Number 824
Bouncy Bunny and Clippety Clop!
Both of these stories, produced for very young readers, are from 1946 issues of EC Comics. EC founder Maxwell C. "Charlie" Gaines believed in educational material, and also comics for very young readers.
When I saw Animated Comics and "Bouncy Bunny" I thought of the masterpiece of kitsch, the book Happy Kitty Bunny Pony, which is a couple of hundred pages of the schmaltziest stuff ever produced. No comics, though, but Bouncy Bunny should have been in the book. From these examples you can see why.
Animated Comics was a one-shot; the cover is signed by Al Fago, who later did Atomic Mouse and Atomic Rabbit, and also for a time edited Charlton Comics. I believe the Bouncy Bunny story may be by him, or if not, it appears at least to be lettered by him with his distinctive style. The cover has a character named Flitty Flicker. Some comic book companies, including DC, told their writers not to use the words FLICK or FLICKER.
Burton Geller did the Clippety Clop story in Tiny Tot Comics #1; the story owes a lot to Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio. As I've said several times before, swiping is no sin in the comics. Geller drew kiddie comics at least until the 1950s.
Burton Geller, you say! A new name for me, and I thank you for the education! I love his work on first sight! Amazing bigfoot cartooning, reminds me a bit of Messmer. As you say, snitching is OK in comics, especially when it is done as well as this!
ReplyDeleteOh, the Bouncy Bunny does look like Fago, but who can say for sure?
The Bouncy Bunny story looks a little too bouncy for me to be Fago, whose figures I found stiff. There was a charm to his work in the days of Atomic Rabbit and Atomic Mouse, but unlike the animators moonlighting in comic books his drawings didn't have the fluidity of their work. I still like Fago, but in looking at this story there are panels that could be, but I'll just have to shrug my shoulders and say I dunno for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis is some great under-exposed stuff. Thanks Pappy!
ReplyDeleteGuessing the Bouncy Bunny is by Milt Stein.
ReplyDelete