Today in Comics History, April 12: Happy birthday, David Cassidy! (Or, "That Time David Cassidy Almost Got Sued by Walt Disney!")

This is an expanded and updated version of a post originally published December 1, 2016.

Born today in 1950: singer/songwriter/sitcom star/dreamboat David Cassidy, star of The Partridge Family (and the only one of the actors along with Shirley Jones whose voices were heard on the Partridge Family records. Take that, Danny!)


from Career Girl Romances #70 (Charlton, August 1972), pencils and inks by Don Sherwood

Today in Comics History, March 5: Crab hired as new HR Director

from "Pity Poor Pisces..." in Sweethearts (1954 series) #116 (Charlton, May 1971), pencils by Art Cappello, inks by Charles Nicholas, with Keuffel & Esser Leroy lettering

Not pictured: Mac Tonight #1

You know, I'm fully aware that this character is a shill for horrible, terrible food, but Ronald McDonald's 1971 Charlton comic is actually kind of cute.


Cover of Ronald McDonald #3 (Charlton Comics, January 1971), pencils and inks by Bill Yates
It's a Ronald who's off-model from the usual advertising icon, and they've put him in whatever town it is that the Peanuts Kids live in!


Panel from Ronald McDonald #3 (Charlton Comics, January 1971), pencils and inks by Bill Yates
It's extremely suitable for young kids, as it features no burger evangelism (Ronald's daytime job is never even mentioned in the comic stories) and some extremely gentle humor for the young 'uns.


And: a guest appearance from Dennis Mitchell!


It also features Ronald's haunting dramatization of the tragic ballad The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald!


Yes, the rather cute and innocuous Ronald McDonald comic book. It's actually very charming from front to back cover and


Back cover pin-up from Ronald McDonald #3

AIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Today in Comics History, February 19: Secret Squirrel and associate crack the Case of the Zodiac Killer

from "Pity Poor Pisces..." in Sweethearts (1954 series) #116 (Charlton, May 1971), pencils by Art Cappello, inks by Charles Nicholas, with Keuffel & Esser Leroy lettering

Hey Girls, More Comics!

In sharp relief with the Lois Lane ad I posted earlier, which is cluelessly misogynistic (but I imagine not intentionally meant to be hurtful to anyone)...take a big steaming gander or goose at this one-page gag (accent on the gag) humor strip from a Charlton romance title:


"Mannequins" from Just Married #107 (September 1975), creators unknown
Geez, wow. Even Reggie Mantle is never that much of a complete jerk.

Shame on you, comic that was made for girls in the first place.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Mister Buck Owens!

Hey, everybody! Let's get our our crayons again because this time we're gonna color country music superstar and legend Buck Owens!


From Hee Haw #1 (July 1970), art by Frank Roberge

What? There was a comic book based on Hee Haw? The CBS (then syndicated for two decades) down-home country comedy variety hour set in the fictional Kornfield Kounty? Why, yes. And not just for one issue, but for seven...bringing us country-fried comic book comedy from the good ol' boys at Charlton Comics. (oh, c'mon—who else woulda published this?)

But 'round about now you may be having some problems coloring Buck Owens because you don't know what he looks like in real life. Well, let me help you little 'uns there. Right here's a gen-u-ine photgraphical picture of Mister Buck Owens in all his sartorial splendor, so you can see him in real life an' all. It's straight out of the comical book, too! (Okay, I promise to stop talking like this.)



So get out your grey, black, and white crayons, and get to work? What's that? My goodness, I never heard so much squawkin' from y'all since the chickens got ahold of the truck keys and headed on down to the Country Roadhouse Bar. (No, seriously, I will stop talking cornpone any minute now, promise.) Well, for those of you who have those new-fangled color tellyvisions and comic books, here's the way Mr. Owens oughter be colored, just like he is in this here cartoon. Ladies and gentlemen...Buck Owens!



Yup, that's about the type of humor you're gonna get on Hee Haw, broad, slapstick, and...dare I say it...corny. Take it away, Hee Hawwers!

(Click picture to farm-subsid-size)

Yup. That..............'s about the size of that. Still, it's easy to mock Hee Haw because of its redneck country humor. Go ahead! I'll be right here while you do!:



Um, yeah. Grant Morrison, this ain't. But Hee Haw the comic book has a certain goofy charm, and while you can poke fun at the TV show, you can't fault it for one of its great achievements: long before CMT or The Nashville Network and way before American Idol, it brought the great stars of country/western music to your television once in a week. And I do mean great stars:

Johnny Cash! (video opens in a new window)



Tanya Tucker (14 years old in this appearance!)



Charley Pride!



Kenny Rogers!



Chet Atkins!



Dolly Parton!



Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson!


And of course...ladies and gentlemen...Mister Buck Owens!

Our Animal Pals: "Hey, Where's Perry?"

Okay, everybody, you know the lyrics, sing along!:



Here come the animals
You'd better hide
They're going to stampede
(boom boom)
Hey, there's a monkey
Watch where you step
I think he's just peed


Tonight, on another exciting installment of "Our Animal Pals" (as seen in comic books throughout history), we spotlight...a freak of nature? Awww, is that any way to talk about our pal, the Voltron of the natural world, the platypus? (No. No, it is not, Charlton Comics. In retaliation, we will sell your characters to National Periodicals and later turn Captain Atom into a galactic super-tyrant. Justice...for the platypus...is served!)


"Freaks of Nature!" from Blue Beetle v.2 #1 (June 1964), writer and artist unknown

So, ladies and gentlemen: the platypus. The Platypus.

Next time on "Our Animal Pals": either the baby kangaroo, or a giant mouse. We haven't figured out which one it is yet.

Steve Austin vs. a Crocodile!

No, no, not "Stone Cold" Steve Austin...sorry, wrestling fans...but actually Colonel Steve Austin, the Twenty-Six and a Half Million Dollar Man (adjusted for inflation).


Cover of The Six Million Dollar Man #4 (December 1976), cover art by Jack Sparling

Oh, sure, we all remember when Steve fought Bionic Bigfoot and the Fembots. (That great alt-rock band of the mid-seventies). But have we ever seen The Man with the Scientific Kung-Fu Grip battle an actual crocodile? No, we have not. Hey, and he'd better get there quick, because apparently that cold-blooded reptile is stalking a Disney Princess! Better sing your longing song quick, princess!


Pages from The Six Million Dollar Man #4 (December 1976), script by Joe Gill; pencils, inks, and letters by Joe Staton, except for: inks by Jack Sparling on Steve's face throughout, colors by Wendy Fiore

Will be be in time to prevent the Princess? It's pretty tense even when we can't hear that familiar neh-neh-neh-neh-neh of Dr. Rudy Wells's patented steam-powered bionics in action!

bionic noise sound clip  Sound Effects sound clips

But don't be too worried, folks! All of Colonel Austin's dangerous underwater stunts are actually performed by Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers! (He's been seen with Farrah, too.)



YEE-HAW! Ride 'em, Cyborg!



And now we find out that this crocodile infested sea is in...the desert? What the heck, Charlton Comics? I call shenanigans on that! But, hey, Steve always gets the girl...even if she does have eggs instead of ears.



Ummm, maybe the guys with the rifles could have done something about that crocodile? Huh, guys? Or was it your hookah break? Well, you can't blame them for slackin' off, seeing as their sun is going supernova behind them.

So there you go. Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man, our country's most advanced human/cyborg weapon, is a powerful deterrent against the invasion of aquatic reptiles. Put that in your report and toss it on Oscar Goldman's desk without checking in with his secretary Peggy Callahan first, huh? Now that's a real man's man! Betcha NBC's Saturday night spin-off bionictress Jaime Sommers couldn't fight a big aquatic beast...



Oh. Wow. I...I stand corrected, Ms. Sommers.