Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun!

Wednesday, May 04, 2022

Today in Comics History, May 4: Happy birthday, Audrey Hepburn!

Born on this day in 1929: Audrey Hepburn, actor (Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, my Fair Lady, Wait Until Dark, Robin and Marian and more) and international humanitarian worker. Also a big crush of this here little stuffed bull.

I hate to interrupt the movie, you guys, but if there's any liverwurst sammiches left, can I have one?

I hate to interrupt the movie, you guys, but if there's any liverwurst sammiches left, can I have one?

from "Charades" in MAD #88 (July 1964), script by Larry Siegel, pencils and inks by Mort Drucker

Sing along!: 'I was born with this unlucky sneeze / And what is worse I came into the world the wrong way round / Pundits all agree that I am the reason why my father fell into the village pond and drowned / Hindus and Chinese, Africans and Portuguese / Everybody worry about my sneeze.'

Sing along!: 'I was born with this unlucky sneeze / And what is worse I came into the world the wrong way round / Pundits all agree that I am the reason why my father fell into the village pond and drowned / Hindus and Chinese, Africans and Portuguese / Everybody worry about my sneeze.'

Not shown: her neck is actually two feet long.

from "007" in MAD #94 (April 1965), script by Frank Jacobs, pencils and inks by Mort Drucker

'You work for the Daily Bugle? What are your views on Spider-Man?' 'He's a threat, but not really a menace.'

'You work for the Daily Bugle? What are your views on Spider-Man?' 'He's a threat, but not really a menace.'

from "Crazy Fists" in MAD #96 (July 1965), script by Dick DeBartolo, pencils and inks by Mort Drucker
Yes, Audrey Hepburn! Ask for her by name. She was an icon then and she's an icon now. Right, Twiggy?

Alas, in the next panel Twiggy turned sideways and Mike Sekowsky had to draw her as a straight line.

Alas, in the next panel Twiggy turned sideways and Mike Sekowsky had to draw her as a straight line.

from Showcase #71 [The Maniaks] (DC, November 1967), script by E. Nelson Bridwell, pencils by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Mike Esposito, letters by Ira Schnapp
So, comic book world, how do you feel about Audrey Hepburn?

Uh, that's a little creepy, Ivan. Maybe you should tone it down in keeping with the rest of the magazine? (looks at rest of magazine) Uh, never mind.

Uh, that's a little creepy, Ivan. Maybe you should tone it down in keeping with the rest of the magazine? (looks at rest of magazine) Uh, never mind.

from "I Love Girls" in Schizo #1 (Fantagraphics, October 1995), by Ivan Brunetti
In conclusion, here's my musical salute to Audrey Hepburn's classic opening scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's, set at one of my favorite Manhattan comic book shops:

Breakfast at Forbidden Planet (2007), directed by and starring Bully
(May take a few seconds to load and start)

Happy birthday, Audrey! XO

4 comments:

Matthew E said...: Hey, did DC ever use Rima the Bird Girl in any Super Friends comics? Because Hepburn played her in the Green Mansions movie...; 5/04/2022 7:59 PM
Bully said...: @Matthew E: Oh, that's a real good suggestion! I'll look further into that!

Just a cursory look tells me she was in Classics Illustrated #90, DC's Rima the Jungle Girl and First Wave, and mentioned in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I'll have to add a few of those mentions (altho' they usually portray Rima as blonde rather than the brunette gamine she is in the movie).

Thanks for the suggestion, Matthew! I hereby award you an authentic No-Bull Prize, suitable for having Breakst at Tiffany's (the girl who sang "I Think We're ALone Now").; 5/04/2022 8:06 PM
Smurfswacker said...: Hey, Bully, did you know that since 1988 Audrey has been starring in an Italian comic series, "Julia"? Julia is a criminologist who gets into all kinds of trouble in an Italian version of New York. She even got a TV series.

https://www.raiplay.it/resizegd/434x-/dl/img/2017/04/04/1491322768709_julia.jpg; 5/05/2022 11:37 AM
Smurfswacker said...: That was supposed to say 1998, not 1988. My touch typing has lost its touch.; 5/05/2022 5:26 PM