Today in Comics History, June 8: Happy birthday, C. C. Beck!

Born on this day in 1910: C. C. Beck, co-creator and artist of Captain Marvel (you kids know him today as Shazam!) and many of the foundational supporting characters of the Marvel Family like Mister Mind, Doctor Sivana, Black Adam (hmmm, haven't heard much about him lately), Ibac, and the Sensational Character Find of 1947, Mr. Tawky Tawny, America's only tiger!!


from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli

Today in Comics History, July 9: Happy arbitrary birthday, Captain Tootsie!

Yes, today it's the arbitrarily-decided-by-this-blog Canonical Birthday of Captain Tootsie, the sugar-soaked superhero rocketed to earth from the planet Fudge-El when all its inhabitants died of diabetes. Happy birthday, Captain Tootsie!


"Captain Tootsie and the Mysterious Plan" from DC comics dated July 1949, by C. C. Beck
So from us and from Rollo, Fatsy, Gub-Gub, Rotund, Cholesterol Cindy, Baby Diabetes and all the Tootsie Roll Kids, Happy birthday, Cap!

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 30: Hey Venus

Something a little special for all your Captain Tootsie fans out there (one...two...three...well, maybe there's a couple more of you): did y'all know that Captain Tootsie had his own comic book magazine! No! I'm not lying! Not this time!


Cover of Captain Tootsie #1 (Toby Comics, October 1950), artist unknown

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 29: Following smoke inhalation, immediately administer Tootsie Rolls

"Captain Tootsie Saves the Day!" from Detective Comics #153 (November 1949), by C. C. Beck

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 28: Oh, it's a Johnny Holiday with Tootsie...

"Captain Tootsie and His Friends See Johnny Holiday," from Whip Wilson #9 (April 1950), by Bill Schreiber
Wait a minute...they all met William Bendix when he was making the Babe Ruth movie! What is the mysterious connection between William Bendix and the Tootsie Company? Is Bendix in for forty large to Captain Tootsie, thus ensuring his cooperation when it comes time to make these comic ads? Did the Tootsie Company kill William Bendix as a warning to other actors?!? (Answer: no.)

TOOTSIE!

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 27: Unfortunately, with radar, we can now get The Nashville Network

"Captain Tootsie and the Radar Rescue," from Batman #69 (February-March 1952)
Captain Tootsie Saturday Special Bonus!: They're giving away live puppy dogs! Have you no shame, Captain Tootsie?


Tootsie ad from Adventure Comics #183 (December 1952)


from the Columbia Daily Spectator, April 15, 1952

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 26: Never trust a man in a green suit

"Captain Tootsie Nabs Counterfeiter," from Whip Wilson #9 (April 1950), by Bill Schreiber

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 25: In which Fatty is an idiot

"Captain Tootsie and the Bumbershoot Jump!" from World's Finest Comics #14 (Summer 1944), by Rod Reed and C. C. Beck
And now, the basic story behind every single Captain Tootsie adventure:

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 24: Guest-starring Golden Age Bully from Earth-2

"Captain Tootsie and the Wolf Hunt," from World's Finest Comics #23 (July-August 1946), by C. C. beck and Peter Constanza

6,100

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 23: Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and Captain Tootsie and Fatso Go Canoeing

"Captain Tootsie Braves Raging Torrent," from All-American Western #116 (October-November 1950), by Bill Schreiber
What teenage girl says the phrase "saved us from certain destruction"?

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 22: Puma lynching party

"Captain Tootsie Bags Mountain Lion" from All-American Western #123 (December 1951-January 1952), by Bill Schreiber

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 21: Wouldn't it have made more sense to replace the rope, then carry on with the show?

"Captain Tootsie in The Show Must Go On!" from World's Finest Comics #46 (June-July 1950), bi Bill Schreiber
Sadly, the Farrell Sisters appear to be fictional, or I'd be regaling you here with a YouTube clip of their exciting highwire antics. So let's watch this one again.

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 20: Captain Tootsie battles against the horrible tradition of blackface

"Captain Tootsie and the Return of Dr. Narsty," from World's Finest Comics #2 (May-June 1946), by C. C. Beck and Peter Constanza
Captain Tootsie Saturday Special Bonus: Not only is he an energy-filled, fists-a-pumpin', sugar-high-addled crimefighter, Captain Tootsie is also a crack magician!


Tootsie house ad from All American Western #104 (December 1948)

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 19: Tootsie Rolls give you quick energy to dig an escape tunnel from prison

"Captain Tootsie and the Giant Cannon," from World's Finest Comics #17 (Spring 1945), by Rod Reed and C. C. Beck
The ad promises that a Tootsie Roll will give you enough energy to ride a bicycle THREE MILES downhill, on Jupiter. If that's the case, then how many Tootsie Rolls did Superman, on the cover of that self-same issue of World's Finest, to do this:


Cover of World's Finest Comics #17, pencils by Jack Burnley, inks by Charles Paris
Superman: putting rickshaw drivers out of work since 1945.

And just for fun, here's a shortened version of the same Captain Tootsie adventure (printed one ish earlier, no less!), featuring Cap's crime-fightin' buddy Dick Tracy and Tootsie in a Jar!


Tootsie VM ad from World's Finest Comics #16 (Winter 1945)
You can see a close(r)-up of the items you'd find in a Dick Tracy Detective Kit here, but I can't find any pictures of a jar of Tootsie's answer to Ovaltine, Tootsie VM. Anybody still got some in their cupboard? I'll test it out for ya!

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 18: I'm...I'm pretty sure you can't do that to tornados with planes

"Captain Tootsie Tames a Tornado," from World's Finest Comics #34 (May-June 1948), by C. C. Beck

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 17: That's Snow Statue

"Captain Tootsie at the Snow Carnival" from The Adventures of Bob Hope #7 (February-March 1951), by Bill Schreiber
"Yartmouth College." It's not Yarmouth, it's not Dartmouth, it's two, two, two colleges in one!

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 16: The fall of the Third Reich, thanks to candy

"Captain Tootsie and the Secret Weapon!" from World's Finest Comics #13 (Spring 1944), by Rod Reed and C. C. Beck

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 15: So that's what happened to British Dennis the Menace

"Captain Tootsie and the Great Jewel Robbery," from World's Finest Comics #12 (Winter 1944), by Rod Reed and C. C. Beck

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 14: World's most ironic orphanage director name

"Captain Tootsie Cheers Orphans," from Batman #63 (February-March 1951), by Bill Schreiber

Captain Tootsie Month, Day 13: That zebra costume didn't help Red at all

"Captain Tootsie Captures Red the Terror!" from World's Finest Comics #18 (Summer 1945), by C. C. Beck and Peter Constanza
Here's your extra Saturday Tootsie Bonus page! Please chew it carefully!


"Captain Tootsie Wants You to Try All Tootsie Candies," advertisement from Big Town #10 (October 1951