed a rain jacket for the 3 day stretch on the 24th/25th/ and tonight on the 26th. but my wife and I had a beautiful supper before I came in for Christmas night shift, and the two books put me in a wonderful retro Christmas mood for the rest of that night. I get together with my son and daughter for our yearly Monopoly tournament day after tomorrow.

[The Australian Panther]

QQ,thanks for 'Swamp' had nearly forgotten about that one.
I prefer Alan Sailsbury's Snake Tales myself,
Frustratingly,his site doesn't appear to be in operation any more.
Allan Salisbury [Sols} Snake Tales.
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/salisbury_allan.htm

[Quirky Quokka]

SuperScrounge said:

I didn't notice any datedness to the humor. Maybe it's just the Generic American Southern Dialect that's giving you a problem? Outside of American TV shows & movies you probably don't hear it much in Australia.

And Morgus said:

Q.Q, I don't think  there is too much that a kid wouldn't pick up if they read it cold now. The idea of malapropisms would catch on, and as 'Super says, there isn't anything that would date it. They'd probably respond according to taste. The word play is probably like blue cheese or jazz. You either like it or don't.

SuperScrounge, you're right that we mainly hear Southern dialect on TV shows and movies (and we get a lot of American content here), but it seemed more old-fashioned than some I'm used to and there was also some original play-on-words, so I think it was a combination of the two. I know it's completely different, but when I read the novel 'Where the Crawdads Sing', I got into the Southern dialect really quickly (though some have criticized the author for not getting it right either), but I found it harder to get into this one. (And thanks too for identifying that Christmas carol).

Morgus, I guess I'm in the group that wasn't crazy about it, just like blue cheese. But Jazz and Camembert are dandy    But then, I also find it hard to read some of the early Australian comics that use a lot of old-fashioned Australian colloquialisms, so I guess it depends what you're used to.

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

QQ,thanks for 'Swamp' had nearly forgotten about that one.
I prefer Alan Sailsbury's Snake Tales myself,
Frustratingly,his site doesn't appear to be in operation any more.
Allan Salisbury [Sols} Snake Tales.
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/salisbury_allan.htm

Yes, I liked poor old Snake too, though everyone was so mean to him. Swamp is a little more upbeat, but both have some good humour. Two of my favourite Aussie strips. Apparently Ding Duck is very popular in Japan 


Cheers

QQ

[SuperScrounge]

Jingle Jangle Comics #42

Christmas Toys
When did the kids send out those letters? How long has the postman been sick? Why is it suddenly a problem on Christmas Eve? I'd think kids would have their letters written written and sent in November or early December. Arbitrary deadline aside, cute story.

Chauncey Chirp and Johnny Jay
Santa's sleigh is being pulled by only 6 reindeer. I wonder which two stayed home?  Okay story.

The Magic Sled
Simple, but okay.

The Steam-Heated Yule-Log and the Trusty Varlet
Well, that was different! A writer/artist from a different school of storytelling than the previous creators (with a touch of what Bill Holman did with Smokey Stover). Very nice.

Dubble Bubble ad
Pud produces helium???   

Pee Wee Penguin
Be careful what you ask for. Short and sweet, just the right length.

Hortense the Lovable Brat..
"Lovable Brat" sound like an oxymoron. Still a nice little story.

Xmas Shopping
Okay.

The Pie-Face Prince
Amusing.

In the "St. Nick" of Time
Interesting text story.

Santa's Shadow
Cute.

The Old Swap Shop
Rather weak. And again people wait till Christmas Eve to do something they should have done earlier.

Christmas TV - Eve. - 49
Interesting idea, but I don't think the writer pulled it off as well as it could have been.

Mostly entertaining, although the quality kind of dips at the end.

[SuperScrounge]

I know it's completely different, but when I read the novel 'Where the Crawdads Sing', I got into the Southern dialect really quickly (though some have criticized the author for not getting it right either)

Southern accent is a funny thing. There are multiple dialects all across the US south, but there's also this kind of made up Southern accent that people think is real.

Have you seen the TV show Designing Women? Three of the four female stars were real southerners and spoke with their natural accents, the fourth gal was from Seattle, Washington (in the Pacific Northwest) and she faked it. Guess which one most viewers thought was the 'real' southerner? 

[Quirky Quokka]

I know it's completely different, but when I read the novel 'Where the Crawdads Sing', I got into the Southern dialect really quickly (though some have criticized the author for not getting it right either)

Southern accent is a funny thing. There are multiple dialects all across the US south, but there's also this kind of made up Southern accent that people think is real.

Have you seen the TV show Designing Women? Three of the four female stars were real southerners and spoke with their natural accents, the fourth gal was from Seattle, Washington (in the Pacific Northwest) and she faked it. Guess which one most viewers thought was the 'real' southerner? 

I do remember seeing some episodes of 'Designing' Women years ago, but I can't remember it well enough to know what I thought of the accents. Maybe non-Southerners are trying to imitate 'Gone With the Wind'. I have it on good authority (okay, it was one southerner on Quora) who said they did a good job of the accents in that movie. But yes, it would no doubt depend on where you were from, and of course there are differences within regions too due to ethnicity, social class etc. Differences in accents are less pronounced across different regions in Australia, though there are different words for some things. In Queensland where I'm from, we put out togs in our port if we're going to the beach for a holiday, but in southern states you put your swimmers in your suitcase 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

JINGLE JANGLE was perfectly serviceable as a kids Christmas comic...the art reminded me of Fleischer Brothers animation a lot. Loved the ads most of all. (Gee mom. A cigarette lighter. Can WE get one??) The book series was intriguing. What do you think? They took public service posters for spotting enemy aircraft and just published that?

Morgus, I loved those ads too. Don't forget the cigarette lighter came with a flashlight and keychain too. The flashlight, in particular, would be handy for lighting fires at night. And yes, it certainly was an interesting (?) collection of books for selling those magazine subscriptions. Who wouldn't want books on aircraft identification, shadow puppets and stunts with paper and string? And don't forget the bubblegum that comes with comics, fortunes and facts; or the 10-piece knife set. What could go wrong? Apparently only boys would have been interested in the 'Erector Set', but I would have much rather played with that than dolls. I won a plastic construction set in a colouring-in comp when I was a kid, and I loved it. But my favourite ad has to be the one where boys and girl can win prizes for selling prescription type medication (i.e., U.C.A. Salve). "Send no money - We trust you". Nothing could go wrong there either 

Cheers

QQ

[Quirky Quokka]

Jingle Jangle Comics

I'm not familiar with this comic, but I'm assuming some of these characters are well-established in other issues?

Batty - Christmas Toys

The spider doesn't look at all like a spider, especially since he seems to have only six legs? I also had to ask myself if bats hibernate, because I used to live near some public gardens that had lots of bats and they seemed to be around all year. But those were Aussie fruit bats (or flying foxes). Mr Google tells me that bats do indeed hibernate. I did wonder why Batty suddenly had a fake beard when he reached the chimney. Interesting break from the fictional world when Batty tells Humphry Bohawk he doesn't belong in this story. Lots to look at in the last panel. A generally entertaining Christmas tale.

Chauncey Chirp and Johnny Jay

Butch is such a nasty bird. Nothing like beating up those who are giving gifts to the poor. Nice eco message about not forgetting to feed the birds in winter. At least if you live somewhere that snows.

Bingo and Glum
Is Bingo really being generous if the sled didn't cost him anything? Why didn't poor Popper get presents for years? Do we need to ring Child Services?

The Steam-Heated Yule-Log and the Trusty Varlet

Well, this sent me to the dictionary right away because I had never heard the word 'varlet'. Apparently it's a man or boy acting as an attendant or servant. I guess that's where we get the word valet? This story was quite silly, but a lot of fun, with some original turns like the piano-powered engine.

Pee Wee Penguin

Not a bad gag for a half-page filler.

Hortense the Lovable Brat

Who wouldn't be a brat if their parents had named them Hortense? One of the dreaded 'it was all a dream' stories. Or was it?? 

Xmas Shopping

I know the gag is that the fourth Santa fits the shape of the chimney, but how did the kid explain the other Santas? Did he think each chimney had a different Santa depending on size? Or did he think he had found the only true Santa? Maybe I'm overthinking it - LOL

The Pie-Face Prince of Old Pretzleburg

Completely ridiculous story, but fun and amusing art. A nice spin on the 'unwanted' Christmas present.

Santa's Shadow

Another 'it was all a dream' story. Probably a bit too much to have two of those in the one issue.

The Old Swap Shop

Sorry to be pedantic, but it's unlikely that watercolours will work on bubblegum. Also, it wasn't entirely clear how Curly got inside the bubblegum. And why would he be stuck in the decoration until after Christmas? Are his friends just going to leave him there without mounting a rescue?

Christmas TV Eve

Why is Santa in a plane? Not much of a gag, though I guess TV was still pretty new in 1949.

All in all, a fun comic that young kids probably would have enjoyed. Some good art and some interesting spins on Christmas stories.

Ho Ho Ho

QQ

[crashryan]

Santa Claus Funnies #0254

The art on the inside front cover is a truly lovely bit of black-and-white. The characters and settings are lively and the balance between light and shadow is masterful. I had to look up the artist's name in GCD. Arthur Jameson is his name. Son of English immigrants, he began his illustration career in the 1880s and worked in both b&w and color for numerous American publishers. I'm going to look for more of his artwork. Jameson also drew "The Night Before Christmas" and the two back-cover one-pagers, but for my money "Christmas in the Heart" tops 'em all.

Santa's First Helper: It's always a pleasure to see Walt Kelly's artwork. His animals are especially full of expression and movement. See for example the dog on our page 10. The story unwinds slowly and is somewhat simplistic. Things only brighten up when the dog starts cracking wise.

A visit from St Nicholas is memorable for Jameson's artwork. Sharp-eyed QQ had it right: St Nick's pipe only appears when called for in the poem. Magic, I suppose.

The Land Without Christmas is a dud. The rudimentary artwork doesn't hold up to the rest of the art in the comic. The story doesn't make much sense to me. Plus a planet is called a "star." And the villain's head blows up! Very peculiar. By the way, I was brought up spelling impostor with an O. Despite the fact that the E spelling is more common today (and is a legitimate version of the word) I grit my teeth whenever I read about an imposter.

Santa Claus and Timothy's Horse doesn't seem to know what it's about. Timothy is supposed to have misbehaved so badly he won't get Christmas presents. But he seems a thoroughly decent kid. When he sees his broken rocking horse his first thought is to share it with others. Does he misbehave because he doesn't have any playmates? Why doesn't he? What about his parents? Timothy lives in a typical middle-class house. Can't they do things to introduce Timothy to more kids? The story lacks clear motivation and just rambles on. The art is serviceable.

Albert and Pogo's Christmas is good fun. I'm a Walt Kelly partisan. I love his artwork and I love his word play and his screwball humor. His inking became more elaborate in later years, but the essentials of his Pogo style are here. He's almost arrived at the final character designs. I find Albert a real hoot, phony dialect and all. I like his expressions and I like the way he moves. This strip gets the issue's first prize.

[crashryan]

Jingle Jangle Comics #42

Back in 1981 the Smithsonian Institution produced A Smithsonian Book of Comic Book Comics. Having bought and appreciated their earlier Smithsonian Collection of Newspaper Comics, which did a pretty good job of covering the rich history of newspaper strips, I expected a similar overview of the diverse world of American comic books. I was greatly annoyed when, despite its inclusive title, the book polished off Superman and Batman in twenty pages, after which most of the volume was devoted to a small group of cartoon and funny animal stories.

The stories were good of their type: Pogo, Little Lulu, Plastic Man, Powerhouse Pepper, Scribbly, and a Barks duck story. An EC war story and some Spirit shorts were welcome additions. But for a "Book of Comic Book Comics" it ignored the broader history of comics to focus on features many of which were niche items. The responsible party was editor Michael Barrier. Barrier was a devoted historian of cartoony comics. He was an early champion of Carl Barks. It's safe to say much of the Barks renaissance following Bark's emergence from anonymity was thanks to Barrier's promotion. Good for him.

The down side was that Barrier was rather singleminded when it came to what makes a good comic story, and he could rant and roar with the best of 'em. I bring all this up because one of the niche features he promoted tirelessly--I might say tiresomely--was George Carlson's Jingle Jangle Tales, including "The Pie-Face Prince of Pretzelburg" from this very comic. I simply didn't get it, but I was sufficiently annoyed by his hype that I carried a prejudice against Jingle Jangle for years. That's been forty years now. Time to revisit the title.

The art in Batty Christmas Toys put me off at first but once I got past the bat looking like a winged mouse I rather liked it. The story doesn't make a lot of sense. That final close-up of Santa is downright scary. Is this Nick's evil twin?

Chauncey Chirp and Johnny Jay starts off being cute, and I was startled when Butch beats the kids up. In the end Santa gets Butch to toe the line with an (implied) threat of violence. Not crazy about this. Artwork: weak.

Bingo and Glum is another misfire. If I read this correctly, Santa Claus failed to give Popper toys last Christmas because he was overwhelmed by big deliveries to greedy kids. So Santa makes up for it by giving Popper an endless supply of toys. Hmm. I hope Popper at least decides to share the loot with other kids. Artwork: fair.

The Steam-Heated Yule Log and the Trusty Varlet. QQ, I'm surprised you never ran across "varlet." When I was a kid it seemed in every Robin Hood or knighthood story someone called someone a varlet. I know George Carlson mostly from a series of funny silent-movie satires he did for Judge magazine in the 'teens. I like his old-fashioned cartoon style and I the crazy ideas like the steam piano. The stories don't gel, though. Despite the lively artwork, Carlson tells the story through too many captions. I would have liked an explanation of the Inky Snowman.

Hortense the Lovable Brat isn't that much of a brat nor is she especially lovable. The artwork is okay but the story kind of wanders around before reaching a cop-out conclusion. As far as tiny Santas, I'll take the Carl Barks explanation Robb posted. I'd forgotten all about his pop-up Santa.

The Pie-Face Prince of Pretzelburg has the same strengths and weaknesses as Carlson's other story. There are some funny throwaway background gags, Bill Holman style.

Santa's Shadow: How have I managed all this time to miss Jack Farr? I really like his jaggedy 1920s art style, which is reminiscent of George Storm and the later Will Gould. It turns out Farr was an old-timer, having started drawing newspaper strips circa 1909. Not much of a gag writer though.

The Old Swap Shop confused me at first because there's a character named "Popper" but he's not the kid from the earlier story. This package is pretty meh. Neither art nor silly story do much for me.

Christmas TV Eve: In 1949 I don't think any US television stations broadcast in the middle of the night.

The Ads: The back cover ad is a blatant knock-off of the White Cloverine Brand Salve advertisements. Cloverine was created in 1895 and from the 1930s through the 1960s their ads appeared at least once in almost every comic book. Cloverine pioneered the "child salesman" model. From the Jacksonville Progress:

Famous Funnies, the first comic book, was launched in May, 1933. It was a reprinting of earlier newspapers’ comic strips which had already established the story telling devices used in the soon to be wildly popular comic books. [...]George Wilson was heading up the [Cloverine] company and his son, George C. “Bud” Wilson was running marketing and sales. Between them they came up with the idea of running ads in the comic books offering premium prizes to young boys willing to sell Cloverine Salve “door to door.” The idea was brilliant. At one time over 300,000 young salesmen were knocking on doors of their neighbors selling the salve. Initially children were awarded points towards prizes. A prize catalog arrived with the salve to motivate the young entrepreneurs.

As sales rose, the company was able to offer additional sales aids to support the kids’ efforts. The company commissioned local artists to produce paintings. Lithographs were printed from the paintings and shipped to the salespeople. With every twenty five cent tin of Cloverine Salve, a 9” x 11” print was given to the customer.[...]In 1967 the company was dealt a crushing blow by the Federal Trade Commission, which decided that the company’s “advertising method of luring young salesmen” had to stop. Shortly thereafter, the family sold the business to a New York company who in turn sold it to a company in Cody, Wyoming and production was moved there.

Cloverine Brand Salve is still around (available on Amazon!) but it costs a lot more than 25c.

As for the Library of Fun, I'm guessing it's a grab bag of cheap pamphlets that had been in print for a thousand years. 20 titles with a total of 300 pages gives 15 (more likely 16) pages per booklet. I imagine them measuring around 3x5 inches, like the Jack Chick religious tracts. I've seen similar booklets advertised back in the dime novel days. Many titles (e.g. the magic books) were probably reprinted endlessly both by the originators and by pirates. Maybe our friends at Hunting and Fishing responded to a trade ad for "Fun Premium Booklets, $1 per thousand."

Erector Sets were super cool! We didn't have the deluxe 8-1/2 set but my brother and I built dozens of projects with our smaller set. As much fun as Legos.

[Morgus]

Q.Q: now that we've mentioned GONE WITH THE WIND, we get to talk about  people from Commonwealth countries doing better American accents then the Americans do. Leslie Howard did alright in GONE WITH THE WIND, but there is also your countryman, Simon Baker who played the lead in THE MENTALIST without anybody figuring out he was Australian. And fellow cast member Owain Yeoman, from Wales, really surprised everybody. he stayed in character even between shots to keep his accent going and amazed everybody when he finally dropped it. Hugh Laurie was the lead in HOUSE and my son didn't catch on to his being British until he saw him in another movie. Maybe the heavy weight champ is Peter Sellers in DR STRANGELOVE. Three different accents.
And WHAT was that accent that Cary Grant used? His own, really. Like George Carlin used to say when he talked about weathermen on TV with no accents; "Hello, I'm from nowhere."
By the way; Howard hated GONE WITH THE WIND and only did it for the money. Shows you how wrong people can be about their own work. 

[lyons]

Hi Robb

Great artwork.  Thanks for your talent.  Sorry to go off topic, but this is New Years upcoming.  I read all your posts and thank you for your knowledge as well as the knowledge of the other members of this talented reading group.  Thanks to Mark as its founder.  Here's a New Year's treat for those who are interested in Hank Williams.
'Hank Williams Live July 13th 1952 Sunset Park, West Grove, PA Rare Live Performance Recording.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzTnowQ0DyM&t=3s&pp=ygUNaGFuayB3aWxsaWFtcw%3D%3D       

[Robb_K]

Hi Robb

Great artwork.  Thanks for your talent.  Sorry to go off topic, but this is New Years upcoming.  I read all your posts and thank you for your knowledge as well as the knowledge of the other members of this talented reading group.  Thanks to Mark as its founder.  Here's a New Year's treat for those who are interested in Hank Williams.
'Hank Williams Live July 13th 1952 Sunset Park, West Grove, PA Rare Live Performance Recording.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzTnowQ0DyM&t=3s&pp=ygUNaGFuayB3aWxsaWFtcw%3D%3D     

Thanks, Lyons, for posting the link to the Hank Williams live show.  It's great for us to get a chance to hear that rare tape (sort of a special treat for us Reading Group members).  Why don't you also post it in the "Watcha Listening to..." thread in this forum's "All and Everything" Section, so any members who are music fans, but don't read Reading Group Threads, can have access to it and listen to it? 

[The Australian Panther]

we get to talk about  people from Commonwealth countries doing better American accents then the Americans do. Leslie Howard did alright in GONE WITH THE WIND, but there is also your countryman, Simon Baker who played the lead in THE MENTALIST without anybody figuring out he was Australian.

Don't know why Aussies are so good at disguising their accents. Because of that, there are more than you think.
Females Margo Robbie [WA] Rose Byrne, Cate Blanchett, Rebel Wilson,  Anna Torv, Nicole Kidman - to name some females.  Chris Hemsworth, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Heath Ledger, David Wenham, Guy Pearce,Alex O'Loughlin (nearly forgot him), Hugo Weaving, [ Red Skull] Eric Bana, Julian McMahon [son of an ex-prime minister.] and I could likely double those lists.
Then there's New Zealand.
Grant Bowler, Karl Urban, Sam Neill, Antony Starr, (My choice for the next James Bond,)

  In January 2018, it was announced that Starr was cast as The Homelander in The Boys, Amazon Studios's adaptation of the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic book of the same name.[8] Season one was released in July 2019 and season two was released in September 2020. Season three was released in June 2022.[9] In the series he plays opposite Karl Urban who is also from New Zealand. "We've got an American show with a Kiwi playing an all-American hero psychopath and another Kiwi playing an Englishman. It's a pretty bizarre mix-up," said Starr.

Anna Paquin, Lucy Lawless.
And that's just the current generations.
Cheers!