Post by steveinthecity on Aug 30, 2020 10:32:13 GMT -8
That Wilkin Boy #1 (1969)
”Canine Cupid” script - Frank Doyle / art - Dan DeCarlo
Any kid approaching the spinner rack in late ‘68 or early ‘69 would have been hard pressed to even notice this debut of an entirely new group of characters from the juggernaut that was Archie Publishing during this era, competing with ASM with “Crisis On Campus”, the origin of Captain America, Iron Man facing off against the Hulk in IM #9, Superman apparently laying dead in front of his own gravestone, or DC’s debut of the more girly focused entry into the teen humor market, Date With Debbi. Credit to the Archie juggernaut, though, as it was seen by enough readers that the title lasted over four years, following the market dip that Archie titles as a whole were taking by 1974-75.
The creative team was a good and obvious choice. DeCarlo being Archie’s most popular artist and Doyle being possibly the top writer in the history of the company at that point.
For starters, though, we get a lackluster cover. Art is ok, but the gag makes little sense. The cover is meant to establish the characters as being in a band, which was a hot thing, especially riding on the wave the Archie’s were on with their tv show and music, but the joke falls flat. Tough Teddy and Buddy make their first comic book appearances here, and the excited crowd in the background shows the core four, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Juggy. Rebel the dog also appears, wearing a sweater with “B” on it, likely for “Bingo” or “Bingoes”(the band).
The first story forcefeeds us the personalities and basic dynamic of the interactions we’ll get from the characters going forward. Bingo & Sam having their love thwarted, the fathers arguing with one another, the wives displeased with the husbands, and then the dog who hatches a plan to make everything right again. Spoiler- everything ends up right again.
Second story, naive Bingo asks Dad for money, but it’s tax season, so no dice. Somehow the Dad’s argue again, Bingo is mocked for being a weakling, then Sams Dad takes a dumbbell to the eye and Bingo’s Mom gets hot for Bingo’s Dad, and Bingo and Sam go off to the dance. Rebel the dog appears only in cameo.
A Li’l Jinx one page gag. My problem with this isn’t the gag per se, but that I don’t think Li’l Jinx has any business in this comic. It’s some hip, teenage musicians and then we get a break seeing the shenanigans of a seven year old? It doesn’t fit imo.
Next we get a page showing the band in action, although we still haven’t met Teddy or Buddy except for their cover appearance.
Next we jump off with immediate friction between the fathers. A running joke is Sam’s dad always putting an “s” on the end of the name “Wilkin”, much to the consternation of Bingo’s Dad. Rebel plays a large role here and gets Sam’s Dad to drop a barbell on his foot, causing him to cry out “Wilkin”, the correct pronunciation. Excitement, as would be expected, ensues.
Bingo’s Father painted this of course, knowing it would start friction.
In the last story we see the boys practicing as a band, with (predictably) Bingo’s father criticizing the music and sending them out of the house. They end up at Sam’s house with Teddy suddenly becoming jealous at the Bingo/Sam coupling. Next, unbeknownst to all except Rebel, he soaks them with a yard sprinkler. Somehow the dog saws Teddy’s guitar in half as revenge, and we end on that note. An editor’s blurb asks readers to write if they want to see more. Impossibly, some teenage boys already sent letters to this comic seeking relationship advice.
Not many ads to pick from, but this one for hair extensions was pretty funny. I wonder how many girls spent their hard earned baby sitting money on these? “Mod Maker”, “Countess”, “Face flatterer”.
I’d have probably spent my money learning to counterfeit more money.
”Canine Cupid” script - Frank Doyle / art - Dan DeCarlo
Any kid approaching the spinner rack in late ‘68 or early ‘69 would have been hard pressed to even notice this debut of an entirely new group of characters from the juggernaut that was Archie Publishing during this era, competing with ASM with “Crisis On Campus”, the origin of Captain America, Iron Man facing off against the Hulk in IM #9, Superman apparently laying dead in front of his own gravestone, or DC’s debut of the more girly focused entry into the teen humor market, Date With Debbi. Credit to the Archie juggernaut, though, as it was seen by enough readers that the title lasted over four years, following the market dip that Archie titles as a whole were taking by 1974-75.
The creative team was a good and obvious choice. DeCarlo being Archie’s most popular artist and Doyle being possibly the top writer in the history of the company at that point.
For starters, though, we get a lackluster cover. Art is ok, but the gag makes little sense. The cover is meant to establish the characters as being in a band, which was a hot thing, especially riding on the wave the Archie’s were on with their tv show and music, but the joke falls flat. Tough Teddy and Buddy make their first comic book appearances here, and the excited crowd in the background shows the core four, Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Juggy. Rebel the dog also appears, wearing a sweater with “B” on it, likely for “Bingo” or “Bingoes”(the band).
The first story forcefeeds us the personalities and basic dynamic of the interactions we’ll get from the characters going forward. Bingo & Sam having their love thwarted, the fathers arguing with one another, the wives displeased with the husbands, and then the dog who hatches a plan to make everything right again. Spoiler- everything ends up right again.
Second story, naive Bingo asks Dad for money, but it’s tax season, so no dice. Somehow the Dad’s argue again, Bingo is mocked for being a weakling, then Sams Dad takes a dumbbell to the eye and Bingo’s Mom gets hot for Bingo’s Dad, and Bingo and Sam go off to the dance. Rebel the dog appears only in cameo.
A Li’l Jinx one page gag. My problem with this isn’t the gag per se, but that I don’t think Li’l Jinx has any business in this comic. It’s some hip, teenage musicians and then we get a break seeing the shenanigans of a seven year old? It doesn’t fit imo.
Next we get a page showing the band in action, although we still haven’t met Teddy or Buddy except for their cover appearance.
Next we jump off with immediate friction between the fathers. A running joke is Sam’s dad always putting an “s” on the end of the name “Wilkin”, much to the consternation of Bingo’s Dad. Rebel plays a large role here and gets Sam’s Dad to drop a barbell on his foot, causing him to cry out “Wilkin”, the correct pronunciation. Excitement, as would be expected, ensues.
Bingo’s Father painted this of course, knowing it would start friction.
In the last story we see the boys practicing as a band, with (predictably) Bingo’s father criticizing the music and sending them out of the house. They end up at Sam’s house with Teddy suddenly becoming jealous at the Bingo/Sam coupling. Next, unbeknownst to all except Rebel, he soaks them with a yard sprinkler. Somehow the dog saws Teddy’s guitar in half as revenge, and we end on that note. An editor’s blurb asks readers to write if they want to see more. Impossibly, some teenage boys already sent letters to this comic seeking relationship advice.
Not many ads to pick from, but this one for hair extensions was pretty funny. I wonder how many girls spent their hard earned baby sitting money on these? “Mod Maker”, “Countess”, “Face flatterer”.
I’d have probably spent my money learning to counterfeit more money.
). The teams bodies race around frantically to find their heads while the two Tin members(Tin and the unnamed tin girl) shoot tin bolts(?) at Chemo, creating “friction” and causing Chemo to boil alive. We know this because Chemo speaks clear English. Boiling alive made Chemo turn to dust, unfortunately.
