Tuesday 2 September 2014

Yogi Bear Weekend Comics, September 1964

Ranger Smith got the month off from the Yogi Bear comics as the summer of ‘64 wore down. But September means back-to-school time, so we get cute kids in two of the four Sunday editions. Click to enlarge the comics.


For a second I thought Mr. Peebles and his pet store had landed in Jellystone Park, judging by the September 6th comic. The sobbing kid feels better, even though his situation hasn’t changed. It isn’t like the other kids will let him play with them. But Yogi Bear isn’t supposed to be Dear Abby.


Nice design on the leprechaun in the September 13th cartoon. Good end gag. He really is lost, isn’t he? Why isn’t Yogi reading a Huckleberry Hound comic? How could they miss a chance at free cross-promotion?


While we’re asking questions, where did Yogi get the money to rent an airplane? Maybe it’s left over from his wishing well in “A Bear Living.” Or it could be from his pay for appearing in “Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear.” And he’s a lot better at piloting aircraft here than when he took off in a helicopter in “The Buzzin’ Bruin” (and crashed another chopper over the closing credits of his TV show). Nice selection of angles in the September 20th comic. The mountains here are more pointed than usual with no snow. I didn’t realise the term “Fuzz” was used this early, but do remember reading Dan Rather talking about newscasts at a Texas station in the early ‘60s as “fuzz and was.”


Yogi showed his ignorance of the world in several of the animated cartoons (in “A Bear Pair,” he thinks Paris is in Rhode Island). Today, the kids in the September 27th comic could simply go to Wikipedia and get misinformation. Bushes are in a number of panels as a backdrop. Did kids really wear those crown hats like the little kid here (or Jughead?).

These were the best versions I could find but you can see two-thirds of each of them in colour from Mark Kausler’s collection on his blog. See the link in the column to the right.

3 comments:

  1. They're really just beanies: back in the old days, when dad's fedora was starting to look worse for wear and in need of replacement, they'd flip up the sides, cut it in that zig zag pattern, and pass it along for the kid to wear.

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  2. I’d say that was an unusually good grouping of gags! The last one actually reads like something Warren Foster would have written as a conversation between Yogi and Boo-Boo.

    Harvey Eisenberg rules!

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  3. The owner of the pawn shop looks like a cross between Mr. Peebles and Mr. Twiddle.

    Interesting theme developed in two of the strips, of Yogi providing misinformation to youngsters, a little ironic compared to the "spokesbear" role he played in commercials and public service announcements.

    Why would a park ranger be working a derrick? Unless he's moonlighting to pay some extra bills. But it's not exactly part of the job description for a ranger.

    As Joe suggests, these are gags that could have been lifted right out of the television cartoons. The leprechaun gag is typical of Yogi's dealings with supernatural characters--making a wish that is granted but not in the way he wants it.

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