Sunday, June 05, 2022

Today in Comics History, June 5: Happy birthday, Richard Scarry!


Born on this very day in Busytown, USA in 1919, when mice and cats and rabbits and bears roamed the city streets and a lowly worm drove a car made out of an apple, thus getting to his job and keep the doctor away from it: Richard Scarry, bestselling children's author and illustrator of over 300 books totalling sales of over 100 million worldwide. Take that, Brian Michael Bendis!

Richard Scarry may be familiar to most of 'you as a beloved creator of childrens' books, but did he ever make a comic book? Place your bets now, please...put 'em down on the table before I reveal to you...Richard Scarry's comic book work! Oh, sorry, I blew the reveal on that kinda early. All bets are off, all wagering is null and void.


from "The Shoemaker and the Elves" in Christmas at the Rotunda one-shot (Western, 1955), script by Elsa Jane Werner, pencils and inks by Richard Scarry

Why is this a Christmas story? Well, as Scarry would tell it, the elves convinced the Shooemaker and His Wife (Mrs. Thurston Howell Shoemaker III) to move up to the North Pole where they could forever be comfortable making suits for the elves. Suits?!? Why not shoes? What, couldn't they manage the little curly toes and the bells? I got questions, Scarry, and if it t'weren't your birthday, I'd be comin' after you with 'em.


Happy birthday, Richard Scarry!

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