In this Sparky Watts story, Sparky shrinks his way into Hubba-Hubba Land. Hubba-hubba is a term you just don’t hear any more. For those who don’t know that archaic expression, it was a way for a guy to let a babe know she was hot; a wolf-whistle and a loud “Hubba-hubba!” when she walked by.* In the forties you could even wear the expression on your belt and wallet.
Sparky Watts was given his super powers as “the world’s strongest funny man,” by cosmic rays. You remember that’s the source of the Fantastic Four’s powers, also. The FF got their powers from going into space; Sparky got his cosmic rays administered by his friend and housemate, Doc Static. But Sparky must have his cosmic rays renewed or he begins to shrink into a microscopic world. Sparky’s creator, Boody Rogers, used the idea of Sparky becoming super-small and entering a world unseen by normal-sized humans several times. It’s the plot of this funny 26-page story from
Sparky Watts #6 (1947). I showed this a few years ago, but these are new scans.
*Beware, boys. Such behavior is also known as sexual harassment.
I've been known to use “Hubba hubba!” (albeit somewhat ironically).
ReplyDeleteI note also the ancient expression “Hold 'er, Newt!” in 6:2 of the first part. Originally, the “'er” would have been some sort of equine or bovine, and the full expression would have been something such as “Hold 'er, Newt! She's headed for the alfalfa!” or “Hold 'er, Newt! She's a-rarin'!” Apparently there was some specific episode originally in-mind, but the expression began to be used whenever such an animal were at risk of going out of control, especially when pulling a cart. Then it was humorously extended to cases of vehicles propelled by something other than animal-power. I s'pose that someone has somewhere used it in reference to a robot or to a programmable device, but it had slipt from real currency before my childhood.
(Hmmm…. I'm going to use in in one or more of the stories for AwesomeDonut!com.)
Size is relative, Rogers seems to be saying.
ReplyDeleteMad magazine once did in an article titled "What is a Square" which ends with the words Hubba-Hubba.