I mentioned at the end of the last post that I'd feature Mayda Munny in the next, which is what you're reading right now. Unfortunately, I was unable to find the issue which the particular story was in. So until I am able to hunt it down, I'll have to postpone it for a future post.
In the meantime, I am featuring another Mayda Munny tale! Yet again, Mayda schemes to drive a wedge between Richie and Gloria in the hopes she can catch him on the rebound. What's she planning now? And will it work this time? Well, let's all find out in "What A Doll!"
Our story opens with a stock delivery man bringing Mini-Cher...er, I mean, Mayda a life-size replica of Richie Rich. What a perfect copy, macrocephalic cabeza and all!
Oooookayyy, this whole setup is weird. I'm getting the feeling that if Mayda can't have the real Richie, a cotton-filled replica will do? I don't even want to think what her plans are for her newly-acquired "doll"!!!
Ooooh, now I get it! She's using the doll as a prop to make Gloria think Richie's dumped her and is now hooking up with Mayda! For all the money Mayda spent on her toy boy, it better be life-like!
Yeah, Gloria might think Richie's trip was a ruse, seeing as that he didn't even invite her to come along!
Yeah, Mayda, you're a doll, I suppose....kinda like this one pictured below!
Yep!
Hurry, Mayda, before she turns into that alley!
Hey, wait...GLORIA!!! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??? Going down a dark alley by yourself???
And Mayda doesn't know any better either! Never mind passing Gloria; do you really want to take a chance on getting mugged???
Oh, darn, another obstacle! Mayda just can't catch a break!
Or just use the sidewalk and go around! That scooter can't be very big! Sheesh!
Yeah, if a 12-year-old girl is flashing a wad of cash from about 15 feet away, it's kinda hard to take her seriously! I mean, it might be play money...or Canadian currency. That kinda looks like something out of a Monopoly box!
And it's understandable that he thinks her "boyfriend" is simple; just look at that stupid grin and vacant stare!
And yet another obstacle, this time in the form of a burly police officer bellowing at her to knock off the horn blowing in a hospital zone! Not that the patients mind a policeman barking at loud motorists, no sir!
One thing positive I will say about Mayda; at least she respects and obeys authority figures!
Eyes forward and on the road, Mayda!!! Oops, too late! She just totaled that guy's greenery!
And, sir, you should be more upset about that destroyed bush; she really didn't do much to your lawn, unless she decides to do a few donuts just to piss you off even more!
So now all those obstacles are behind her, Mayda has one last chance!
But what's this??? Richie's back from his European trip! But he called Gloria from the airport to meet him in front of a DRUGSTORE??? Why didn't you send a limo to pick her up, Richie, ol' boy? I'm sure she wouldn't mind greeting you when you got off the plane! It's bad enough you didn't bring her with you on the trip! And don't tell me it was a "business" trip; I wouldn't buy it!
And while Richie and Gloria are making goo-goo eyes at each other, Mayda is about to wheel into an awkward moment, but to her relief, she lost the Richie doll at some point.
OK, awkward moment restored!!! A good Samaritan in a really hideous leisure suit (even by 70s standards) graciously returns Mayda's toy boy to her, much to the horror of her would-be boyfriend and her rival. They're both like "What the hell???"
If I were Mayda, I'd hightail it out of there and cease all contact with Richie and Gloria...at least for a year or two. They probably think you're some kind of freak, driving around with a Richie replica and all! How embarrassing!
That's a wrap for this post! Next week (yes, NEXT WEEK, believe it or not), we'll drop in on Mega City One in the far-flung future of law enforcement courtesy of Judge Dredd. When you see the next post, the film "Idiocracy" will probably come to mind. See you then!
Once upon a time, there was a TV show host whose brand of humor was really popular with the kids! Pictured above, his name was Soupy Sales. I suppose he could be best described as a 60s predecessor to Pee-Wee Herman minus the influence of hallucinogens. Soupy's show was probably more along the lines of his contemporaries like Captain Kangaroo and Shari Lewis.
Sometime during the mid-60s, someone got the idea that Soupy would translate well to the comic book page. Not so unusual, really; many TV and movie properties of the time were adapted sequentially (yes, even the Beverly Hillbillies!). Dell and Gold Key were the primary comics publishers to scoop up publishing rights. So did these comic book giants have their sights set on the man called Soupy? Maybe, but, believe it or not, John Goldwater and the gang at Archie Comics published a one-shot comic in 1965 based on the adventures of Mr. Sales.
I vaguely remember seeing Soupy on TV when I was a child. It was probably during the late 70s when his career was fading. Some of you probably don't know who I'm talking about. You can search him on Youtube for clips from his shows. Or if you have nothing else to do, you can scroll through this post if you're curious as to how Archie portrayed this icon of kiddie shows! Let's do it!
Yes, our pal Soupy is credited with inventing a dance step called "The Mouse." I'm not sure if it was popular enough to surpass The Twist, The Mashed Potato, or even The Funky Chicken, but I'd be embarrassed to attempt this, even if I was alive back then. But Archie and his gal pals are eating it up! Wanna see Soupy in action? Here you go:
Now doesn't that make you want to move the coffee table out of the way and get your Mouse on? Yeah, me neither!
First page, we see Soupy (or at least Archie's version) singing and dancing his signature moves but is interrupted by a knock at the door. Must be a small child or a dwarf, judging the way Soupy is stooping.
Another thing I noticed at the bottom is that the comic is "published bi-monthly." Plans must have been made to have this train wreck continue as a series, but sales figures must have been below par. Poor marketing probably doomed this comic from the start or perhaps millions of Soupy fans just weren't interested in a comic book version. Sorry, Soups!
So we don't actually see this real mouse! The powers at Archie likely didn't want letters from Disney's lawyers.
Oh, ha, ha, ha! The mouse is so small it could only hit Soupy's shins! That's hilarious!
Hey, at least Soupy didn't get a beatdown like this (NOTE: Not Safe For Work!):
Ouch! Poor Joe!
Knock-knock jokes and pies in the face! Oh, please, stop! This is just too much! I'm just ROTFLMAO!!!
A marble cake? I think a better punchline would be something like "Grandma's Christmas fruitcake"! Not only are those things hard, they last for years and are hard to digest!
And the hilarity continues with flying boxing gloves to the face! This would have been funnier if the radio was lowered about two feet!
Apparently the writer has run out of gags featuring Soupy, so he has to resort to featuring a couple of young Soupy fans! Really reaching here!
So the young lad can't differentiate between the cards and the gum! Not the sharpest tool in the shed, is he? Sure, that bubble gum is stiff like the cards, but other than that...
If I were Soupy, I'd file a complaint with the PD's internal affairs department (after he gets checked out for a possible concussion). I'm pretty sure it's against department policy to use civilians as battering rams!
Is the sign misleading? Yes! Is it false advertising? I don't think so, unless Soupy can produce a larger plate from somewhere else in town, then he might have a case!
Can't you just picture teenagers in the mid-60s standing on street corners bragging about their Soupy fandom? And I thought Trekkies were bad!
Some fan! Even after Soupy showers the kid with gifts, he's going to trade all those cards for a Mickey Mantle baseball card! On the other hand, it's probably the shrewdest trade he could make! That Mickey Mantle card is probably worth thousands!
Just a thread from a sweater? Why not the whole sweater? The writer would have us believe that Soupy gets mauled by pretty girls as if he were one of the Beatles.
Whoever this girl is (Veronica with a bob haircut?), she obviously doesn't have a problem with destroying theater property to show her devotion to Soupy.
I hope that's a cardboard cutout he's got in that sack! If not, he's going to learn really fast the penalty for kidnapping! And girlie, you might want to apologize profusely to Soupy; it might prevent your being charged as an accessory!
Jughead has the right idea! Better to enjoy some brie than engage in this silly fad!
Did Goldwater outsource this story to a writer from the UK? "Telly"? Or maybe the Lodges have been faking their American accents for years but let their guard down for a moment.
OK, nevermind. Mr. Lodge is about to disappoint his daughter and her friends by hogging the TV. So what is his favorite program? "Perry Mason"? "Burke's Law"? "Gunsmoke"? "I Dream Of Jeannie"? Are YOU in for a surprise?
The gang is relieved that Lodge is a Soupy fan, too! An Archie fan...not so much! Nothing new though; Archie has been a thorn in Mr. Lodge's side for decades!
OK, Archie, maybe it's time for you to seek therapy. You're taking your Soupy obsession to an unhealthy level.
And where did Lodge get that pie all of a sudden? Just wondering...
And we conclude with the back page of the first, last, and only issue of the Soupy Sales comic with Archie dancing the Mouse one last time (as if you didn't get enough from the pages within). And now Reggie gets his turn to hurl a pie at his red-headed frenemy. We don't get to see a pie-covered Archie this time but we do see that Pop Tate's has a well-stocked comics rack (stocked with Archie titles, of course!). Gotta have that product placement to hopefully turn on the Soupy fans to Archie and the gang, right? I'm thinking this book didn't help much. After all, this comic lasted only ONE issue!
As for Soupy, he continued to be a pop culture influence throughout the 60s and into the 70s to an extent. Yes, I did rip on him some in this post, but it's obvious he was loved by many. He and his puppet pals entertained millions for years, so he obviously did something right. Many of those same fans fondly remember him to this day and were surely heartbroken when he passed away in 2009, RIP, Soupy!
So that wraps this post on Funny Book Funnies! Join us in about a week or two when Mayda Munny launches yet another scheme to lure Richie Rich away from girlfriend Gloria. What's the plan this time? Would you believe...a makeover? That's right! Check out the jaw-dropping post next time!
OK, so that's not how the song goes exactly! But "Happy Times" apparently is the favorite TV program of one Richard Rich, Sr., billionaire industrialist and father of everyone's favorite macrocephalic wealthy lad, Richie Rich.
So Richie and his pal Jackie Jokers (a kid comedian who spouts jokes that make a Catskill comedian look like Robin Williams) are planning a party for their friends but can't come up with an idea at first.
This is where the show "Happy Times" comes in. Never heard of it? No, it's not a Britcom seen occasionally on your local PBS station. It doesn't exist! It's Harvey Comics' thinly-veiled version of "Happy Days", a ratings hit for ABC at the time this story was published (cover dated Sept. 1976). Yep, a sitcom set in the 1950s was one of the biggest hits of the 70s. Not sure if I should blame "American Graffiti" or the disco craze for the show's success (believe me, many more Americans would have rather hung out at Arnold's than Studio 54).
So iron those poodle skirts, girls! Guys, slather your jackets with leather oil! And get ready for (Really? Do I have to say it?)..."Happy Times"...smh...
Heh...that one was kinda funny, Jackie! "..in case you feel your house is too small!" You just might have a future in comedy!
Oh, never mind! "Sir Lance-A-Little?" REALLY??? Now I see Century 21 in your future!
I understand knights in the 12th century were of small stature, but THAT small? And what's with the cone on the front of the helmet? That. Just. Looks....weird....
Wow, Mr. Rich is easily amused, isn't he? Even the real "Happy Days" wasn't all that funny. Can somebody change the channel to "Barney Miller", please?
And then we're treated(?) to several scenes of "Funzie" interrogating several guys, trying to identify the perp who dared to touch his precious bike. The artist seems to have captured a decent caricature of Fonzie, but Richie, Potsie, and Malph look like stock Harvey characters. Either this was drawn on a Friday afternoon or the Harvey family didn't want to push the envelope so far as to get a "cease and desist" letter from Paramount's lawyers.
However, the boob tube sets off a light bulb in Richie's head! What could it be?
Oh, OK! Richie decides on a 50s-themed party. Kids who weren't even born then can totally relate, what with all they've been exposed to watching "Happy Times." Ah, well, at least the theme won't be based on "All In The Family" or "Maude." Can you imagine all that screaming and fighting?
And Jackie called dibs on dressing up as "The Funz." Yeah, whenever I see Fonzie on a "Happy Days" rerun, I always think "Jackie Jokers!" Now picture me rolling my eyes!
Wow, that's some messed up science there! This "professor" created some kind of hypno-spray designed to make out-of-work actors think they're really the characters they're portraying. Be careful there, Prof; you accidentally spray yourself and you'll think you're Woody Allen (neuroses and all)! Spray your henchman there and he'll think he's Vic Tayback! STOW IT, FINKY!
So that's what they're planning with their spray can! While the Rich family is dazed and confused, they'll be raiding their vaults to the tune of "5 or 6 billion dollars." Um, probably gonna need more manpower for that kind of haul! And why do the Riches keep so much cash on the premises? It's practically an invitation for thieves! Has Mr. Rich not heard of Switzerland?
Cadbury announces the first of Richie's friends, Kool Katz, neglecting to also announce Kool's overbearing helicopter parent. Mama immediately corrects him! What did she ever do to you, Jeeves ol' boy?
Hmm...something is different about Richie and Gloria, but I just can't quite put my finger on it....hmmm......
And while the Elvis impersonator is busy unintentionally insulting Richie's dog, Reggie as Captain Bligh and Mayda as Cher enter the scene...
And here comes Jackie, as promised, as "The Funz." Hey, were you given permission to ride that bike inside the mansion? Tire marks, oil stains, both noise AND air pollution, not to mention putting all the other guests in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning? You were enough of a nuisance with your bad jokes; now this!
And how are Little Dot and Lotta's boyfriend Gerald (hey, slap a cap and some specs onto Richie Rich and you have a whole new character!) able to get away with failing to cosplay as 50s characters? Wellll...technically Dot IS a 50s character, having made her debut in 1953. Gerald, on the other hand, didn't make his first appearance until the early 60s. A head scratcher, to be sure...
Did the estate police have the night off or something? These guys managed to slip into the mansion basement unnoticed! Someone's getting fired over this!
Wow, so much going on here in this one panel! I'm going to have to break this down! Scroll down a bit, will ya?
As Kool the Elvis impersonator badly warbles one of the King's hits while looking like something out of a Charlie Brown cartoon, Mrs. K questions Reggie's choice of costume. Reggie needs to brush up on his history as Napoleon Bonaparte had long since departed before the 1850s. However, there may have very well been people believing themselves to be Napoleon confined to asylums across the world in the 1950s, so Reggie could have received inspiration from America's funny farms!
Mr. Rich could have gotten a haircut to resemble Eisenhower more, but people might have confused him for 1970s TV character Kojak.
And Freckles and Peewee, the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers? Really? Takes 9 players to make a baseball team! Could have gone as Wally and Beaver Cleaver! Perhaps the writer of this story is still butthurt that the Dodgers moved to LA. Let it go, guy!
So Mayda arrived as her version of Liz Taylor? Looks more like Cher to me!
And all Richie and Gloria had to do to transform themselves into Desi and Lucy was get a dye job and remove a hair ribbon? Seriously? Hey, Rich, you don't have to cosplay on a budget; I'm sure you can hire people to work on you and your girlfriend to be more convincing as America's sweethearts of the '50s. At least strap on a conga drum! Sheesh!
Yeah, nice bike there, "Funzie!" I've seen Vespas that were manlier!
And again, we see a half-assed attempt at cosplay; in fact, NO effort was made to make Dollar look more like a collie! Not even a mane!
What? Somebody farted? Don't tell me we have a party "pooper" in the house (pun intended!)?
OK, so the hypno-gas is doing its magic! Richie now speaks with a bad Cuban accent, Mayda brags about wrapping up production on a movie released at least 20 years prior to this party, and Peewee believes he's Brooklyn Dodgers standout Gil Hodges. Hey, Freckles, Gil don't need no coaching from you! Shut it!!!
"Rocking and rolling star?" Hey, Mama Katz; do us all a favor and stick to watching Lawrence Welk!
And Kool/Pelvis, your suede shoes are white, not green or even blue! Furthermore, I don't believe Elvis ever had a red Jewfro; just saying...
I can get behind Mr Rich/Eisenhower's mentality; all citizens should engage in the pursuit of happiness!
And Richie/Dizzy, drop the bad accent already! It's just annoying now!
Despite each other's lack of knowledge or French and English respectively, Reggie/Napoleon and Mr.Rich/Pres. Eisenhower manage to diss each other just fine! Wait, what? This exchange reminds me of this classic Looney Tunes bit:
Got it? Good! Let's move on!
Yep, totally oblivious to a couple of guys in gas masks trying to crack a safe! Nothing to see here, folks!
Hey, way to think on your feet there, Prof! Who ARE those masked men?
Yes, make way, people! These guys have unmasked themselves, yet no one suspects a thing as the crooked pair waltzed out of there with bags of money in hands! Wonder if there's security in front AWAY from the air vents!
Mayda/Liz still making with the "mirror mirror" bit. Is she still in character or is she her usual self? Who can tell?
Hey, Prez and Napoleon, why are you still talking to one another...IN ENGLISH??? I don't think Scotty beamed down a universal translator to either one of you! These scenes with you two make no sense!
And Peewee/Gil Hodges hits a line drive, knocking out the crooks in the process!
Say, Lotta was a guest at the party AS HERSELF! Why isn't she kicking those guys' asses???
Uh-oh, did somebody spike the punch? No, the effects of the gas are finally wearing off!
Wow, do you see that look Kool is giving his mama? Clearly he's weary of her overbearing nature!
Really bad pun there, Jackie! Now do you understand why your parents set up a college fund?
And as Richie bids his guests a fond farewell, he makes sure they don't forget the theme of the party! Like a banner inside staring them in their collective faces wasn't enough!
So what's the theme for next year? A 60s party? Love beads, peace signs, fringe skirts, and Nehru jackets all around! See you next summer, kids! Peace!
So that's it for now! Sorry this one took so long! Such a lengthy story and I didn't want to rush through it! But it's in the can, so I hope you enjoyed it! I might feature a Jackie Jokers TV or Movie special next time, so watch for it! I'll try not to be so long in getting it out!
